Why are routers called rowters and not rooters?

I know how to read.

I just read a book.

This material is made of lead.

Lead, follow, or get out of the way.

Same spelling, different pronunciation.

RayG
 
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Professor Yaffle said:
In brit eng, it is root/rooter. We only prounounce the word rout as rowte.
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In Australia we say root for the road, but rowter for the computer thingie. We tend to follow US pronunciations when it comes to IT. This is convenient because, as MG1962 alluded to, asking someone in Australia "where's your rooter" could lead to a quite tense interchange. ;)
 
I also pronounce radiator with a long A sound though many of my fellow New Yawkers may not. I also say "rowt 80" but "root 66" mainly because of Depeche Mode.
 
GlennB said:
We would root a cable under the floor or through a duct, or pick a new root for the drive to work.
The box of electronics we're discussing is a rooter.

afaics it's always root when we're talking about a path or direction.

But then there's a rowter, which is a machine for carving complex shapes in wood. But that's derived from "rout" anyway.
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^This.

Though, I kind of like the sound of roteador, rather exotic.
 
It's related to the reason why the original phrase "eats roots and leaves" is much funnier than the American version, which changes the emphasis completely.

Yeah. "Rooter" just sounds weird in Australia.
 
See, that's what I was referring to. The American version is only funny because Americans don't understand what rooting is in Australia.

It's hard to tell which version came first. There's a book with the "shoots" title published 2003, while there's another with the "roots" title published 2005, but I'm pretty sure the phrase goes back further than either of them.

The "shoots" variation throws in the implication of random gunfire. What does it shoot? Why is it shooting these random things? It illustrates a difference between the American redneck and the Australian bogan. Both will consume food before engaging in the variable behaviour, and both will disappear after it. The redneck's focus is on discharging a firearm, while the bogan is more interested in sex.
 
In my experience, in the UK, when you speak to someone calling it the "Rowter" you know when you are talking to someone technically inept.
 
I've always said router as "rowter," as do most of the people I know, including people whose jobs revolve around networking and IT etc. I only hear "rooter" from Brits.
As far as roads I hear "root" and "rowt" interchangeably and haven't given it much thought. Similar to Pulvinar I usually say "rowt" for both the noun and verb. "What 'rowt' did you take?" etc., except in "proper nouns" like Route 66, etc. So, could be the song influencing local pronunciation...
 
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