meaning - Difference between "publicly" and "publically"


I know publically appears as an incorrect spelling in most dictionaries (in fact as I type this up on my Safari browser it keeps trying to correct the spelling to publicly).


However I have seen the word spelled in that manner before in certain places so I did a search on Google and found that there is a definition for the spelling publically at dictionary.com and the free dictionary as well. The English wiktionary site considers it an alternate spelling.


Are both spellings valid or are there some subtle differences I am missing? Which version would you accept as correct in a spelling bee?



Answer



Publicly is certainly the commoner version, but publically is a logical alternative, mentioned in the OED with half a dozen citations from 1727 to 1998, so it can't really be called a mistake.


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