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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. 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, especially with specific usages such as 'disk' in the sense of magnetic digital media, versus 'disc' for a flat circular object. SPELLING AND PRONUNCIATION In a few miscellaneous cases, Essentially The Same Word has a different spelling which reflects a different pronunciation: 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. Although rare, there are exceptions to the rules. 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''. ''-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 . 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''. 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. 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 {Link without Title} , although it is preferred by most authoritative British sources, including the '''', 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 Inflection s 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). 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. Note that, as with Computer Program , the word Dialog in the context of Computer s (e.g. Dialog Box ) uses the American spelling for all instances. 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 or (or unstressed ). Examples (with non-American letter in bold): '' An'''a'''emia '', '' An'''a'''esthesia '', '' C'''a'''esium '', '' Diarrh'''o'''ea '', '' Gyn'''a'''ecology '', '' H'''a'''emophilia '', '' Leuk'''a'''emia '', '' '''o'''esophagus '', '' '''o'''estrogen '', '' Orthop'''a'''edic '', '' P'''a'''ediatric ''. Words where British usage varies include '' Encyclop'''a'''edia '', '' F'''o'''etus '', '' Hom'''o'''eopathy '', '' Medi'''a'''eval ''. Words where American usage varies include '' '''a'''esthetic '' and '' '''o'''enology ''. 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 ''man'''o'''euvre'' and American ''maneuver''. The '', ''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-''. 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''.
MISCELLANEOUS SPELLING DIFFERENCES '' or '' Unicef / UNICEF ''. This never applies to Initialism s, such as '' USA '' or '' HTML ''. 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.
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