Would you consider "lense" a valid or invalid spelling?

[keener]

Just curious how many people would or would not consider "lense" a valid spelling.

[Woolburr]

It might be valid for a person that doesn't speak English.

[Oteck]

how would you pronounce that? Len-se?

[keener]

how would you pronounce that? Len-se?

How do you pronounce "shoppe" or "olde" ? :-)

[Andrushka]

i think i can speak for many Americans when i say that when we colonists through our tea into the Boston harbor we also dropped some extra "e's" :-) (and simultaneously began to consume large amounts of coffee :-)

[Woolburr]

shoppie and oldie

[number six]

i think i can speak for many Americans when i say that when we colonists through our tea into the Boston harbor we also dropped some extra "e's" :-) (and simultaneously began to consume large amounts of coffee :-)

"Through?"

:p

[advaitin]

We don't use a len--no matter what! But we do use a lens--the plural of which is lenses.

[Andrushka]

"Through?"

:p

DANG IT!!!! nice catch... guess i shouldnt crack jacks on the forum after staying up all night... :oops:

[Jim G]

Absolutely not. :p

[keener]

someone should email Merriam-Webster and let them know..

http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/lense

[Andrushka]

i figured this was a loaded question... oh well - Websters lists it as a variant - a variant most of us dont use... but if you need to feel justified - you don't need all of us at POTN! :-)

[keener]

Was not a loaded question. Just curious to see how many people regard lense as valid (or not). I see that there are some people who know that "lense" is an obsolete variant, which doesn't make it invalid, yet they still feel it is invalid. There's nothing wrong with this, I'm not judging! This is what I was curious about. I'm not looking to feel justified either and i would like as many people in this community to chime in as possible.

[advaitin]

There is a vast difference in what is accepted usage versus archaic. Try as we might to be creative, it is still easier to communicate when we use standards in spelling and grammar.

[xarqi]

I see that there are some people who know that "lense" is an obsolete variant...
People "know" a lot of things that are incorrect. "Lense" is not an archaic form; it is a recent back-formation.

[foxesamu]

No, no, absolutely not. I cringe every time I see it.

[xarqi]

Another question that interests me in this regard is the manner in which those who do spell it "lense" ever came to believe that that was an acceptable spelling. I strongly doubt that any teacher of English anywhere has ever taught it this way, and that all those who do so adopted this spelling upon being unlucky enough to consult one of the two faulty "reference" works, Merriam-Webster, and the Princeton Wordnet site.

To those persons who believe "lense" is valid: how did you come to spell it this way?

[20droger]

The solution to this dilemma is simple—so simple that no one seems to think of it.

Look on the box it came in! Canon, Nikon, Sony, Leika, Hasselblad, Mamiya Secor, Sigma, Tamron, Tokina, Vivitar, Optic-Pro, and every other inventor of camera optics I have ever run into has spelled it "lens" in English. Unless you use optics from someone who spells it "lense," you should too!

And you can get in your kar and take that to the marquet!

Next week's topic: What is the plural of "antenna"? Is it "antennas" or "antennae"? Please explain your rationale.

[number six]

Next week's topic: What is the plural of "antenna"? Is it "antennas" or "antennae"? Please explain your rationale.

Me first!

If it's mine (the things on the tower) it's "antennas". If it's a bug's, it's "antennae".

Rationale? We don't need no rationales! We don't gotta show you no stinking rationales!

(Name that tune!)

-js

[Woolburr]

What is the plural of "antenna"?

Antler!

[Pete]

Nothing wrong with it in my view. The forum here is international, and is also open to members of every level of expertise.

Not everyone uses the "correct" spelling or uses the "correct" terminology.

I tend to look at the meaning, not of the words when looking at posts.

[neilwood32]

The solution to this dilemma is simple—so simple that no one seems to think of it.

Look on the box it came in! Canon, Nikon, Sony, Leika, Hasselblad, Mamiya Secor, Sigma, Tamron, Tokina, Vivitar, Optic-Pro, and every other inventor of camera optics I have ever run into has spelled it "lens" in English. Unless you use optics from someone who spells it "lense," you should too!

Have to agree on this with you - once manufacturers use it as a variant, i might consider it to have been accepted as a speling - until then its lens or lenses for me.

[tharmsen]

It might be valid for a person that doesn't speak English.
...or if English is a second language. :)

[Woolburr]

...or if English is a second language. :)

Exactly...but for people raised with English as a primary language...lense was never taught to them as being acceptable.

[John_B]

someone should email Merriam-Webster and let them know..

http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/lensekeener,
However on there regular online dictionary
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lense
(unlike the medical one you gave a link to), the word lense brings back The word you've entered isn't in the dictionary. :)

[NinetyEight]

How do Canon (& Nikon etc.) spell it on the web sites and boxes ;)

[keener]

keener,
However on there regular online dictionary
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lense
(unlike the medical one you gave a link to), the word lense brings back The word you've entered isn't in the dictionary. :)

Ya see.. that's what I don't get! How can it not be in the regular dictionary if it is in one of their others. It is as if they are contradicting themselves. I might buy the typo argument, but then shouldn't the dictionary people know where the word came from? That is, that "lense" came from a typo and thus throw out the word?? Confused..

[20droger]

The spelling "lense" was officially allowed by Princeton as a variant for medical and anatomical use only (the lense of one's eye), and not for technical use (the lens of a camera). This is very much like "antennae" versus "antennas". However, "antennae" has its roots in Latin, whereas "lense" has no roots whatsoever.

When all the other universities in the world refused to stop laughing at them, Princeton dropped "lense." It's use is no longer allowed in their student papers, even though it still exists in their Wordnet.

In the interim, however, it was picked up by the Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary. And remains there, as a general alternative to "lens." It cannot be found in any other dictionary, including those published by Merriam-Webster.

Those who insist upon using it will often cite the Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary. Dictionaries, however, are not infallible. Especially the various Webster's. This is simply a case in point. Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary is in error.

The fallibility of dictionaries is self-evident. Webster's once said "cigaret" was an accepted spelling variant of "cigarette," and were soundly and legally called to task by the tobacco industry. Hey, just because they make and sell poison doesn't mean they don't know how to spell the name of their own product.

Worldwide, "lense" is not an accepted spelling. The only accepted spelling is "lens." It matters not if English is one's first or second language. Unfamiliarity with the language may be a valid excuse for the misspelling of a word. It does not make that misspelling correct.

In a nutshell, "lense" is wrong; "lens" is correct. No amount of rationalization or self-justification will make "lense" correct. Period. End of story.