Spelling of Cacahuetes

Question

I spelled "peanuts" as "cacahouetes" instead of "cacahuetes" and it was marked wrong. I believe that both spellings are correct and should be recognized as such. Larousse includes both "cacahouetes" and "cacahuetes". Other than the spelling, is there any difference between the two?
Otherwise, I enjoyed this little story. It was a good reminder to use "l'aperitif" instead of "un aperitif".
Merci et Bonne Continuation !

Céline Pickard · Accepted Answer

Bonjour N. Hilary,
You're right: both spellings are accepted even though L'Académie française only lists "cacahuète" (as per Maarten's response). Both larousse and Le Robert list these spellings: Larousse
Le Robert
So we've now added "cacahouète" as an alternative option.
Merci de votre contribution !
Bonne journée !

Maarten Kamp · Answer

Hilary,

‘ Cacahuète’ ( with an è ) is the traditional French spelling, and the only one listed in the Académie Française dictionary, notwithstanding that both variants you note are listed in several reputable French online dictionaries.

Below link to a short discussion of the relative usage of the different spellings :

https://www.linguno.com/wordComparison/fra/arachide-cacahuete-cacahouete/

Interestingly, to me anyway, my wife recalled the insistence on the spelling as ‘ cacahuète ‘ in her school days, and continues to spell it sans ‘ o ‘. I am happy to stick with that spelling !

It is apparently derived from Spanish, and originally from Mexican.

https://www.dictionnaire-academie.fr/article/A9C0061

“ xixe siècle. Emprunté de l’espagnol cacahuete, « arachide », lui-même emprunté du nahuatl, langue du Mexique, cacahuatl. “

https://www.wordreference.com/fres/cacahu%C3%A8te

PS : in an episode of “ Belfort et Lupin “ that I am watching right at this moment, ‘ les cacahuètes ‘ are heavily featured and it is written as such in the French subtitles. ( My excuse for watching this cartoon series is that Belfort is ‘ home ‘ in France and the creator is from the region, but it is also good for learning French vocabulary and expressions, and a bit of history of Louis XIV and Versailles as a bonus ) ( Series 1, episode 8 )