- What roots does the word paradice have?
- Why has it been changed to paradise and since when?
- Are there any other English words that had such a transformation?
Answer
Paradise was sometimes spelled with a C in Middle English, though it usually was spelled with S:
I wold not be in a folis paradyce. (Paston, 1462)
The S spelling was favored probably because of the etymology: both of its predecessors, Old French paradis and Latin paradīsus, are spelled with an S.
The time frame makes the reasoning behind the spelling pretty simple: spelling in Middle English wasn’t standardized, and the letters S and C both represent the same sound and were interchanged in many Middle English words. (It’s easy to find examples.) Looking at another word, spice, what is a C in Modern English could be a C, S, or even SC in the word in Middle English.
(Spice is also a word showing that the letters weren’t completely interchangeable. Cp– was not a valid onset spelling even in Middle English so you don’t find it ever spelled cpice or similar.)
Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : Erdinc Ay , Answer Author : Laurel