I am a bit confused-confectionary or confectionery?

Nefertari

I saw a sweet shop with sign 'confectionary' and then one spelt 'ery'
which is it please?

Jay Mandal

Chambers shows both, but the 'ery' seems to be the sweet shop.

heather

e

Nefertari

Ok thanks. When is the one with 'a' used?

pbw

As far as I'm aware 'confectionary' is never used.

A confectioner makes confectionery, and that's all.

Jay Mandal

PBW, confectionAry is in the dictionary. It may just be something that's made.

pbw

So it is Jay. Maybe it just isn't in common use so much these days.

lexia

confectionary
c.1600 (n.) "confection maker," also "confection maker's shop," from confection. As an adj., from 1660s.

confectionery
1540s, "things made or sold by a confectioner," from confection + -ery. Of architectural ornamentation, from 1861.

Different from the rule for

stationary
1426, in relation to planetary motions, from L. stationarius, in classical L., "of a military station," from station

and

stationery
1727, from stationery wares (c.1680) "articles sold by a stationer," from stationer "seller of books and paper," 1311, from M.L. stationarius "stationary seller," from L. stationem (nom. statio) "station" (see station). Roving peddlers were more common in the Middle Ages;


I THINK I understand ... ...

OK, competition time :

Who can make the best sentence using all four words ?

:)

dora

confection sounds a bit too much like infection to me

urgh, what allergies can you suffer from, from eating toooo much confectioner, er, er, ar - y?

dora

or injection?

SilentTony

Alice skipped past her lover the confectionary who was busy filling in tax stationery about the amount of confectionery he'd sold while the economy had been stationary, so she decided to kiss the butcher instead.

Nefertari

I'm still confused

dora

hairy confectionary

I always thought it was confectionery.

Maybe it's one of those things in life that doesn't-really-matter?