Why do we spell it "Fridge" but "Refrigerator"

Why do we park in the driveway, yet drive on the parkway?

Probably short for "Frigidaire" and not "refrigerator."

R2, THAT makes sense. Thanks

Because obviously if you spelled it "frige" people would think it had a long i like "side."

"Can You Spell Refrigerator?

While the concept of artificial refrigeration was first introduced in 1748 by Scottish professor William Cullen and the first working models developed nearly a century later, the words refrigerate and refrigerator can be traced back to the early 1600s. The word refrigerator originates from the Latin verb refrigerare which was derived from the Latin adjective frigus, meaning cold.

As is the case with many multi-syllable words, as this household appliance gained popularity an abbreviated version was born, and as early as 1920 the word "frig" can be found in written publications—although it is likely to have been used in spoken language much earlier. Since both the technology and the jargon were relatively new it was up to those writers to determine its spelling, and it is most likely that the word was changed from "frig" to "fridge" in order to mimic the spelling of similar words that had the same sound, such as bridge, ledge, dodge, fudge, and more."

That may be true, r5, but "frig" has meant "fuck" or "masturbate" since the 1500s, so I'm sure editors weren't keen on using the "frig" version.

So you know it should rhyme with “Bridge”.

I always say "icebox".

You carry a pocketbook, don't you, r8?

The "dge" is to keep the soft "g" sound.

"ge" alone should keep it soft. A hard g is usually spelled with a gh.

Lots of variation in European languages.

(In Spain, 'frigorifico' or 'nevera'; and 'fridge' occasionally; "el refrigerador," though, is Latin American)

What's in the Westinghouse?

What is this thing you speak of?