why there is d in fridge but not in refrigerator my favorite question
Answers
The English language is full of oddities and inconsistencies that don't always make sense and periodically result in unusual spellings or pronunciations. While this can make English a difficult language to learn, even those who are fluent may find themselves searching for answers every now and then or relying on spellcheck for assistance. The appliance world is no exception when it comes to these spelling anomalies, and if you've ever wondered why is there a "d" in "fridge" but not in "refrigerator", you're not alone. The team of skilled professionals at Mr. Appliance® is pleased to provide you with an explanation for this and many other eccentricities associated with the English languag.
While the concept of artificial refrigeration was first introduced in 1748 by Scottish professor William Cullen and the first working models developed nearly a century later, the words refrigerate and refrigerator can be traced back to the early 1600s. The word refrigerator originates from the Latin verb refrigerare which was derived from the Latin adjective frigus, meaning cold.
As is the case with many multi-syllable words, as this household appliance gained popularity an abbreviated version was born, and as early as 1920 the word "frig" can be found in written publications—although it is likely to have been used in spoken language much earlier. Since both the technology and the jargon were relatively new it was up to those writers to determine its spelling, and it is most likely that the word was changed from "frig" to "fridge" in order to mimic the spelling of similar words that had the same sound, such as bridge, ledge, dodge, fudge, and more.