Talk:derringer

The usage note is utterly confusing and I’m not able to right it myself:

The spelling and capitalisation of the word has varied since the pistols were first designed, with Deringer being the original usage. In the late 1850s, misspellings added a double R to the name, Derringer, which remained capitalised. Lower case versions of both spellings were in use soon after. The fifth edition Webster's Collegiate Dictionary in 1937 lists the now common spelling of derringer with lower case D and a single R.

1. "misspellings added a double R to the name, Derringer"--in this sentence, the name should be spelled "Deringer", no?

2. "the now common spelling of derringer with lower case D and a single R"--I think the now common spelling is not with single R, but with double R; see the Wiktionary entry "deringer". You can also look up Deringer on Wikipedia: it’ll guide you to either "Deringer pistol" (a gun made by Henry Deringer) or "derringer" (the generic name for a gun of this type). Geke (talk) 10:30, 5 December 2014 (UTC)