Drownd is not a word

Posted on Aug 14, 2009 in Language | 1 comment

Why, yes... I *did* mean "drown"

Misery, they say, loves company. Well, so do lexiconical abominations like “acrost,” so I must do my part to expunge the non-word “drownd” from our collective vocabulary. Unlike “acrost,” which never sounds correct, “drownd” sounds like “drowned,” the past tense of drown. Maybe that’s why so many people say and spell this one wrong?

Here are four example sentences. One of these four is correct; the others are not:

1. “Babies can drownd in just a few inches of water.”
2. “My friend almost drowned in the pool yesterday.”
3. “Drownding would be such an awful way to die!”
4. “Without that lifeguard, I could have drownded!”

If number 2 struck you as normal while the others made you shudder: congratulations, you win! You should feel proud because there are definitely people who wouldn’t have batted an eye. A Google search for the non-word reveals as much. My favorite results? Those referring to Madonna’s song “Drownd World.” But I think Merriam-Webster’s definition sums it up best:

Main Entry: drownd

Pronunciation: \?drau?nd\

nonstandard variant of drown

Its quite simple: the verb is simply “to drown”

• Present tense: drown
• Simple present: drowns
• Present participle: drowning
• Past tense: drowned
• Past participle: drowned

Nary a “drownd” in the lot. And while I sincerely hope you never have to deal with the horrible subject of someone you know dying from liquid in their lungs, if you do, be sure not to heap insult upon (wet, fatal) injury by misspelling the word.

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