Bedevilling

/bɪˈdɛvəlɪŋ/ verb

Definition

British spelling of bedeviling; present participle actively causing trouble.

Etymology

British variant of bedeviling, with the double-l preserved in British English spelling conventions before adding -ing.

Kelly Says

The British 'bedevilling' with two l's shows how spelling variants diverged—Americans simplified to one l, while British English kept the doubled consonant, and both became standardized on opposite sides of the Atlantic.

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