Is it pinecone or pinecone? One word or two? Thanks, Ang
Answer
Good question! Pine cone is a compound word that can be written with a space (called an "open compound") or without a space between the two words (called "closed"). If you look on the Internet or in online language corpora, you will find that this word is quite common in both forms. Likewise, in some dictionaries, such as our own Merriam-Webster’s, it’s presented as one word, but in others, it’s presented as two.
The words lampshade and website (or lamp shade and web site) are in a similar situation: with open and closed forms both in current use. And there are many other compounds like this.
In a case like this, you can assume that the compound is gradually moving towards one form or the other, open or closed, but for now, both forms are usually considered correct, so you may choose the one that you prefer. HOWEVER, there are two important rules to remember:
Within a piece of writing, choose one form or the other and stay with it all the way through. Be consistent!
If the person (or people) you are writing for have expressed a preference, it’s best to follow that preference, so that your readers don’t get distracted by style issues and pay less attention to the content of your writing.
