Mould or mold?

[Rifleman1776]

Being a bit of a wordsmith, I have long been unsure what the correct spelling is for the tool we use to cast round balls. Is it ''mould" or "mold"? To my way of thinking, "mold" is the fungus stuff that grows in moist area and "mould" is the casting tool. So, I looked it up. Surprise! Do yer own thang. Both are correct and interchangeable for the casting tool. "Mold" is a more American usage and "mould" is more British but either is acceptable. Potato/potaato?

 

[Uncle Miltie]

Depends which side of the pond yer on......

 

[longcruise]

Depends which side of the pond yer on......

Yup, and for what it's worth I've tried, when talking with people, to interchange them during the course of conversation and nobody even noticed.

 

[alcessapiens]

it depends on what colour, and odour your mold is. Or mould…

 

[TDM]

Mould is the English spelling of mold. Both can be used for bread mould/mold or bullet mould/mold.
My spelling is so poor I probably and an e to it sometimes.

 

[appalichian hunter]

MOLD=A nasty substance, MOULD= A device or pattern for making a object.

 

[TDM]

What if you have a moldy mould?

 

[hanshi]

I spell it "mold". Why? Just because. (obviously been around women far too much).

 

[QuinnTheEskimo]

No offense to the Brits among us but I avoid any of their odd spellings or pronunciations and stick to the American forms.

 

[TDM]

Just to be clear, I spell it mold too.

 

[longcruise]

No offense to the Brits among us but I avoid any of their odd spellings or pronunciations and stick to the American forms.

Me too! I struggle with foreign languages!

 

[appalichian hunter]

What if you have a moldy mould?

Theres a country song in there somewhere.

 

[Kansas Jake]

As I wander around today and wonder to and fro and try to decide which of the two to use too.

 

[TDM]

I guess that’s why it’s said that English is the hardest language to learn. I know it is for me.

 

[Notchy Bob]

I agree with @Rifleman1776 in post #1; “mold” is that stuff which reproduces with spores, and a “mould” is what we use for casting. However, I don’t doubt that both spellings are now considered correct in American English. I can tell you one thing for sure, though, and that is the auto-correct function on this forum, for the longest time, would not tolerate the word “mould.” It usually changed the word to “ mound” while I wasn’t looking. Sometimes two or three times, before it would give up. It isn’t so bad now, for some reason, but Auto-Correct still has a few quirks. It insists on capitalizing the “M” in “muzzleloading,” for example.

It is sometimes fun to compare British and American spellings. Just this morning, I saw the term, “Thompson/Centre” in a post by a Canadian forum member. I’m not picking on him at all. I thought it was cool.

I’ll probably continue to write “mould” because I’m fixed in my habits and I’m too old to change them. However, I think the important thing is communication. As long as the meaning is clear, we’re good.

Notchy Bob

 

[TDM]

Can’t argue with that!

 

[planefixer da50]

we speak American/ your state. we fought a war not to speak english, my 2$

 

[andy52]

Mould is the English spelling of mold. Both can be used for bread mould/mold or bullet mould/mold.
My spelling is so poor I probably and an e to it sometimes.

That's the reason I have Grammarly running right now.

 

[bubba.50]

You 'mould' lead and ceramics & etc. You scrape the 'mold' off your bread and/or cheese before you eat it.

 

[TDM]

You 'mould' lead and ceramics & etc. You scrape the 'mold' off your bread and/or cheese before you eat it.

Makes sense said that way.