How To Spell Renown

How To Spell Renown How To Spell Renown How To Spell Renown By Maeve Maddox When I saw the phrase â€Å"world-renouned architect E. Fay Jones† in a local newspaper, I wondered if it could be more than a one-time typo, so I did a Web search to see if anyone else is spelling renown as renoun or renowned as renouned. I wasn’t too bothered to find the misspelling renoun on sites like TripAdvisor and Yelp, but I was surprised to find it on university sites and in published books. Here are four examples from such sources: INCORRECT: Dr. Angelillo had the distinct privilege to train under the auspices of Dr. Angelo Taranta, a  world renoun  Rheumatologist at Cabrini Medical Center in N.Y.C.,  The Hardcore Facts: What Every Athlete Needs to Know Today about Sports, iUniverse, 2009. CORRECT : Dr. Angelillo had the distinct privilege to train under the auspices of Dr. Angelo Taranta, a  world-renowned  rheumatologist at Cabrini Medical Center in N.Y.C. INCORRECT: World-Renouned Flutists Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway Perform in the Kimmel Center’s World Pop Mix Series- Lights up, Kimmel Center of the Performing Arts. CORRECT : World-Renowned Flutists Sir James and Lady Jeanne Galway Perform in the Kimmel Center’s World Pop Mix Series INCORRECT: Cap Jazz Series: An annual series featuring world renouned jazz artists that represent both traditional and contemporary styles.- Capilano University (Canada). CORRECT : Cap Jazz Series: An annual series featuring world-renowned jazz artists that represent both traditional and contemporary styles. INCORRECT: Prior to USC, Chef held positions as Executive Chef for SBE, the Royale Group, Innovative Dining Group the world renouned Citrine in Hollywood, CA.- USC Hospitality (University of Southern California) CORRECT : Prior to USC, Chef held positions as Executive Chef for SBE, the Royale Group, Innovative Dining Group the world-renowned Citrine in Hollywood, CA. The adjective world-renowned means â€Å"familiar to people all over the world.† It is hyphenated. As a noun, renown is â€Å"the fact or condition of being widely known or talked about.† Renown entered English in the 14th century from French. It entered the language spelled renoun, but by Shakespeare’s time it was spelled with a w. The spelling renown was well established by the end of the 17th century. The OED’s most recent example of renown used as a verb is dated 1920, but I found one from 2014 on a poker site: â€Å"It was by the age 21, he renowned himself for his victory by entering as an amateur player, who made a record in winning the main event at the younger age.† The use of renown as a transitive verb is defensible, but it sounds odd to me. The OED mentions the use of renown as an adjective, labeling the usage â€Å"chiefly North American,† and provides citations from The Nebraska Bee-keeper (1893), Ebony (1965), The Nairobi Daily Nation (1989), and The Chicago Tribune (2008). Here’s the example from the Tribune: The $50 million Crystal Bridges Museum was designed by renown Israeli-American architect Moshe Safdie. I’m an American speaker and this use of renown in place of renowned strikes me as jarringly incorrect- Chicago Tribune notwithstanding. Bottom line: The preferred spellings are renown, renowned, and world-renowned. And for all practical purposes, renown is not an adjective. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 Classes and Types of PhrasesHow to Play HQ Words: Cheats, Tips and TricksAppropriate vs. Apropos vs. Apt