vermillion

Usage notes

 * Some authorities[who?] view this as a misspelling; others consider it a valid but perhaps dated alternative.
 * It is entered as a second-listed spelling without prejudice or usage note in major dictionaries.
 * The Oxford English Dictionary online includes 23 citations of the noun or adjective with this spelling, ranging in date from 1597 to 1865, as well as nine citations of the verb from 1656 to 1849.
 * About 30% of the usage of vermilion/vermillion in the US (COCA) is in this spelling. In modern British usage, this spelling is rare (only 2 publications in the BNC, out of thousands).
 * Only the one-L spelling appears in Webster's 1828, 1841 and 1913 dictionaries.