William of What's it's Razor

[Goddlefrood]

> Carol:

> I've recently been enjoying the Occam's/Ockham's razor 
thread on the main list and started wondering about the 
variant spellings. I've always spelled it "Occam's," and 
Merriam-Webster Online gives "Occam's" as the main entry 
with "Ockham's" as an alternate spelling, but the placename 
is spelled "Ockham," and William himself is generally called 
William of Ockham, AFAIK.
 
> Does any one know whether one spelling is more correct than 
the other? Maybe "Occam" is an Americanism? (I don't suppose 
Noah Webster "improved" that spelling as he did by dropping 
the "u" in such words as "colour" and "behaviour." Or did he?)

Goddlefrood:

It's a simple case of long usage. Ockham was the original, but 
because phonetically it is the same as Occam and because our 
forebears on both sides of the Atlantic were quite loose about 
spelling the convention has now become Occam.

Other than in one post at main I've never seen it spelt Ockham, 
although strictly that would be correct as it was William of 
Ockham who devised the concept.

Not that I'm trying to colour your thinking, but there you have 
it. May it find favour with you ;-)