Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Language/2018 September 7

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September 7

"Lightsaber" in British English

What is the correct spelling of "lightsaber" in British English? We all know that the real-life type of sword is called "saber" in American English and "sabre" in British English. But "lightsaber" is its own, made-up word. 50.81.143.144 (talk) 19:50, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

Was it ever spelled on-screen in any of the films? ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 23:51, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

Wiktionary has an entry for lightsabre:  1. British standard spelling of lightsaber. 107.15.157.44 (talk) 04:17, 8 September 2018 (UTC)

So does the Oxford Dictionary - https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/lightsabre.

And here's an Australian site telling me how to build one - https://www.kotaku.com.au/2015/02/star-wars-bladebuilders-let-you-craft-your-own-impractical-lightsaber/ (Weirdly, that link uses the "er" ending, but the article uses "re".)

However, the BBC goes with "lightsaber", see Star Wars: The blockbuster made in Borehamwood. Alansplodge (talk) 14:37, 9 September 2018 (UTC)

It should be noted that the word is never spelled in the films in English orthography. Indeed, there is an alphabet all of its own used in Star Wars, Aurebesh. Because the films never spell it in any way, there is no established orthography to go on. --Jayron32 01:40, 10 September 2018 (UTC)

Ah, so I haven't been wrong to spell it as two words all these years. --76.69.47.228 (talk) 16:37, 10 September 2018 (UTC)