Sulfur, Sulfa ----- Sulphur?

Claude Sweet
Wed, 09 Nov 2005 15:01:51 PST

Sulfa is a drug.

Definition of sulfa drug in the Online Dictionary. Meaning of sulfa 
drug. What does sulfa drug mean? sulfa drug synonyms, sulfa drug 

The spelling of sulphur is "sulfur" in the USA and now that IUPAC has 
decided it has jurisdiction over the British English language (as 
distinct from American English) as well as nomenclature, the UK is 
expected to use the "f" form of the word.

Claude Sweet
San Diego, CA

Paul Tyerman wrote:

>At 04:36 AM 10/11/2005, you wrote:
>>Although mistaken about sulfur vs. sulfa, sulfur in both elemental 
>>and ionic form is strongly anti microbial.  I use a good bit of 
>>sulfur on my plants for fungus control. In the soil, I don't imagine 
>>one would find large quantities of sulfur in these forms.  So 
>>although sulfur is an anti-microbial in its own right, I've never 
>>shied from applying some elemental sulfur to my blueberries.
>I'm sorry, but I have to ask....... what exactly is "Sulfa" (never 
>heard the word before) and for that matter what exactly is 
>"Sulfur"?  The element is called Sulphur" without an F so I am 
>wondering what these other words are supposed to mean?  Is it just a 
>common method not of making it "easier" to spell by using an F or is 
>there something else I don't know about?  I am assuming from the 
>email above that "Sulfa" is something separate and not just a further 
>bastardisation of 'Sulfur"?  Sorry to be a tad confused but I thought 
>that when referring to elements you really should stick to 
>traditional spelling or you just muddy the water more and more?
>Can someone please explain?  Maybe it is just a new way of spelling things?
>Paul Tyerman
>Growing an eclectic collection of plants from all over the world 
>including Aroids, Crocus, Cyclamen, Erythroniums, Fritillarias, 
>anything else that doesn't move!! 
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