GLADIOLUS.
TO THE EDITOR Sxu, —In your Saturday’s issue I noticed in a paragraph under News in Brief that discussions still take place regarding the correct pronunciation of the name “Gladiolus.” A man at the Christchurch flower shop spoke of gla-di-oli and his friend bet him that the correct pronunciation was glaadi-oli with a long “ o.” The report goes on to say that the man who assented the “di” was correct. May I say they were both wrong? The word “ Gladiolus ” is derived from the Latin “gladius," meaning a sword, and gladiolus (dim), a little sword, and the word is pronounced in Latin glad-e-o-lus with the accent on the first syllable, the second and third vowels being short. Compare oleograph, radiograph, etc. If, as stated, “999 people out of 1000 pronounce the name of this familiar flower incorrectly,” it seems to me about time the 999 had some definite information on the subject. —I am etc., R. B. W. Dunedin, January 26.
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Otago Daily Times, Issue 21244, 27 January 1931, Page 6
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162GLADIOLUS. Otago Daily Times, Issue 21244, 27 January 1931, Page 6
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