65

Merriam-Webster lists both ˈrüt and ˈrau̇t as possible pronunciations for route but only ˈrau̇-tər for router.

Is it really wrong to pronounce router as 'rüter ?

Lauren
  • 275
stacker
  • 3,793
  • 1
    good question :). – Anonymous Type Sep 29 '10 at 23:51
  • 2
    So, Rowter for my US peeps. Rooter for UK peeps. Both are correct depending on where you live. It's just another Potato/Tomato difference between British and American English. If you think about it Rooter makes more sense as in to Route packets of data from one point to another. But whatever -_- each to their own. –  May 05 '12 at 21:24

7 Answers7

74

There are two different kinds of things called a "router", with two different pronunciations, originating from two different verbs "route" and "rout". The confusing part of this is that the two pronunciations overlap the two different things.

alt text

A router as above (computer thing, from verb "route"), or anything else which routes something, is "rooter" or "rowter" depending on how you pronounce "route" (US English has both "root" and "rowt", British English has only "root")

alt text

A router (woodworking tool, from verb "rout", an electrical one is shown above) is "rowter", never "rooter", in both the US and the UK and other countries. The dictionary entry may be referring to the wood tool only.

Source: Oxford Online Dictionary & Cambridge Dictionary

Anand Kumar
  • 103
  • 8
    I have never heard "router" pronounced differently for these two things. FWIW, I'm in the US. – aphoria Sep 02 '10 at 08:41
  • 3
    @aphoria: Both "rowter"? –  Sep 02 '10 at 08:45
  • @aphoria - Over on the eastern edge of the pond what Shinto says would certainly be correct. – Brian Hooper Sep 02 '10 at 11:18
  • @Brian: how do you think it is incorrect now? –  Sep 02 '10 at 12:03
  • Good post, nice images. – Humphrey Bogart Sep 02 '10 at 13:23
  • 2
    @Shinto - which dictionary are you referring to in your answer? – JohnFx Sep 02 '10 at 14:39
  • 18
    I don't think there is anyone in the US who calls the electronic device a "rooter" rather than "rowter". – Kosmonaut Sep 02 '10 at 16:56
  • @Shinto - I don't think it is incorrect in any way, but I don't know what people call these things in America, so I wouldn't presume to have an opinion on the matter. – Brian Hooper Sep 02 '10 at 20:45
  • @JohnFx: I did not refer to any dictionary in preparing this answer. –  Sep 02 '10 at 23:55
  • 1
    Both sound like "shout". – aphoria Sep 03 '10 at 15:04
  • 5
    I knew a guy in university, who spoke Canadian English (like me) and who called it a "rooter". Drove me crazy. He's the only one I've ever heard say that. – Mr. Shiny and New 安宇 Sep 08 '10 at 17:06
  • Probably should be pronounced rooter, but yeah rowter is alot nicer. – Anonymous Type Sep 29 '10 at 23:54
  • 7
    The computer network device is pronounced "rowter" in the US and "rooter" in the UK (speaking as a US network engineer who has had many discussions with UK colleagues) – John Satta Dec 19 '10 at 23:33
  • 2
    Wait, British network admins actually say rooter‽ :-o – Synetech Feb 22 '11 at 05:22
  • 6
    @Synetech - yep, the network device is a rooter because it puts packets on the correct route - as in route 66. The woodwork tool is a row-ter because it removes wood in the same chaotic manner as a 'rout' does in military parlance – mgb Apr 18 '11 at 23:04
  • @Martin, you do realize that a lot of people pronounce travel lines like route 66 as r-out right? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of an airplane being re-rooted, only re-r-outed. – Synetech Apr 22 '11 at 21:30
  • @Synetech - yes it was a slight dig, AE say r-out except for root66, probably because of the song – mgb Apr 22 '11 at 21:39
  • 3
    I believe there are some Americans who currently pronounce the noun route as "root" and the verb route as "rowt". This may have been influenced by the electronic device being called a "rowter." In my part of the country, airplanes often get "re-rowted," as @Synetech says, but highway names and travel plans are almost always "roots." – Peter Shor May 16 '11 at 00:48
  • 2
    The Route 66 song also refers to the city of "Saint Louie", so it probably shouldn't be taken as a guide to accepted pronunciation of things :) – slim Dec 13 '11 at 10:57
  • @Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 A rooter is someone that digs up roots, and thus rhymes with footer. It is not a common word. – tchrist Nov 01 '12 at 23:55
  • @tchrist: root, like those things that keep the tree in the soil, and foot, those odd-shaped things at the end of your legs, have completely different vowels for me. So the "root" in "rooter" would rhyme with boot, scoot, loot, and flute. – Mr. Shiny and New 安宇 Nov 02 '12 at 00:14
  • 1
    Australian's, despite their UK heritage, are unfortunately increasingly using the American pronunciation despite pronouncing "route" the UK way.. :( – markmnl Mar 18 '14 at 05:37
  • @tchrist - I don't know whether Mr.ShinyandNew安宇 considers himself to be a 'foreigner'. However as a native British English speaker from birth and throughout my life, I rhyme those words in exactly the same way he does. Am I a foreigner? – chasly - supports Monica Oct 11 '15 at 21:58
  • "The Internet for Dummies" (2nd ed), written by USA authors and published by IDG, a USA publisher, in 1994 on actual paper (I know, I know) states i.a.: ... this kind of router is usually pronounced "ROOter,"because a "ROWter" is something you use in a woodworking shop (except in Australia.) Yeah, a LOT of the contents of that book is now obsolete.... – frIT Aug 10 '23 at 09:08
21

The New Oxford American Dictionary (NOAD) reports that router has two different meanings.

router 1 /ˈraʊdər/
noun
A power tool with a shaped cutter, used in carpentry for making grooves for joints, decorative moldings, etc.

router 2 /ˈraʊdər/
noun
A device that forwards data packets to the appropriate parts of a computer network.

In both the cases, the pronunciation is the same.

As comparison, the pronunciation of route (as reported from the NOAD) is /rut/, /raʊt/; the pronunciation of rout is /raʊt/.

In British English, the word is pronounced /ˈraʊtə/ when it has the first meaning, and /ˈruːtə/ in the second case.

apaderno
  • 59,185
  • 13
    @Shinto Sherlock: Your answer says the opposite of what I am saying, as you say that the word is pronounced differently basing on the meaning; I reported that in American English that is not true. – apaderno Sep 02 '10 at 10:49
  • 8
    Despite the votes so far I agree with kiamlauluno. This is what I have experienced in common usage and he backs it up with a solid citation. However, personally I have always felt that the networking device should be called a 'root-er' because it routes data. Plus that song route-66 has me all screwed up. – JohnFx Sep 02 '10 at 14:38
  • 1
    kiamlaluno, you're using the IPA version of the NOAD (are you on a Mac by any chance?). The diacritical version, which is also the one found in the NOAD WordWeb add-on, says:

    "router 1 |ˈroutər| noun a power tool with a shaped cutter, used in carpentry for making grooves for joints, decorative moldings, etc. router 2 |ˈroōtər; ˈroutər| noun a device that forwards data packets to the appropriate parts of a computer network."

    I have never, however, heard any American call a router(2) "rooter" instead of "rowter."

     – user706 Sep 02 '10 at 18:35
  • 1
    I use the Mac OS X Dictionary; the pronunciation I reported is the pronunciation shown when I select American IPA in the preferences of the application; when I select British IPA, I obtain a different pronunciation (the British one). – apaderno Sep 02 '10 at 22:05
  • Do you have the "US English (Diacritical)" option? – user706 Sep 03 '10 at 10:13
  • The Oxford English Dictionary has ˈruːtə (computing) and raʊtə (power tool). There is a definite locale issue here. – Rowland Shaw Sep 04 '10 at 08:21
  • The pronunciation I report is the one I get when I select American English (IPA); as far as I know, the pronunciation |ˈraʊdər| is American English, as it is the pronunciation |ˈɪdəli| for Italy (notice how the t is pronounced for both the words and compare it with |əˈtæljən|, the pronunciation of Italian). When I report the pronunciation reported by the NOAD, I am always reporting the pronunciation of a word in American English (as I didn't select _British English (IPA) as pronunciation). – apaderno Sep 04 '10 at 09:34
  • I know but there is another option called US English (Diacritical) which doesn't use IPA but some other custom symbols (like Merriam Webster) – user706 Sep 07 '10 at 09:52
10

Where I live both things are called "rowter" even though we say "root" 66, so if they lived in the U.S. That would be standard. If they said "rooter" it might sound like a thing used to clean drains.

Picturepocket
  • 1,756
5

A router (rooter) routes. A router (rauter) routs.

To my ear, the American pronunciation is really grating.

Concrete Gannet
  • 1,848
  • 4
    Sorry, eh. However, be aware that not all USAmericans use "rowter" -- some do use "rooter". I was recently in a Cisco networking class where the instructor, a longtime Las Vegas resident originally from Maryland, said "rooter." Much to the consternation of the predominately Southern US group. – jbelacqua Mar 18 '11 at 16:45
  • 1
    +1 for noting the root (!) of the word. It should be added that most Americans pronounce "route" to rhyme with "rout", so their pronunciation is consistent. British usage, despite being what I use, is no more "correct" than American. – slim Dec 13 '11 at 10:55
5

I was born in the US. I pronounce the computer apparatus "rooter" as in "hooter". I just had a manager at work try to correct me today, but I stuck to my guns.

Hugo
  • 67,535
Regina Moultrie
  • 51
  • 1
  • 1
3

A rooter is used to clean pipes (specifically to remove roots, or other obstructions).

Because that pronunciation exists, router is pronounced as indicated in the other answers.

jcolebrand
  • 2,517
  • +1 for pointing out the origin of the word for fixing pipes. Even though it's almost totally unrelated to the question. – wfaulk Aug 14 '11 at 14:20
0

The Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary (CALD) does not include the word 'router'

However, the meaning of route has been described as the following:

route UK /rut/ US /rut/ , UK /raʊt/ noun [ C ]

  1. a particular way or direction between places The route we had planned took us right across Greece.
    I live on a bus route so I can easily get to work.
  2. a method of achieving something A college education is often the best route to a good job.
  3. US ( UK round ) a set of regular visits that you make to a number of places or people, especially in order to take products as part of your job

route UK /rut/ US /rut/ , UK /raʊt/ verb [ T usually + adv/prep ]
to send Deliveries are routed via/by way of London.

Since the CALD did not specify from which sound the word 'router' is originated, so my conclusion is 'router' can be pronounced as 'ruter' or 'rauter' according to UK pronunciation! However, if the company which produced the device pronounces it as a 'rauter' then it is 'rauter' otherwise it is 'ruter'.

RegDwigнt
  • 97,231
Alex
  • 1