Re: Why do people in the UK put a u in the word color?

[Hodgins Family <ehodgins@telusplanet.net>]

Okay that was fun.

sanchez@mytrashmail.com wrote:
> Why do people in the UK put a u in the word color?

Here is an explanation from http://open-dictionary.com/Color

(Can't vouch for how truthful this is...wasn't there at the time)

[Co-lor] /_____/

1)...
Alternative Spelling of

    * colour (UK English)

Note - Originally the spelling of 'colour' without a U was a sanctioned 
change of the Spelling Reformist Movement, which was not exculsively 
accepted by Americans, but was much more popular in the US than it was 
in England. Henceforth, when the movement died out, its changes remained 
in US English but not in UK English. Not all American English spellings 
are from these changes, 'aluminum' for example, was introduced by Noah 
Webster. Nowadays, 'color' is a US English spelling.
Etymology

From Old French coulour, from Latin color. In American spelling the 'u' 
was dropped from colour to simplify the spelling. In British spelling 
the 'u' remains.

The short answer is that the French made us do it!

HTH

Rob