Presumably because "garlicy" would be mispronounced as /gar.li.si/. English "c" represents /k/ in most contexts but before mid-to-high front vowels (i.e., "i", "e", and "y") it generally represents /s/.
Of course, English words ending in the /k/ sound usually aren't spelled with a "c" by itself. Garlic is somewhat unusual English spelling in that sense. One would expect garlick--I imagine that was a common variant spelling that for some reason was not selected as the standard.
yucky looks kinda garlicky too
ReplyDeletePresumably because "garlicy" would be mispronounced as /gar.li.si/. English "c" represents /k/ in most contexts but before mid-to-high front vowels (i.e., "i", "e", and "y") it generally represents /s/.
ReplyDeleteOf course, English words ending in the /k/ sound usually aren't spelled with a "c" by itself. Garlic is somewhat unusual English spelling in that sense. One would expect garlick--I imagine that was a common variant spelling that for some reason was not selected as the standard.
I'll garLICKy YOU!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I said it.
It's out there.