eli5: Why are there “silent letters” in words if they’re not meant to be pronounced? E.g. Why spell it “plumber” instead of “plummer”?

Question

This is true for a lot of words and I don’t understand what the point of including letters if they’re not supposed to be pronounced.

In: 6

Answer 1

Plumber specifically is spelled that way due to the origin of the word. Plumbum (the B is pronounced) is the Latin word for lead (the metal). Plumbers used to work with lead all the time because that’s what pipes were made from.