That Curious Word "Lehr"

JSGT 1949 V33 T278-T288

The word “lehr” began to be employed in connection with the continuous annealing of glass in the USA between 1890 and 1900. It is not a man's name, and is not of German origin. It is most probably a corruption of the word “leer,” but whether by accident or design is obscure. It connotes no new principle in the annealing process which was not already expressed by the original word “leer,” a word which first appeared in 1662 and was clearly even then in common usage in England. There is no historical, technical or philological warrant for the spelling “lehr,” and the original word “leer” should be restored to its rightful place in the terminology of glass manufacture.

W. E. S. Turner