Final U in English Words

Final U in English Words Final U in English Words Final U in English Words By Maeve Maddox The aphorism â€Å"English words don’t end in u,† is frequently invoked by spelling teachers as an aid in spelling such common words as, blue, clue, cue, due, flue, glue, hue, and true. The silent final e also rescues the following words from the onus of ending in u: construe, continue, ensue, imbue, and issue. The only two native English words that end in u are the pronouns thou and you, but they probably shouldn’t count because they really end in ou. There remain 50 or so â€Å"English† words that do end in u. I put English in quotation marks because most of these u-words obviously came undigested from some other language, most from French. I’ve arranged them in three groups. I won’t provide definitions for the first group because they are fairly common. 1. U-words you may have come across, depending on your age and reading habits bayou beau bureau caribou chapeau chateau froufrou gnu guru haiku impromptu jujitsu kudzu lieu lulu manitou menu milieu muumuu nouveau parvenu plateau portmanteau sou tableau tiramisu tofu trousseau tutu 2. U-words with special applications acajou: A tree related to the cashew. bateau: a flat-bottomed boat used in the bayous. bijou This French word for â€Å"jewel† was popular as a name for movie theaters. eau:This French word for â€Å"water† appears on bottles of eau-de-cologne. ecru: the color of unbleached linen. Jehu: a fast driver. In some old novels it’s used as a generic name for a coachman. The reference is to Kings 9:20: â€Å"And the watchman told, saying, He came even unto them, and cometh not again: and the driving is like the driving of Jehu the son of Nimshi; for he driveth furiously.† kinkajou: a fruit-eating quadruped of Central and South America, allied to the raccoon. landau: A four-wheeled carriage, the top of which, being made in two parts, may be closed or thrown open. Aficionados of period novels will be familiar with this word. ormolu: gilded bronze or a gold-colored alloy of copper, zinc, and tin used to decorate furniture, make ornaments, etc. pilau: a dish, partly of Middle Eastern, partly and ultimately of South Asian origin. poilu: a soldier in the French army, especially one who fought in World War I. rondeau: a short poem of medieval French origin. rouleau: A length or tube of rolled fabric used as a trimming on a garment. sadhu: In India: a holy man, a sage. I may have learned this one by reading Kim. tonneau: The rounded rear body of a motor-car (originally with the door at the back); the rear part of a car with front and rear compartments or of an open car. vermoulu: worm-eaten. 3. U-words that are clippings or slang flu: from influenza snafu: I’ll let you look this one up. thru: an alternative spelling of through that may or may not become standard some day. 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:How to Structure A Story: The Eight-Point ArcBest Websites to Learn EnglishIs Your Novel "Mystery," "Thriller," or "Suspense"?