I’ve always thought that mold is the fungus, and to mould is to shape. When talking about it with my colleagues yesterday, I was surprised that this isn’t common. Most people use one of the two spellings to refer to both.

Doing a quick search on duckduckgo also confirms that:

In my quest to prove them wrong, I was surprised at how wrong I was… until I discovered a few people on the internet who said the same thing:

I’m not looking for what’s correct or incorrect anymore, I just find it very fascinating that there are some people who use the words similarly to me, but the vast majority of others who use it in a different way.

So: what’s the difference between mould and mold according to you?

  • Zubgub@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    7 days ago

    I thought the same for the longest time. I blame playing tons of runescape as a kid.

    I am an American so mold spelling is definitely what I ran into when referring to the fungus. Runescape is British English, so you used moulds all the time in crafting.

  • MrFunnyMoustache@lemmy.ml
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    7 days ago

    As someone who regularly uses both British and American English both at work and in my personal life, I sometimes mix them unintentionally.

    I almost always use the same spelling for either word and use context to make sure it is always clear which mold I am talking about.

    I do think there is value in distinguishing the words with different spelling, but without getting everyone to agree on which spelling would mean what, I think this won’t be very productive.

  • 𝚝𝚛𝚔@aussie.zoneEnglish
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    8 days ago

    I’ve always thought that mold is the fungus, and to mould is to shape.

    I actually do this too. Not because I think it’s correct as such, but because that way I am consistent and I know what I’m talking about when I read back previous text that I’ve written.

    I remember it by Mold = simplified English = simple organism.

  • stealth_cookies@lemmy.ca
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    8 days ago

    I use mold for everything, but don’t really bat an eye at using mould for the tool that is used to make parts which I see pretty often through my work.

  • AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.worldEnglish
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    8 days ago

    I use “mold” for both, and regard “mould” as the British spelling for both.

    But the etymologies are interesting—the verb comes from French modle, while the fungus comes from late Middle English mould. So if anything, your assumed distinction is etymologically reversed.

    • A Basil Plant@lemmy.worldOP
      0·
      8 days ago

      That seems to be the consensus online. But thanks for that tidbit! It feels even more bizarre now knowing that.

      I wonder why a handful of people think the way I presented in the post. Perhaps American/British influences in certain places? Reading books by british authors and books by american authors at the same time? Feels unlikely.

      • AbouBenAdhem@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        8 days ago

        You know that there are two unrelated words, and you’ve seen two different spellings—it’s a natural assumption that the latter stems from the former.

        Why so many people would pair them up the same (etymologically unsupported) way, I don’t know… maybe we’re used to correlating words relating to art with French, and assuming that words with “ou” come from French as well (and this case just happens to be an exception).

  • dan@upvote.au
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    8 days ago

    In Australia, I used to use them the opposite way as you: “mould” for the fungus, and “mold” to shape. These days I live in the USA and use “mold” for both.

  • SuiXi3D@fedia.io
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    8 days ago

    Moulding is the trim around walls and whatnot. Molding is when something is in the process of having mold growing on it.

  • BCsven@lemmy.ca
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    8 days ago

    If you browse Canadian tool shops in Southern Ontario, Canada you will see thrm named Tool and Mold, or Tool and Mould. Nobody agrees Lol