3mo ago

Do you use "mould" or "mold"?

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:

mould is the British spelling referring both meanings.
mold is the american spelling referring to both meanings.

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?

49 comments

Steve Mould obviously

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.

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.
- 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.
  
  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).

I use what you do

Moulding is the trim around walls and whatnot. Molding is when something is in the process of having mold growing on it.
- Wouldn't that be mouldering?
  
  Maybe. I honestly don't know. Not really my field of expertise.

I always thought mould was the fungus and to mold was to manipulate a material
- I'm Canadian, and we use a mix of British and American spellings, mostly depending on how we feel at the time of writing.
  This is how I use it. So one could mold mould if they were so inclined.
- I do this too, to keep them separate in my head. I get that they’re interchangeable.

I say mould because I'm English and that's just how it's spelled here (we also pronounce it with a U, pronouncing it without the U as mold would be...strange).
Not an overly exciting response I know, but there you go :P
- How do you pronounce the U? Do you pronounce mould like should, would, or could? Is your pronunciation of mould then closer to mud than old with an M in front?
  
  It's pronounced 'moeoueieueld'. You really need to emphasise the 'a' sound to get it right.
  
  Now I'm realizing, I don't pronounce the L in those words... Maybe they pronounce it liked mulled?

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.

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

"mould" should be pronounced the same as would or could

I do the same as you. Although I usually default to the UK's use of u's. Just feels right.

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

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.

I thought the same for the longest time. I blame playing tons of runescape as a kid.
I am an American so mold spelling is definitely what I ran into when referring to the fungus. Runescape is British English, so you used moulds all the time in crafting.

On a related tangent, because I see that this is mostly discussed to death, I dont get why Americans decided to merge other unrelated words.
For example, being exhausted and the rubber circle that cars and bikes use to roll smoothly are the same word in American English whereas we (UK) use different spellings.
Tire - Being exhausted
Tyre - Round rubber wheel thing
- Like many of the differences, I suspect that one came out of the attempts as English Spelling Reform, which took greater hold in the US. Ultimately, the process hasn't succeeded, but it has excised some of inconsistencies from the English. Though, it has also led to some confusion, as in the tire/tyre case.

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?

This one bugs me too. I want to differentiate!
This:
...is not this:
- I made a 3d printed tomato cube mold a while back and used "mold". It was a 50/50 shot

You have my vote for your interpretation, that had always been my understanding too.

Which oune wold yo souggest?
- ~~I suggest using two different spellings:~~
  ~~Mold is the fungus. To mould is to shape.~~
  Nvm I'm an idiot. Lol

i see mold i use clorox

Mold because I'm American

Dont both mean shape but only mold refers to the fungus?

I use "mold" for the fungus and the tool, "mould" for composted soil.

I've been confused about it in the past, but I eventually settled on mould if it grows and mold if it's taking shape. I'm willing to let the rest of the internet be wrong about it, though.

I am also aware that they are spelled the same, but I consciously use a U only for the organism.
For what it's worth, I'm Canadian, so nobody would bat an eye here at using either the American or British spelling of things.

ain't nobody got time for extra u's
- Colour would like a word with you.
  
  Nope. Color is absolutely fine
- They're great. I always use them.

Fox mulder

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

49 comments