Garnishee? Really?

Add comment June 4th, 2009

The Associated Press still prefers “garnishee” over “garnish” as a verb for “to attach a debtor’s property or wages to satisfy a debt.” The implication is this is to head off confusion with the other kind of “garnish,” “to adorn or decorate.”

But “garnishee” also is the noun for “the individual whose property was attached.” I’m OK with that, because the double “e” is typical for nouns (”employee,” “lessee,” etc.), but it’s unusual for verbs.

In American English, says Bryan A. Garner in “Garner’s Modern American Usage,” “garnish” is “the usual verb form.”

I prefer “garnish,” too, and I don’t know why the AP clings to “garnishee.” But I do find it amusing that it favors the one with the unnecessary ending — a garnish, if you will.