Revised as of
1 July 2023
The word confusion over dairy and diary is more one of transposition with writers flipping the a and i about. Spellcheck is not going to pick up on inappropriate context, so you need to be aware.
That said, dairy refers to anything made from milk whether it’s from cows, sheep, goats, etc.
Diary — use that i (coming before the a) as a reminder that I am writing whether it’s one’s thoughts or feelings to noting daily events in one’s life.
Depending upon pronunciation, this Word Confusion pair can be an heterograph.
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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| Dairy | Diary |
|---|---|
Hard Cheeses by Eva K. is under the GFDL 1.2 or FAL licenses, via Wikimedia Commons. — Amazing the variety of dairy products that can be made. |
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Pocket Diary is in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. — Isaiah Goddard Hacker (1839-1925) a soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War, 1864, kept a diary. |
| Part of Grammar: | |
| Adjective; Noun
Plural for noun: dairies |
Noun
Plural: diaries |
| Adjective: [Attrib.] Containing or made from milk
[Jewish dietary law] Of or relating to dairy, in contrast to meat and meat products Noun:
|
A book in which one keeps a daily record of events, feelings, attitudes, and experiences that are usually private
A book for keeping such a record A book or pad containing pages marked and arranged in calendar order, in which to note appointments and the like |
| Examples: | |
| Adjective: The Joneses try to support local farmers and especially enjoy the organic dairy foods. Smith is a dairy farmer. Cheeses, butter, buttermilk, yogurt, sour cream, ice cream, and cottage cheese are all dairy products. Check the dairy case at the supermarket. Noun: We have an order in with the dairy to deliver a gallon of milk, a pint of cream, and half a pound of butter daily. The dairy is closing down next month. He avoids red meat, processed foods, and dairy in his diet. |
I resolved to keep a diary of events during the war.
I won’t forget, as I wrote it in my diary. Martha Ballard’s diary, in which she wrote almost every day for twenty years from January 1, 1785 to May 12, 1812, is quite useful for insight into early American history (Ballard). |
| Derivatives: | |
| Noun: dairying, dairymaid, dairyman | Noun: diarist |
| History of the Word: | |
| Middle English deierie is from deie meaning dairymaid.
In Old English dǣge meaning female servant, is of Germanic origin and related to the Old Norse deigja, also to dough and to the second element of the Old English hlǣfdige. |
Late 16th century from the Latin diarium, from dies meaning day. |
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 Dairy versus Diary
Apple Dictionary.com
Ballard, Martha. Martha Ballard’s Diary Online. Do History. Covers 1 January 1785 to 12 May 1182. <“http://dohistory.org/diary/>.
Dictionary.com: diary
If you’re curious, WikiHow has a post on “How To Write a Diary“.
Pinterest Photo Credits:
Double-Stuf-Oreos is Evan-Amos’ own work under the CC0 license and Milk Glass is Stefan Kühn’s own work under the CC-BY-SA-3.0 license; both are via Wikimedia Commons. A Person Writing on a Diary by Katya Wolf is in the public domain, via Pexels.
