I’ve always thought that mold is the fungus, and to mould is to shape. When talking about it with my colleagues yesterday, I was surprised that this isn’t common. Most people use one of the two spellings to refer to both.

Doing a quick search on duckduckgo also confirms that:

In my quest to prove them wrong, I was surprised at how wrong I was… until I discovered a few people on the internet who said the same thing:

I’m not looking for what’s correct or incorrect anymore, I just find it very fascinating that there are some people who use the words similarly to me, but the vast majority of others who use it in a different way.

So: what’s the difference between mould and mold according to you?

  • Bob@feddit.nl
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    2 months ago

    There’s a fair number of people who insist that “geek” and “nerd” mean two different, specific things. I think this is the same phenomenon, that people seek nuance where there isn’t because it makes the language seem more interesting or something.

    • blackbrook@mander.xyz
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      2 months ago

      The words have very different origins. While I think they converged for a time, they started out different.

  • fjordbasa@lemmy.worldEnglish
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    2 months ago

    American here, I’ve never used “mould” for any definition, personally- always “mold”

  • 𝚝𝚛𝚔@aussie.zoneEnglish
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    2 months ago

    I’ve always thought that mold is the fungus, and to mould is to shape.

    I actually do this too. Not because I think it’s correct as such, but because that way I am consistent and I know what I’m talking about when I read back previous text that I’ve written.

    I remember it by Mold = simplified English = simple organism.

  • morgan423@lemmy.worldEnglish
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    2 months ago

    I use both, they are two separate words, not one word with multiple spellings.

    Not sure why people are changing it. Yes, language evolves, but maybe we could all focus on evolving it in areas that actually need evolution?

  • AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.worldEnglish
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    2 months ago

    I use “mold” for both, and regard “mould” as the British spelling for both.

    But the etymologies are interesting—the verb comes from French modle, while the fungus comes from late Middle English mould. So if anything, your assumed distinction is etymologically reversed.

    • A Basil Plant@lemmy.worldOP
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      2 months ago

      That seems to be the consensus online. But thanks for that tidbit! It feels even more bizarre now knowing that.

      I wonder why a handful of people think the way I presented in the post. Perhaps American/British influences in certain places? Reading books by british authors and books by american authors at the same time? Feels unlikely.

      • AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        2 months ago

        You know that there are two unrelated words, and you’ve seen two different spellings—it’s a natural assumption that the latter stems from the former.

        Why so many people would pair them up the same (etymologically unsupported) way, I don’t know… maybe we’re used to correlating words relating to art with French, and assuming that words with “ou” come from French as well (and this case just happens to be an exception).

  • stealth_cookies@lemmy.ca
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    2 months ago

    I use mold for everything, but don’t really bat an eye at using mould for the tool that is used to make parts which I see pretty often through my work.

  • BCsven@lemmy.ca
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    2 months ago

    If you browse Canadian tool shops in Southern Ontario, Canada you will see thrm named Tool and Mold, or Tool and Mould. Nobody agrees Lol

  • dan@upvote.au
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    2 months ago

    In Australia, I used to use them the opposite way as you: “mould” for the fungus, and “mold” to shape. These days I live in the USA and use “mold” for both.