Revised as of
7 Oct 2022
This one was a query of my own. Tort vs torte is not a word confusion I come across too often, and I was curious. Shockingly enough, it was an easy (and short!) explanation, and I assumed my Internet search for the appropriate images would be the same.
But instead of the legal papers I was expecting to see, there were acres and acres of lovely looking cakes, you know, what are supposed to be tortes. I was appalled at how many people are totally clueless that it’s the torte that’s the yummy cake — cake and torte both end in e, so there’s a hint.
I’m also curious to know if more tortes were served instead of torts, if the courts would be any sweeter. Er, I mean, if they’d be more amenable to a sweeter judgment.
Word Confusions . . .
. . . started as my way of dealing with a professional frustration with properly spelled words that were out of context in manuscripts I was editing as well as books I was reviewing. It evolved into a sharing of information with y’all. I’m hoping you’ll share with us words that have been a bête noire for you from either end.
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| Tort | Torte |
|---|---|
|
Al Odah v Bush is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — This court case is part of the history of the Alien Tort Act. |
Sacher Tort is Geo Swan‘s own work under the CC-BY-SA-3.0 license, via Wikimedia Commons. — This torte looks yummy! |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Noun
Plural: torts |
Noun
Plural: tortes, torten |
| [Law] A wrongful act, not including a breach of contract or trust, that results in injury to another’s person, property, reputation, or the like, and for which the injured party is entitled to compensation | A sweet cake or tart |
| Examples: | |
| Tort is the legal term for an injury, as in tort law.
O.J. Simpson was acquitted in criminal court of murder but later found liable for the tort of wrongful death. Tort law is different from criminal law. |
I adore sacher torte.
Tortes are usually baked in a springform pan. The Hungarian Dobos torte is made with six layers of homemade sponge cake and chocolate buttercream and topped with wedges of crisp caramel-topped cake. |
| History of the Word: | |
| Middle English in the general sense of wrong, injury, is from the Old French which derived from the medieval Latin tortum meaning wrong, injustice.
A neuter past participle of the Latin torquere meaning to twist. |
From the German Torte which came via the Italian from the late Latin torta meaning round loaf, cake. |
C’mon, get it out of your system, bitch, whine, moan . . . which words are your pet peeves? Also, please note that I try to be as accurate as I can, but mistakes happen or I miss something. Email me if you find errors, so I can fix them . . . and we’ll all benefit!
Satisfy your curiosity about other Word Confusions on its homepage or more generally explore the index of self-editing posts. You may also want to explore Book Layout & Formatting Ideas, Formatting Tips, Grammar Explanations, Linguistics, Publishing Tips, the Properly Punctuated, Writing Ideas and Resources, and Working Your Website.
Resources for Tort versus Torte
Apple Dictionary.com
Pinterest Photo Credits
Eierlikörtorte is Dr. Bernd Gross’ own work under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license and Golden Gavel by walknboston (Flickr: Gavel) is under the CC BY 2.0 license. Both are via Wikimedia Commons.
