Der Ort or Das Ort
I have found two entries for "Ort", one with Der as the article, the other with Das. Does it matter which I use or learn? Also, it appears the entry for Der Ort has multiple forms in the plural - I assume that's because of regional differences? Or is one the written form and the other a spoken form?

Danke im Voraus,
Brian

http://www.canoo.net/services/Controller?dispatch=inflection&input=Ort&features=%28Cat+N%29%28Gender+M%29%28Plural+e%29&country=D&lookup=caseInSensitive

http://www.canoo.net/services/Controller?dispatch=inflection&input=Ort&features=%28Cat+N%29%28Gender+N%29&country=D&lookup=caseInSensitive

Question

Der Ort or Das Ort
I have found two entries for "Ort", one with Der as the article, the other with Das.  Does it matter which I use or learn?  Also, it appears the entry for Der Ort has multiple forms in the plural - I assume that's because of regional differences?  Or is one the written form and the other a spoken form?

Danke im Voraus,
Brian

http://www.canoo.net/services/Controller?dispatch=inflection&input=Ort&features=%28Cat+N%29%28Gender+M%29%28Plural+e%29&country=D&lookup=caseInSensitive

http://www.canoo.net/services/Controller?dispatch=inflection&input=Ort&features=%28Cat+N%29%28Gender+N%29&country=D&lookup=caseInSensitive

Answer

Hello Choppy,

thanks for teaching me some German, smile. I had never heard of "das Ort" but it exists, _however_ only as a specific term used in mining.

www.duden.de knows both:
"Ort, der, auch: das; -[e]s, -e [eigtl. = Spitze, vgl. →Ort] (veraltet): Ahle, Pfriem.

Ort, das; -[e]s, Örter (Bergmannsspr.): [das Ende einer] →Strecke: meist in der Wendung vor ...

Ort, der; -[e]s, -e u. Örter [mhd., ahd. ort = Spitze; äußerstes Ende, auch: Gegend, ..."

Usually, a place, or also a village, would be "der Ort", plural Orte

Hope this helped,
regards,
Otto

Answer

sorry, forgot to add that the mining term means sth like the final point, the end of a particular "route", probably the end of a shaft, and is usually used in the term "vor Ort"; it relates to the third definition, the tip, the final part of ...