Are fossils embedded in stone or imbedded in stone? Is the video of Grammartopia-RVA embedded on my website or imbedded in my website? Is a journalist embedded with soldiers or imbedded with soldiers?
The answer might not be one you like: both are correct.
Admittedly, “embed” is the more common spelling in the present day, but “imbed” still is considered an acceptable word.
There’s no definition change, just a change of the first letter—for fun. Okay, maybe not just for fun. Maybe it actually has to do with spelling changes across cultures and time.
If you really wanted to dig into it—fossil pun not intended—it’s been a popularity contest that’s flip-flopped a lot over time. According to the Google Books Ngram Viewer, “imbed” was the favored word for centuries until “embed” took over in the early 1910s, only to fall in esteem again for another decade, before gaining the secure favorability in the 1920s. And since the 1920s, “embed” has been the preferred word.
If it makes it easier, I’m one to use “embed” or “embedded” every single time, since this is the more common form and the spelling that seems to be more acceptable across the technology industry—but just like these fossils, only time will tell which form endures.
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