Two very common mis-pronunciations of wrought iron are rod iron and rot iron. I believe one to be a simple misunderstanding of the materials used to make wrought iron fencing. The second is just a common spelling mistake for those not aware of the correct spelling of W-r-o-u-g-h-t.
Whatever the case may be, both versions are incorrect. Even worse, thousands of people a day search for these terms mistakenly when trying to find information on or about wrought iron fence. However, at Fence Resource, we are here to set the record straight and save the day!
Rod Iron Fence
The word wrought is the past tense and past participle of work. As an adjective it means “worked into shape by artistry or effort”. Therefore, wrought iron means that an artist, blacksmith or master craftsman has worked iron by hand into its finished state, whatever that may be.
Rod iron however, is a product of full width iron bars. The use of a slitting mill cuts the bars into thinner pieces producing the rods. As result, forming the rod iron. Its main purpose was for nails and spikes. Technically, the lengths of rod iron could form the pickets for wrought iron fence. However, when referring to custom made iron fence built by hand, using raw materials, we are speaking of wrought iron fence not rod iron fence.
Rot Iron Fence
Not really sure where this common mis-spelling originated from. However, at the time of this article, 2,300 people per month are searching for rot iron fence instead of wrought iron fence. Maybe because phonetically “wrought” sounds like “rot”. In any case, we are here to set the record straight. From this day forward, we will refer to rot iron fence by its proper name, Wrought Iron Fence!
Thank you, Fence Resource
