View source for Social:American and British English spelling differences

{{Short description|Comparison between U.S. and UK English spelling}}

[[File:International English Spelling updated.svg|thumb|450px|right|International English spelling comparison.]]
[[File:Defence Defense Labour Labor British American spelling by country.svg|upright=1.75|thumb|British and American spellings around the world:<br />
{{legend|red|British ''analyse/centre/defence/labour/organise'' (''organize'' in Oxford spelling)''/programme'' (exception: ''computer program'') dominant; English is an official or majority language}}
{{legend|royalblue|American ''analyze/center/defense/labor/organize/program'' dominant; English is an official or majority language}}
{{legend|#aa32d2|Canadian ''analyze/centre/defence/labour/organize/program'' dominant; English is one of two official languages along with French}}
{{legend|#f2ab38|Australian
 ''analyse/centre/defence/labour'' (but ''Labor Party'')''/organise/program'' dominant; English is an official or majority language}}
{{legend|#ff9b8f|English is not an official language; British spelling is dominant}}
{{legend|lightsteelblue|English is not an official language; American spelling is dominant}}
{{legend|#ffee80|Inconsistent use of US and British spelling.}}
]]


Despite the various English dialects spoken from country to country and within different regions of the same country, there are only slight regional variations in English orthography, the two most notable variations being British and American spelling. Many of [[Comparison of American and British English|the differences]] between American and British/Commonwealth English date back to a time before spelling standards were developed. For instance, some spellings seen as "American" today were once commonly used in Britain, and some spellings seen as "British" were once commonly used in the United States.

A "British standard" began to emerge following the 1755 publication of Samuel Johnson's ''A Dictionary of the English Language'', and an "American standard" started following the work of Noah Webster and, in particular, his ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'', first published in 1828.<ref name="Micklethwait2005">{{cite book|author=David Micklethwait|title=Noah Webster and the American Dictionary|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uIRCsrMwhroC&pg=PA137|date=1 January 2005|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-2157-2|page=137}}</ref> Webster's efforts at spelling reform were effective in his native country, resulting in certain well-known patterns of spelling differences between the American and British varieties of English. However, English-language spelling reform has rarely been adopted otherwise. As a result, modern English orthography varies only minimally between countries and is far from phonemic in any country.

==Historical origins==
{{Multiple image
| width = 120
| image1 = Webster Orthography 1828 (4-14).jpg
| image2 = Webster Orthography 1828 (15).jpg
| footer = Extract from the Orthography section of the first edition (1828) of Webster's "ADEL", which popularized the "American standard" spellings of ''-er''&nbsp;(6); ''-or''&nbsp;(7); the dropped ''-e''&nbsp;(8); ''-se''&nbsp;(11); and the doubling of consonants with a suffix (15).
}}
[[File:British spellings in NEJM 1814.jpg|left|thumb|An 1814 American medical text showing British English spellings that were still in use ("tumours", "colour", "centres", etc.).]]

In the early 18th century, English spelling was inconsistent. These differences became noticeable after the publication of influential dictionaries. Today's British English spellings mostly follow Johnson's ''A Dictionary of the English Language'' (1755), while many American English spellings follow Webster's ''An American Dictionary of the English Language'' ("ADEL", "Webster's Dictionary", 1828).<ref>{{cite book |last=Scragg |first=Donald |title=A history of English spelling |publisher=Manchester University Press |location=Manchester, England |year=1974 |pages=82–83 |quote=Johnson's dictionary became the accepted standard for private spelling&nbsp;... of a literate Englishman&nbsp;... during the nineteenth century&nbsp;... Webster had more success in influencing the development of American usage than Johnson had with British usage. |isbn=978-0-06-496138-7}}</ref>

Webster was a proponent of English spelling reform for reasons both [[Philology|philological]] and nationalistic. In ''A Companion to the American Revolution'' (2008), John Algeo notes: "it is often assumed that characteristically American spellings were invented by Noah Webster. He was very influential in popularizing certain spellings in America, but he did not originate them. Rather&nbsp;[...] he chose already existing options such as ''center, color'' and ''check'' for the simplicity, analogy or etymology".<ref>Algeo, John, "The Effects of the Revolution on Language" in ''A Companion to the American Revolution'', John Wiley & Sons: 2008, p. 599.</ref> William Shakespeare's first [[Folio|folio]]s, for example, used spellings such as ''center'' and ''color'' as much as ''centre'' and ''colour''.<ref name="auto">[http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=-or&allowed_in_frame=0 ''-or'']. Online Etymology Dictionary.</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=The American way of spelling : the structure and origins of American English orthography|last=Venezky, Richard L.|date=1999|publisher=Guilford Press|isbn=1-57230-469-3|pages=26|oclc=469790290}}</ref> Webster did attempt to introduce some reformed spellings, as did the Simplified Spelling Board in the early 20th century, but most were not adopted. In Britain, the influence of those who preferred the Norman (or [[Social:Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-French]]) spellings of words proved to be decisive.{{citation needed|date=January 2022}} Later spelling adjustments in the United Kingdom had little effect on today's American spellings and vice versa.

For the most part, the spelling systems of most [[Organization:Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth countries]] and Ireland closely resemble the British system. In Canada, the spelling system can be said to follow both British and American forms,<ref name="Clark, 2009">Clark, 2009.</ref> and Canadians are somewhat more tolerant of foreign spellings when compared with other English-speaking nationalities.<ref>Chambers, 1998.</ref> Australian spelling mostly follows British spelling norms but has strayed slightly, with some American spellings incorporated as standard.<ref name="Fourth Edition 2005">''The Macquarie Dictionary'', Fourth Edition. The Macquarie Library Pty Ltd, 2005.</ref> New Zealand spelling is almost identical to British spelling, except in the word ''fiord'' (instead of ''fjord''). There is an increasing use of macrons in words that originated in Māori and an unambiguous preference for ''-ise'' endings (see below).

==Latin-derived spellings (often through Romance)==
==={{Anchor|our_or}}''-our'', ''-or''===
Most words ending in an unstressed ''‑our'' in British English (e.g., {{lang|en-GB|''behaviour'', ''colour'', ''favour'',
''flavour'', ''harbour'', ''honour'', ''humour'', ''labour'', ''neighbour'', ''rumour'', ''splendour''|italic=unset}}) end in ''‑or'' in American English ({{lang|en-US|''behavior'', ''color'', ''favor'',
''flavor'', ''harbor'', ''honor'', ''humor'', ''labor'', ''neighbor'', ''rumor'', ''splendor''|italic=unset}}). Wherever the vowel is unreduced in pronunciation (e.g., ''devour'', ''contour'', ''flour'', ''hour'', ''paramour'', ''tour'', ''troubadour'', and ''velour''), the spelling is uniform everywhere.

Most words of this kind came from Latin, where the ending was spelled ''‑or''. They were first adopted into English from early [[Social:Old French|Old French]], and the ending was spelled ''‑our'', ''‑or'' or ''‑ur''.<ref name="Webster's Third, p. 24a">''Webster's Third,'' p. 24a.</ref> After the Norman conquest of England, the ending became ''‑our'' to match the later Old French spelling.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''colour, color''.</ref> The ''‑our'' ending was used not only in new English borrowings, but was also applied to the earlier borrowings that had used ''‑or''.<ref name="Webster's Third, p. 24a"/> However, ''‑or'' was still sometimes found.<ref name="SOED_1987">{{Cite book|editor=Onions, CT |title=The Shorter Oxford English Dictionary |orig-year=1933 |edition=Third Edition (1933) with corrections (1975) |year=1987 |publisher=[[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]] |location=Oxford |isbn=0-19-861126-9 |page=370}}<!--|access-date=9 April 2008 --></ref> The first three folios of Shakespeare's plays used both spellings before they were standardised to ''‑our'' in the Fourth Folio of 1685.<ref name="auto"/>

After the [[Philosophy:Renaissance|Renaissance]], new borrowings from Latin were taken up with their original ''‑or'' ending, and many words once ending in ''‑our'' (for example, ''chancellour'' and ''governour'') reverted to ''‑or''. A few words of the ''‑our/or'' group do not have a Latin counterpart that ends in ''‑or''; for example, ''armo(u)r'', ''behavio(u)r'', ''harbo(u)r'', ''neighbo(u)r''; also ''[[Engineering:Pergola|arbo(u)r]]'', meaning "shelter", though senses "tree" and "tool" are always ''arbor'', a [[Social:False cognate|false cognate]] of the other word. The word ''arbor'' would be more accurately spelled ''arber'' or ''arbre'' in the US and the UK, respectively, the latter of which is the French word for "tree". Some 16th- and early 17th-century British scholars indeed insisted that ''‑or'' be used for words from Latin (e.g., ''{{lang|en-US|color}}'')<ref name="SOED_1987"/> and ''‑our'' for French loans; however, in many cases, the etymology was not clear, and therefore some scholars advocated ''‑or'' only and others ''‑our'' only.<ref name="Peters">{{Cite book |last = Peters |first= Pam |year = 2004 |title = The Cambridge Guide to English Usage |location = Cambridge, England |publisher = Cambridge University Press |isbn = 0-521-62181-X |title-link = The Cambridge Guide to English Usage }}</ref>

Webster's 1828 dictionary had only ''-or'' and is given much of the credit for the adoption of this form in the United States. By contrast, Johnson's 1755 (pre-U.S. independence and establishment) dictionary used ''-our'' for all words still so spelled in Britain (like ''colour''), but also for words where the ''u'' has since been dropped: ''ambassadour'', ''emperour'', ''governour'', ''inferiour'', ''perturbatour'', ''superiour''; ''errour'', ''horrour'', ''mirrour'', ''tenour'', ''terrour'', ''tremour''. Johnson, unlike Webster, was not an advocate of spelling reform, but chose the spelling best derived, as he saw it, from among the variations in his sources. He preferred French over Latin spellings because, as he put it, "the French generally supplied us".<ref>Johnson 1755—preface</ref> English speakers who moved to America took these preferences with them. In the early 20th century, [[Biography:H. L. Mencken|H. L. Mencken]] notes that "''{{lang|en-US|honor}}'' appears in the 1776 Declaration of Independence, but it seems to have been put there rather by accident than by design". In Jefferson's original draft it is spelled "honour".<ref>{{Cite book |last= Mencken |first= H L |title= The American Language |publisher= Knopf |year= 1919 |location= New York |url= http://www.bartleby.com/185/32.html |isbn= 0-394-40076-3}}</ref> In Britain, examples of {{lang|en-US|''behavior'', ''color'', ''flavor'', ''harbor'', and ''neighbor''|italic=unset}} rarely appear in Old Bailey court records from the 17th and 18th centuries, whereas there are thousands of examples of their ''-our'' counterparts.<ref>{{cite web |last= Staff |title= The Proceedings of the Old Bailey, 1674–1913 |publisher= Humanities Research Institute, University of Sheffield |url= http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/ |access-date= 19 June 2008 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080723112732/http://www.oldbaileyonline.org./ |archive-date= 23 July 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref> One notable exception is ''{{lang|en-US|honor}}''. ''{{lang|en-US|Honor}}'' and ''{{lang|en-GB|honour}}'' were equally frequent in Britain until the 17th century;<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''honour, honor''.</ref> ''honor'' only exists in the UK now as the spelling of ''Honor Oak'', a district of London and the occasional given name Honor.

====Derivatives and inflected forms====
In derivatives and [[Social:Inflection|inflected]] forms of the ''-our/or'' words, British usage depends on the nature of the [[Social:Suffix|suffix]] used. The ''u'' is kept before English suffixes that are freely attachable to English words (for example in {{lang|en-GB|''humourless'', ''neighbourhood'', and ''savoury''|italic=unset}}) and suffixes of Greek or Latin origin that have been adopted into English (for example in {{lang|en-GB|''behaviourism'', ''favourite'', and ''honourable''|italic=unset}}). However, before Latin suffixes that are not freely attachable to English words, the ''u'':
* may be dropped, for example in ''honorary'', ''honorific'', ''humorist'', ''humorous'', ''invigorate'', ''laborious'', and ''vigorous'';
* may be either dropped or kept, for example in ''colo(u)ration'' and ''colo(u)rize ''or'' colourise''; or
* may be kept, for example in ''{{lang|en-GB|colourist}}''.<ref name="Webster's Third, p. 24a"/>

In American usage, derivatives and inflected forms are built by simply adding the suffix in all cases (for example, ''{{lang|en-US|favorite}}'', ''{{lang|en-US|savory}}'' etc.) since the ''u'' is absent to begin with.

====Exceptions====
American usage, in most cases, keeps the ''u'' in the word ''glamour'', which comes from [[Social:Scots language|Scots]], not Latin or French. ''{{lang|en-US|Glamor}}'' is sometimes used in imitation of the spelling reform of other ''-our'' words to ''-or''. Nevertheless, the adjective ''glamorous'' often drops the first "u". ''{{lang|en-GB|Saviour}}'' is a somewhat common variant of ''{{lang|en-US|savior}}'' in the US. The British spelling is very common for ''{{lang|en-GB|honour}}'' (and ''{{lang|en-GB|favour}}'') in the formal language of wedding invitations in the US.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Letitia Baldrige's Complete Guide to the New Manners for the '90s: A Complete Guide to Etiquette |first=Letitia |last=Baldrige |year=1990 |publisher=Rawson |isbn=0-89256-320-6 |page=214}}</ref> The name of the {{lang|en-GB|[[Engineering:Space Shuttle Endeavour|Space Shuttle ''Endeavour'']]|italic=unset}} has a ''u'' in it because the [[Engineering:Spacecraft|spacecraft]] was named after British Captain James Cook's ship, {{lang|en-GB|[[Engineering:HMS Endeavour|HMS ''Endeavour'']]|italic=unset}}. The (former) special car on Amtrak's ''Coast Starlight'' train is known as the Pacific Parlour car, not ''Pacific Parlor''. Proper names such as ''Pearl Harbor'' or ''Sydney Harbour'' are usually spelled according to their native-variety spelling vocabulary.

The name of the herb ''[[Biology:Satureja|savory]]'' is spelled thus everywhere, although the related adjective ''savo(u)ry'', like ''savo(u)r'', has a ''u'' in the UK. ''Honor'' (the name) and ''arbor'' (the tool) have ''-or'' in Britain, as mentioned above, as does the word ''pallor''. As a general noun, ''[[Rigour|rigour]]'' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|ɪ|ɡ|ər}} has a ''u'' in the UK; the medical term ''rigor'' (sometimes {{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|aɪ|ɡ|ər}})<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/rigor|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120721013950/http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/rigor|url-status=dead|archive-date=21 July 2012|title=rigor – definition of rigor in English – Oxford Dictionaries}}</ref> does not, such as in ''rigor mortis'', which is Latin. Derivations of ''rigour''/''rigor'' such as ''rigorous'', however, are typically spelled without a ''u'', even in the UK. Words with the ending ''-irior'', ''-erior'' or similar are spelled thus everywhere.

The word ''armour'' was once somewhat common in American usage but has disappeared except in some brand names such as [[Company:Under Armour|Under Armour]].

The agent suffix ''-or'' (''separator'', ''elevator'', ''translator'', ''animator'', etc.) is spelled thus both in American and British English.

====Commonwealth usage====
Commonwealth countries normally follow British usage. Canadian English most commonly uses the ''-our'' ending and ''-our-'' in derivatives and inflected forms. However, owing to the close historic, economic, and cultural relationship with the United States, ''-or'' endings are also sometimes used. Throughout the late 19th and early to mid-20th century, most Canadian newspapers chose to use the American usage of ''-or'' endings, originally to save time and money in the era of manual movable type.<ref name=OC31Mar1990>{{cite news |title=Practical concerns spelled the end for -our |newspaper=Ottawa Citizen |date=31 March 1990 |page=B3 |first=William |last=MacPherson }}</ref> However, in the 1990s, the majority of Canadian newspapers officially updated their spelling policies to the British usage of ''-our''. This coincided with a renewed interest in Canadian English, and the release of the updated ''Gage Canadian Dictionary'' in 1997 and the first ''Canadian Oxford Dictionary'' in 1998. Historically, most libraries and educational institutions in Canada have supported the use of the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' rather than the American ''Webster's Dictionary''. Today, the use of a distinctive set of Canadian English spellings is viewed by many Canadians as one of the unique aspects of Canadian culture (especially when compared to the United States).{{citation needed|date=January 2022}}

In Australia, ''-or'' endings enjoyed some use throughout the 19th century and in the early 20th century. Like Canada, though, most major Australian newspapers have switched from "''-or''" endings to "''-our''" endings. The "''-our''" spelling is taught in schools nationwide as part of the Australian curriculum. The most notable countrywide use of the ''-or'' ending is for one of the country's major political parties, the {{lang|en-US|Australian Labor Party}}, which was originally called "the Australian Labour Party" (name adopted in 1908), but was frequently referred to as both "Labour" and "Labor". The "Labor" was adopted from 1912 onward due to the influence of the {{lang|en-US|American labor movement}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Australian Labor: History|url=http://www.alp.org.au/australian-labor/labor-history/|work=ALP.org.au|access-date=6 June 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110617043320/http://www.alp.org.au/australian-labor/labor-history/|archive-date=17 June 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref> and King O'Malley. On top of that, some place names in South Australia such as Victor Harbor, Franklin Harbor or Outer Harbor are usually spelled with the -or spellings. Aside from that, ''-our'' is now almost universal in Australia but the ''-or'' endings remain a minority variant. New Zealand English, while sharing some words and syntax with [[Social:Australian English|Australian English]], follows British usage.

==={{Anchor|re_er|er re|-re -er|-er -re}}''-re'', ''-er''===
In British English, some words from French, Latin or Greek end with a consonant followed by an unstressed ''-re'' (pronounced {{IPA|/ə(r)/}}). In modern American English, most of these words have the ending ''-er''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Venezky|first=Richard L.|title=The Cambridge History of the English Language|editor=Algeo, John |publisher={{wipe|Cambridge University Press}}|location=Cambridge, England|year=2001|volume=VI: English in North America|page=353|chapter=''-re'' versus ''-er''|isbn=0-521-26479-0}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Howard |first=Philip |title=The State of the Language—English Observed |year=1984 |publisher=Hamish Hamilton |location=London |page=148| isbn= 0-241-11346-6}}</ref> The difference is most common for words ending ''-bre'' or ''-tre'': British spellings {{lang|en-GB|''calibre'', ''centre'', ''fibre'', ''goitre'', ''litre'', ''lustre'', ''manoeuvre'', ''meagre'', ''metre'', ''mitre'', ''nitre'', ''ochre'', ''reconnoitre'', ''sabre'', ''saltpetre'', ''sepulchre'', ''sombre'', ''spectre'', ''theatre'' (see exceptions) and ''titre''|italic=unset}} all have ''-er'' in American spelling.

In Britain, both ''-re'' and ''-er'' spellings were common before Johnson's 1755 dictionary was published. Following this, ''-re'' became the most common usage in Britain. In the United States, following the publication of ''Webster's Dictionary'' in the early 19th century, American English became more standardized, exclusively using the ''-er'' spelling.<ref name=":0" />

In addition, spelling of some words have been changed from ''-re'' to ''-er'' in both varieties. These include ''September'', ''October'', ''November'', ''December'', ''amber, blister'', ''cadaver'', ''chamber,'' ''chapter'', ''charter'', ''cider'', ''coffer'', ''coriander'', ''cover'', ''cucumber'', ''cylinder'', ''diaper'', ''disaster'', ''enter'', ''fever'', ''filter'', ''gender'', ''leper'', ''letter'', ''lobster'', ''master'', ''member'', ''minister'', ''monster'', ''murder'', ''number'', ''offer'', ''order'', ''oyster'', ''powder'', ''proper'', ''render'', ''[[Physics:Semester|semester]]'', ''sequester'', ''sinister'', ''sober'', ''surrender'', ''tender'', and ''[[Biology:Tiger|tiger]]''. Words using the ''"-meter"'' suffix (from Ancient Greek -μέτρον ''métron'', via French ''-mètre'') normally had the ''-re'' spelling from earliest use in English but were superseded by ''-er''. Examples include ''thermometer'' and ''barometer''.

The ''e'' preceding the ''r'' is kept in American-inflected forms of nouns and verbs, for example, {{lang|en-US|''fibers'', ''reconnoitered'', ''centering''|italic=unset}}, which are {{lang|en-GB|''fibres'', ''reconnoitred'', and ''centring''|italic=unset}} respectively in British English. According to the ''OED'', ''{{lang|en-GB|centring}}'' is a ''"word ... of 3 syllables (in careful pronunciation)"''<ref>(Oxford English Dictionary: Second edition).</ref> (i.e., {{IPA|/ˈsɛntərɪŋ/}}), yet there is no vowel in the spelling corresponding to the second syllable ({{IPA|/ə/}}). The OED third edition (revised entry of June 2016) allows either two or three syllables. On the Oxford Dictionaries Online website, the three-syllable version is listed only as the American pronunciation of ''centering''. The ''e'' is dropped for other derivations, for example, ''central'', ''fibrous'', ''spectral''. Howeer, the existence of related words without ''e'' before the ''r'' is not proof for the existence of an ''-re'' British spelling: for example, ''entry'' and ''entrance'' come from ''enter'', which has not been spelled ''entre'' for centuries.<ref>From the ''OED'' cites, Chaucer used both forms, but the last usages of the "re" form were in the early 18th century. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'': 1989 edition.</ref>

The difference relates only to root words; ''-er'' rather than ''-re'' is universal as a suffix for agentive (''reader'', ''user'', ''winner'') and comparative (''louder'', ''nicer'') forms. One outcome is the British distinction of ''meter'' for a [[Engineering:Measuring instrument|measuring instrument]] from ''{{lang|en-GB|metre}}'' for the unit of length. However, while "{{lang|en-GB|poetic metre}}" is often spelled as ''-re'', pentameter, hexameter, etc. are always ''-er''.<ref>Except in a 1579 usage (Oxford English Dictionary: 1989 edition).</ref>

====Exceptions====
Many other words have ''-er'' in British English. These include Germanic words, such as ''anger'', ''mother'', ''timber'' and ''water'', and such Romance-derived words as ''danger'', ''quarter'' and ''river''.

The ending ''-cre'', as in ''acre'',<ref name="acre/louvre">Although ''acre'' was spelled ''æcer'' in Old English and ''aker'' in [[Social:Middle English|Middle English]], the ''acre'' spelling of [[Social:Middle French|Middle French]] was introduced in the 15th century. Similarly, ''loover'' was respelled in the 17th century by influence of the unrelated Louvre. (See ''OED'', s.v. ''acre'' and ''louvre'')</ref> ''lucre'', ''massacre'', and ''mediocre'', is used in both British and American English to show that the ''c'' is pronounced {{IPA|/k/}} rather than {{IPA|/s/}}. The spellings ''euchre'' and ''ogre'' are also the same in both British and American English.

''Fire'' and its associated adjective ''fiery'' are the same in both British and American English, although the noun was spelled ''fier'' in Old and Middle English.

{{Anchor|Theatre}} ''{{lang|en-US|Theater}}'' is the prevailing American spelling used to refer to both the dramatic arts and buildings where stage performances and screenings of films take place (i.e., "{{lang|en-US|movie theaters}}"); for example, a national newspaper such as ''The New York Times'' would use ''{{lang|en-US|theater}}'' in its entertainment section. However, the spelling ''theatre'' appears in the names of many New York City theatres on Broadway<ref>{{Cite book|title=Webster's third new international dictionary of the English language|editor=Gove, Philip|publisher=Merriam Webster|location=Springfield, MA|year=1989|edition=3|volume=2|pages=24a|chapter=-er/-re|isbn=978-0-87779-302-1|editor-link=Philip Babcock Gove}}</ref> (cf. Broadway theatre) and elsewhere in the United States. In 2003, the American National Theatre was referred to by ''The New York Times'' as the "American National {{lang|en-US|Theater}}", but the organization uses "re" in the spelling of its name.<ref>{{Cite news|author=Robin Pogrebin|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F06EED9173BF93AA3575AC0A9659C8B63|title=Proposing an American Theater Downtown|work=The New York Times (Arts section)|publisher=[[Company:The New York Times Company|The New York Times Company]]|date=3 September 2003|access-date=22 September 2008}}</ref><ref name=ANT>{{cite web|url=http://www.americannationaltheatre.org/|title=The American National Theatre (ANT)|publisher=ANT|date=2008–2009|access-date=22 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080907010602/http://www.americannationaltheatre.org/| archive-date= 7 September 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. has the more common American spelling ''{{lang|en-US|theater}}'' in its references to the Eisenhower Theater, part of the Kennedy Center.<ref name=KC>{{cite web|url=http://www.kennedy-center.org/|title=The Kennedy Center|publisher=John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts|access-date=22 September 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080923075951/http://www.kennedy-center.org/| archive-date= 23 September 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref> Some cinemas outside New York also use the ''theatre'' spelling.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.centurytheaters.com/ |title=Cinemark Theatres |publisher=Centurytheaters.com |access-date=7 February 2010}}</ref> (The word "theater" in American English is a place where both stage performances and screenings of films take place, but in British English a "theatre" is where stage performances take place but not film screenings – these take place in a cinema, or "picture theatre" in Australia.)<ref>{{cite book |editor-first=W.S. |editor-last=Ramson |title=The Australian National Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=1988 |isbn=0-19-554736-5}} also Macquarie dicts</ref>

In the United States, the spelling ''theatre'' is sometimes used when referring to the art form of theatre, while the building itself, as noted above, generally is spelled ''theater''. For example, the [[Organization:University of Wisconsin–Madison|University of Wisconsin–Madison]] has a "Department of ''Theatre'' and Drama", which offers courses that lead to the "Bachelor of Arts in ''Theatre''", and whose professed aim is "to prepare our graduate students for successful 21st Century careers in the ''theatre'' both as practitioners and scholars".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://theatre.wisc.edu/ |title = Home – Theatre and Drama}}</ref>

Some placenames in the United States use ''Centre'' in their names. Examples include the village of Newton Centre, the cities of Rockville Centre and Centreville, Centre County and [[Organization:Centre College|Centre College]]. Sometimes, these places were named before spelling changes but more often the spelling serves as an affectation. Proper names are usually spelled according to their native-variety spelling vocabulary; so, for instance, although ''Peter'' is the usual form of the male given name, as a surname both the spellings ''Peter'' and ''Petre'' (the latter notably borne by a British lord) are found.

For British ''{{lang|en-GB|accoutre}}'', the American practice varies: the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'' prefers the ''-re'' spelling,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=accouter |title=accoutre |publisher=Merriam-webster.com |access-date=2012-03-04}}</ref> but ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' prefers the ''-er'' spelling.<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/61/46/A0044600.html accouter]</ref>

More recent French loanwords keep the ''-re'' spelling in American English. These are not exceptions when a French-style pronunciation is used ({{IPA|/rə/}} rather than {{IPA|/ə(r)/}}), as with ''[[Double entendre|double entendre]]'', ''genre'' and ''oeuvre''. However, the unstressed {{IPA|/ə(r)/}} pronunciation of an ''-er'' ending is used {{Weasel inline|text=more (or less) often|date=December 2021}} with some words, including ''cadre'', ''macabre'', ''maître d''', Notre Dame, ''piastre'', and ''timbre''.

====Commonwealth usage====
The ''-re'' endings are mostly standard throughout the Commonwealth. The ''-er'' spellings are recognized as minor variants in Canada, partly due to United States influence. They are sometimes used in proper names (such as Toronto's controversially named Centerpoint Mall).<ref name="Peters"/>

==={{Anchor|ce_se}}''-ce'', ''-se''===
For ''advice''/''advise'' and ''device''/''devise'', American English and British English both keep the noun–verb distinction both graphically and phonetically (where the pronunciation is -{{IPA|/s/}} for the noun and -{{IPA|/z/}} for the verb). For ''licence/license'' or ''practice/practise'', British English also keeps the noun–verb distinction graphically (although phonetically the two words in each pair are [[Philosophy:Homophone|homophone]]s with -{{IPA|/s/}} pronunciation). On the other hand, American English uses ''license'' and ''practice'' for both nouns and verbs (with -{{IPA|/s/}} pronunciation in both cases too).

American English has kept the Anglo-French spelling for ''defense'' and ''offense'', which are ''defence'' and ''offence'' in British English. Likewise, there are the American ''pretense'' and British ''pretence''; but derivatives such as ''defensive'', ''offensive'', and ''pretension'' are always thus spelled in both systems.

Australian<ref>Style Manual for Authors, Editors and Printers of Australian Government Publications, Third Edition, Revised by John Pitson, Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 1978, page 10, "In general, follow the spellings given in the latest edition of the ''Concise Oxford Dictionary.''</ref> and Canadian usage generally follow British.

==={{Anchor|xion ction}}''-xion'', ''-ction''===
The spelling ''connexion'' is now rare in everyday British usage, its use lessening as knowledge of Latin attenuates,<ref name="Peters"/> and it has almost never been used in the US: the more common ''connection'' has become the standard worldwide. According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', the older spelling is more etymologically conservative, since the original Latin word had ''-xio-''. The American usage comes from Webster, who abandoned ''-xion'' and preferred ''-ction''.<ref>1989 ''Oxford English Dictionary:connexion, connection.''</ref> ''Connexion'' was still the house style of ''The Times'' of London until the 1980s and was still used by Post Office Telecommunications for its telephone services in the 1970s, but had by then been overtaken by ''connection'' in regular usage (for example, in more popular newspapers). ''Connexion'' (and its derivatives ''connexional'' and ''connexionalism'') is still in use by the Methodist Church of Great Britain to refer to the whole church as opposed to its constituent districts, circuits and local churches, whereas the US-majority United Methodist Church uses ''Connection''.

''Complexion'' (which comes from ''complex'') is standard worldwide and ''complection'' is rare.<ref>{{Cite web|title = The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language:complection|year = 2000|place = New York|publisher = Houghton Mifflin|url = http://www.bartleby.com/cgi-bin/texis/webinator/sitesearch?FILTER=col61&query=complection&x=0&y=0|access-date = 12 May 2007}}</ref> However, the adjective ''complected'' (as in "dark-complected"), although sometimes proscribed, is on equal ground in the U.S. with ''complexioned.''<ref>{{cite book|title=Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of English usage|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/merriamwebstersd00merr|chapter-url-access=registration|year=1994|publisher=Merriam-Webster, Inc|location=Springfield, Mass|isbn=0-87779-132-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/merriamwebstersd00merr/page/271 271]|chapter=complected|quote=not an error...simply an Americanism}}</ref> It is not used in this way in the UK, although there exists a rare alternative meaning of ''complicated''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Oxford English Dictionary|chapter=complect, v.|title-link=Oxford English Dictionary}}</ref>

In some cases, words with "old-fashioned" spellings are retained widely in the U.S. for historical reasons (cf. [[Religion:Connexionalism|connexionalism]]).

==Greek-derived and Latin-derived spellings==
==={{anchor|ae_oe|æ|ae|œ|oe|ligatures}}''ae'' and ''oe''===<!-- linked from many pages -->
Many words, especially medical words, that are written with ''ae/æ'' or ''oe/œ'' in British English are written with just an ''e'' in American English. The sounds in question are {{IPA|/iː/}} or {{IPA|/ɛ/}} (or, unstressed, {{IPA|/i/}}, {{IPA|/ɪ/}} or {{IPA|/ə/}}). Examples (with non-American letter in '''bold'''): ''[[Physics:Aeon|'''a'''eon]]'', ''[[Medicine:Anemia|an'''a'''emia]]'', ''[[Medicine:Anesthesia|an'''a'''esthesia]]'', ''c'''a'''ecum'', ''[[Chemistry:Caesium|c'''a'''esium]]'', ''c'''o'''eliac'', ''[[Medicine:Diarrhea|diarrh'''o'''ea]]'', ''encyclop'''a'''edia'', ''[[Biology:Feces|f'''a'''eces]]'', ''f'''o'''etal'', ''gyn'''a'''ecology'', ''h'''a'''emoglobin'', ''h'''a'''emophilia'', ''[[Medicine:Leukemia|leuk'''a'''emia]]'', ''[[Biology:Esophagus|'''o'''esophagus]]'', ''[[Biology:Estrogen|'''o'''estrogen]]'', ''orthop'''a'''edic'',{{NoteTag|name=orthopaedic|The majority of American college, university, and residency programs, and even the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, still use the spelling with the digraph ae, though hospitals usually use the shortened form.}} ''[[Biology:Paleontology|pal'''a'''eontology]]'', ''p'''a'''ediatric'', ''p'''a'''edophile''. ''Oenology'' is acceptable in American English but is deemed a minor variant of ''enology'', whereas although ''archeology'' and ''ameba'' exist in American English, the British versions ''[[Biology:Amoeba|amoeba]]'' and ''[[Earth:Archaeology|archaeology]]'' are more common. The chemical ''[[Biology:Heme|haem]]'' (named as a shortening of ''[[Biology:Hemoglobin|h'''a'''emoglobin]]'') is spelled ''heme'' in American English, to avoid confusion with ''hem''.

Canadian English mostly follows American English in this respect, although it is split on ''gynecology'' (e.g. Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada vs. the Canadian Medical Association's Canadian specialty profile of ''Obstetrics/gynecology''). ''Pediatrician'' is preferred roughly 10 to 1 over ''paediatrician'', while ''foetal'' and ''oestrogen'' are similarly uncommon.

Words that can be spelled either way in American English include '''''a'''esthetics'' and ''arch'''a'''eology'' (which usually prevail over ''esthetics'' and ''archeology''),<ref name="Peters"/> as well as ''pal'''a'''estra'', for which the simplified form ''palestra'' is described by Merriam-Webster as "chiefly Brit[ish]."<ref>''Webster's Third New International Dictionary'', copyright 1993 by Merriam-Webster, Inc.</ref> This is a reverse of the typical rule, where British spelling uses the ''ae''/''oe'' and American spelling simply uses ''e''.

Words that can be spelled either way in British English include ''cham'''a'''eleon'', ''encyclop'''a'''edia'', ''hom'''o'''eopathy'', ''medi'''a'''eval'' (a minor variant in both AmE and BrE<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/medieval |title = Definition of MEDIEVAL |date = 15 August 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=medieval&submit.x=35&submit.y=30|title=The American Heritage Dictionary entry: medieval |first=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing |last=Company }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url = https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/medieval |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160928054017/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/medieval |url-status = dead |archive-date = 28 September 2016 |title = medieval – definition of medieval in English – Oxford Dictionaries }}</ref>), ''f'''o'''etid'' and ''f'''o'''etus''. The spellings ''f'''o'''etus'' and ''f'''o'''etal'' are Britishisms based on a mistaken etymology.<ref name=BMJ>{{cite journal |last=Aronson |first=Jeff |title = When I use a word...:Oe no! |journal=British Medical Journal |volume=315 |issue=7102 |date=26 July 1997 |url = http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/315/7102/0/h |url-status=dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050420182905/http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/315/7102/0/h |archive-date=20 April 2005 |doi = 10.1136/bmj.315.7102.0h |s2cid=71675333 }}</ref> The etymologically correct original spelling ''fetus'' reflects the Latin original and is the standard spelling in medical journals worldwide;<ref>New Oxford Dictionary of English.</ref> the Oxford English Dictionary notes that "In Latin manuscripts both ''fētus'' and ''foetus'' are used".<ref>fetus, n.". OED Online. March 2017. Oxford University Press. http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/72389?redirectedFrom=foetus (accessed 10 April 2017).</ref>

The Ancient Greek diphthongs &lt;αι&gt; and &lt;οι&gt; were transliterated into Latin as <ae> and <oe>. The [[Social:Typographic ligature|ligatures]] æ and œ were introduced when the sounds became monophthongs, and later applied to words not of Greek origin, in both Latin (for example, ''cœli'') and French (for example, ''œuvre''). In English, which has adopted words from all three languages, it is now usual to replace ''Æ/æ'' with ''Ae/ae'' and ''Œ/œ'' with ''Oe/oe''. In many words, the digraph has been reduced to a lone ''e'' in all varieties of English: for example, '''''o'''economics'', ''pr'''a'''emium'', and '''''a'''enigma''.<ref>Webster's Third, p.&nbsp;23a.</ref> In others, it is kept in all varieties: for example, ''[[Unsolved:Phoenix (mythology)|phoenix]]'', and usually ''subpoena'',<ref>
{{cite book |title = The Columbia Guide to Standard American English |chapter=subpoena, subpena (n., v.) |isbn = 0-231-06989-8 |url = https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780231069892 |chapter-url = http://www.bartleby.com/68/6/5806.html |access-date=8 November 2007 |first=Kenneth G. |last=Wilson |publisher=Columbia University Press |year=1993 |location=New York, NY |url-access=registration }}
</ref> but Phenix in Virginia. This is especially true of names: ''Aegean'' (the sea), ''Caesar'', ''Oedipus'', ''Phoebe'', etc. There is no reduction of Latin -ae plurals (e.g., ''larv'''ae'''''); nor where the digraph <ae>/<oe> does not result from the Greek-style ligature as, for example, in ''maelstrom'' or ''toe''; the same is true for the British form ''aeroplane'' (compare other ''aero-'' words such as ''[[Chemistry:Aerosol|aerosol]]''). The now chiefly North American ''airplane'' is not a respelling but a recoining, modelled after ''[[Physics:Airship|airship]]'' and ''aircraft''. The word ''airplane'' dates from 1907,<ref>''Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary'', ''airplane''.</ref> at which time the prefix ''aero-'' was trisyllabic, often written ''aëro-''.

====Commonwealth usage====
In Canada, ''e'' is generally preferred over ''oe'' and often over ''ae'',{{Citation needed|date=September 2009|reason=I absolutely disagree...I rarely see anyone up here not preferring ae to e.}} but ''oe'' and ''ae'' are sometimes found in academic and scientific writing as well as government publications (for example, the fee schedule of the Ontario Health Insurance Plan) and some words such as ''palaeontology'' or ''aeon''. In Australia, it can go either way, depending on the word: for instance, ''medieval'' is spelled with the ''e'' rather than ''ae'', following the American usage along with numerous other words such as ''eon'' or ''fetus'',<ref name="Macquarie Dictionary 8th Edition">"The Macquarie Dictionary", 8th Edition. Macquarie Dictionary Publishers, 2020.</ref> while other words such as ''oestrogen'' or ''paediatrician'' are spelled the British way. The ''Macquarie Dictionary'' also notes a growing tendency towards replacing ''ae'' and ''oe'' with ''e'' worldwide and with the exception of manoeuvre, all British or American spellings are acceptable variants.<ref name="Fourth Edition 2005"/> Elsewhere, the British usage prevails, but the spellings with just ''e'' are increasingly used.<ref name="Peters"/> ''Manoeuvre'' is the only spelling in Australia, and the most common one in Canada, where ''maneuver'' and ''manoeuver'' are also sometimes found.<ref name="Peters"/>

==Greek-derived spellings (often through Latin and Romance)==
==={{Anchor|ise-ize|iseize|ise ize}}''-ise'', ''-ize'' (''-isation'', ''-ization'')===<!--linked-->

====Origin and recommendations====
The ''-ize'' spelling is often incorrectly seen in Britain as an Americanism. It has been in use since the 15th century, predating the ''-ise'' spelling by over a century.<ref name="IZE">{{cite web|url=https://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2011/03/28/ize-or-ise/|title=-Ize or -ise?|date=28 March 2011|work=OxfordWords|publisher=Oxford University Press|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180717013219/https://blog.oxforddictionaries.com/2011/03/28/ize-or-ise/|archive-date=2018-07-17|access-date=5 September 2018}}</ref> The verb-forming suffix ''-ize'' comes directly from Ancient Greek {{lang|grc|-ίζειν}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|-ízein}}) or Late Latin {{lang|la|-izāre}}, while ''-ise'' comes via French {{lang|fr|-iser}}.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Rissanen|first=Matti|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wKEpVqTKOusC&pg=PA244|title=Corpus-based Studies of Diachronic English|date=2006|publisher=Peter Lang|isbn=978-3-03910-851-0|pages=244|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":1" /> The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' ({{italics correction|''OED''}}) recommends ''-ize'' and lists the ''-ise'' form as an alternative.<ref name=":1">''Oxford English Dictionary'' "-ise<sup>1</sup>"</ref>

Publications by [[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]] (OUP)—such as Henry Watson Fowler's ''A Dictionary of Modern English Usage'', ''Hart's Rules'',<ref name=hhart/> and ''The Oxford Guide to English Usage''<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Oxford Guide to English Usage|url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordguidetoeng00wein_682|url-access=limited|last1=Weiner|first1=E.S.C.|last2=Delahunty|first2=Andrew|type=paperback|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1994|page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordguidetoeng00wein_682/page/n31 32]|isbn=978-0-19-280024-4}}</ref>—also recommend ''-ize''. However, Robert Allan's ''Pocket Fowler's Modern English Usage'' considers either spelling to be acceptable anywhere but the U.S.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Pocket Fowler's Modern English Usage|editor=Allen, Robert|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, England|page=354|quote=may be legitimately spelled with either -ize or -ise throughout the English-speaking world (except in America, where -ize is always used).|year=2008|isbn=978-0-19-923258-1}}</ref>

====Usage====
American spelling avoids ''-ise'' endings in words like ''organize'', ''realize'' and ''recognize''.<ref name=AOZ>{{cite web|year = 2006|url = http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutspelling/ize?view=uk|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070204084547/http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutspelling/ize?view=uk|archive-date=4 February 2007|url-status=dead|title =Are spellings like 'privatize' and 'organize' Americanisms?|website=AskOxford.com}}</ref>

British spelling mostly uses ''-ise'' (''organise'', ''realise'', ''recognise''), though ''-ize'' is sometimes used.<ref name=AOZ/> The ratio between ''-ise'' and ''-ize'' stood at 3:2 in the [[Social:British National Corpus|British National Corpus]] up to 2002.<ref>Peters, p. 298: "[With] contemporary British writers the '''ise''' spellings outnumber those with '''ize''' in the ratio of about 3:2" (emphasis as original)</ref> The spelling ''-ise'' is more commonly used in UK mass media and newspapers,<ref name=AOZ/> including ''The Times'' (which switched conventions in 1992),<ref name=Dixon2004>Richard Dixon, [https://web.archive.org/web/20110604174926/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/article993612.ece "Questions answered"], ''The Times'', 13 January 2004.</ref> ''The Daily Telegraph'', ''[[Finance:The Economist|The Economist]]'' and the BBC. The Government of the United Kingdom additionally uses ''-ise'', stating "do not use Americanisms" justifying that the spelling "is often seen as such".<ref>{{cite web|title=A to Z – Style Guide – Gov.uk|work=gov.uk|url=https://www.gov.uk/guidance/style-guide/a-to-z-of-gov-uk-style|access-date=16 July 2019}} ''See "Americanisms" in section A''</ref> The ''-ize'' form is known as Oxford spelling and is used in publications of the Oxford University Press, most notably the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', and of other academic publishers<ref>{{cite book|author=Modern Humanities Research Association|year=2013|title=MHRA Style Guide: A Handbook for Authors and Editors|edition=3rd|page=20|publisher=Modern Humanities Research Association |isbn=978-1-78188-009-8|url=http://www.mhra.org.uk/pdf/MHRA-Style-Guide-3rd-Edn.pdf|author-link=Modern Humanities Research Association}}</ref> such as ''Nature'', the ''[[Chemistry:Biochemical Journal|Biochemical Journal]]'' and ''The Times Literary Supplement''. It can be identified using the [[IETF language tag]] '''en-GB-oxendict''' (or, historically, by '''en-GB-oed''').<ref>[https://www.iana.org/assignments/language-subtag-registry/language-subtag-registry IANA language subtag registry], [[Organization:Internet Assigned Numbers Authority|IANA]], with "en-GM-oed" marked as added 2003-07-09 as grandfathered, and deprecated effective 2015-04-17, with "en-GB-oxendict" preferred (accessed 2015-08-08).</ref>

In Ireland, India, Australia, and New Zealand<ref>{{cite web |last1=Stack |first1=Marja |title=New Zealand English: ''-ise'' vs ''-ize'' endings |url=http://www.clearlingo.co.nz/blog/nz-english-ise-vs-ize-endings |website=Clearlingo Proofreading and Editing |access-date=11 May 2020 |language=en}}</ref> ''-ise'' spellings strongly prevail: the ''-ise'' form is preferred in Australian English at a ratio of about 3:1 according to the ''Macquarie Dictionary''.

In Canada, the ''-ize'' ending is more common, although the ''Ontario Public School Spelling Book''<ref>''Ontario Public School Spelling Book'', Authorized by Minister of Education, (Toronto The Ryerson Press)</ref> spelled most words in the ''-ize'' form, but allowed for duality with a page insert as late as the 1970s, noting that, although the ''-ize'' spelling was in fact the convention used in the ''OED'', the choice to spell such words in the ''-ise'' form was ''a matter of personal preference''; however, a ''pupil'' having made the decision, one way or the other, thereafter ought to write uniformly not only for a given word, but to apply that same uniformity consistently for all words where the option is found. Just as with [[Social:American and British English spelling differences#-yse, -yze|''-yze'']] spellings, however, in Canada the ''ize'' form remains the preferred or more common spelling, though both can still be found, yet the ''-ise'' variation, once more common amongst older Canadians, is employed less and less often in favour of the ''-ize'' spelling. (The alternate convention offered as a matter of choice may have been due to the fact that although there were an increasing number of American- and British-based dictionaries with Canadian Editions by the late 1970s, these were largely only supplemental in terms of vocabulary with subsequent definitions. It was not until the mid-1990s<ref>Dictionaries of Canadian English: the First Century 1912-2017 by Stefan Dollinger|https://www.academia.edu/36780450/Dictionaries_of_Canadian_English_the_first_century_1912_2017_rev_</ref><ref>1977–2012 Overall Canadian Dictionaries, Overall American Dictionaries, Overall British Dictionaries: Graphic.|https://html.scribdassets.com/3fc0pwlolc6mdn3g/images/7-73a016eddd.png</ref> that Canadian-based dictionaries became increasingly common.)

Worldwide, ''-ize'' endings prevail in scientific writing and are commonly used by many international organizations, such as United Nations Organizations (such as the [[Organization:World Health Organization|World Health Organization]] and the International Civil Aviation Organization) and the [[Organization:International Organization for Standardization|International Organization for Standardization]] (but not by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). The [[Social:European Union|European Union]]'s style guides require the usage of -''ise''.<ref name="EUStyleGuide">{{cite book|chapter-url=https://ec.europa.eu/info/sites/info/files/styleguide_english_dgt_en.pdf|title=English Style Guide. A handbook for authors and translators in the European Commission|chapter=3.2 -is-/-iz- spelling|edition=8th|page=14|date=26 August 2016}}</ref> Proofreaders at the EU's Publications Office ensure consistent spelling in official publications such as the ''Official Journal of the European Union'' (where legislation and other official documents are published), but the ''-ize'' spelling may be found in other documents.

The same applies to inflections and derivations such as ''colonised''/''colonized'' and ''modernisation''/''modernization''.

====Exceptions====
* Some verbs take only an ''-ize'' form worldwide. In these, ''-ize'' is not a suffix, so does not ultimately come from Ancient Greek {{lang|grc|-ίζειν}}: for example, ''capsize'', ''seize'' (except in the legal phrases ''to be seised of''&nbsp;or&nbsp;''to stand seised to''), ''size'' and ''prize'' (meaning ''value'', as opposed to the ''prise'' that means ''pry'').
* Some verbs take only ''-s-'' worldwide: ''advertise'', ''advise'', ''arise'', ''chastise'', ''circumcise'', ''comprise'', ''compromise'', ''demise'', ''despise'', ''devise'', ''disguise'', ''excise'', ''exercise'', ''franchise'', ''guise'', ''improvise'', ''incise'', ''promise'', ''reprise'', ''revise'', ''rise'', ''supervise'', ''surmise'', ''surprise'', ''televise'', and ''wise''. (In a few of these, ''-ise'' is not a suffix, while some have an ''-ise'' suffix with a different etymology, and the rest derive from {{lang|grc|-ίζειν}}.)
* Some words spelled with ''-ize'' in American English are not used in British English. For example, from the noun ''burglar'', the usual verb is formed by suffixation in American English (''burglarize'') but back-formation in British English (''burgle'').<ref>{{cite book|last=Garner|first=Bryan|title=A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage|publisher=[[Organization:Oxford University Press|Oxford University Press]]|edition=2nd|pages=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofmode00garn_0/page/122 122]|isbn=978-0-19-514236-5|url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofmode00garn_0|url-access=registration|access-date=18 December 2009|year=2001}}</ref>
* Conversely, the verb ''to prise'' (meaning "to force" or "to lever") is rarely used in North American English:<ref name="Peters"/> ''pry'' is instead used, a back-formation from or alteration of ''prise'' to avoid confusion with the more common noun "prize". When it is used in Canada, it is spelled with an ''s'', just as it is in British, Irish, Indian, Australian, New Zealand and European English, where its use is more common. However, the rare occurrences in the U.S. have the spelling as ''prize'' even though it does not contain a suffix, so does not derive from {{lang|grc|-ίζειν}}.<ref>"prize". ''Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Unabridged.'' Merriam-Webster, 2002. Also, "prize". ''Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Ed.''</ref><ref>According to ''Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Ed.'': ''prise'' is a "chiefly Brit var of PRIZE".</ref> (A topsail schooner built in Australia in 1829 was called Enterprize, in contrast with U.S. ships and [[Engineering:Space Shuttle Enterprise|spacecraft]] named "Enterprise".)

==={{Anchor|yse_yze}}''-yse'', ''-yze''===
The ending ''-yse'' is British and ''-yze'' is American. Thus, in British English ''analyse'', ''catalyse'', ''hydrolyse'' and ''paralyse'', but in American English ''analyze'', ''catalyze'', ''hydrolyze'' and ''paralyze''.

''Analyse'' was the more common spelling in 17th- and 18th-century English. Some dictionaries of the time, however, preferred ''analyze'', such as John Kersey's of 1702, Nathan Bailey's of 1721 and Samuel Johnson's of 1755. In Canada, ''-yze'' is preferred, but ''-yse'' is also very common. In South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, ''-yse'' is the prevailing form.

English verbs ending in either ''-lyse'' or ''-lyze'' are not similar to the original Greek verb, which is ''λύω lýo'' ("I release"). Instead, they come from the noun form {{lang|el|λύσις}} ''[[Biology:Lysis|lysis]]'', with the ''-ise'' or ''-ize'' suffix. For example, ''analyse'' comes from French ''analyser'', formed by haplology from the French ''analysiser'',<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''analyse, -ze, v.'' [http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/50007899?query_type=word&queryword=analyse&first=1&max_to_show=10&sort_type=alpha&result_place=2&search_id=7gvQ-NMAtlc-2599&hilite=50007899].</ref> which would be spelled ''analysise'' or ''analysize'' in English.

''Hart's Rules for Compositors and Readers at the University Press, Oxford'' states: "In verbs such as analyse, catalyse, paralyse, ''-lys-'' is part of the Greek stem (corresponding to the element ''-lusis'') and not a suffix like ''-ize''. The spelling ''-yze'' is therefore etymologically incorrect, and must not be used, unless American printing style is being followed."<ref name = hhart>{{Cite book|title=''Hart's Rules for Compositors and Readers at the University Press, Oxford''|author=Hart, Horace|year=1983|edition=39|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, England|isbn=0-19-212983-X|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/hartsrulesforcom0039oxfo}}</ref>

==={{Anchor|ogue_og}}''-ogue'', ''-og''===
British and other Commonwealth English use the ending ''-logue'' while American English commonly uses the ending ''-log'' for words like ''analog(ue)'', ''catalog(ue)'', ''dialog(ue)'', ''homolog(ue)'', etc. The ''-gue'' spelling, as in ''catalogue'', is used in the US, but ''catalog'' is more common. In contrast, ''dialogue'', ''epilogue'', ''prologue'', and ''monologue'' are extremely common spellings compared to ''dialog'' etc. in American English, although both forms are treated as acceptable ways to spell the words<ref>Both the ''Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary'' and ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'' have "catalog" as the main headword and "catalogue" as an equal variant.</ref> (thus, the inflected forms, ''cataloged'' and ''cataloging'' vs. ''catalogued'' and ''cataloguing''). Words such as ''demagogue'', ''pedagogue'', ''synagogue'' are seldom used without ''-ue'' even in American English.

In Australia, ''analog'' is standard for the adjective,{{Citation needed|date=August 2008}} but both ''analogue'' and ''analog'' are current for the noun; in all other cases the ''-gue'' endings strongly prevail,<ref name="Peters"/> for example ''monologue'', except for such expressions as ''[[Dialog box|dialog box]]'' in computing,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.windows.forms.openfiledialog.aspx |title=MSDN C#.NET OpenFileDialog Class |publisher=Msdn.microsoft.com |access-date=2012-03-04}}</ref> which are also used in other Commonwealth countries. In Australia, ''analog'' is used in its technical and electronic sense, as in ''analog electronics''.<ref name="Fourth Edition 2005"/> In Canada and New Zealand, ''analogue'' is used, but ''analog'' has some currency as a technical term<ref name="Peters"/> (e.g., in electronics, as in "analog electronics" as opposed to "digital electronics" and some video-game consoles might have an ''analog stick''<!--But isn't this most likely because video consoles are designed in America?-->). The ''-ue'' is absent worldwide in related words like ''analogy'', ''analogous'', and ''analogist''.

Both British and American English use the spelling ''-gue'' with a silent ''-ue'' for certain words that are not part of the ''-ogue'' set, such as ''tongue'' (cf. tong), ''plague'', ''vague'', and ''league.'' In addition, when the ''-ue'' is not silent, as in the words ''argue,'' ''ague'' and ''segue,'' all varieties of English use ''-gue.''

==Doubled consonants==
The plural of the noun ''bus'' is usually ''buses'', with ''busses'' a minor American variant.<ref name="bus_cald"/> Conversely, inflections of the verb ''bus'' usually double the ''s'' in British usage (''busses, bussed, bussing'') but not American usage (''buses, bused, busing'').<ref name="bus_cald">{{cite web |title=bus |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/bus?q=bus_1 |website=Cambridge English Dictionary |access-date=19 January 2019 |language=en}}</ref> In Australia, both are common, with the American usage slightly more common.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Macquarie Dictionary |url=https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/features/word/search/bus/ |access-date=2022-02-27 |website=www.macquariedictionary.com.au}}</ref>

===Doubled in British English===
The final consonant of an English word is sometimes doubled in both American and British spelling when adding a suffix beginning with a vowel, for example ''strip/stripped'', which prevents confusion with ''stripe/striped'' and shows the difference in pronunciation (see digraph). Generally, this happens only when the word's final syllable is stressed and when it also ends with a lone vowel followed by a lone consonant. In British English, however, a final ''-l'' is often doubled even when the final syllable is unstressed.<ref name="Peters"/> This exception is no longer usual in American English, seemingly because of Noah Webster.<ref>Cf. Oxford English Dictionary, ''traveller, traveler''.</ref> The ''-ll-'' spellings are nevertheless still deemed acceptable variants by both Merriam-Webster Collegiate and American Heritage dictionaries.
* The British English doubling is used for all inflections (''-ed'', ''-ing'', ''-er'', ''-est'') and for the noun suffixes ''-er'' and ''-or''. Therefore, British English usage is ''cancelled'', ''counsellor'', ''cruellest'', ''labelled'', ''modelling'', ''quarrelled'', ''signalling'', ''traveller'', and ''travelling''. Americans typically use ''canceled'', ''counselor'', ''cruelest'', ''labeled'', ''modeling'', ''quarreled'', ''signaling'', ''traveler'', and ''traveling''. However, for certain words such as ''cancelled'', the ''-ll-'' spelling is acceptable in American English as well.
** The word ''parallel'' keeps a single ''-l-'' in British English, as in American English (''paralleling'', ''unparalleled''), to avoid the cluster ''-llell-''.
** Words with two vowels before a final ''l'' are also spelled with ''-ll-'' in British English before a suffix when the first vowel either acts as a consonant (''equalling'' and ''initialled''; in the United States, ''equaling'' or ''initialed''), or belongs to a separate syllable (British ''di•alled'' and ''fu•el•ling''; American ''di•aled'' and ''fu•el•ing'').
*** British ''woollen'' is a further exception due to the double vowel (American: ''woolen''). Also, ''wooly'' is accepted in American English, though ''woolly'' prevails in both systems.<ref name="Peters" />
*** The verb ''surveil'', a back-formation from ''surveillance'', always makes ''surveilled'', ''surveilling''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/surveil|title=Surveil|work=Merriam-Webster|access-date=3 January 2018}}; {{cite web|url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/surveil|title=British & World English > surveil|work=OxfordDictionaries.com|access-date=3 January 2018|archive-date=4 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104013619/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/surveil|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Endings ''-ize''/''-ise'', ''-ism'', ''-ist'', ''-ish'' usually do not double the ''l'' in British English; for example, ''devilish'', ''dualism'', ''normalise'', and ''novelist''.
** Exceptions: ''duellist'', ''medallist'', ''panellist'', ''tranquillise'', and sometimes ''triallist'' in British English.
* For ''-ous'', British English has a single ''l'' in ''scandalous'' and ''perilous'', but the "ll" in ''libellous'' and ''marvellous''.
* For ''-ee'', British English has ''libellee''.
* For ''-age'', British English has ''pupillage'' but ''vassalage''.
* American English sometimes has an unstressed ''-ll-'', as in the UK, in some words where the root has ''-l''. These are cases where the change happens in the source language, which was often Latin. (Examples: ''bimetallism'', ''cancellation'', ''chancellor'', ''crystallize'', ''excellent'', ''raillery'', and ''tonsillitis''.)
* All forms of English have ''compelled'', ''excelling'', ''propelled'', ''rebelling'' (notice the stress difference); ''revealing'', ''fooling'' (note the double vowel before the l); and ''hurling'' (consonant before the ''l'').
* Canadian and Australian English mostly follow British usage.<ref name="Peters"/>

Among consonants other than ''l'', practice varies for some words, such as where the final syllable has secondary stress or an unreduced vowel. In the United States, the spellings ''kidnaped'' and ''worshiped'', which were introduced by the ''Chicago Tribune'' in the 1920s,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.spellingsociety.org/news/media/chicago2.php |title=Errant Spelling: Moves for simplification turn Inglish into another langwaj |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=8 June 1997 |pages=Section 3A page 14 |access-date=17 March 2007 |first=Eric |last=Zorn |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703161726/http://www.spellingsociety.org/news/media/chicago2.php |archive-date=3 July 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> are common, but ''kidnapped'' and ''worshipped'' prevail.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/kidnapped|title=Definition of KIDNAPPED}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/worshipped|title=Definition of WORSHIPPED}}</ref> ''Kidnapped'' and ''worshipped'' are the only standard British spellings. However, ''focused'' is the predominant spelling in both British and American English, ''focussed'' being just a minor variant in British English.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/focused |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171223220011/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/focused |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 December 2017 |title = FOCUSED {{!}} Meaning & Definition for UK English {{!}} Lexico.com}}</ref>

Miscellaneous:
* British ''calliper'' or ''caliper''; American ''caliper''.
* British ''jewellery''; American ''jewelry''. The word originates from the Old French word ''jouel''<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.lazarosoho.com/Jewelry-vs-Jewellery_b_54.html | title=Jewelry vs. Jewellery | publisher=Lazaro Soho | access-date=23 November 2014}}</ref> (whose contemporary French equivalent is ''joyau'', with the same meaning). The standard pronunciation {{IPAc-en|ˈ|dʒ|uː|ə|l|r|i}}<ref>''Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary'', [http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?dict=CALD&key=42648&ph=on jewellery UK, American jewelry]</ref> does not reflect this difference, but the non-standard pronunciation {{IPAc-en|ˈ|dʒ|uː|l|ər|i}} (which exists in New Zealand and Britain, hence the Cockney rhyming slang word ''tomfoolery'' {{IPAc-en|t|ɒ|m|ˈ|f|uː|l|ər|i}}) does. According to Fowler, ''jewelry'' used to be the "rhetorical and poetic" spelling in the UK, and was still used by ''The Times'' into the mid-20th century. Canada has both, but ''jewellery'' is more often used. Likewise, the Commonwealth (including Canada) has ''jeweller'' and the US has ''jeweler'' for a jewel(le)ry seller.

===Doubled in American English===
Conversely, there are words where British writers prefer a single ''l'' and Americans a double ''l''. In American usage, the spelling of words is usually not changed when they form the main part (not prefix or suffix) of other words, especially in newly formed words and in words whose main part is in common use. Words with this spelling difference include
''appall'', ''enrollment'', ''fulfill'', ''fulfillment'', ''installment'', ''skillful'', ''thralldom'', ''willful''. These words have monosyllabic cognates always written with ''-ll'': ''pall'', ''roll'', ''fill'', ''stall'', ''skill'', ''thrall'', ''will''. Cases where a single ''l'' nevertheless occurs in both American and British English include ''null''→''annul'', ''annulment''; ''till''→''until'' (although some prefer ''til'' to reflect the single ''l'' in ''until'', sometimes using a leading apostrophe (''{{'}}til''); this should be considered a [[Social:Hypercorrection|hypercorrection]] as ''till'' predates the use of ''until''); and others where the connection is not clear or the monosyllabic cognate is not in common use in American English (e.g., ''null'' is used mainly as a technical term in law, mathematics, and computer science).

In the UK, a single ''l'' is generally preferred over American forms ''distill'', ''instill'', ''enroll'', and ''enthrallment'', and ''enthrall'', although ''ll'' was formerly used;<ref>''OED'' Second Edition</ref> these are always spelled with ''ll'' in American usage. The former British spellings ''dulness'', ''instal'', and ''fulness'' are now quite rare.<ref name="Peters"/> The Scottish ''tolbooth'' is cognate with ''tollbooth'', but it has a distinct meaning.

In both American and British usages, words normally spelled ''-ll'' usually drop the second ''l'' when used as prefixes or suffixes, for example ''all''→''almighty'', ''altogether''; ''full''→''handful'', ''useful''; ''well''→''welcome'', ''welfare''; ''chill''→''chilblain''.

Both the British ''fulfil'' and the American ''fulfill'' never use ''-ll-'' in the middle (i.e., *''fullfill'' and *''fullfil'' are incorrect).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/fulfil?showCookiePolicy=true |title=fulfil |work=Collins English Dictionary |access-date=3 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{OED|fulfil}}</ref>

Johnson wavered on this issue. His dictionary of 1755 [[Lemmatization|lemmatizes]] ''distil'' and ''instill'', ''downhil'' and ''uphill''.<ref name="Peters"/>

==Dropped "e"==
British English sometimes keeps a silent "e" when adding suffixes where American English does not. Generally speaking, British English drops it in only some cases in which it is needed to show pronunciation whereas American English only uses it where needed.
* British prefers ''ageing'',<ref name="Peters"/> American usually ''aging'' (compare ''ageism'', ''raging''). For the noun or verb "route", British English often uses ''routeing'',<ref>Peters, p. 480. Also National Routeing Guide</ref> but in America ''routing'' is used. The military term ''rout'' forms ''routing'' everywhere. However, all of these words form "router", whether used in the context of carpentry, data communications, or the military. (e.g., "Attacus was the router of the Huns at ....")

Both forms of English keep the silent "e" in the words ''dyeing'', ''singeing'', and ''swingeing''<ref>In American English, ''swingeing'' is sometimes spelled ''swinging'' [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/swingeing?r=66 see American Heritage Dictionary entry], and the reader has to discern from the context which word and pronunciation is meant.</ref> (in the sense of ''dye'', ''singe'', and ''swinge''), to distinguish from ''dying'', ''singing'', ''swinging'' (in the sense of ''die'', ''sing'', and ''swing''). In contrast, the verb ''bathe'' and the British verb ''bath'' both form ''bathing''. Both forms of English vary for ''tinge'' and ''twinge''; both prefer ''cringing'', ''hinging'', ''lunging'', ''syringing''.
* Before ''-able'', British English prefers ''likeable'', ''liveable'', ''rateable'', ''saleable'', ''sizeable'', ''unshakeable'',<ref name="British National Corpus">[[Social:British National Corpus|British National Corpus]]</ref> where American practice prefers to drop the "-e";<!-- borderline: ''tradeable'', ''smokeable'', ''driveable'', ''shareable'' --> but both British and American English prefer ''breathable'', ''curable'', ''datable'', ''lovable'', ''movable'', ''notable'', ''provable'', ''quotable'', ''scalable'', ''solvable'', ''usable'',<ref name="British National Corpus"/> and those where the root is polysyllabic, like ''believable'' or ''decidable''. Both systems keep the silent "e" when it is needed to preserve a soft "c", "ch", or "g", such as in ''cacheable'', ''changeable'', ''traceable''; both usually keep the "e" after "-dge", as in ''knowledgeable'', ''unbridgeable'', and ''unabridgeable'' ("These rights are unabridgeable").
* Both ''abridgment'' and the more regular ''abridgement'' are current in the US, only the latter in the UK.<ref name="Peters"/> Likewise for the word ''lodg(e)ment''. Both ''judgment'' and ''judgement'' are in use interchangeably everywhere, although the former prevails in the US and the latter prevails in the UK<ref name="Peters"/> except in the practice of law, where ''judgment'' is standard. This also holds for ''abridgment'' and ''acknowledgment''. Both systems prefer ''fledgling'' to ''fledgeling'', but ''ridgeling'' to ''ridgling''. ''Acknowledgment'', ''acknowledgement'', ''abridgment'' and ''abridgement'' are all used in Australia; the shorter forms are endorsed by the Australian Capital Territory Government.<ref name="Fourth Edition 2005"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.pco.act.gov.au/library/Spelling.pdf |title=Spelling, Abbreviations and Symbols Guide |access-date=2012-11-15}}</ref> Apart from when the "e" is dropped and in the word ''gaol'' and some pronunciations of ''margarine'', "g" can only be soft when followed by an "e", "i", or "y".
* The word "blue" always drops the "e" when forming "bluish" or "bluing".

==<span id="Hard and soft "c""></span>Hard and soft "c"==
A "c" is generally soft when followed by an "e", "i", or "y". One word with a pronunciation that is an exception in British English, "sceptic", is spelled "skeptic" in American English. See ''Miscellaneous spelling differences'' below.

==Different spellings for different meanings==
* '''''dependant'' or ''dependent''''' (noun): British dictionaries distinguish between ''dependent'' (adjective) and ''dependant'' (noun). In the US, ''dependent'' is usual for both noun and adjective, regardless of ''dependant'' also being an acceptable variant for the noun form in the US.<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dependant Merriam-Webster Online]. Retrieved 30 December 2007.</ref>
* '''''disc'' or ''disk''''': traditionally, ''disc'' used to be British and ''disk'' American. Both spellings are etymologically sound (Greek ''diskos'', Latin ''discus''), although ''disk'' is the earlier form.<!--Needs to be cleaned up & expanded--> In computing, ''disc'' is used for optical discs (e.g., a CD, Compact Disc; DVD, Digital Versatile/Video Disc; MCA [[Company:DiscoVision|DiscoVision]], [[LaserDisc]]), by choice of the group that coined and trademarked the name Compact Disc, while ''disk'' is used for products using magnetic storage (e.g., [[Engineering:Hard disk drive|hard disk]]s or [[Floppy disk|floppy disk]]s, also known as diskettes).<ref>{{cite web|last = Howarth|first = Lynne C|author2=others|title = "Executive summary" from review of "International Standard Bibliographic Description for Electronic Resources"|publisher = American Library Association|date = 14 June 1999|url = http://www.library.yale.edu/cataloging/aacrer/tf-harm21.htm|access-date = 30 April 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070416004041/http://www.library.yale.edu/cataloging/aacrer/tf-harm21.htm| archive-date= 16 April 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref>
* '''''enquiry'' or ''inquiry''''':<ref name="Peters"/> according to Fowler, ''inquiry'' should be used in relation to a formal inquest, and ''enquiry'' to the act of questioning. Many (though not all) British writers maintain this distinction; the ''OED'', in their entry dating from 1900, lists ''inquiry'' and ''enquiry'' as equal alternatives, in that order (with the addition of "public inquiry" in a 1993 addition). Some British dictionaries, such as ''Chambers 21st Century Dictionary'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.chambersharrap.co.uk/chambers/features/chref/chref.py/main?title=21st&query=inquiry |title=Chambers {{pipe}} Free English Dictionary |publisher=Chambersharrap.co.uk |access-date=7 February 2010}}</ref> present the two spellings as interchangeable variants in the general sense, but prefer ''inquiry'' for the "formal inquest" sense. In the US, only ''inquiry'' is commonly used; the title of the ''National Enquirer'', as a proper name, is an exception. In Australia, ''inquiry'' and ''enquiry'' are often interchangeable.<ref>See ''Macquarie Dictionary'' (5th ed.)'s explanation under ''-in<sup>2</sup>''. The dictionary also lists 'inquiry' as the primary spelling, with 'enquiry' being a cross-reference to the former (denoting lower prevalence in Australian English). The British distinction between 'inquiry' and 'enquiry' is noted.</ref>
* '''''ensure'' or ''insure''''': in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, the word ''ensure'' (to make sure, to make certain) has a distinct meaning from the word ''insure'' (often followed by ''against''&nbsp;– to guarantee or protect against, typically by means of an "insurance policy"). The distinction is only about a century old.<ref name="Peters"/> In American usage, ''insure'' may also be used in the former sense, but ''ensure'' may not be used in the latter sense. According to Merriam-Webster's usage notes, ''ensure'' and ''insure'' "are interchangeable in many contexts where they indicate the making certain or [making] inevitable of an outcome, but ''ensure'' may imply a virtual guarantee 'the government has ''ensured'' the safety of the refugees', while ''insure'' sometimes stresses the taking of necessary measures beforehand 'careful planning should ''insure'' the success of the party'."<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ensure Merriam-Webster Online]. Retrieved 30 December 2007.</ref>
* '''''matt'' or ''matte''''': in the UK, ''matt'' refers to a non-glossy surface, and ''matte'' to the [[Engineering:Matte (filmmaking)|motion-picture technique]]; in the US, ''matte'' covers both.<ref name="Peters"/>
* '''''programme'' or ''program''''': the British ''programme'' is from post-classical Latin ''programma'' and French ''programme''. ''Program'' first appeared in Scotland in 1633 (earlier than ''programme'' in England in 1671) and is the only spelling found in the US. The ''OED'' entry, updated in 2007, says that ''program'' conforms to the usual representation of Greek as in ''anagram'', ''diagram'', ''telegram'' etc. In British English, ''program'' is the common spelling for computer programs<!-- towards the end of the 20th century, but ''programme'' is now frequent in this sense and increasingly used by newspapers and magazines. For-->, but for other meanings ''programme'' is used. New Zealand also follows this pattern. In Australia, ''program'' has been endorsed by government writing standards for all meanings since the 1960s,<ref name="Peters" /> and is listed as the official spelling in the ''Macquarie Dictionary'';<ref name="Fourth Edition 2005"/> see also the name of ''The Micallef P(r)ogram(me)''. In Canada, ''program'' prevails, and the ''Canadian Oxford Dictionary'' makes no meaning-based distinction between it and ''programme''. However, some Canadian government documents nevertheless use ''programme'' for all meanings of the word&nbsp;– and also to match the spelling of the French equivalent.<ref name="Peters" />
* '''''tonne'' or ''ton''''': in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, the spelling ''[[Tonne|tonne]]'' refers to the metric unit (1,000&nbsp;kilograms), which is the nomenclature used in SI units, whereas in the US the same unit is called a ''metric ton''. Canada uses either nomenclature.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Government of Canada |first=Public Services and Procurement Canada |date=2019-12-06 |title=spelling: SI/metric units – Writing Tips Plus – Writing Tools – Resources of the Language Portal of Canada – Canada.ca |url=https://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/en/writing-tips-plus/spelling-si-metric-units |access-date=2023-09-11 |website=www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca}}</ref> The unqualified ''[[Ton|ton]]'' usually refers to the [[Long ton|long ton]] ({{convert|2240|lb|kg|0|disp=or}}) in the UK and to the [[Short ton|short ton]] ({{convert|2000|lb|kg|0|disp=or}}) in the US (but note that the tonne and long ton differ by only 1.6%, and are roughly interchangeable when accuracy is not critical; ton and tonne are usually pronounced the same in speech).
* '''[[Metre#Spelling|''metre'' or ''meter'']]''': in British English there is a distinction between ''metre'' as a unit of length, and a ''meter'' in the sense of an ammeter or a water meter, whereas the standard American spelling for both is "meter".<ref>The Metric Conversion Act of 1985 gives the Secretary of Commerce of the US the responsibility of interpreting or modifying the [[International System of Units|SI]] for use in the US. The Secretary of Commerce delegated this authority to the Director of the [[Organization:National Institute of Standards and Technology|National Institute of Standards and Technology]] (NIST) ([http://ts.nist.gov/WeightsAndMeasures/Metric/upload/FRN_Vol_73_No_96_16May2008_SI_Interpretation.pdf Turner, 2008] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326162948/http://ts.nist.gov/WeightsAndMeasures/Metric/upload/FRN_Vol_73_No_96_16May2008_SI_Interpretation.pdf |date=26 March 2009 }}). In 2008, the NIST published the US version ([http://physics.nist.gov/Pubs/SP330/sp330.pdf Taylor and Thompson, 2008a] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603215953/http://physics.nist.gov/Pubs/SP330/sp330.pdf |date=3 June 2016 }}) of the English text of the eighth edition of the [[Organization:International Bureau of Weights and Measures|International Bureau of Weights and Measures]] publication ''Le Système International d'Unités (SI)'' ([http://www1.bipm.org/utils/common/pdf/si_brochure_8.pdf BIPM, 2006]).
In the NIST publication, the spellings "meter", "liter", and "deka" are used rather than "metre", "litre", and "deca" as in the original BIPM English text ([http://physics.nist.gov/Pubs/SP330/sp330.pdf Taylor and Thompson, 2008a] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603215953/http://physics.nist.gov/Pubs/SP330/sp330.pdf |date=3 June 2016 }}, p. iii). The Director of the NIST officially acknowledged this publication, together with [http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/pdf/sp811.pdf Taylor and Thompson (2008b)], as the "legal interpretation" of the SI for the United States ([http://ts.nist.gov/WeightsAndMeasures/Metric/upload/FRN_Vol_73_No_96_16May2008_SI_Interpretation.pdf Turner, 2008] ).</ref>

==Different spellings for different pronunciations==
In a few cases, [[Social:Lexeme|essentially the same word]] has a different spelling that reflects a different pronunciation.

As well as the miscellaneous cases listed in the following table, the past tenses of some irregular verbs differ in both spelling and pronunciation, as with ''smelt'' (UK) versus ''smelled'' (US) (see American and British English grammatical differences: Verb morphology).

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! UK !! US !! class="unsortable" | Notes
|- valign="top"
|<div style="float:left;"> {{lang|en-GB|aeroplane}}</div> || {{lang|en-US|airplane}} || ''{{lang|en-GB|Aeroplane}}'', originally a French loanword with a different meaning, is the older spelling.<ref name="etymonline">{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=aeroplane&searchmode=none |title=etymonline.com |publisher=etymonline.com |access-date=2012-03-04}}</ref> The oldest recorded uses of the spelling ''{{lang|en-US|airplane}}'' are British.<ref name="etymonline"/> According to the ''OED'',<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary'', ''airplane'', draft revision March 2008; ''airplane'' is labelled "chiefly North American"</ref> "''{{lang|en-US|[a]irplane}}'' became the standard American term (replacing ''{{lang|en-GB|aeroplane}}'') after this was adopted by the [[Organization:National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics|National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics]] in 1916. Although A. Lloyd James recommended its adoption by the BBC in 1928, it has until recently been no more than an occasional form in British English." In the British National Corpus,<ref>[http://corpus.byu.edu/bnc/x.asp British National Corpus]. Retrieved 1 April 2008.</ref> ''{{lang|en-GB|aeroplane}}'' outnumbers ''{{lang|en-US|airplane}}'' by more than 7:1 in the UK. The case is similar for the British ''{{lang|en-GB|aerodrome}}''<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aerodrome Merriam-Webster online], ''aerodrome''. Retrieved 1 April 2008.</ref> and American ''{{lang|en-US|airdrome}}'';<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary'', ''airdrome''.</ref>''{{lang|en-GB|Aerodrome}}'' is used merely as a technical term in Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The prefixes ''aero-'' and ''air-'' both mean ''air'', with the first coming from the Ancient Greek word ἀήρ (''āēr''). Thus, the prefix appears in ''[[Earth:Aeronautics|aeronautics]]'', ''[[Physics:Aerostatics|aerostatics]]'', ''[[Physics:Aerodynamics|aerodynamics]]'', aeronautical engineering and so on, while the second occurs invariably in ''aircraft'', ''airport'', ''airliner'', ''airmail'' etc. In Canada, ''{{lang|en-US|airplane}}'' is more common than ''{{lang|en-GB|aeroplane}}'', although ''{{lang|en-GB|aeroplane}}'' is used as part of the regulatory term "ultra-light aeroplane".<ref>{{cite web |title=Ultra-light Aeroplane Transition Strategy – Transport Canada |date=3 May 2010 |url=https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/standards/general-recavi-ultralight-ultransitionstrategy-basic-2492.htm#definition |access-date=13 February 2015}}</ref>
|- valign="top"
| {{lang|en-GB|aluminium}} || {{lang|en-US|aluminum}} || The spelling ''{{lang|en-GB|aluminium}}'' is the international standard in the sciences according to the IUPAC recommendations. [[Biography:Humphry Davy|Humphry Davy]], the element's discoverer, first proposed the name ''alumium'', and then later ''aluminum''. The name ''{{lang|en-GB|aluminium}}'' was finally adopted to conform with the ''-ium'' ending of some metallic elements.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://elements.vanderkrogt.net/element.php?sym=Al |title=History & Etymology of Aluminium |publisher=Elements.vanderkrogt.net |date=1 October 2002 |access-date=2012-03-04}}</ref> Canada uses ''{{lang|en-US|aluminum}}'' and Australia and New Zealand ''{{lang|en-GB|aluminium}}'', according to their respective dictionaries<ref name="Peters"/> although the Canadian trade association is called the 'Aluminium Association of Canada'<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://aluminium.ca/en/|title=Aluminium Association of Canada}}</ref>
|- valign="top"
| {{lang|en-GB|ampoule}} || {{lang|en-US|ampoule or ampule}} || The ''-poule'' spelling and {{IPAc-en|-|p|uː|l}} pronunciation, which reflect the word's French origin, are common in America,<ref>[https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ampoule MW] favours ''-poule'' and {{IPAc-en|-|p|juː|l}}, [https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=ampule AHD] ''-pule'' and {{IPAc-en|-|p|uː|l}}</ref> whereas ''-pule'' and {{IPAc-en|-|p|juː|l}} are rare in Britain.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ampule |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/ampule |website=Collins English Dictionary |access-date=25 June 2019 |quote=in {{smallcaps|BRIT}}, use ampoule |language=en}}</ref> Another US variant is {{lang|en-US|ampul}}.
|- valign="top"
| arse || ass || In vulgar senses "buttocks" ("[[Biology:Anus|anus]]"/"wretch"/"idiot"); unrelated sense "donkey" is ''[[Biology:Donkey|ass]]'' in both. ''Arse'' is very rarely used in the US, though often understood, whereas both are used in British English (with arse being considered vulgar). ''Arse'' is also used in Newfoundland.
|- valign="top"
| {{lang|en-GB|behove}} || {{lang|en-US|behoove}} || The 19th century had the spelling ''{{lang|en-GB|behove}}'' pronounced to rhyme with ''move''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Murray |first=James A. H. |title=Spelling Reform |publisher=Isaac Pitman |location=Bath |year=1880 |series=Annual address of the President of the Philological Society |page=5 |url=https://archive.org/stream/drjhmurrayonspel00murr#page/5/mode/1up/search/behove |access-date=3 May 2010}}</ref> Subsequently, a pronunciation spelling with doubled ''oo'' was adopted in America, while in Britain a [[Social:Spelling pronunciation|spelling pronunciation]] rhyming with ''rove'' was adopted.
|- valign="top"
| bogeyman || boogeyman or boogerman || It is pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|oʊ|ɡ|i|m|æ|n}} in the UK, so that the American form, boogeyman {{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ʊ|ɡ|i|m|æ|n}}, is reminiscent of musical "boogie" to the British ear. Boogerman {{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|ʊ|ɡ|ər|m|æ|n}} is common in the Southern US and gives an association with the slang term booger for nasal mucus while the mainstream American spelling of boogeyman does not, but aligns more closely with the British meaning where a bogey is also nasal mucus.
|- valign="top"
| brent || brant || For the species of goose.
|- valign="top"
| carburettor || carburetor or carburator|| The word ''carburetor'' comes from the French ''carbure'' meaning "[[Chemistry:Carbide|carbide]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.answers.com/carburet%26r%3D67|title=American Heritage Dictionary|website=Answers.com|access-date=8 October 2017|archive-date=11 March 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070311031404/http://www.answers.com/carburet%26r%3D67|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=carburetor |title=Online Etymology Dictionary|website=Etymonline.com|access-date=8 October 2017}}</ref> In the UK, the word is spelled ''carburettor'' & pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˌ|k|ɑːr|b|j|ʊ|ˈ|r|ɛ|t|ər}} or {{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɑːr|b|ə|r|ɛ|t|ər}}. In the US, the word may be spelled ''carburetor'' or ''carburator''; it is pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɑːr|b|ə|r|eɪ|t|ər}}.
|- valign="top"
| charivari || shivaree, charivari || In America, where both terms are mainly regional,<ref>The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition.</ref> ''charivari'' is usually pronounced as ''shivaree'', which is also found in Canada and [[History:Cornwall|Cornwall]],<ref>''OED'', ''shivaree''</ref> and is a corruption of the French word.
|- valign="top"
| closure || cloture || Motion in legislative or parliamentary procedure that quickly ends debate. Borrowed from the French ''clôture'' meaning "closure"; ''cloture'' remains the name used in the US. The American spelling was initially used when it was adopted into the UK in 1882 but was later changed to ''closure''.<ref>{{cite news |title='Closure' and 'Cloture' Mean the Same Thing |work=The New York Times |page=21 |date=11 June 1964}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.lexico.com/definition/cloture|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200423113632/https://www.lexico.com/definition/cloture|url-status=dead|archive-date=23 April 2020|title=cloture|website=Lexico|publisher=Lexico.com}}</ref>
|- valign="top"
| eyrie || aerie || This noun (not to be confused with the adjective eerie) rhymes with ''weary'' and ''hairy'' respectively. Both spellings and pronunciations occur in America.
|- valign="top"
| fillet || fillet, filet || Meat or fish. Pronounced the French way (approximately) in the US; Canada follows British pronunciation and distinguishes between fillet, especially as concerns fish, and filet, as concerns certain cuts of beef. [[Company:McDonald's|McDonald's]] in the UK and Australia use the US spelling "filet" for their Filet-O-Fish.
|- valign="top"
| fount || font || ''Fount'' was the standard British spelling for a metal type [[Font|font]] (especially in the sense of one consignment of metal type in one style and size, e.g. "the printing company had a fount of that typeface"); lasted until the end of the metal type era and occasionally still seen.<ref name="Fowler2015">{{cite book|author=Henry Watson Fowler|title=Fowler's Dictionary of Modern English Usage|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AvmzBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA326|year=2015|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-966135-0|page=326}}</ref> From French ''fondre'', "to cast".
|- valign="top"
| furore || furor || ''Furore'' is a late 18th-century Italian loan-word that replaced the Latinate form in the UK in the following century,<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary'', ''furore''.</ref> and is usually pronounced with a voiced final ''e''. The Canadian usage is the same as the American, and Australia has both.<ref name="Peters"/>
|- valign="top"
| grotty || grody || Clippings of ''grotesque''; both are slang terms from the 1960s.<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary'', ''Grotty; Grody''</ref>
|- valign="top"
| haulier || hauler || Haulage contractor; ''haulier'' is the older spelling.<ref name="Peters" />
|- valign="top"
| jemmy || jimmy || In the sense "[[Engineering:Crowbar (tool)|crowbar]]".
|- valign="top"
| moustache || mustache<br /> moustache || In America, according to the ''Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary'' and ''The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language'', the British spelling is an also-ran, yet the pronunciation with second-syllable stress is a common variant. In Britain the second syllable is usually stressed.
|- valign="top"
| mum(my) || mom(my) || Mother. ''Mom'' is sporadically regionally found in the UK (e.g., in West Midlands English). Some British and Irish dialects have ''mam'',<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary'', ''mom'' and ''mam''</ref> and this is often used in Northern English, Hiberno-English, and Welsh English. Scottish English may also use ''mam'', ''ma'', or ''maw''. In the American region of New England, especially in the case of the Boston accent, the British pronunciation of ''mum'' is often retained, while it is still spelled ''mom''. In Canada, there are both ''mom'' and ''mum''; Canadians often say ''mum'' and write ''mom''.<ref>{{cite web|author=Added by Symphony on 15 October 2009 |url=http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/symphony/things-i-dont-understand-part-3-canada/30-33430/ |title=Things I don't Understand: Part 3&nbsp;– Canada! |publisher=giantbomb |date=15 October 2009 |access-date=7 February 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091223132929/http://www.giantbomb.com/profile/symphony/things-i-dont-understand-part-3-canada/30-33430/ |archive-date=23 December 2009 }}</ref> In Australia and New Zealand, ''mum'' is used. In the sense of a preserved corpse, ''mummy'' is always used.
|- valign="top"
| naivety,<br />naïveté || naïveté || The American spelling is from French, and American speakers generally approximate the French pronunciation as {{IPAc-en|n|ɑː|ˈ|iː|v|(|ə|)|t|eɪ}}, whereas the British spelling conforms to English norms, as also the pronunciation {{IPAc-en|n|ɑː|ˈ|iː|v|(|ə|)|t|i}}{{refn|{{MerriamWebsterDictionary|access-date=2016-01-26|naivety}}}}{{refn|{{Dictionary.com|access-date=2016-01-26|naivety}}}}. In the UK, ''naïveté'' is a minor variant, used about 20% of the time in the British National Corpus; in America, ''naivete'' and ''naiveté'' are marginal variants, and ''naivety'' is almost unattested.<ref name="Peters"/><ref>''Merriam Webster's 11th Collegiate Dictionary'', ''naïveté'' and ''naivety''.</ref>
|- valign="top"
| orientated || oriented || In the UK, Australia and New Zealand, it is common to use ''orientated'' (as in family-orientated), whereas in the US, ''oriented'' is used exclusively (family-oriented). The same applies to the negative (''disorientated'', ''disoriented''). Both words have the same origins, coming from "orient" or its offshoot "orientation".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutgrammar/oriented |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011101004011/http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/aboutgrammar/oriented |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 November 2001 |title=Grammar – Oxford Dictionaries Online |publisher=Askoxford.com |access-date=2012-03-04}}</ref>
|- valign="top"
| pernickety || persnickety || ''Persnickety'' is a late 19th-century American alteration of the Scots word ''pernickety''.<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary'', ''persnickety''</ref>
|- valign="top"
| plonk || plunk || As verb meaning "sit/set down carelessly".<ref>{{cite web |title=Plunk |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/plunk |website=Collins English Dictionary |language=en}}</ref>
|- valign="top"
| potter || putter || As verb meaning "perform minor agreeable tasks".<ref>{{cite web |title=Putter<sup>2</sup> |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/putter#h2_entry |website=Collins English Dictionary |language=en}}</ref>
|- valign="top"
| pyjamas || pajamas || The 'y' represents the pronunciation of the original [[Social:Urdu|Urdu]] "pāy-jāma", and in the 18th century spellings such as "paijamahs" and "peijammahs" appeared: this is reflected in the pronunciation {{IPAc-en|p|aɪ|ˈ|dʒ|ɑː|m|ə|z}} (with the first syllable rhyming with "pie") offered as an alternative in the first edition of the ''Oxford English Dictionary''. Two spellings are also known from the 18th century, but 'pajama' became more or less confined to the US.<ref>''OED'', s.v. 'pyjamas'</ref> Canada follows both British and American usage, with both forms commonplace.
|- valign="top"
| quin || quint || Abbreviations of ''quintuplet''.
|- valign="top"
| scallywag || scalawag<br />scallywag || In the United States (where the word originated, as ''scalawag''),<ref name="Peters"/> ''scallywag'' is not unknown.<ref>In ''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', ''scalawag'' is [[Lemmatisation|lemmatized]] without alternative, while ''scallawag'' and ''scallywag'' are defined by cross-reference to it. All of them are marked as "originally American".</ref>
|- valign="top"
| sledge || sled || In American usage a ''sled'' is smaller and lighter than a ''sledge'' and is used only over ice or snow, especially for play by young people, whereas a ''sledge'' is used for hauling loads over ice, snow, grass, or rough terrain.<ref>See the respective definitions in the ''American Heritage Dictionary''.</ref> Australia follows American usage.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Macquarie Dictionary|url=https://www.macquariedictionary.com.au/features/word/search/sledge/|access-date=2022-01-16|website=www.macquariedictionary.com.au}}</ref>
|- valign="top"
| speciality || specialty || In British English the standard usage is ''speciality'', but ''specialty'' occurs in the field of medicine<ref>See, for example, the November 2006 BMA document titled [http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/AttachmentsByTitle/PDFselectionspecialtytraining/$FILE/SelectionSpecialtyTraining.pdf Selection for Specialty Training] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081030013727/http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/AttachmentsByTitle/PDFselectionspecialtytraining/%24FILE/SelectionSpecialtyTraining.pdf |date=30 October 2008 }}</ref> and also as a legal term for a contract under seal. In Canada, ''specialty'' prevails. In Australia and New Zealand, both are current.<ref name="Peters"/>
|- valign="top"
| titbit || tidbit || According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', the oldest form was "tyd bit", and the alteration to "titbit" was probably under the influence of the obsolete word "tit", meaning a small horse or girl.
|}

===Past tense differences===
In the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, it is more common to end some past tense verbs with a "t" as in ''learnt'' or ''dreamt'' rather than ''learned'' or ''dreamed''.{{dubious|date=August 2021}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/spanish/specials/1125_questions/page6.shtml |title=BBC Mundo {{pipe}} Questions about English |publisher=Bbc.co.uk |access-date=2012-03-04}}</ref> However, such spellings are also found in American English. However, in American English, ''burned'' and ''burnt'' have different usages.

Several verbs have different past tenses or past participles in American and British English:
* The past tense of the verb "to dive" is most commonly found as "dived" in British and New Zealand English. "Dove" is usually used in its place in American English. Both terms are understood in Canada and Australia, and may be found either in minority use or in regional dialect in America.
* The past tense of the verb "to get" is "got" everywhere, but the past participle is "got" in British and New Zealand English but "gotten" in American and Canadian, and occasionally in Australian English. Both terms are understood, and may be found either in minority use or in regional dialect. One exception is in the phrase "ill-gotten", which is widely used everywhere. Another is the universal use of "have got" to indicate possession or necessity: "I have got a car", "I have got to go" (whereas "I have gotten a car" would mean "I have ''obtained'' a car", and "I have gotten to go" would mean "I have had the ''opportunity/privilege'' to go"). None of this affects "forget" and "beget", whose past participles are "forgotten" and "begotten" in all varieties.

==Miscellaneous spelling differences==
In the table below, the main spellings are above the accepted alternative spellings.
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! United Kingdom (UK) !! United States (US) !! class="unsortable"|Remarks
|- valign="top"
|annexe || annex || To ''annex'' is the verb in both British and American usage. However, the noun—''an annex(e)'' of a building—is spelled with an ''-e'' at the end in the UK, but not in the US. Australia follows US usage.<ref name="Macquarie Dictionary 8th Edition"/>
|- valign="top"
| apophthegm<ref>{{cite web |title=Definition of apophthegm |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apophthegm |website=www.merriam-webster.com |access-date=3 October 2018 |language=en}}</ref> || apothegm<ref>{{cite web |title=apophthegm |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/apothegm |website=Oxford Dictionaries |access-date=3 October 2018}}{{dead link|date=September 2022|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> || Johnson favoured ''apophthegm'' (the ''ph'' is silent) which matches {{lang-grc|ἁπόφθεγμα|translit=apophthegma}}.<ref name="apothegm-ned"/> Webster favoured ''apothegm'', which matches {{lang-la|apothegma}}, and was also more common in England until Johnson.<ref name="apothegm-ned">{{cite book |last1=Murray |first1=James |title=A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles |date=November 1885 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |pages=389 s.v. "apophthegm", 393 s.vv. "apothegm", "apothem" |url=https://archive.org/stream/ANewEnglishDictionaryOnHistoricalPrinciples.10VolumesWithSupplement/01.NEDHP.AB.Oxford.Murray.1888.#page/n412/mode/1up |access-date=3 October 2018 |volume=I Pt 2: Ant–Batten |language=en}}</ref> There is an unrelated word spelled ''[[Apothem|apothem]]'' in all regions.<ref name="apothegm-ned"/>
|- valign="top"
|artefact,<br />artifact || artifact || In British English, ''artefact'' is the main spelling and ''artifact'' a minor variant.<ref>{{Cite OED| artefact}}</ref> In American English, ''artifact'' is the usual spelling. Canadians prefer ''artifact'' and Australians ''artefact'', according to their respective dictionaries.<ref name="Peters"/> ''Artefact'' reflects ''Arte-fact(um)'', the Latin source.<ref name="Oxford English Dictionary">{{Cite book|title=Oxford English Dictionary|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, England|date=March 2009}}</ref>
|- valign="top"
|axe || ax,<br />axe || Both the noun and verb. The word comes from [[Social:Old English|Old English]] ''æx''. In the US, both spellings are acceptable and commonly used. The Oxford English Dictionary states that "the spelling ''ax'' is better on every ground, of etymology, phonology, and analogy, than ''axe'', which became prevalent in the 19th century; but it ["ax"] is now disused in Britain".<ref>Oxford English Dictionary online edition: entry "axe | ax"</ref>
|- valign="top"
|camomile, chamomile || chamomile, camomile || The word derives, via French and Latin, from Greek χαμαίμηλον ("earth apple"). The more common British spelling "camomile", corresponding to the immediate French source, is the older in English, while the spelling "chamomile" more accurately corresponds to the ultimate Latin and Greek source.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, online edition, entry "camomile | chamomile"</ref> In the UK, according to the ''OED'', "the spelling ''cha-'' is chiefly in pharmacy, after Latin; that with ''ca-'' is literary and popular". In the US ''chamomile'' dominates in all senses.
|- valign="top"
|carat || carat, karat|| The spelling with a "k" is used in the US only for the measure of purity of gold. The "c" spelling is universal for weight.<ref name="Oxford English Dictionary"/>
|- valign="top"
|cheque || check || In banking. Hence ''pay cheque'' and ''paycheck''. Accordingly, the North American term for what is known as a ''current account'' or ''cheque account'' in the UK is spelled ''chequing account'' in Canada and ''checking account'' in the US. Some American financial institutions, notably [[Company:American Express|American Express]], use ''cheque'', but this is merely a trademarking affectation.
|- valign="top"
|chequer || checker || As in ''chequerboard''/''checkerboard'', ''chequered''/''checkered flag'' etc. In Canada and Australia, as in the US.<ref name="Peters"/>
|- valign="top"
|chilli || chili,<br />chile || The original Mexican Spanish word is ''chile'', itself derived from the Classical Nahuatl ''chilli''.<ref name="Peters"/><ref>[http://www.oup.com/oald-bin/web_getald7index1a.pl?nav=on&which_entry=006430%23x1%23x2%23chilli&selected_word=chilli&search_word=chili Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary]. Retrieved 2009-4-19.</ref> In ''Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary'', ''chile'' and ''chilli'' are given as ''also'' variants.
|- valign="top"
|cipher, cypher|| cipher ||
|- valign="top"
|cosy || cozy || In all senses (adjective, noun, verb).
|- valign="top"
|coulter,<br />colter || colter ||
|- valign="top"
|doughnut|| doughnut, donut || In the US, both are used, with ''donut'' indicated as a less common variant of ''doughnut''.<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/donut ''Merriam-Webster Online''.] . Retrieved 1 January 2008.</ref>
|- valign="top"
|draught<br />draft || draft || British English usually uses ''draft'' for all senses as the verb;<ref>{{Cite book |chapter-url=http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/draught |title=Concise OED |chapter=draught |access-date=1 April 2007 |title-link=Concise Oxford English Dictionary |archive-date=29 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929104946/http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/draught |url-status=dead }}</ref> for a preliminary version of a document; for an order of payment (bank draft), and for military conscription (although this last meaning is not as common as in American English). It uses ''draught'' for drink from a cask (draught beer); for animals used for pulling heavy loads (draught horse); for a current of air; for [[Engineering:Draft (hull)|a ship's minimum depth of water to float]];<ref>Oxford English Dictionary 2nd Edition, ''draught; draft (the latter being used in an international marine context) ''.</ref> and for the game ''draughts'', known as ''checkers'' in America. It uses either ''draught'' or ''draft'' for a plan or sketch (but almost always ''draughtsman'' in this sense; a ''draftsman'' drafts legal documents).

American English uses ''draft'' in all these cases. Canada uses both systems; in Australia, ''draft'' is used for technical drawings, is accepted for the "current of air" meaning, and is preferred by professionals in the nautical sense.<ref name="Peters"/> The pronunciation is always the same for all meanings within a dialect (RP {{IPA|/drɑːft/}}, General American {{IPA|/dræft/}}).

The spelling ''draught'' reflects the older pronunciation, {{IPAc-en|d|r|ɑː|x|t}}. ''Draft'' emerged in the 16th century to reflect the change in pronunciation.<ref>[http://etymonline.com/index.php?term=draft&allowed_in_frame=0 ''Draft'']. Online Etymology Dictionary.</ref><ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''draught''.</ref>
|- valign="top"
|dyke || dike || The spelling with "i" is sometimes found in the UK, but the "y" spelling is rare in the US, where the ''y'' distinguishes ''dike'' in this sense from ''dyke'', a (usually offensive) slang term for a lesbian.
|- valign="top"
|gauge || gauge,<br />gage<ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gage "gage].Merriam-Webster.com</ref> || Both spellings have existed since Middle English.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=gage&allowed_in_frame=0 |title=Online Etymology Dictionary: gage |publisher=Etymonline.com |access-date=2012-03-04}}</ref>
|- valign="top"
|gauntlet || gantlet || When meaning "ordeal", in the phrase ''running the ga(u)ntlet'', American [[Style guide|style guide]]s prefer ''gantlet''.<ref>{{Cite book |title=A Dictionary of Modern American Usage |first=Bryan A. |last=Garner |page=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofmode00garn/page/313 313] |isbn=0-19-507853-5 |location=New York |year=1998 |publisher=[[Organization:Oxford University Press|OUP]] |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofmode00garn/page/313 }}</ref> This spelling is unused in Britain<ref>{{Cite book |chapter-url=http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/gauntlet_2?view=uk |title=Concise OED |chapter=gauntlet<sup>2</sup> |access-date=18 October 2007 |archive-date=21 November 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051121095525/http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/gauntlet_2?view=uk |url-status=dead }}</ref> and less usual in America than ''gauntlet''. The word is an alteration of earlier ''gantlope'' by [[Social:Folk etymology|folk etymology]] with [[Engineering:Gauntlet (glove)|gauntlet ("armoured glove")]], always spelled thus.
|- valign="top"
|glycerine || glycerin || Scientists use the term [[Chemistry:Glycerol|glycerol]].
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|grey || gray || ''Grey'' became the established British spelling in the 20th century,<ref name="Peters"/> but it is a minor variant in American English, according to dictionaries. Canadians tend to prefer ''grey''{{Why|reason=nowadays canadian people are now using gray rather than grey.|date=October 2023}}. The two spellings are of equal antiquity, and the Oxford English Dictionary states that "each of the current spellings has some analogical support".<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, online edition: entry "grey | gray"</ref> Both ''Grey'' and ''Gray'' are found in proper nouns everywhere in the English-speaking world. The name of the dog breed ''greyhound'' is never spelled ''grayhound''; the word descends from ''grighund''.
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|grill,<br />grille
|| grill, <br />grille || In the US, "grille" refers to that of an automobile, whereas "grill" refers to a device used for heating food. However, it is not uncommon to see both spellings used in the automotive sense,<ref>{{cite web|author=customcargrills.com |url=http://www.customcargrills.com/index.asp |title=Custom Car & Truck Grills – Billet & Mesh Grill Inserts |publisher=customcargrills.com |access-date=2012-11-13}}</ref> as well as in Australia<ref>{{cite web|last=Williams |first=Brian |url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/kookaburra-survives-700km-trip-after-being-stuck-in-cars-grille/story-e6freuy9-1226068485889 |title=Kookaburra survives 700&nbsp;km trip after being stuck in car's grille {{pipe}} thetelegraph.com.au |publisher=Dailytelegraph.com.au |date=3 June 2011 |access-date=2012-11-13}}</ref> and New Zealand.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10812156 |title=Cat survives 35&nbsp;km wedged in car grille – National – NZ Herald News |publisher=Nzherald.co.nz |date=11 June 2012 |access-date=2012-11-13}}</ref> ''Grill'' is more common overall in both BrE and AmE.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Google Ngram Viewer|url = https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=grill%253Aeng_us_2012%252Fgrille%253Aeng_us_2012%252Cgrill%253Aeng_gb_2012%252Fgrille%253Aeng_gb_2012&year_start=1800&year_end=2000&corpus=15&smoothing=5&share=&direct_url=t1%253B%252C%2528grill%253Aeng_us_2012%2520/%2520grille%253Aeng_us_2012%2529%253B%252Cc0%253B.t1%253B%252C%2528grill%253Aeng_gb_2012%2520/%2520grille%253Aeng_gb_2012%2529%253B%252Cc0|website = books.google.com|access-date = 2015-10-29|at = grill:eng_us_2012/grille:eng_us_2012,grill:eng_gb_2012/grille:eng_gb_2012}}</ref>
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|hearken || hearken, <br />harken{{citation needed|date=January 2015}} || The word comes from ''hark''. The spelling ''h'''e'''arken'' was probably influenced by ''hear''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=hearken&allowed_in_frame=0|title=Online Etymology Dictionary}}</ref> Both spellings are found everywhere.
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|idyll || idyl || ''Idyl'' is the spelling of the word preferred in the US by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, for the same reason as the double consonant rule; ''idyll'', the original form from Greek ''eidullion'', is used.
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|jail,<br />gaol || jail || In the UK, ''gaol'' and ''gaoler'' are used sometimes, apart from literary usage, chiefly to describe a medieval building and guard. Both spellings go back to Middle English: ''gaol'' was a loanword from Norman French, while ''jail'' was a loanword from central (Parisian) French. In Middle English the two spellings were associated with different pronunciations. In current English, the word, however spelled, is always given the pronunciation originally associated only with the ''jail'' spelling {{IPAc-en|dʒ|eɪ|l}}. The survival of the ''gaol'' spelling in British English is "due to statutory and official tradition".<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, online edition: entry "jail | gaol"</ref> In Australia, the spelling "gaol" is obsolete and only used in historical contexts (e.g Maitland Gaol, although the modern spelling is used for the tourist attraction). The spelling "jail" has been used throughout the 20th century and was made the preferred spelling by the Government Publishing Style Manual in 1978.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/archived/booksandarts/jail-or-gaol-how-should-australia-spell-it/7532694 | title=Jail or gaol: Which spelling is correct? | website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation | date=22 June 2016 }}</ref> However, while the terms "jail" and "prison" are commonly used in Australia, the term "correctional facility" is officially used by most state and territory governments.
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|kerb || curb || For the noun designating the edge of a roadway (or the edge of a British pavement/ American sidewalk/ Australian footpath). ''Curb'' is the older spelling, and in the UK and US it is still the proper spelling for the verb meaning ''restrain''.<ref>[http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/dictionaries/english/data/d0081856.html tiscali.reference] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070103161156/http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/dictionaries/english/data/d0081856.html |date=3 January 2007 }}. Retrieved on 10 March 2007.</ref>
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| (kilo)gram,<br />{{nowrap|(kilo)gramme}} || (kilo)gram || The dated spelling ''(kilo)gramme'' is used sometimes in the UK<ref>''OED'' entry and ''British Journal of Applied Physics'' Volume 13-page 456</ref> but never in the US. ''(Kilo)gram'' is the only spelling used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures. The same applies to other related terms such as ''decagram'' and ''hectogram''.
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|- valign="top"
|midriff || midriff, midrif<ref name=centurydict>{{cite web|url=http://www.global-language.com/CENTURY/|title=The Century Dictionary Online in DjVu}}</ref><ref>[http://edl.byu.edu/webster/term/1752861 Definition for MIDRIF – Webster's 1844 dictionary]. Emily Dickinson Lexicon. Brigham Young University.</ref> ||
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|mollusc || mollusk || The related adjective may be spelled ''molluscan'' or ''molluskan''.
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|mould || mold || In all senses of the word. Both spellings have been used since the 16th century.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, online edition: entry "mould | mold"</ref> In Canada, both spellings are used.<ref name="Peters"/> In Australian and New Zealand, "mold" refers to a form for casting a shape while "mould" refers to the fungus.
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|moult || molt ||
|- valign="top"
|neurone || neuron || Canada and Australia generally use the American "neuron" according to their relevant dictionaries.
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|omelette || omelet,<br />omelette || The ''omelet'' spelling is the older of the two, in spite of the etymology (French ''omelette'').<ref name="Peters" /> ''Omelette'' prevails in Canada and Australia.
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|plough || plow || Both spellings have existed since Middle English. In England, ''plough'' became the main spelling in the 18th century.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary: ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20140708173932/http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/plough?q=plough plough, plow]''.</ref> Although ''plow'' was Noah Webster's pick, ''plough'' continued to have some currency in the US, as the entry in ''Webster's Third'' (1961) implies. Newer dictionaries label ''plough'' as "chiefly British". The word ''snowplough''/''snowplow'', originally an Americanism, predates Webster's dictionaries and was first recorded as ''snow plough''. Canada has both ''plough'' and ''plow'',<ref name="Peters"/> although ''snowplow'' is more common. In the US, "plough" sometimes describes a horsedrawn kind while "plow" refers to a gasoline (petrol) powered kind.{{citation needed|date=April 2014}}
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|primaeval||primeval||Primeval is also common in the UK but etymologically 'ae' is nearer the Latin source ''primus'' first + ''aevum'' age.<ref>''COED'' 11th Ed</ref>
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|programme, program||program|| While "program" is used in British English in the case of computer programs, "programme" is the spelling most commonly used for all other meanings. However, in American English, "program" is the preferred form.
|- valign="top"
|rack and ruin || wrack and ruin || Several words like "rack" and "wrack" have been conflated, with both spellings thus accepted as variants for senses connected to torture (orig. ''rack'') and ruin (orig. ''wrack'', cf. ''wreck'')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=19980420 |title=Maven's word of the day: rack/wrack |publisher=Randomhouse.com |date=20 April 1998 |access-date=2012-03-04}}</ref> In "(w)rack and ruin", the W-less variant is now prevalent in the UK but not the US.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=65102&dict=CALD |title=Cald Rack |publisher=Dictionary.cambridge.org |access-date=2012-03-04}}</ref> The term, however, is rare in the US.
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|sceptic,<br />skeptic|| skeptic || The American spelling, akin to Greek, is the earliest known spelling in English.<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, online edition: entry "sceptic | skeptic"</ref> It was preferred by Fowler, and is used by many Canadians, where it is the earlier form.<ref name="Peters"/> ''Sceptic'' also pre-dates the European settlement of the US and it follows the French ''sceptique'' and Latin ''scepticus''. In the mid-18th century, Dr Johnson's dictionary listed ''skeptic'' without comment or alternative, but this form has never been popular in the UK;<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''sceptic, skeptic''.</ref> ''sceptic'', an equal variant in the old ''Webster's Third'' (1961), has now become "chiefly British". Australians generally follow the British usage (with the notable exception of the [[Organization:Australian Skeptics|Australian Skeptics]]). All of these versions are pronounced with a /k/ (a hard "c"), though in French that letter is silent and the word is pronounced like ''septique''.
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| slew, slue || slue || Meaning "to turn sharply; a sharp turn", the preferred spelling differs. Meaning "a great number" is usually ''slew'' in all regions.<ref name="Company2005">{{cite book|last1=Berube|first1=Margery S.|last2=Pickett|first2=Joseph P.|last3=Leonesio|first3=Christopher|title=A Guide to Contemporary Usage & Style|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xb6ie6PqYhwC&pg=PA435|year=2005|publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|isbn=9780618604999|page=435|chapter=slew / slough / slue}}</ref>
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|smoulder || smolder || Both spellings go back to the 16th century, and have existed since Middle English.<ref name="Oxford English Dictionary"/><ref name=cdme>{{cite web|url=http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/concise/concise.html |title=''A Concise Dictionary of Middle English'' |publisher=Pbm.com |access-date=2012-03-04}}</ref>
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|storey, storeys || story, stories || Level of a building. The letter "e" is used in the UK and Canada to differentiate between levels of buildings and a story as in a literary work.<ref name="Peters"/> ''Story'' is the earlier spelling. The Oxford English Dictionary states that this word is "probably the same word as story <nowiki>[in its meaning of "narrative"]</nowiki> though the development of sense is obscure."<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, online edition: entry "story | storey"</ref> One of the first uses of the (now British) spelling "storey" was by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852 (''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' xxxii).
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|sulphate,<br />sulfate<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190803001120/https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/sulphate sulphate] in the Oxford Dictionaries Online</ref> || sulfate,<br />sulphate || The spelling ''sulfate'' is the more common variant in British English in scientific and technical usage; see the entry on ''sulfur'' and the decisions of the [[Organization:International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry|International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry]] (IUPAC)<ref name="So long sulphur | Nature Chemistry">[https://www.nature.com/articles/nchem.301#ref1 So long sulphur | Nature Chemistry]</ref> and the UK's [[Organization:Royal Society of Chemistry|Royal Society of Chemistry]] (RSC).<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.rsc.org/delivery/_ArticleLinking/DisplayArticleForFree.cfm?doi=AN9921700001&JournalCode=AN |title=Royal Society of Chemistry 1992 policy change |journal=Analyst |publisher=Rsc.org |date=1 January 1992 |volume=117 |issue=1 |pages=1 |doi=10.1039/AN9921700001 |access-date=2012-03-04|last1=Minhas |first1=Harp }}</ref>
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|sulphur || sulfur,<br />sulphur || ''Sulfur'' is the preferred spelling by the [[Organization:International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry|International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry]] (IUPAC) since 1971 or 1990<ref name="So long sulphur | Nature Chemistry"/> and by the UK's [[Organization:Royal Society of Chemistry|Royal Society of Chemistry]] (RSC) since 1992.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://www.rsc.org/delivery/_ArticleLinking/DisplayArticleForFree.cfm?doi=AN9921700001&JournalCode=AN |title=Royal Society of Chemistry 1992 policy change |journal=Analyst |publisher=Rsc.org |date=1 January 1992 |volume=117 |issue=1 |pages=1 |doi=10.1039/AN9921700001 |access-date=2012-03-04|last1=Minhas |first1=Harp }}</ref> ''Sulfur'' is used by scientists in all countries and has been actively taught in chemistry in British schools since December 2000,<ref>{{Cite news|url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/1039050.stm|title = Action over non-English spellings|date = 24 November 2000|work = BBC News|access-date = 29 October 2015}}</ref> but the spelling ''sulphur'' prevails in British, Irish and Australian English, and it is also found in some American place names (e.g., Sulphur, Louisiana, and White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia). Use of both variant ''f~ph'' spellings continued in Britain until the 19th century, when the word was standardized as ''sulphur''.<ref name="OED">{{Cite OED|sulphur}}</ref> On the other hand, ''sulfur'' is the form that was chosen in the United States, whereas Canada uses both. Oxford Dictionaries note that "in chemistry and other technical uses ... the ''-f-'' spelling is now the standard form for this and related words in British as well as US contexts, and is increasingly used in general contexts as well."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/sulphur |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161120085132/https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/sulphur |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 November 2016 |title=sulphur – definition of sulphur in English |website=Oxford Dictionaries |access-date=2016-11-19}}</ref> Some American English usage guides suggest ''sulfur'' for technical usage and both ''sulfur'' and ''sulphur'' in common usage and in literature, but American dictionaries list ''sulphur'' as a less common or chiefly British variant.<ref>[https://www.ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=sulphur sulphur] in the American Heritage Dictionary</ref><ref>[http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sulphur ''Merriam-Webster Online'']</ref><ref>The Merriam-Webster Dictionary labels the spelling ''sulphur'' as chiefly British but contradicts this in the same entry's usage note by saying that both spellings are common in general usage in American English. The usage note also ignores the modern widespread British usage of the spelling ''sulfur'' in scientific and technical usage (reported e.g. by the Oxford Dictionaries): "The spelling ''sulfur'' predominates in United States technical usage, while both ''sulfur'' and ''sulphur'' are common in general usage. British usage tends to favor ''sulphur'' for all applications. The same pattern is seen in most of the words derived from ''sulfur''." Usage note, [http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sulphur ''Merriam-Webster Online'']. . Retrieved 1 January 2008.
The usage note in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary is more up to date:
"The spelling ''sulfur'' now predominates in U.S. technical and general usage. British usage still tends to favor ''sulphur'', but use of that spelling has decreased dramatically in recent decades and continues to do so. The growing preference for ''sulfur'' on both sides of the Atlantic is no doubt encouraged by the recommendations of the Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and other organizations. The same pattern is seen in most of the words derived from ''sulfur''." Usage note from the [http://unabridged.merriam-webster.com/unabridged/sulfur Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary].
</ref><ref>The contrasting spellings of the chemical elements '''Al''' and '''S''' result in the American spelling ''aluminum sulfide'' becoming ''aluminum sulphide'' in Canada and ''aluminium sulphide'' in older British usage.</ref> The variation between ''f'' and ''ph'' spellings is also found in the word's ultimate source: Latin ''sulfur'', ''sulphur'',<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, online edition: entry "sulphur | sulfur"</ref> but this was due to [[Social:Hellenization|Hellenization]] of the original Latin word ''{{lang|la|sulpur}}'' to ''{{lang|la|sulphur}}'' in the erroneous belief that the Latin word came from Greek. This spelling was later reinterpreted as representing an /f/ sound and resulted in the spelling ''{{lang|la|sulfur}}'' which appears in Latin toward the end of the [[History:Classical antiquity|Classical period]]. (The true Greek word for sulfur, {{lang|grc|θεῖον}}, is the source of the international chemical prefix ''thio-''.) In 12th-century [[Social:Anglo-Norman language|Anglo-French]], the word became ''{{lang|xno|sulfre}}''. In the 14th century, the erroneously Hellenized Latin ''{{lang|la|-ph-}}'' was restored in Middle English ''{{lang|enm|sulphre}}''. By the 15th century, both full Latin spelling variants ''sulfur'' and ''sulphur'' became common in English.
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|through || through,<br />thru<ref>{{cite web |url=http://1913.mshaffer.com/d/word/thru |title=Browse 1913 => Word Thru :: Search the 1913 Noah Webster's Dictionary of the English Language (Free) |publisher=1913.mshaffer.com |date=16 October 2009 |access-date=2012-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120331113416/http://1913.mshaffer.com/d/word/thru |archive-date=31 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> || "Thru" is typically used in the US as shorthand. It may be acceptable in informal writing, but not for formal documents. "Thru" is commonly used on official road signs in the US, as in "no thru traffic", to save space.

In the COBOL programming language, THRU is accepted as an abbreviation of the keyword THROUGH. Since programmers like to keep their code brief, THRU is generally the preferred form of this keyword.
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|tyre || tire || The outer portion of a wheel. In Canada, as in the US, ''tire'' is the older spelling, but both were used in the 15th and 16th centuries (for a metal tire). ''Tire'' became the settled spelling in the 17th century but ''tyre'' was revived in the UK in the 19th century for rubber/pneumatic tyres, possibly because it was used in some patent documents,<ref name="Peters"/> though many continued to use ''tire'' for the iron variety. ''The Times'' newspaper was still using ''tire'' as late as 1905. For the verb meaning "to grow weary" both American and British English use only the ''tire'' spelling.
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| {{Anchor|vice_vise}} vice || vise, vice || For the [[Engineering:Vise|two-jawed workbench tool]], Americans and Canadians retain the very old distinction between ''vise'' (the tool) and ''vice'' (the sin, and also the Latin prefix meaning a deputy), both of which are ''vice'' in the UK and Australia.<ref name="Peters"/> Regarding the "sin" and "deputy" [[Philosophy:Word sense|senses]] of ''vice'', all varieties of English use ''-c-''. Thus, American English, just as other varieties, has ''vice admiral'', ''vice president'', and ''vice principal''—never ''vise'' for any of those.
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|whisky&nbsp;(Scotland), whiskey (Ireland) || whiskey, whisky || In the United States, the ''whiskey'' spelling is dominant; ''whisky'' is encountered less frequently, but is used on the labels of some major brands (e.g., Early Times, George Dickel, Maker's Mark, and Old Forester) and is used in the relevant US federal regulations.<ref name="cfr5.22">{{cite web|url=http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/cfr_2008/aprqtr/pdf/27cfr5.22.pdf|title=US Code of Federal Regulations – Title 27: Alcohol, Tobacco Products and Firearms, Section 5.22: Standards of Identity for Distilled Spirits|access-date=25 July 2014}}</ref> In Canada, ''whisky'' is dominant. Often the spelling is selected based on the origin of the product rather than the location of the intended readership, so it may be considered a ''faux pas'' to refer to "Scotch whiskey" or "Irish whisky". Both ultimately derive from "uisce beatha" (Irish) and "uisge beatha" (Scottish) meaning 'water of life'.
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|yoghurt,<br />yogurt,<br />yoghourt || yogurt,<br />yoghurt || ''Yoghurt'' is an also-ran in the US, as is ''yoghourt'' in the UK. Although the Oxford Dictionaries have always preferred ''yogurt'', in current British usage ''yoghurt'' seems to be prevalent. In Canada, ''yogurt'' prevails, despite the Canadian Oxford preferring ''yogourt'', which has the advantage of satisfying bilingual (English and French) packaging requirements.<ref name="Clark, 2009"/><ref>Peters, p. 587. ''Yogourt'' is an accepted variant in French of the more normal [[Social:Standard French|Standard French]] ''yaourt''.</ref> The British spelling is dominant in Australia. Whatever the spelling is, the word has different pronunciations: {{IPAc-en|ˈ|j|ɒ|ɡ|ər|t}} in the UK, {{IPAc-en|ˈ|j|oʊ|ɡ|ər|t}} in New Zealand, America, Ireland, and Australia. The word comes from the [[Social:Turkish language|Turkish language]] word ''yoğurt''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yogurt |title=Merriam-Webster Online – Yogurt entry |publisher=Mw1.merriam-webster.com |access-date=2012-03-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120227104015/http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/yogurt |archive-date=27 February 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The voiced velar fricative represented by ğ in the [[Social:Turkish alphabet|modern Turkish (Latinic) alphabet]] was traditionally written ''gh'' in the [[Social:Romanization of Arabic|Latin script]] of the Ottoman Turkish (Arabic) alphabet used before 1928.
|}

==Compounds and hyphens==
British English often prefers hyphenated compounds, such as ''anti-smoking'', whereas American English discourages the use of hyphens in compounds where there is no compelling reason, so ''antismoking'' is much more common.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=antismoking%2Canti-smoking&year_start=1800&year_end=2019&corpus=28&smoothing=3 |website=Google Ngram Viewer |title=antismoking,anti-smoking }}</ref> Many dictionaries do not point out such differences. Canadian and Australian usage is mixed, although Commonwealth writers generally hyphenate compounds of the form noun plus phrase (such as ''editor-in-chief'').<ref name="Peters" /> Commander-in-chief prevails in all forms of English.

Compound verbs in British English are hyphenated more often than in American English.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Rohdenburg|first1=Günter|last2=Schlüter|first2=Julia|title=One language, two grammars? : differences between British and American English|date=2009|publisher=Cambridge University Press|location=Cambridge, UK|isbn=978-0-521-87219-5|page=59|edition=1. publ.}}</ref>
* ''any more'' or ''anymore'': in the sense "any longer", the single-word form is usual in North America and Australia but unusual elsewhere, at least in formal writing.<ref name="Peters"/> Other senses always have the two-word form; thus, Americans distinguish "I couldn't love you anymore [so I left you]" from "I couldn't love you any more [than I already do]". In Hong Kong English, ''any more'' is always two words.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Bunton|first=David|title=Common English Errors in Hong Kong|publisher=Longman|location=Hong Kong|page=6|isbn=0-582-99914-6|year=1989}}</ref>
* ''for ever'' or ''forever'': traditional British English usage makes a distinction between ''for ever'', meaning for eternity (or a very long time into the future), as in "If you are waiting for income tax to be abolished you will probably have to wait for ever"; and ''forever'', meaning continually, always, as in "They are forever arguing".<ref>Oxford English Dictionary, ''for ever''.</ref> In British usage today, however, ''forever'' prevails in the "for eternity" sense as well,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080831042049/http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/forever AskOxford: forever]. Retrieved 24 June 2008. Cf. Peters, p. 214.</ref> in spite of several style guides maintaining the distinction.<ref>For example, [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/tools_and_services/specials/style_guide/article986724.ece The Times], [https://www.theguardian.com/styleguide/page/0,,184825,00.html The Guardian], [http://www.economist.com/research/styleGuide/index.cfm?page=738537 The Economist]. Retrieved 24 June 2008.</ref> American writers usually use ''forever'' regardless of which sense they intend (although ''forever'' in the sense of "continually" is comparatively rare in American English, having been displaced by ''always'').
* ''near by'' or ''nearby'': some British writers make the distinction between the adverbial ''near by'', which is written as two words, as in, "No one was near by"; and the adjectival ''nearby'', which is written as one, as in, "The nearby house".<ref>[http://www.bartleby.com/68/25/4025.html The Columbia Guide to Standard American English]</ref> In American English, the one-word spelling is standard for both forms.
* ''per cent'' or ''percent'': it can be correctly spelled as either one or two words, depending on the Anglophone country, but either spelling must always be consistent with its usage. British English predominantly spells it as two words, so does English in Ireland and countries in the [[Organization:Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth of Nations]] such as Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. American English predominantly spells it as one word. Historically, it used to be spelled as two words in the United States, but its usage is diminishing; nevertheless it is a variant spelling in American English today. The spelling difference is reflected in the style guides of newspapers and other media agencies in the US, Ireland, and countries of the Commonwealth of Nations. In Canada and Australia (and sometimes in the UK, New Zealand, other Commonwealth countries, and Ireland) ''percent'' is also found, mostly sourced from American press agencies.

==Acronyms and abbreviations==
Acronyms pronounced as words are often written in title case by Commonwealth writers, but usually as upper case by Americans: for example, ''[[Organization:NASA|Nasa / NASA]]'' or ''Unicef / UNICEF''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.theguardian.com/styleguide/page/0,,184844,00.html |title=The Guardian Stylebook |first=David |last=Marsh |publisher=Atlantic Books |date=14 July 2004 |access-date=9 April 2007 |isbn=1-84354-991-3 |quote=acronyms: take initial cap: Aids, [[Finance:Individual Savings Account|Isa]], Mori, Nato |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070420145449/http://www.guardian.co.uk/styleguide/page/0%2C%2C184844%2C00.html |archive-date=20 April 2007 |url-status=live }}</ref> This does not apply to abbreviations that are pronounced as individual letters (referred to by some as "initialisms"), such as ''US'', ''[[Company:IBM|IBM]]'', or ''PRC'' (the People's Republic of China), which are virtually always written as upper case. However, sometimes title case is still used in the UK, such as ''Pc'' (Police Constable).<ref>See for example {{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/6513829.stm |title=Pc bitten on face in Tube attack |publisher=BBC |date=31 March 2007 |access-date=9 April 2007}}</ref>

[[Social:Contraction (grammar)|Contractions]] where the final letter is present are often written in British English without full stops/periods (''Mr'', ''Mrs'', ''Dr'', ''St'', ''Ave''). Abbreviations where the final letter is not present generally do take full stops/periods (such as ''vol.'', ''etc.'', ''i.e.'', ''ed.''); British English shares this convention with the French: ''Mlle'', ''Mme'', ''Dr'', ''Ste'', but ''M.'' for ''Monsieur''. In American and Canadian English, abbreviations like ''St.'', ''Ave.'', ''Mr.'', ''Mrs.'', ''Ms.'', ''Dr.'', and ''Jr.'', usually require full stops/periods. Some initials are usually upper case in the US but lower case in the UK: liter/litre and its compounds (''2&nbsp;L'' or ''25&nbsp;mL'' vs ''2&nbsp;l'' or ''25&nbsp;ml'');<ref>
{{cite web|url=http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/outside.html |title=Units outside the SI |work=Essentials of the SI|publisher=[[Organization:National Institute of Standards and Technology|NIST]] |quote=although both l and L are internationally accepted symbols for the liter, to avoid this risk the preferred symbol for use in the United States is L |access-date=22 October 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20091031222735/http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/outside.html| archive-date= 31 October 2009 | url-status= live}}
</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://downloads.nationalstrategies.co.uk/pdf/8ba397de2eb514799b8b85478f0df567.pdf |title=Core learning in mathematics: Year 4 |year=2006 |work=Review of the 1999 Framework |publisher=DCSF |page=4 |quote=Use, read and write standard metric units (km, m, cm, mm, kg, g, l, ml), including their abbreviations |access-date=22 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160111173441/http://downloads.nationalstrategies.co.uk/pdf/8ba397de2eb514799b8b85478f0df567.pdf |archive-date=11 January 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and [[Physics:12-hour clock|ante meridiem and post meridiem]] (''10&nbsp;P.M.'' or ''10&nbsp;PM'' vs ''10&nbsp;p.m.'' or ''10&nbsp;pm'').<ref>
{{cite web|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/PM|title=PM |year=2009|work=Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary|publisher=Merriam-Webster|access-date=21 October 2009}}
</ref><ref>
{{Cite book|title=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |year=2000 |edition=4th |chapter=P.M. |chapter-url=http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/P.M.}}
</ref><ref>
{{cite web|url=http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/usage/time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021002085015/http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexperts/faq/usage/time |url-status=dead |archive-date=2 October 2002 |title=What is the correct or more usual written form when writing the time&nbsp;– a.m., am, or A.M.? |work=AskOxford|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=21 October 2009}}
</ref> Both ''AM/PM'' and ''a.m./p.m.'' are acceptable in American English, but U.S. style guides overwhelmingly prefer ''a.m./p.m.''<ref>See, e.g., The Associated Press Stylebook: 4 p.m.; Microsoft Manual of Style: 4 P.M. (however, Microsoft prefers 24-hour time notations, in which 4 P.M. is 16:00.); The Chicago Manual of Style: 4 p.m. (recommended), also 4 PM or 4 P.M. (with PM in small capitals); Garner's Modern English Usage: 4 p.m. or 4 PM (with PM in small capitals); The Gregg Reference Manual: 4 p.m. or 4 P.M. (with PM in small capitals). See http://www.businesswritingblog.com/business_writing/2009/06/what-is-the-correct-time-am-pm-am-pm-am-pm-.html. See also https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/p.m.</ref>

==Punctuation==
The use of quotation marks, also called inverted commas or speech marks, is complicated by the fact that there are two kinds: single quotation marks (') and double quotation marks ("). British usage, at one stage in the recent past, preferred single quotation marks for ordinary use, but double quotation marks are again now increasingly common; American usage has always preferred double quotation marks, as have Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand English. It is the practice to alternate the type of quotation marks used where there is a quotation within a quotation.<ref>{{cite web|last=Trask|first=Larry|title=Quotation Marks and Direct Quotations|url=http://www.informatics.sussex.ac.uk/department/docs/punctuation/node30.html|work=Guide to Punctuation|publisher=University of Sussex|access-date=9 December 2010|year=1997| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101215000125/http://www.informatics.sussex.ac.uk/department/docs/punctuation/node30.html| archive-date= 15 December 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref>

The convention used to be, and in American English still is, to put full stops (periods) and commas inside the quotation marks, irrespective of the sense. British style now prefers to punctuate according to the sense, in which punctuation marks only appear inside quotation marks if they were there in the original. Formal British English practice requires a full stop to be put inside the quotation marks if the quoted item is a full sentence that ends where the main sentence ends, but it is common to see the stop outside the ending quotation marks.<ref>{{cite web|last=Quinion|first=Michael|title=Punctuation and Quotation Marks|url=http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-pun1.htm|work=World Wide Words |access-date=9 December 2010|year=2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101202134153/http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-pun1.htm| archive-date= 2 December 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref>

==See also==
{{cols|colwidth=13em}}
* [[Social:Australian English|Australian English]]
* Canadian English
* English language in England
* English in the Commonwealth of Nations
* English orthography
* Hong Kong English
* Hiberno-English
* Indian English
* Malaysian English
* Manx English
* New Zealand English
* Philippine English
* Scottish English
* Singapore English
* South African English
{{colend}}

==Explanatory notes==
{{NoteFoot}}

==References==
===Citations===
{{Reflist}}

===General and cited sources===
{{Refbegin}}
* Chambers, J.K. (1998). "Canadian English: 250 Years in the Making", in ''The Canadian Oxford Dictionary'', 2nd ed., p.&nbsp;xi.
* Clark, Joe (2009). ''[http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/003/008/099/003008-disclaimer.html?orig=/100/200/300/joe_clark/organizing_marvellous/index.html Organizing Our Marvellous Neighbours: How to Feel Good About Canadian English] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727040533/https://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/003/008/099/003008-disclaimer.html?orig=/100/200/300/joe_clark/organizing_marvellous/index.html |date=27 July 2020 }}'' (e-book, version 1.1). {{ISBN|978-0-9809525-0-6}}.
* Fowler, Henry; Winchester, Simon (introduction) (2003 reprint). ''A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (Oxford Language Classics Series)''. Oxford Press. {{ISBN|0-19-860506-4}}.
* Hargraves, Orin (2003). ''Mighty Fine Words and Smashing Expressions''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|0-19-515704-4}}
* {{cite book |last = Mencken |first = H. L. |year = 1921 |chapter = Chapter 8. American Spelling > 1. The Two Orthographies |chapter-url = http://www.bartleby.com/185/31.html |title = The American language: An inquiry into the development of English in the United States |edition = 2nd ed., rev. and enl. |location = New York, NY |publisher = A.A. Knopf |isbn = 1-58734-087-9 |url = http://www.bartleby.com/185/ }}
* {{cite book |last=Nicholson |first=Margaret |year=1957 |title=A Dictionary of American-English Usage Based on Fowler's Modern English Usage |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofamer00nich |url-access=registration |publisher=Signet, by arrangement with Oxford University Press }}
* ''Oxford English Dictionary'', 20 vols. (1989) Oxford University Press.
* {{Cite book |last = Peters |first= Pam |year = 2004 |title = The Cambridge Guide to English Usage |location = Cambridge, England |publisher = Cambridge University Press |isbn = 0-521-62181-X |title-link = The Cambridge Guide to English Usage }}
* ''Webster's Third New International Dictionary'' (1961; repr. 2002) Merriam-Webster, Inc.
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|English language varieties}}
* [http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/ ''The Chicago Manual of Style'']
* [https://www.theguardian.com/styleguide/0,,184913,00.html ''The Guardian'' style guide]
* [https://wiki.ubuntu.com/EnglishTranslation/WordSubstitution Word substitution list], by the [https://wiki.ubuntu.com/EnglishTranslation Ubuntu English (United Kingdom) Translators team]
* [http://theconversation.com/what-will-the-english-language-be-like-in-100-years-50284 What will the English language be like in 100 years?] (future outlook)


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