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May 13 2009   11:46AM GMT

Stanch or staunch?



Posted by: Ivy Wigmore
Business writing, CIO, commonly confused words, commonly misspelled words, Quiz, stanch / staunch
typing Which is correct?
James Turnbull discusses three open source tools that can be used in conjunction to secure e-mail and ______ the flow of spam.
a. stanch
b. staunch

Answer: a

Explanation: Stanch means to stop a flow; staunch means unwavering in opinion or loyalty.

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SonHouse  |   May 14, 2009  7:47 AM (GMT)

Surely some mistake? “Staunch”, according to Encarta UK English is a “transitive and intransitive verb to stop the flow of a liquid, particularly blood, or be stopped from flowing.” “Stanch” as an adjective means “unwavering” and as a verb, “the same as staunch”.


 

Ivy Wigmore  |   May 14, 2009  8:54 AM (GMT)

I suspect this is a UK-US difference. I’ll see if I can get to the bottom of it… Thanks for commenting.


 

MrSecureT  |   Jul 14, 2011  5:41 PM (GMT)

In verb form, either spelling is correct. “Stanch” is arguably preferred, but “staunch” is perfectly acceptable–again, when used as a verb. “Staunch” is the only acceptable spelling for the adjective.