Dictionary
Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.
eye-word en · NOUN
Meanings
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A word encountered more often in writing than in speech, and thus liable to be pronounced incorrectly.
We may hesitate whether "churl" is to be pronounced with a k or with a soft ch sound, because we do not use the word commonly in speech and hence it is becoming more of an eye-word than an ear-word.
1908, Edward Kirby Putnam, Spelling Reform and Authority in Language: A Paper Read Before the Contemporary Club, Davenport, Iowa, December 26, 1907, page 7:
Forms