Pharaoh or Pharoah

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Grammarist

Pharaoh is the title given to ancient Egyptian rulers. Pharaoh is also used as a proper noun in the Bible. Today, referring to someone as a pharaoh means that he is a tyrant. The adjective form is pharaonic.

Pharaoh comes from the Egyptian pr-‘o, which means great house.

American Pharoah is a race horse who is the twelfth Triple Crown Winner, having won the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes. He is the first Triple Crown winner since Affirmed in 1978. American Pharoah’s name was picked in a contest held by the racing manager, the original entry was misspelled and entered into the Jockey Club’s registration site with the misspelling. Now, American Pharoah has become a trademarked name with the incorrect spelling of Pharoah instead of the correct spelling, pharaoh.

Examples

Visitors to the Hockamock and Wampanoag Kennel Clubs’ annual dog shows, being held today through Sunday, June 25 to 28, at the Crackerbarrel Fairgrounds, will be afforded a great chance to see a rare breed: the pharaoh hound. (The Sun Chronicle)

It has been said that the period between 760 BCE to 656 BCE in Egypt was the ‘age of the black pharaohs’. (Popular Archaeology)

‘The internet told me I was going to be an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh,’ the 40-year-old told Sunday Style magazine of his role in the Ridley Scott directed film. (The Daily Mail)

His next start less than a month away, Triple Crown winner American Pharoah continued preparations Monday with what Zayat Stables racing manager Justin Zayat called an “easy” workout. (The Courier-Journal)

California Chrome can commiserate with American Pharoah, whose name was misspelled on his Triple Crown blanket donned after Saturday’s Belmont Stakes. (The Courier-Journal)

As American Pharoah gained prominence, his owners — Zayat Stables, led by Ahmed Zayat — were asked about the seemingly mistaken rendering of pharaoh. (The New York Times)

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