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I've noticed the use of "don't" in place of "doesn't" in upper class dialogue in Georgette Heyer's historical romances, which take place around the regency of George IV (1811-1820). For example, the following appeared in Friday's Child (2008):

‘He don’t keep devilish good company,’ Mr Ringwood said stolidly.

I saw the same construct in The Moonstone (1868) by Wilkie Collins:

"It don't want a word, sir, from you."

While not correct in current usage, it appears that these phrases were correct at the time.

There are plenty of other posts about "don't" vs. "doesn't", but they seem to be about current usage, not historical usage. For example, this post refers to the use of "don't" in place of "doesn't" as non-standard English.

I would like to know when and where (and ideally why) "don't" was considered correct in place of "doesn't" and how/when it was supplanted.

Ellen Spertus
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  • @sumelic You're absolutely right. This is a duplicate. Do you recommend I delete my question or let someone mark it as a duplicate? – Ellen Spertus May 29 '17 at 01:23

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