[quote=“AAF”]it is pronounced the same as won’t.
[/quote]
I checked the online Oxford dictionary, it did not give the pronuncation for want. The online Webster dictionary, however, shows the pronuncation of wont and want as identical.
Should it be your wont to pronounce wont as want, then regardless of what I want, or whatever my wont, it will be your wont. I won’t object.
HG
[quote=“Dr_Zoidberg”][quote=“AAF”]it is pronounced the same as won’t.
[/quote]
I checked the online Oxford dictionary, it did not give the pronuncation for want. The online Webster dictionary, however, shows the pronuncation of wont and want as identical.[/quote]
I don’t think the lexicographers concur which isn’t strange since the word has almost died out, but if you take the Germanic cognates as a guide, it would probably be closer to won’t.
A Middle English form of the word, woned, also supports the won’t pronunciation.
I think the confusion is due to contamination.
A case of thesis, antithesis and synthesis.
Don’t be silly. 
The word is alive and well.
Don’t be silly. The word is alive and well.[/quote]
It has been resurrected, for sure.
I see wean is another related word (making a child accustomed to eating solid food rather than milk).
Rasta Jesus, you’ve come back!
[quote=“AAF”][quote=“Dr_Zoidberg”][quote=“AAF”]it is pronounced the same as won’t.
[/quote]
I checked the online Oxford dictionary, it did not give the pronuncation for want. The online Webster dictionary, however, shows the pronuncation of wont and want as identical.[/quote]
I don’t think the lexicographers concur which isn’t strange since the word has almost died out, but if you take the Germanic cognates as a guide, it would probably be closer to won’t.
A Middle English form of the word, woned, also supports the won’t pronunciation.
I think the confusion is due to contamination.
A case of thesis, antithesis and synthesis.[/quote]
I wouldn’t get too worked up over Middle English pronunciation. Afterall, how many people alive today are old enough to remember how Middle English was pronounced? True we have writings from that time, but it does not necessarily mean wonen is pronounced as it is spelt.
To what contamination do you refer?
Contamination from want.
Please explain.
Please explain.[/quote]
“In wont of” could have been mistaken for “in want of”.
“wont” as in font with a “W” instead of an ‘f.’
“want” as in c*nt(sorry, I really dislike this word) with a “W” instead of a ‘c.’
[quote=“TainanCowboy”]“wont” as in font with a “W” instead of an ‘f.’
“want” as in c*nt(sorry, I really dislike this word) with a “W” instead of a ‘c.’[/quote]
According to which sources (not that you aren’t one yourself)?
Don’t be silly. The word is alive and well.[/quote]
I’ve only seen it in print; I’ve never actually heard someone say it. Neither have most of us, hence the confusion concerning its pronunciation.
Don’t be silly. The word is alive and well.[/quote]
I’ve only seen it in print; I’ve never actually heard someone say it. Neither have most of us, hence the confusion concerning its pronunciation.[/quote]
With that, I do agree. :bravo:
Please explain.[/quote]
“In wont of” could have been mistaken for “in want of”.[/quote]
Could you be more obtuse?
Please explain.[/quote]
“In wont of” could have been mistaken for “in want of”.[/quote]
Could you be more obtuse?[/quote]
Am I the only one who hasn’t drunk from the poisoned water?
Jeeeezuz! Six pages and that’s the best argument you can come up with? Have you asked Paris or Britney how they pronounce it?
I won’t dignify your abuse with a reply.
I’m really quite used to hearing it spoken. In fact, for many years I didn’t know it was spelled ‘wont’, and in my early teen years assumed it was a 2nd meaning of ‘want’. So this is definitely not a word I picked up from old books. That’s why I say it is alive and well. But each person comes from a different background, and we’re all from different parts of the world – I’m sure there are words y’all know that I don’t. No biggie. 
:ohreally: If you really dislike the word, why do you use it? Bunt, hunt, and punt are all suitable.
[quote]He had read much, if one considers his long life; but his contemplation was much more than his reading. He was wont to say that if he had read as much as other men he should have known no more than other men.[/quote] Isaac Asimov
Henry David Thoreau
Rudyard Kipling
I must be wrong too, because, although I was perfectly aware of the meaning and usage of “wont”, I had always pronounced/read it as similar to “font”, just as TainanC pointed out. Curious.