Orthography – Is ‘Chuse’ a Spelling Mistake or Historical Spelling?

historical-changeorthography

I am currently reading Emma, by Jane Austen. The version I am reading is the digitized ebook version and in chapter 12 the word choose is spelled chuse:

"My dear Isabella," exclaimed he, hastily, "pray do not concern
yourself about my looks. Be satisfied with doctoring and coddling
yourself and the children, and let me look as I chuse."

Since I don't have the physical book, I am unable to determine if this spelling is an error introduced during the digitization process, which is sometimes the case. If it is part of the original, is this spelling correct for the time period or is it a spelling mistake?

Best Answer

'Chuse' was actually a variant spelling which went out-of-style around 1840, after enjoying singnificant popularity in the 1700s.

Since your novel was published in 1815, I'd say it's not an error.

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Link for some example usages from Google Books.

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