Spider Hole (1941, 1970)

[Laurence Horn]

>"Camoufleur" is AFAIK an OK English word: it's in English dictionaries
>(MW3, EB Funk & Wagnalls). BTW, I don't see it as a headword in the French
>Academy dictionary (although it occurs in French on the Web, apparently in
>expected senses).
>
>"Camofleur" is a misspelling, I think: like "camoflage" which seems to be a
>frequent one ... maybe because of the abbreviation "camo"?
>
I'd guess the abbreviation and new spelling of "camoflage" both come
from the pronunciation, which usually has a schwa or open o in the
penult, never (in English) an [u].  An underlying "o", often
representing a linking vowel, is typical in such foreignish words,
while an "ou" is very rare, whence I'd wager the shift in both
pronunciation and spelling.  And since "camo(u)fleur" would be a
spin-off of "camo(u)flage", the same would apply to it.

Larry