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maintenance |
The main tenants of this word are "main" and "tenance" even though it comes from the verb "maintain." English orthography at its most spiteful. |
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maneuver |
Man, the price you pay for borrowing from French is high. This one goes back to French main + oeuvre "hand-work," a spelling better retained in the British spelling, "manoeuvre." |
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medieval |
The medieval orthography of English even lays traps for you: everything about the MIDdle Ages is MEDieval or, as the British would write, mediaeval. |
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memento |
Why would something to remind of you of a moment be spelled "memento?" Well, it is. |
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millennium
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Here is another big word, large enough to hold two double consonants, double [l] and double [n]. |
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miniature |
Since that [a] is seldom pronounced, it is seldom included in the spelling. This one is a "mini ature;" remember that. |
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minuscule |
Since something minuscule is smaller than a miniature, shouldn't they be spelled similarly? Less than cool, or "minus cule." |
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mischievous |
This mischievous word holds two traps: [i] before [e] and [o] before [u]. Four of the five vowels in English reside here. |
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misspell |
What is more embarrassing than to misspell the name of the problem? Just remember that it is mis + spell and that will spell you the worry about spelling "spell." |
