As I recall, when I was in Grade School (40 years ago), the spelling of the word dying was taught as diing. Am I losing my mind or was that possible?
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2You are probably referring to 'dieing': http://english.stackexchange.com/questions/38524/dieing-vs-dying – Jul 28 '14 at 17:56
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5It is quite possible that your teacher taught you misinformation. It happens a lot. It is also quite possible that you are losing your mind. That happens a lot too. But misremembering something is no sure sign of its happening. As Cecily observes in The Importance of Being Earnest, memory "usually chronicles the things that have never happened, and couldn't possibly have happened." – Brian Donovan Jul 28 '14 at 18:32
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@Brian: You'd best be careful about agreeing with OP's self-deprecation - I've been called to account for doing the same thing myself. – FumbleFingers Jul 28 '14 at 19:32
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@FumbleFingers Erm, not quite the same. – Araucaria - Him Jul 28 '14 at 19:41
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@FumbleFingers, I was not agreeing, but merely withholding judgment in the absence of adequate evidence. "No, you're not losing your mind" may be comforting, but may also be an unwarranted or incorrect assumption. – Brian Donovan Jul 28 '14 at 19:41
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@Brian: I was neither agreeing nor disagreeing in my (now censored) comment that occasioned that meta question. Apparently to some people, simply repeating someone else's words as used of themselves can be offensive. Presumably based on the principle that only negroes are allowed to use the n-word, I dunno. – FumbleFingers Jul 28 '14 at 19:50
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The OED does not mention diing and cites references such as this from 350 years ago:
1675 T. Brooks Golden Key 118 He that dyed on the Cross, was long a dying.
Die is an Early Middle English word (entered the language around 1100–1300), and was routinely spelled with a y:
... the word appears to have been in general use from the 12th cent., even in the s.w. dialects (see Napier in Hist. Holy Rood, E.E.T.S., 1894). The Middle English dēȝen, dēghen came regularly down to 1500 as deye, which was retained in the North as dey, dē, dee (still current from Lancashire to Scotland); but in standard English dēghe was in 14th cent. (in conformity with the common phonetic history of Old English eh, eah, eoh, as in dye, eye, fly, high, lie, nigh, thigh, etc.) narrowed to diȝe, dighe, whence the later dye, die.
Thus it's highly unlikely that the present participle was ever spelled without a y.
We cannot know whether you remember what your teacher said accurately or no; but if that is what you were taught, it appears to be wrong.
Andrew Leach
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