On 1 Aug, 15:20, Toom Tabard  wrote:
> On 1 Aug, 13:18, Marc  wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > Tom Crispin wrote:
>
> > > I used the spelling the insulter used.  I was going to qualify the
> > > spelling with *sic* but when I checked, both *paedophile* and
> > > *pedophile* have the same meaning.
>
> > Only if you are a Merkin or a moron!
>
> > OED
> > "  
> > paedo-
>
> >    Forming nouns with the sense ‘of a child or children’ (occas. spec.
> > ‘of a boy or boys’); (Biol.) forming nouns and corresponding adjectives
> > with the sense ‘of or relating to immature or juvenile forms of
> > organisms’, as paedogenesis, paedomorphosis.
>
> > ancient Greek"
>
> > "
> > Ped
>
> >      A1. Forming the names of classes of animals or mythical beings
> > distinguished by the kind or number of their feet (or analogous appendages).
>
> >      A2. Forming t
>
> > French -pède and its etymon classical (and post-classical) Latin
>
> > "
>
> > So it's not just a case of dropping a letter  and pretending it's the
> > same as the Merkins would have it, you are swopping from one langauge
> > and meaning to another.- Hide quoted text -
>
> see also OED:  'pedo - see paedo'
>
> and eg paederasty = pederasty
>
>
Should have added that these examples are both from concise OED 1964
on my desk. Looks like they've been  interchangeable in common English
usage for decades, rather than being recent moron or Merkin. Sorry
about that.

Toom