Many feminine words are commonly mistakenly granted to masculine, and vice versa. Some words have changed gender over time, which sometimes explains the mistake. But most often the mistake is made because these words begin with a vowel or a h dumb, end with a e silent or used in the plural.
Be that as it may, the pitfalls are numerous and errors, beyond the classics such as “a beautiful plane”, frequent. For example, we say well a granule, although one song and one TV show used the word in the feminine.
The words scallop, tentacle and sandwich are male. The long tentacles of the octopus. We also say a dumbbell, a scandal. Asphalt is also a masculine name that is often seen in the feminine. Asphalt softened by heat. And asbestos. Asbestos is dangerous for health. Unraveled, which is mostly used in the plural, is masculine. Get in trouble with the law.
Among the other masculine words that are believed to be feminine, there is also den, apogee, armistice, money, elevator, asterisk, asthma, omen, autograph, encircles, scent, jam, intermission, discount, highlighted, hemisphere, hieroglyph, holocaust, badge, interlude, interval, pillow, toe, petal, pore, termite, testicle and trill.
Among the feminine words that are believed to be masculine, we find: algebra, alluvium, alveolus, anagram, apostrophe, apotheosis, clay, artery, atmosphere, catacombs, bruise, loophole, clash, epithet, species, flaccid (alcohol), fiberglass, massacre, hernia, octave, ode, killer whale, spelling, darkness, about-face and volute.
The case of trampoline
Although the usage has been variable and the feminine is common in the language spoken in Quebec, the substantive trampoline is now considered a male name by most reference books. For reasons of standardization, Press, it is always used in the masculine. Jump on a trampoline. Trampoline has been an Olympic sport since the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
Georgie or Georgia?
Question: I have a possibly erroneous memory of my youth. It seems to me that at the time, we wrote Georgia to designate the American state, to distinguish it from Georgia, the European country on the edge of the Black Sea. Now, today, in Press, I see Georgia when we talk about the South American state. Has the rule changed over time?
Reply
Many people believe that this distinction should be made, not least because the state is named after King George II, but this is not the case. Dictionaries Robert and Larousse write both names well with an acute accent, just like the Office québécois de la langue française and Ramat typography. We can see on the Radio-Canada website that the crown corporation distinguishes between the state (Georgia) and the country (Georgia). But other media, including Press, do not.
It is unlikely that the two places will be confused in an article; the context will suffice to distinguish them, as can be seen with the following two examples: Georgia opens investigation into pressure from Trump. In Georgia, decisive local elections after Saakashvili’s arrest.