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Terminology - Two countries, separated by a common language

Dr.Al

Dr.Al

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A thread on another platform got me thinking a little about differing terminology and I thought it might be interesting to collate a bit of a look-up table of differing terminology. What follows is off the top of my head and I'm sure I've missed a few and probably got some wrong so I'd welcome any additions / corrections.

Flattening Wood:

UKUSA
Surface PlanerJointer
ThicknesserPlaner / Thickness Planer
Planer/ThicknesserJointer/Planer
Planer (Electric Hand Tool)?

Other Tools / Tool Parts:

UKUSA
Cap Iron or Back IronChipbreaker
Pillar DrillDrill Press
SpannerWrench
Spindle MoulderShaper
ShaperShaper

Joinery / Construction:

UKUSA
Cornice (Moulding)Crown Molding
HousingDado
LintelHeader
RebateRabbet
Skirting (board)Baseboard
Sash WindowDouble-Hung Window

Just Spelling Really:

UKUSA
AluminiumAluminum
Plough PlanePlow Plane
MitreMiter
Moulding PlaneMolding Plane
ViceVise

I expect there are loads more in this category but it's probably not worth listing them all.

Wood:

Specific:

UKUSAScientific
LimeBasswood†Tilia x Europaea / Tilia Americana
SycamoreSycamore MapleAcer Pseudoplatanus
?SycamorePlatanus Occidentalis

† Strictly speaking Lime and Basswood are different species but I think they get confused a bit so I thought it worth including.

General:

UKUSA
TimberLumber
BurrBurl


Thread Cutting Taps:

UKUSADr Al :-)
TaperTaperTaper
SecondPlugSecond
PlugBottomingBottoming
 
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It's really important to remember, every time this comes up, that we're right and they're wrong. The clue is in the name of the language....... :) :)
 
I'd just add "skirting" & "baseboard", and "lintel" & "header". Remembering the above ^, of course.

"Rabbet" is in fact used here, in one specific situation. It's the rebate in the keel of a traditional wooden boat, which accept the ends of the strakes (planks).
 
Not wanting to upset the apple cart so to speak but... Shouldn't it then be 'UK/United Kingdom' (or Britain? ) and 'America'? Wondering about Wales, Scotland and Ireland... not wanting to exclude others...
 
Accipiter said:
Not wanting to upset the apple cart so to speak but... Shouldn't it then be 'UK/United Kingdom' (or Britain? ) and 'America'? Wondering about Wales, Scotland and Ireland... not wanting to exclude others...
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I suckedin a bit hard Accipter when I saw the column headers. I've got to admit that it riles me up a bit when I see the three other countries that make up Great Britain or the United KIngdom rather dismissed and excluded and somehow subsumed into a greater England. I guess I get that sensitivity from having lived in Scotland for a big chunk of my life. I suggest, Dr Al, changing the header of the left hand columns if you can do so easily. Slainte.
 
My old dad called them rabbets. He wasn't American and he wasn't a woodworker either.
Not sure if that helps at all...
 
Accipiter said:
Not wanting to upset the apple cart so to speak but... Shouldn't it then be 'UK/United Kingdom' (or Britain? ) and 'America'? Wondering about Wales, Scotland and Ireland... not wanting to exclude others...
Click to expand...

My sincerest apologies. I started with English & then changed it to England to avoid the complication. Also, I do a lot of cryptic crosswords & get thoroughly lost with all the words that are Scottish specific so I had no confidence that the words were the same across the border!

I'll amend as soon as I'm back on a PC: doing it on the phone seems too much like hard work:
 
I don't think the two ways of spelling "mortis/ce" are distinguished across our countries. When I looked into this once before, I found that in the UK, there were plenty of examples of both spellings, regardless of whether it was a noun or a verb. I couldn't see a consistent difference over time either.

I just checked a couple of catalogues from the 1920s.

Charles Nurse sold Mortice chisels. William Marples sold only Mortise Chisels. I like them both!
 
Ooh you have no idea how much it hurts me to say this, but...

There is a school of thought which says that American spelling is actually more authentic. It went over on the Mayflower and stayed like that, but continued to develop over here into the English we recognise today.

You have no idea how much it hurt me to write that.

S
PS Biscuit. Cookie or Scone?
 
But it didn't stay like that, Steve. Mr Webster changed US spelling comprehensively in the 1800's. I think the argument is that the US pronunciation of English is closer to the original than we are now.....but even that is moot as the Cornish and Irish dominated early emigration, and so had a big influence on early American English.
 
I and many others don’t like the use of ‘z’ instead of ‘s’. For example criticize. It just looks wrong. So you can imagine the ‘discussions’ we had at work when a new American Head of Marketing arrived. Some weeks later I bumped into her at the gym. I couldn’t resist saying ‘I see you’re doing exercise with a Zee’
 
AndyT said:
I don't think the two ways of spelling "mortis/ce" are distinguished across our countries. When I looked into this once before, I found that in the UK, there were plenty of examples of both spellings, regardless of whether it was a noun or a verb. I couldn't see a consistent difference over time either.

I just checked a couple of catalogues from the 1920s.

Charles Nurse sold Mortice chisels. William Marples sold only Mortise Chisels. I like them both!
Click to expand...
I've removed it from the table.

Windows said:
American: Double-hung window
Other: sash window
Click to expand...
That was a new one on me; added.
 
RogerS said:
I and many others don’t like the use of ‘z’ instead of ‘s’. For example criticize. It just looks wrong. So you can imagine the ‘discussions’ we had at work when a new American Head of Marketing arrived. Some weeks later I bumped into her at the gym. I couldn’t resist saying ‘I see you’re doing exercise with a Zee’
Click to expand...
Ize used to be the preferred suffix in British English. It's shown as such in my 40 year old Collins English Dictionary, and there was also an episode of Inspector Morse where the plot hinged on the ise/ize distinction. If it now looks wrong, blame Bill Gates. It's my belief that the British English spell check in Word has caused the extinction of the ize in British English.
Having said that, there is a Greek versus Latin thing that used to be a factor in ise/ize.
 
Richard said:
I suckedin a bit hard Accipter when I saw the column headers. I've got to admit that it riles me up a bit when I see the three other countries that make up Great Britain or the United KIngdom rather dismissed and excluded and somehow subsumed into a greater England. I guess I get that sensitivity from having lived in Scotland for a big chunk of my life. I suggest, Dr Al, changing the header of the left hand columns if you can do so easily. Slainte.
Click to expand...
The Welsh speak an entirely different language. Nobody knows what language the Scots speak.
 
I'm proud of my Middlesex speak; alley:- path between two entities such as buildings or fences.
 
Malc2098 said:
I'm proud of my Middlesex speak; alley:- path between two entities such as buildings or fences.
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Ginnal/ginnel/snicket... from Up North... my younger days in Oldham and in Yorkshire... but nought to do with UK~USA woodworking terminology 😎
 
Shaper/spindle moulder.

A shaper was an early metal shaping tool, as any fule kno.😏
 
AndyT said:
Shaper/spindle moulder.

A shaper was an early metal shaping tool, as any fule kno.😏
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That's a new one on me. I know what a shaper is and have been a bit confused when I've heard it being referred to on American woodworking sites (why would a woodworker need a shaper?). Now it makes sense. I'll add it to the table.

Does anyone know what a shaper is called in the US?
 
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Cabinetman said:
Housing joint in the uk v Dado in the us.
Just where on Earth did they get that one from.
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I think it's a case of the old term persisting over there. I'm pretty sure that early planemakers' lists refer to "dado planes" which do, naturally, cut housings. A dado is a sticky-out rail along a wall, at the top of the frieze, isn't it?
 
Gill said:
I’m always taken aback by how Americans don’t seem to have as wide a range of insults as the British.
Click to expand...

As I'm currently sitting in Scotland (Rowardennan, by Loch Lomond, in the sun !) I am reminded of the splendid and colourful contributions the Scots have made that area. Particularly in application to certain Americans.
 
Cabinetman said:
Yes @AndyT but don’t think there is a Dado or a Housing involved? So are you saying especially with regard to planes that we used to use the word? Interesting.
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Well, maybe in some construction there used to be a tongue on the back of a dado rail that needed a groove to fit into... But that's speculation without evidence.

I don't know why it is. But I think if someone could find some period references it might explain why good condition 18th century dado planes, ranging from 1/4" up to an inch (I think) are not especially rare.

Has anyone got a copy of the Seaton Chest book handy to check what sizes were in there? I'm on holiday, miles away from my library.
 
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