orthographyword-choiceword-usagewriting
I'm a non-native speaker and I'd like to know if it has been grammatically acceptable in the UK or the US to write "best friend" as "bestfriend". I've seen such spelling used a lot on the Internet.
Has "bestfriend" been considered one word instead of two (best friend)? Or is it still incorrect to spell like so?
This seems like a good one for Ngram.
It looks like in British English moustache has always been the preferred spelling.
In American English, it's been more of a battle with mustache now in the lead.
So here's a combined view. Both are contenders in the English-speaking world, but clear preferences exist on opposite sides of the pond.
(Have to wonder if the peaks and valleys correspond to mustaches going in and out of vogue.)
In the late 1700's, English spelling wasn't really well standardized. In the early 1800's, America and Great Britain standardized their spellings separately. American spellings were heavily influenced by Noah Webster's dictionary, first published in 1828. He simplified the spellings of many words, and those simplified spellings became standard American English.
Best Answer
The words best and friend combine to form a compound word, that is best friend. 'Best' is an adjective and 'friend' is a noun. So best friend is an example of an adjective/noun compound word. Bestfriend, although accepted widely is somewhere awkward. 'Best friend' should be used. Both Oxford dictionary and Merriam Webster dictionary include the word 'best friend'. It is an example of open compound word.