The differences in the spellings of British English and American English are as follows: British English (BrE) is a term used (especially by Americans) to differentiate between the form of the English language used in the United Kingdom and those used elsewhere. ... American English (AmE) is the dialect of the English language used mostly in the United States of America. ...

Spelling differences between U.S. usage on one side and British and Commonwealth usage on the other are generally more conspicuous than spelling differences within the Commonwealth. For this reason, the term Commonwealth English is used throughout this page to collectively refer to the spelling used in the British Isles and the Commonwealth of Nations, as opposed to American spelling. Differences within Commonwealth usage are duly noted. Commonwealth English is a collective term for the perceived standard English language used in the Commonwealth of Nations1, applying in theory to Australian English, British English, Caribbean English, Canadian English, Hiberno-English (Irish English)2, Hong Kong English3, Indian English (includes Pakistani English), formal Malaysian English, New Zealand English, formal... The Commonwealth of Nations, usually known as The Commonwealth, is an association of 53 independent sovereign states, almost all of which are former territories of the British Empire. ...

Many of the differences were introduced into the United States by Noah Webster's dictionary; he was a strong proponent of spelling reform for a variety of reasons, both nationalistic and philosophical. There were many advocates of spelling reform in England as well, but the influences of those who preferred the Norman (or French) spellings of certain words proved decisive. Some of the changes in American spelling were largely phonemic, while others involved the restoration of "etymologically correct" Latin (or Greek) spellings, often to words which English had borrowed from French (or indirectly, Greek) – color, Gk. διαλογος → Fr. couleur, dialogue → British English colour, dialogue. At the time, spelling in English was not regular, and Webster was eager to distinguish American usage from British usage – and in some cases to create distinctions. Although many of Webster's spellings became standardized in the U.S., only a few spread to other English-speaking countries, which were more influenced by Samuel Johnson's dictionary. (Webster's more radical suggestions for spelling reform made in his younger days, such as the dropping of silent "e" at the end of words, were adopted nowhere.) However, in some cases the American versions have become common Commonwealth usage, such as 'disk' in the sense of magnetic digital media. Noah Webster Noah Webster (October 16, 1758 – May 28, 1843) was an American lexicographer, textbook author, Bible translator, spelling reformer, writer, and editor. ... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... Royal motto (French): Dieu et mon droit (Translated: God and my right) Englands location (dark green) within the British Isles Languages English (de facto) Capital London de facto Largest city London Area – Total Ranked 1st UK 130,395 km² Population – Total (mid-2004) – Total (2001 Census) – Density Ranked 1st... Bayeux Tapestry depicting events leading to the Battle of Hastings The Norman Conquest of England was the conquest of the Kingdom of England by William the Conqueror (Duke of Normandy), in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings and the subsequent Norman control of England. ... In human language, a phoneme is a set of phones (speech sounds or sign elements) that are cognitively equivalent. ... Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... The English language is a West Germanic language that originates in England. ... Samuel Johnson circa 1772, painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds. ...

Spelling and pronunciation

In a few miscellaneous cases, essentially the same word has a different spelling which reflects a different pronunciation: Definition A lexeme is an abstract unit of morphological analysis in linguistics, that roughly corresponds to a set of words that are the same in basic meaning. ...

General Name, Symbol, Number aluminium, Al, 13 Chemical series poor metals Group, Period, Block 13, 3, p Appearance silvery Atomic mass 26. ... The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) is an international non-governmental organization devoted to the advancement of chemistry. ... The states of New England are Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. ... Stromberg side-draft carburetor The carburetor (American spelling, a. ... Le Charivari was an illustrated newspaper published in Paris, France from 1832 to 1937. ... 1995 Buick Riviera coupé A coupé (from the French for cut) or coupe is a car body style with a close-coupled interior offering either two seats or 2+2 seating (space for two passengers up front and for two occasional passengers in the rear). ... Euclid, detail from The School of Athens by Raphael. ... A mummy is a corpse whose skin and dried flesh have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold or dryness, or airlessness. ... Papier-mâché around a form such as a balloon to create a pig. ... Identical Triplet Sisters A multiple birth results when more than one human baby is born from a single pregnancy. ... In linguistics, a participle is an adjective derived from a verb. ... Nigger, also spelled niger (obs. ... Medicine is the branch of health science and the sector of public life concerned with maintaining human health or restoring it through the treatment of disease and injury. ... A contract is a promise or an agreement that is enforced or recognized by the law. ...

Latin-derived spellings

-our / -or

Most words ending in unstressed -our in the Commonwealth end in -or in the U.S. For example, in American English, one would use color, flavor, honor, whereas in Commonwealth English one would usually use colour, flavour and honour, although -or endings are occasionally found in Canada and Australia. In addition, American English uses "o" in derivatives and inflected forms such as favorite, savory, whereas this is favourite, savoury in Commonwealth English. Note that savoury only applies to the meaning ‘tasty’; the herb is (summer) savory in all spellings. One seeming exception (the word comes from Scots, not Latin or French) to this distinction is glamour, usually spelled thusly in the U.S. (and always elsewhere). Squalor is accepted as being correctly spelled in both languages. The word saviour, which has retained the u in the Commonwealth because of the preceding i, can be spelled as such in the U.S. as well. In both systems, the adjectival forms that end in -ous are spelled without the u in the stem (for example, glamorous, vigorous, humorous and laborious) as are certain other compounds (invigorate, humorist but (Commonwealth) colourist). Noah Webster believed this resulted in unnecessary complexity, since with most words in British usage, one can't simply add -ous or -ist to the noun to create the adjective, one must first subtract the u (which one must do only with a few words in American English). Words in which the stress falls on the "our", such as hour, our, flour, velour, and sour, are the same in both usages. Also note that words with Latin-derived agentive endings, such as professor and conductor, now never end in -our or -eur (historically -our was more common, for example, chancellour and governour), despite the corresponding French forms professeur and conducteur. An agentive ending in the English language is the use of the suffix -er, -or, -ist, or -ian at the end of a verb in order to create a noun meaning someone who does the action the verb describes. ...

-re / -er

In Commonwealth English, some words of French or Greek origin end with a consonant followed by -re, with the -re unstressed and pronounced [ə(r)]. Most of these words have the ending -er in the U.S. This is especially true of endings -bre and -tre: fibre/fiber, sabre/saber, centre/center (though some places in the United States have "Centre" in their names), spectre/specter (though spectre is acceptable in the U.S.). Theatre has started to take on a different meaning from theater in the U.S. The latter is a more general term, the former tends to be applied to live theatrical performances (i.e., not films). Macabre is an exception, perhaps because in the U.S., the word is regarded as French, and is even pronounced as a French word, if the final syllable is pronounced at all. The ending -cre is retained in America: acre, massacre, and so on; this prevents the c losing its hard k sound. There are not many other -re endings, even in Commonwealth English: louvre, manoeuvre, meagre, ochre, ogre, sepulchre, and euchre. In the U.S., ogre and euchre are standard, manoeuvre and sepulchre are usually maneuver and sepulcher, and the other -re forms listed are variants of the equivalent -er form.

Of course the above relates to root words; -er rather than -re is universal as a suffix for agentive (reader, winner) and comparative (louder, nicer) forms. One consequence is the Commonwealth distinction of meter for a measuring instrument from metre for the unit of measurement. However, while poetic metre is often -re, pentameter, hexameter, etc. are always -er. An agentive ending in the English language is the use of the suffix -er, -or, -ist, or -ian at the end of a verb in order to create a noun meaning someone who does the action the verb describes. ... Captain Nemo and Professor Aronnax contemplating measuring instruments in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea In physics and engineering, measurement is the activity of comparing physical quantities of real-world objects and events. ... The metre, or meter, is a measure of length. ... Meter (non-American spelling: metre) describes the linguistic sound patterns of verse. ... In poetry, a pentameter is a line of verse consisting of five metrical feet: Be what you can if thus your heart so deem, For more the man will less the foible seem. ... Hexameter is a literary and poetic form, consisting of six metrical feet per line as in the Iliad. ...

The e preceding the r is retained in U.S. derived forms of nouns and verbs, for example, fibers, reconnoitered, centering, which are, naturally, fibres, reconnoitred and centring respectively in Commonwealth English. It is dropped for other inflections, for example, central, fibrous, spectral. However such dropping cannot be regarded as proof of an -re Commonwealth spelling: for example, entry derives from enter, which is never spelled entre.

-ce / -se

Nouns ending in -ce with -se verb forms: American English retains the noun/verb distinction in advice / advise and device / devise (pronouncing them differently), but has lost the same distinction with licence / license and practice / practise that British English retains. American English uses practice and license for both meanings. Also, Commonwealth defence, offence, pretence; American defense, offense, pretense: but compounds such as defensive, offensive, pretension, pretentious are always thus spelled.

-xion / -ction

The spellings connexion, inflexion, deflexion, reflexion are now somewhat rare, perhaps understandably as their stems are connect, inflect, deflect, and reflect and there are many such words in English that result in a -tion ending. The more common connection, inflection, deflection, reflection have almost become the standard internationally.

However, the Oxford English Dictionary lists the older spellings as the etymological form, since these four words actually derive from the Latin root -xio.

In both forms, complexion is used in preference to complection, as it comes from the stem complex in British and in American English, although one sees both "complected as in dark-complected", and "complexioned", with about the same frequency. The words crucifix and crucifixion are also the same. (Etymologically, the spelling crucifiction would in any case mean not “fixing to a cross” (Lat. figere) but “moulding into a cross” (Lat. fingere)). British Methodism retains the eighteenth century spelling "connexion" to describe its national organisation, for historical reasons, and this spelling has also found favour amongst recent government initiatives such as connexions (the national careers and training scheme for school early leavers). Until around 1984 and 1985, The Times of London also used "connexion" as part of its house style. The Methodist movement is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Connexions is a government program for young people aged thirteen to nineteen in England. ... 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... The Times is a national newspaper published daily in the United Kingdom. ... This article is about the British city. ...

Greek-derived spellings

-ise / -ize

American spelling accepts only organize, recognize, and realize. British usage accepts both the older -ize form and the frenchified -ise form (organise, recognise, realise); however, the -ize spelling is rarely used in the UK in the mass media and newspapers, which is why it is often incorrectly regarded as an Americanism [1], although it is preferred by most authoritative British sources, including the Oxford English Dictionary and Fowler's Modern English Usage. The -ise form is used by the British government and taught in the British school system, and is more prevalent in common usage within the UK today. Pam Peters (2004, -ize/-ise), drawing on British National Corpus data, asserts that the ratio of popularity in Britain between -ise and -ize currently stands at 3:2. In Australia and New Zealand -ise spellings are strongly preferred; the Australian Macquarie Dictionary, among other sources, gives the -ise spelling first. Conversely, Canadian usage is essentially like American, although -ise is occasionally found in Canada. The same pattern applies to derivatives and inflections such as colonisation/colonization. Worldwide, using -ize in combination with British spelling is common in academic publishing (e.g. used in the science journal Nature, the WHO's ICD and ISO standards). Cover of the Pocket version of the Oxford English Dictionary The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is a dictionary published by the Oxford University Press (OUP). ... A Dictionary of Modern English Usage, often referred to simply as Fowlers Modern English Usage, or Fowler, is a style guide to British English usage. ... The Macquarie Dictionary is a dictionary of Australian English. ... Inflection or inflexion refers to a modification or marking of a word (or more precisely lexeme) so that it reflects grammatical (i. ... First title page, November 4, 1869 Nature is one of the oldest and most reputable scientific journals, first published on 4 November 1869. ... Who can refer to: WHO, World Health Organization The Who, a British rock band The Guess Who, a Canadian rock band who (pronoun), an English language interrogative pronoun. ... The International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (commonly known by the abbreviation ICD) is a detailed description of known diseases and injuries. ... Logo of the International Organization for Standardization The International Organization for Standardization, also known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from national standards bodies. ...

Endings in -yze are now found only in the U.S. and Canada. Thus, Commonwealth (including sometimes Canada) analyse, catalyse, hydrolyse, paralyse; North American analyze, catalyze, hydrolyze, paralyze. It is worth noting, however, that analyse was commonly spelled analyze from the first—a spelling also accepted by Samuel Johnson; the word, which came probably from French analyser, on Greek analogy would have been analysize, from French analysiser, of which analyser was practically a shortened form.

Note that not all spellings are interchangeable; some verbs take the -z- form exclusively, for instance capsize, seize (except in the legal phrase to be seised of/to stand seised to), size and prize (only in the "appraise" sense), whereas others take only -s-: advertise, advise, apprise, arise, chastise, circumcise, comprise, compromise, demise, despise, devise, disguise, and televise. Finally, the verb prise (meaning to force or lever) is spelled prize in the U.S. and prise anywhere else, including Canada.

-ogue / -og

Commonwealth analogue, catalogue, dialogue; American analog, catalog, dialog; and inflected forms: American cataloging, Commonwealth cataloguing. This applies with any consistency only to the various words ending in -log(ue) deriving from Greek λογος, although the -ue can be dropped in any word where there is a short o preceding the g: demagog(ue), pedagog(ue), monolog(ue), homolog(ue), etc. All the -gue forms are also relatively common in the United States, especially dialogue, which is the preferred variant in Merriam-Webster's dictionaries. Other words ending in -gue in Commonwealth usage generally retain -gue in America; for example, vogue, rogue, plague, intrigue, fugue, colleague, tongue, harangue.

Simplification of ae (æ) and oe (œ)

Many words are written with ae or oe in British English, but a single e in American English. The sound in question is [i] or [ɛ] (or unstressed [ə]). Examples (with non-American letter in bold): anaemia, anaesthesia, caesium, diarrhoea, gynaecology, haemophilia, leukaemia, oesophagus, oestrogen, orthopaedic, paediatric. Words where British usage varies include encyclopaedia, foetus, homoeopathy, mediaeval. Words where American usage varies include aesthetic and oenology. Archaeology retains the a in both versions (although archeology is also accepted in American English, it is uncommon), although the ligature is usually dropped. This difference is also half of the distinction between British manoeuvre and American maneuver. This article discusses the medical condition. ... Cetacaine, a typical topical anesthetic Anesthesia (American English), also anaesthesia (British English), is the process of blocking the perception of pain and other sensations. ... General Name, Symbol, Number Caesium, Cs, 55 Series Alkali metals Group, Period, Block 1(IA), 6, s Density, Hardness 1879 kg/m3, 0. ... Diarrhea (American English) or diarrhoea (Commonwealth English) is a condition in which the sufferer has frequent and watery, chunky, or loose bowel movements (from the ancient Greek word διαρροή = leakage; lit. ... The shamefulness associated with the examination of female genitalia has long inhibited the science of gynaecology. ... Haemophilia or hemophilia is the name of any of several hereditary genetic illnesses that impair the bodys ability to control bleeding. ... Leukemia (leukaemia in Commonwealth English) is a cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal proliferation of blood cells, usually white blood cells (leukocytes). ... The esophagus (also spelled oesophagus/Å“sophagus), or gullet is the muscular tube in vertebrates through which ingested food passes from the mouth area to the stomach. ... Estrogens (also oestrogens) are a group of steroid compounds, named for their importance in the oestrus cycle, functioning as the primary female sex hormone. ... Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics (BE: orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with acute, chronic, traumatic and recurrent injuries and other disorders of the locomotor system, its musclular and bone parts. ... Pediatrics (also spelled paediatrics or pædiatrics) is the branch of medicine that deals with the medical care of infants and children. ... Brockhaus Konversations-Lexikon, 1902 An encyclopedia or encyclopaedia, also (rarely) encyclopædia,[1] is a written compendium of knowledge. ... Fetus at eight weeks Foetus redirects here. ... Samuel Hahnemann, the father of homeopathy Homeopathy (also spelled homÅ“opathy or homoeopathy) from the Greek words όμοιος, hómoios (similar) and πάθος, páthos (suffering), is a system of alternative medicine that treats like with like, using remedies that would, in healthy individuals, produce similar symptoms to those it would treat... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Oenology is the study of wines in general. ... Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from the Greek words αρχαίος = ancient and λόγος = word/speech/discourse) is the study of human cultures through the recovery, documentation and analysis of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, biofacts, human remains, and landscapes. ...

The Ancient Greek diphthongs <αι> and <οι> were transliterated into Latin as <ae> and <oe>. The 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, fœtus) and French (for example, œuvre). In English, which has imported words from all three languages, it is now usual to replace Æ/æ with Ae/ae and Œ/œ with Oe/oe. In many cases, the digraph has been reduced to a single e in all varieties of English: for example, oeconomics, praemium, and tragoedy. In others, especially names, it is retained in all varieties: for example, Phoenix, Caesar, Oedipus. There is no reduction of Latin -ae plurals (e.g. larvae); nor where the digraph <ae>/<oe> does not result from the Greek-style ligature: for example, maelstrom, toe. British aeroplane is an instance (compare other aero- words such as aerosol). American airplane is not a respelling but a recoining, modelled on airship and aircraft. Airplane dates from 1907, at which time aero- was trisyllabic, often written aëro-. The History of the Greek language Origins There are many theories about the origins of the Greek language. ... In phonetics, a diphthong (Greek and ending tongue positions. ... Transliteration is a mapping from one system of writing into another. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Ash (Æ, æ; pronounced ) is a letter of the Latin alphabet for English. ... Œ œ This page is about the ligature, not the simple combination of the letters O and E. For initialisms and the word Oe, see Oe. ... In writing and typography, a ligature occurs where two or more letterforms are written or printed as a unit. ... A monophthong (in Greek μονόφθογγος = single note) is a pure vowel sound, one whose articulation at both beginning and end is relatively fixed, and which does not glide up or down towards a new position of articulation; compare diphthong. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Caesar (Latin:CAESAR, IPA: kaɪsÉ‘r [kae-sahr], common English IPA:siːzÉš [see-zr]) was originally a cognomen in ancient Rome, derived from cai- (of unknown meaning) from which Gaius also derives. ... Oedipus and the Sphinx, from an 1879 illustration from Stories from the Greek Tragedians by Alfred Church Oedipus was the mythical king of Thebes, son of Laius and Jocasta, who, unknowingly, killed his father and married his mother. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Latin grammar. ... Saltstraumen maelstrom A maelstrom is a powerful whirlpool; a large, swirling body of water. ... This article refers to the tool of travel. ... http://visibleearth. ... USS Akron (ZRS-4) in flight, November 2, 1931 An airship is a buoyant aircraft that can be steered and propelled through the air. ...

Compounds and hyphens

Commonwealth English often favours hyphenated compounds, such as counter-attack, whereas American English discourages the use of hyphens in compounds where there is no compelling reason, so counterattack is much more common. Many dictionaries do not point out such differences.

Common suffixes

Commonwealth English generally doubles final -l when adding suffixes that begin with a vowel if -l is preceded by a single vowel, whereas American English doubles it only on stressed syllables. (Thus American English treats -l the same as other final consonants, whereas Commonwealth English treats it irregularly.) Commonwealth counsellor, equalling, modelling, quarrelled, signalling, travelled; American usually counselor (but chancellor), equaling, modeling, quarreled, signaling, traveled.

• But compelled, excelling, propelled, rebelling in both (notice the stress difference); revealing, fooling (double vowel before the l); hurling (consonant before the l).
• But Commonwealth fuelling, woollen; American fueling, woolen.
• Commonwealth writers also use a single l before suffixes beginning with a consonant where Americans use a double: Commonwealth enrolment, fulfilment (but fulfilled), instalment, skilful; American enrollment, fulfillment, installment, skillful. The infinitives of these verbs are also different: in the Commonwealth, they are to enrol, fulfil and instal (although install is far more common), whereas in the USA, they are to enroll, fulfill and install.
• Commonwealth English often keeps silent e when adding suffixes where American English doesn't. British usually ageing, routeing; American aging, routing. Both systems retain the silent e when necessary to preserve a soft c or g: traceable, judgement (although judgment is also standard in both Commonwealth and American English), and in the word dyeing to distinguish it from dying.

Yarn drying after being dyed in the early American tradition, at Conner Prairie living history museum. ... Death is the cessation of physical life in a living organism, or the state of the deceased. ...

Miscellaneous spelling differences

Proper names formed as acronyms are often rendered in title case by Commonwealth writers, but usually as upper case by Americans: for example, Nasa / NASA or Unicef / UNICEF. This never applies to initialisms, such as USA or HTML. A noun, or noun substantive, is a word or phrase that refers to a person, place, thing, event, substance or quality. ... Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations formed from the initial letter or letters of words, such as NATO and XHTML, and are pronounced in a way that is distinct from the full pronunciation of what the letters stand for. ... This article is about capitalization in written language. ... Majuscules or capital letters (in the Roman alphabet: A, B, C, ...) are one type of case in a writing system. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... UNICEF logo The United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund (UNICEF) was established by the United Nations General Assembly on December 11, 1946. ... Acronyms and initialisms are abbreviations formed from the initial letter or letters of words, such as NATO and XHTML, and are pronounced in a way that is distinct from the full pronunciation of what the letters stand for. ... A piece of HTML code with syntax highlighting In computing, HyperText Markup Language (HTML) is a markup language designed for the creation of web pages with hypertext and other information to be displayed in a web browser. ...

There is a tendency for new technical meanings of old words to be coined in America and then re-exported to the Commonwealth with the American spelling retained, thus creating a written distinction between the old and new meanings which does not exist in American English. See disk, program and possibly artifact. But compare also meter, for which an older English written distinction between etymologically related forms with different meanings once existed, but was obviated in the regularization of American spellings.

* American spellings which predominate in Canada and Australia. New Zealand spelling of these words is variable, showing some preference for British spellings to distinguish itself from both the United States and Australia. A pronunciation spelling of a word is a spelling intentionally different from the standard spelling, used to emphasis a particular pronunciation of the word. ... Vowels Near-close Close-mid Mid Open-mid Near-open Open Where symbols appear in pairs, the one to the right represents a rounded vowel. ... A central vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. ...

References

• Peters, Pam (2004). The Cambridge Guide to English Usage, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 052162181X.