Calling all Massholes: Is it -boro or -borough?
A dozen Massachusetts communities have names that end in the suffix. Which is your preferred spelling?
Communities across the Commonwealth are no stranger to unique spellings and pronunciations.
As any out-of-towner might ask, is Reading pronounced red-ing or reed-ing? Is Worcester known as war-chest-er or wuster? And don’t even get us started with Scituate, Billerica, or Leominster.
But what about the -boro/-boroughs? A dozen Massachusetts communities have names that end in the suffix – 11 of which seem to prefer -borough in most official capacities. Though, it’s important to note that most of these communities use both spellings interchangeably.
So, which is it?
For a future Wickedpedia story, we want to delve deeper into that history. But before we do, we want to hear from you.
Readers, setting aside any official ruling by these municipalities, which spelling do you prefer? Let us know in the survey below or email us at [email protected], and your response may appear in an upcoming Boston.com article.
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Have a question about Greater Boston or New England you’ve always wondered about but never thought to ask? Boston.com’s Wickedpedia series aims to track down the answers to these long-burning (often random) reader questions — the more obscure the better. Learn more via some past reporting below:
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