Despite the variousEnglish dialects spoken from country to country and within different regions of the same country, there are only slight regional variations inEnglish orthography, the two most notable variations being British and American spelling. Many ofthe differences betweenAmerican andBritish orCommonwealth English date back to a time beforespelling 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 ofSamuel Johnson'sA Dictionary of the English Language, and an "American standard" started following the work ofNoah Webster and, in particular, hisAn American Dictionary of the English Language, first published in 1828.^[1] Webster's efforts atspelling 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 fromphonemic in any country.

Extract from the Orthography section of the first edition (1828) ofWebster's "ADEL", which popularized the "American standard" spellings of-er (6);-or (7); the dropped-e (8);-se (11); and the doubling of consonants with a suffix (15).

In the early 18th century,English spelling was inconsistent. These differences became noticeable after the publication of influentialdictionaries. Today'sBritish English spellings mostly follow Johnson'sA Dictionary of the English Language (1755), while manyAmerican English spellings follow Webster'sAn American Dictionary of the English Language ("ADEL", "Webster's Dictionary", 1828).^[2]

Webster was a proponent ofEnglish spelling reform for reasons bothphilological and nationalistic. InA 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 the United States, but he did not originate them. Rather [...] he chose already existing options such ascenter, color andcheck for the simplicity, analogy or etymology".^[3]William Shakespeare's firstfolios, for example, used spellings such ascenter andcolor as much ascentre andcolour.^[4][5] Webster did attempt to introduce some reformed spellings, as did theSimplified Spelling Board in the early 20th century, but most were not adopted. In Britain, the influence of those who preferred theNorman (orAnglo-French) spellings of words proved to be decisive.^{[citation needed]} 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 mostCommonwealth countries and Ireland closely resemble the British system. In Canada, the spelling system can be said to follow both British and American forms,^[6] and Canadians are somewhat more tolerant of foreign spellings when compared with other English-speaking nationalities.^[7]Australian English mostly follows British spelling norms but has strayed slightly, with some American spellings incorporated as standard.^[8]New Zealand English is almost identical to British spelling, except in the wordfiord (instead offjord). There is an increasing use ofmacrons in words that originated inMāori and an unambiguous preference for-ise endings (see below).

Most words ending in an unstressed‑our in British English (e.g.,behaviour,colour,favour,flavour,harbour,honour,humour,labour,neighbour,rumour,splendour) end in‑or in American English (behavior,color,favor,flavor,harbor,honor,humor,labor,neighbor,rumor,splendor). Wherever the vowel isunreduced in pronunciation (e.g.,devour,contour,flour,hour,paramour,tour,troubadour, andvelour), 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 earlyOld French, and the ending was spelled‑our,‑or or‑ur.^[9] After theNorman Conquest, the ending became‑our to match the later Old French spelling.^[10] The‑our ending was used not only in new English borrowings, but was also applied to the earlier borrowings that had used‑or.^[9] However,‑or was still sometimes found.^[11] The first three folios ofShakespeare's plays used both spellings before they were standardised to‑our in the Fourth Folio of 1685.^[4]

After theRenaissance, new borrowings from Latin were taken up with their original‑or ending, and many words once ending in‑our (for example,chancellour andgovernour) 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; alsoarbo(u)r, meaning "shelter", though senses "tree" and "tool" are alwaysarbor, afalse cognate of the other word. The wordarbor would be more accurately spelledarber orarbre 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.,color)^[11] 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.^[12]

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-US independence and establishment) dictionary used-our for all words still so spelled in Britain (likecolour), but also for words where theu has since been dropped:ambassadour,emperour,errour,governour,horrour,inferiour,mirrour,perturbatour,superiour,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".^[13] English speakers who moved to the United States took these preferences with them. In the early 20th century,H. L. Mencken notes that "honor appears in the 1776Declaration of Independence, but it seems to have been put there rather by accident than by design". InJefferson's original draft it is spelled "honour".^[14] In Britain, examples ofbehavior,color,flavor,harbor, andneighbor rarely appear inOld Bailey court records from the 17th and 18th centuries, whereas there are thousands of examples of their-our counterparts.^[15] One notable exception ishonor.Honor andhonour were equally frequent in Britain until the 17th century;^[16]honor only exists in the UK now as the spelling ofHonor Oak, a district of London, and of the occasional given nameHonor.

In derivatives andinflected forms of the-our/or words, British usage depends on the nature of thesuffix used. Theu is kept before English suffixes that are freely attachable to English words (for example inhumourless,neighbourhood, andsavoury) and suffixes of Greek or Latin origin that have been adopted into English (for example inbehaviourism,favourite, andhonourable). However, before Latin suffixes that are not freely attachable to English words, theu:

• may be dropped, for example inhonorary,honorific,humorist,humorous,invigorate,laborious, andvigorous;
• may be either dropped or kept, for example incolo(u)ration andcolo(u)rizeor colourise; or
• may be kept, for example incolourist.^[9]

In American usage, derivatives and inflected forms are built by simply adding the suffix in all cases (for example,favorite,savory etc.) since theu is absent to begin with.

American usage, in most cases, keeps theu in the wordglamour, which comes fromScots, not Latin or French.Glamor is sometimes used in imitation of the spelling reform of other-our words to-or. Nevertheless, the adjectiveglamorous often drops the first "u".Saviour is a somewhat common variant ofsavior in the US. The British spelling is very common forhonour (andfavour) in the formal language ofwedding invitations in the US.^[17] The name of theSpace ShuttleEndeavour has au in it because thespacecraft was named after BritishCaptain James Cook's ship,HMSEndeavour. The (former) special car onAmtrak'sCoast Starlight train is known as thePacific Parlour car, notPacific Parlor.Proper names such asPearl Harbor orSydney Harbour are usually spelled according to their native-variety spelling vocabulary.

The name of the herbsavory is spelled thus everywhere, although the related adjectivesavo(u)ry, likesavo(u)r, has au in the UK.Honor (the name) andarbor (the tool) have-or in Britain, as mentioned above, as does the wordpallor. As a general noun,rigour/ˈrɪɡər/ has au in the UK; the medical termrigor (sometimes/ˈraɪɡər/)^[18] does not, such as inrigor mortis, which is Latin. Derivations ofrigour/rigor such asrigorous, however, are typically spelled without au, even in the UK. Words with the ending-irior,-erior or similar are spelled thus everywhere.Junior andsenior were borrowed directly from Latin in the 13th century (as adjectives for father-son namesakes), and have never had-our forms anywhere.

The wordarmour was once somewhat common in American usage but has disappeared except in some brand names such asUnder Armour.

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

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 manualmovable type.^[19] 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 updatedGage Canadian Dictionary in 1997 and the firstCanadian Oxford Dictionary in 1998. Historically, most libraries and educational institutions in Canada have supported the use of theOxford English Dictionary rather than the AmericanWebster'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]}

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, theAustralian 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" spelling was adopted from 1912 onward due to the influence of theAmerican labor movement^[20] andKing O'Malley. On top of that, some place names in South Australia such asVictor 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 withAustralian English, follows British usage.

In British English, some words from French, Latin or Greek end with a consonant followed by an unstressed-re (pronounced/ə(r)/). In modern American English, most of these words have the ending-er.^[21][22] The difference is most common for words ending in-bre or-tre: British spellingscalibre,centre,fibre,goitre,litre,lustre,manoeuvre,meagre,metre (length),mitre,nitre,ochre,reconnoitre,sabre,saltpetre,sepulchre,sombre,spectre,theatre (seeexceptions) andtitre all have-er in American spelling.

In Britain, both-re and-er spellings were common beforeJohnson's 1755 dictionary was published. Following this,-re became the most common usage in Britain. In the United States, following the publication ofWebster's Dictionary in the early 19th century, American English became more standardized, exclusively using the-er spelling.^[5]

In addition, spelling of some words have been changed from-re to-er in both varieties. These includeamber,blister,cadaver,chamber,chapter,charter,cider,coffer,coriander,cover,cucumber,cylinder,December,diaper,disaster,enter,fever,filter,gender,leper,letter,lobster,master,member,meter (measuring instrument),minister,monster,murder,November,number,October,offer,order,oyster,powder,proper,render,semester,September,sequester,sinister,sober,surrender,tender,tiger, andwater. Words using the-meter suffix (from Ancient Greek -μέτρονmétron, via French-mètre) normally had the-re spelling from earliest use in English but were superseded by-er. Examples includethermometer andbarometer.

Thee preceding ther is kept in American-inflected forms of nouns and verbs, for example,fibers,reconnoitered,centering, which arefibres,reconnoitred, andcentring respectively in British English. According to theOED,centring is a"word ... of 3 syllables (in careful pronunciation)"^[23] (i.e.,/ˈsɛntərɪŋ/), yet there is no vowel in the spelling corresponding to the second syllable (/ə/). The OED third edition (revised entry of June 2016) allows either two or three syllables. On theOxford Dictionaries Online website, the three-syllable version is listed only as the American pronunciation ofcentering. Thee is dropped for other derivations, for example,central,fibrous,spectral. However, the existence of related words withoute before ther is not proof for the existence of an-re British spelling: for example,entry andentrance come fromenter, which has not been spelledentre for centuries.^[24]

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 ofmeter for ameasuring instrument frommetre for the unit of length. However, while "poetic metre" is often spelled as-re,pentameter,hexameter, etc. are always-er.^[25]

Many other words have-er in British English. These include Germanic words, such asanger,mother,timber andwater, and such Romance-derived words asdanger,quarter andriver.

The ending-cre, as inacre,^[26]lucre,massacre, andmediocre, is used in both British and American English to show that thec is pronounced/k/ rather than/s/. The spellingseuchre andogre are also the same in both British and American English.

Fire and its associated adjectivefiery are the same in both British and American English, although the noun was spelledfier in Old and Middle English.

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., "movie theaters"); for example, a national newspaper such asThe New York Times would usetheater in its entertainment section. However, the spellingtheatre appears in the names of many New York City theatres on Broadway^[27] (cf. Broadway theatre) and elsewhere in the United States. In 2003, the American National Theatre was referred to byThe New York Times as the "American NationalTheater", but the organization uses "re" in the spelling of its name.^[28][29] TheJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. has the more common American spellingtheater in its references to the Eisenhower Theater, part of the Kennedy Center.^[30] Some cinemas outside New York also use thetheatre spelling.^[31] (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,^{[citation needed]} or "picture theatre" in Australia.)^[32]

In the United States, the spellingtheatre is sometimes used when referring to the art form of theatre, while the building itself, as noted above, generally is spelledtheater. For example, theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison has a "Department ofTheatre and Drama", which offers courses that lead to the "Bachelor of Arts inTheatre", and whose professed aim is "to prepare our graduate students for successful 21st Century careers in thetheatre both as practitioners and scholars".^[33]

Some placenames in the United States useCentre in their names. Examples include the villages ofNewton Centre andRockville Centre, the city ofCentreville,Centre County andCentre 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, althoughPeter is the usual form of the male given name, as a surname both the spellingsPeter andPetre (the latter notably borne by a Britishlord) are found.

For Britishaccoutre, the American practice varies: theMerriam-Webster Dictionary prefers the-re spelling,^[34] butThe American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language prefers the-er spelling.^[35]

More recent French loanwords keep the-re spelling in American English. These are not exceptions when a French-style pronunciation is used (/rə/ rather than/ə(r)/), as withdouble entendre,genre andoeuvre. However, the unstressed/ə(r)/ pronunciation of an-er ending is usedmore (or less) often^{[weasel words]} with some words, includingcadre,macabre,maître d',Notre Dame,piastre, andtimbre.

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 namedCenterpoint Mall).^[12]

Foradvice/advise anddevice/devise, American English and British English both keep the noun–verb distinction both graphically and phonetically (where the pronunciation is -/s/ for the noun and -/z/ for the verb). Forlicence/license orpractice/practise, British English also keeps the noun–verb distinction graphically (although phonetically the two words in each pair arehomophones with -/s/ pronunciation). On the other hand, American English useslicense andpractice for both nouns and verbs (with -/s/ pronunciation in both cases too).

American English has kept the Anglo-French spelling fordefense andoffense, which aredefence andoffence in British English. Likewise, there are the Americanpretense and Britishpretence; but derivatives such asdefensive,offensive, andpretension are always thus spelled in both systems.

Australian^[36] and Canadian usages generally follow British usage.

The spellingconnexion is now rare in everyday British usage, its use lessening as knowledge of Latin attenuates,^[12] and it has almost never been used in the US: the more commonconnection has become the standard worldwide. According to theOxford English Dictionary, the older spelling is more etymologically conservative, since the original Latin word had-xio-. The American usage comes fromWebster, who abandoned-xion and preferred-ction.^[37]Connexion was still the house style ofThe Times of London until the 1980s and was still used byPost Office Telecommunications for its telephone services in the 1970s, but had by then been overtaken byconnection in regular usage (for example, in more popular newspapers).Connexion (and its derivativesconnexional andconnexionalism) is still in use by theMethodist Church of Great Britain to refer to the whole church as opposed to its constituent districts, circuits and local churches, whereas the US-basedUnited Methodist Church usesConnection.

Complexion (which comes fromcomplex) is standard worldwide andcomplection is rare.^[38] However, the adjectivecomplected (as in "dark-complected"), although sometimes proscribed, is on equal ground in the US withcomplexioned.^[39] It is not used in this way in the UK, although there exists a rare alternative meaning ofcomplicated.^[40]

Many words, especially medical words, that are written withae/æ oroe/œ in British English are written with just ane in American English. The sounds in question are/iː/ or/ɛ/ (or, unstressed,/i/,/ɪ/ or/ə/). Examples (with non-American letter inbold):aeon,anaemia,anaesthesia,caecum,caesium,coeliac,diarrhoea,encyclopaedia,faeces,foetal,gynaecology,haemoglobin,haemophilia,leukaemia,oesophagus,oestrogen,orthopaedic,^{[note 1]}palaeontology,paediatric,paedophile.Oenology is acceptable in American English but is deemed a minor variant ofenology, whereas althougharcheology andameba exist in American English, the British versionsamoeba andarchaeology are more common. The chemicalhaem (named as a shortening ofhaemoglobin) is spelledheme in American English, to avoid confusion withhem.

Canadian English mostly follows American English in this respect, although it is split ongynecology (e.g.Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada vs. theCanadian Medical Association's Canadian specialty profile ofObstetrics/gynecology).Pediatrician is preferred roughly 10 to 1 overpaediatrician, whilefoetal andoestrogen are similarly uncommon.

Words that can be spelled either way in American English includeaesthetics andarchaeology (which usually prevail overesthetics andarcheology),^[12] as well aspalaestra, for which the simplified formpalestra is described byMerriam-Webster as "chiefly Brit[ish]."^[41] This is a reverse of the typical rule, where British spelling uses theae/oe and American spelling simply usese.

Words that can be spelled either way in British English includechamaeleon,encyclopaedia,homoeopathy,mediaeval (a minor variant in both AmE and BrE^[42][43][44]),foetid andfoetus. The spellingsfoetus andfoetal are Britishisms based on a mistaken etymology.^[45] The etymologically correct original spellingfetus reflects the Latin original and is the standard spelling in medical journals worldwide;^[46] the Oxford English Dictionary notes that "In Latin manuscripts bothfētus andfoetus are used".^[47]

TheAncient Greekdiphthongs <αι> and <οι> weretransliterated into Latin as <ae> and <oe>. Theligaturesæ andœ were introduced when the sounds becamemonophthongs, 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 replaceÆ/æ withAe/ae andŒ/œ withOe/oe. In many words, the digraph has been reduced to a lonee in all varieties of English: for example,oeconomics,praemium, andaenigma.^[48] In others, it is kept in all varieties: for example,phoenix, and usuallysubpoena,^[49] butPhenix inVirginia. This is especially true of names:Aegean (the sea),Caesar,Oedipus,Phoebe, etc., although "caesarean section" may be spelled as "cesarean section". There is no reduction ofLatin -ae plurals (e.g.,larvae); nor where the digraph <ae>/<oe> does not result from the Greek-style ligature as, for example, inmaelstrom ortoe; the same is true for the British formaeroplane (compare otheraero- words such asaerosol). The now chiefly North Americanairplane is not a respelling but a recoining, modelled afterairship andaircraft. The wordairplane dates from 1907,^[50] at which time the prefixaero- was trisyllabic, often writtenaëro-.

In Canada,e is generally preferred overoe and often overae,^{[citation needed]} butoe andae are sometimes found in academic and scientific writing as well as government publications (for example, the fee schedule of theOntario Health Insurance Plan) and some words such aspalaeontology oraeon. In Australia, it can go either way, depending on the word: for instance,medieval is spelled with thee rather thanae, following the American usage along with numerous other words such aseon orfetus,^[51] while other words such asoestrogen orpaediatrician are spelled the British way. TheMacquarie Dictionary also notes a growing tendency towards replacingae andoe withe worldwide and with the exception of manoeuvre, all British or American spellings are acceptable variants.^[8] Elsewhere, the British usage prevails, but the spellings with juste are increasingly used.^[12]Manoeuvre is the only spelling in Australia, and the most common one in Canada, wheremaneuver andmanoeuver are also sometimes found.^[12]

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.^[52] The verb-forming suffix-ize comes directly from Ancient Greek-ίζειν (-ízein) or Late Latin-izāre, while-ise comes via French-iser.^[53][54] TheOxford English Dictionary (OED) recommends-ize and lists the-ise form as an alternative.^[54]

Publications byOxford University Press (OUP)—such asHenry Watson Fowler'sA Dictionary of Modern English Usage,Hart's Rules,^[55] andThe Oxford Guide to English Usage^[56]—also recommend-ize. However, Robert Allan'sPocket Fowler's Modern English Usage considers either spelling to be acceptable anywhere but the US.^[57]

American spelling avoids-ise endings in words likeorganize,realize andrecognize.^[58]

British spelling mostly uses-ise (organise,realise,recognise), though-ize is sometimes used.^[58] The ratio between-ise and-ize stood at 3:2 in theBritish National Corpus up to 2002.^[59] The spelling-ise is more commonly used in UK mass media and newspapers,^[58] includingThe Times (which switched conventions in 1992),^[60]The Daily Telegraph,The Economist and theBBC. TheGovernment of the United Kingdom additionally uses-ise, stating "do not use Americanisms" justifying that the spelling "is often seen as such".^[61] The-ize form is known asOxford spelling and is used in publications of the Oxford University Press, most notably theOxford English Dictionary, and of other academic publishers^[62] such asNature, theBiochemical Journal andThe Times Literary Supplement. It can be identified using theIETF language tagen-GB-oxendict (or, historically, byen-GB-oed).^[63]

In Ireland, India, Australia, and New Zealand^[64]-ise spellings strongly prevail: the-ise form is preferred in Australian English at a ratio of about 3:1 according to theMacquarie Dictionary.

In Canada, the-ize ending is more common, although theOntario Public School Spelling Book^[65] 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 theOED, the choice to spell such words in the-ise form wasa matter of personal preference; however, apupil 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-yze spellings, however, in Canada theize 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^[66][67] that Canadian-based dictionaries became increasingly common.)

Worldwide,-ize endings prevail in scientific writing and are commonly used by many international organizations, such asUnited Nations Organizations (such as theWorld Health Organization and theInternational Civil Aviation Organization) and theInternational Organization for Standardization (but not by theOrganisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). TheEuropean Union's style guides require the usage of -ise.^[68] Proofreaders at the EU's Publications Office ensure consistent spelling in official publications such as theOfficial 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 toinflections and derivations such ascolonised/colonized andmodernisation/modernization.

• Some verbs take only an-ize form worldwide. In these,-ize is not a suffix, so does not ultimately come from Ancient Greek-ίζειν: for example,capsize,seize (except in the legal phrasesto beseised of or to stand seised to),size andprize (meaningvalue, as opposed to theprise that meanspry).
• Some verbs take only-s- worldwide, though in many cases-z- was once an acceptable alternative:advertise,advise,arise,circumcise,comprise,compromise,demise,despise,devise,disguise,excise,exercise,franchise,guise,improvise,incise,promise,reprise,revise,rise,surmise,surprise,televise, andwise. (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-ίζειν.)
• Some words spelled with-ize in American English arenot used in British English. For example, from the nounburglar, the usual verb is formed by suffixation in American English (burglarize) butback-formation in British English (burgle).^[69]
• Conversely, the verbto prise (meaning "to force" or "to lever") is rarely used in North American English:^[12]pry is instead used, a back-formation from or alteration ofprise to avoid confusion with the more common noun "prize". When it is used in Canada, it is spelled with ans, 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 US have the spelling asprize even though it does not contain a suffix, so does not derive from-ίζειν.^[70][71] (A topsail schooner built in Australia in 1829 was calledEnterprize, in contrast with USships andspacecraft named "Enterprise".)

The ending-yse is British and-yze is American. Thus, in British Englishanalyse,catalyse,hydrolyse andparalyse, but in American Englishanalyze,catalyze,hydrolyze andparalyze.

Analyse was the more common spelling in 17th- and 18th-century English. Some dictionaries of the time, however, preferredanalyze, such asJohn Kersey's of 1702,Nathan Bailey's of 1721 andSamuel 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 derived from the Greek nounλύσιςlysis ("release"), with the-ise or-ize suffix added to it, and not the original verb form, whose stem isλυ- ly- without the-s/z- segment. For example,analyse comes from Frenchanalyser, formed byhaplology from the Frenchanalysiser,^[72] which would be spelledanalysise oranalysize 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."^[55]

British and other Commonwealth English use the ending-logue while American English commonly uses the ending-log for words likeanalog(ue),catalog(ue),dialog(ue),homolog(ue), etc., etymologically derived from Greek-λόγος-logos ("one who speaks (in a certain manner)"). The-gue spelling, as incatalogue, is used in the US, butcatalog is more common. In contrast,dialogue,epilogue,prologue, andmonologue are extremely common spellings compared todialog etc. in American English, although both forms are treated as acceptable ways to spell the words^[73] (thus, the inflected forms,cataloged andcataloging vs.catalogued andcataloguing).

In Australia,analog is standard for the adjective,^{[citation needed]} but bothanalogue andanalog are current for the noun; in all other cases the-gue endings strongly prevail,^[12] for examplemonologue, except for such expressions asdialog box in computing,^[74] which are also used in other Commonwealth countries. In Australia,analog is used in its technical and electronic sense, as inanalog electronics.^[8] In Canada and New Zealand,analogue is used, butanalog has some currency as a technical term^[12] (e.g., in electronics, as in "analog electronics" as opposed to "digital electronics" and some video-game consoles might have ananalog stick). The-ue is absent worldwide in related words likeanalogy,analogous, andanalogist.

Words such asdemagogue,pedagogue,synagogue, from the Greek nounἀγωγόςagōgos ("guide"), are seldom used without-ue even in American English.

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 astongue,plague,vague, andleague. In addition, when the-ue is not silent, as in the wordsargue,ague andsegue, all varieties of English use-gue.

The plural of the nounbus is usuallybuses, withbusses a minor American variant.^[75] Conversely, inflections of the verbbus usually double thes in British usage (busses, bussed, bussing) but not American usage (buses, bused, busing).^[75] In Australia, both are common, with the American usage slightly more common.^[76]

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 examplestrip/stripped, which prevents confusion withstripe/striped and shows the difference in pronunciation (seedigraph). 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.^[12] This exception is no longer usual in American English, seemingly because ofNoah Webster.^[77] 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 iscancelled,counsellor,cruellest,labelled,modelling,quarrelled,signalling,traveller, andtravelling. Americans typically usecanceled,counselor,cruelest,labeled,modeling,quarreled,signaling,traveler, andtraveling. However, for certain words such ascancelled, the-ll- spelling is acceptable in American English as well.
  • The wordparallel keeps a single-l- in British English, as in American English (paralleling,unparalleled), to avoid the cluster-llell-.
  • Words with two vowels before a finall are also spelled with-ll- in British English before a suffix when the first vowel either acts as a consonant (equalling andinitialled; in the United States,equaling orinitialed), or belongs to a separate syllable (Britishdi•alled andfu•el•ling; Americandi•aled andfue•ling).
    • Britishwoollen is a further exception due to the double vowel (American:woolen). Also,wooly is accepted in American English, thoughwoolly prevails in both systems.^[12]
    • The verbsurveil, aback-formation fromsurveillance, always makessurveilled,surveilling.^[78]
• Endings-ize/-ise,-ism,-ist,-ish usually do not double thel in British English; for example,devilish,dualism,normalise, andnovelist.
  • Exceptions:duellist,medallist,panellist,tranquillise, and sometimestriallist in British English.
• For-ous, British English has a singlel inscandalous andperilous, but the "ll" inlibellous andmarvellous.
• For-ee, British English haslibellee.
• For-age, British English haspupillage butvassalage.
• 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, andtonsillitis.)
• All forms of English havecompelled,excelling,propelled,rebelling (stressed-ll-);revealing,fooling (double vowel before thel); andhurling (consonant before thel).
• Canadian and Australian English mostly follow British usage.^[12]

Among consonants other thanl, practice varies for some words, such as where the final syllable hassecondary stress or an unreduced vowel. In the United States, the spellingskidnaped andworshiped, which were introduced by theChicago Tribune in the 1920s,^[79] are common, butkidnapped andworshipped prevail.^[80][81]Kidnapped andworshipped 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.^[82]

Miscellaneous:

• Britishcalliper orcaliper; Americancaliper.
• Britishjewellery; Americanjewelry. The word originates from the Old French wordjouel^[83] (whose contemporary French equivalent isjoyau, with the same meaning). The standard pronunciation/ˈdʒuːəlri/^[84] does not reflect this difference, but the non-standard pronunciation/ˈdʒuːləri/ (which exists in New Zealand and Britain, hence the Cockney rhyming slang wordtomfoolery/tɒmˈfuːləri/) does. According to Fowler,jewelry used to be the "rhetorical and poetic" spelling in the UK, and was still used byThe Times into the mid-20th century. Canada has both, butjewellery is more often used. Likewise, the Commonwealth (including Canada) hasjeweller and the US hasjeweler for a jewel(le)ry seller.

Conversely, there are words where British writers prefer a singlel and Americans a doublel. 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 includeappall,enrollment,fulfillment,installment,skillful,thralldom,willful. These words have monosyllabic cognates always written with-ll:pall (verb),roll,fill,stall,skill,thrall,will. Cases where a singlel nevertheless occurs in both American and British English includenull→annul,annulment;till→until (although some prefertil to reflect the singlel inuntil, sometimes using a leading apostrophe ('til); this should be considered ahypercorrection astill predates the use ofuntil); 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 singlel is generally preferred over American formsdistill,enroll,enthrall, andinstill, althoughll was formerly used;^[85] these are always spelled withll in American usage. The former British spellingsdulness,fulness, andinstal are now quite rare.^[12] The Scottishtolbooth is cognate withtollbooth, but it has a distinct meaning.

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

Both the Britishfulfil and the Americanfulfill never use-ll- in the middle (i.e., *fullfill and *fullfil are incorrect).^[86][87]

Johnson wavered on this issue. His dictionary of 1755lemmatizesdistil andinstill,downhil anduphill.^[12]

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 prefersageing,^[12] American usuallyaging (compareageism,raging). For the noun or verb "route", British English often usesrouteing,^[88] but in the US,routing is used. The military termrout formsrouting 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 wordsdyeing,singeing, andswingeing^[89] (in the sense ofdye,singe, andswinge), to distinguish them fromdying,singing,swinging (in the sense ofdie,sing, andswing). In contrast, the verbbathe and the British verbbath both formbathing. Both forms of English vary fortinge andtwinge; both prefercringing,hinging,lunging,syringing.

• Before-able, British English preferslikeable,liveable,rateable,saleable,sizeable,unshakeable,^[90] where American practice prefers to drop the "-e"; but both British and American English preferbreathable,curable,datable,lovable,movable,notable,provable,quotable,scalable,solvable,usable,^[90] and those where the root is polysyllabic, likebelievable ordecidable. Both systems keep the silent "e" when it is needed to preserve a soft "c", "ch", or "g", such as incacheable,changeable,traceable; both usually keep the "e" after "-dge", as inknowledgeable,unbridgeable, andunabridgeable ("These rights are unabridgeable").
• Bothabridgment and the more regularabridgement are current in the US, only the latter in the UK.^[12] Likewise for the wordlodg(e)ment. Bothjudgment andjudgement are in use interchangeably everywhere, although the former prevails in the US and the latter prevails in the UK^[12] except in the practice of law, wherejudgment is standard. This also holds forabridgment andacknowledgment. Both systems preferfledgling tofledgeling, butridgeling toridgling.Acknowledgment,acknowledgement,abridgment andabridgement are all used in Australia; the shorter forms are endorsed by the Australian Capital Territory Government.^[8][91] Apart from when the "e" is dropped and in the wordsmortgagor andgaol and some pronunciations ofmargarine, "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".

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. SeeMiscellaneous spelling differences below.

• dependant ordependent (noun): British dictionaries distinguish betweendependent (adjective) anddependant (noun). In the US,dependent is usual for both noun and adjective, regardless ofdependant also being an acceptable variant for the noun form in the US.^[92]
• disc ordisk: traditionally,disc used to be British anddisk American. Both spellings are etymologically sound (Greekdiskos, Latindiscus), althoughdisk is the earlier form. In computing,disc is used for optical discs (e.g., a CD, Compact Disc; DVD, Digital Versatile/Video Disc; MCADiscoVision,LaserDisc), by choice of the group that coined and trademarked the name Compact Disc, whiledisk is used for products using magnetic storage (e.g.,hard disks orfloppy disks, also known as diskettes).^[93]
• enquiry orinquiry:^[12] according to Fowler,inquiry should be used in relation to a formal inquest, andenquiry to the act of questioning. Many (though not all) British writers maintain this distinction; theOED, in their entry dating from 1900, listsinquiry andenquiry as equal alternatives, in that order (with the addition of "public inquiry" in the 1993 edition). Some British dictionaries, such asChambers 21st Century Dictionary,^[94] present the two spellings as interchangeable variants in the general sense, but preferinquiry for the "formal inquest" sense. In the US, onlyinquiry is commonly used; the title of theNational Enquirer, as a proper name, is an exception. In Australia,inquiry andenquiry are often interchangeable.^[95]
• ensure orinsure: in the UK, Australia and New Zealand, the wordensure (to make sure, to make certain) has a distinct meaning from the wordinsure (often followed byagainst – to guarantee or protect against, typically by means of an "insurance policy"). The distinction is only about a century old.^[12] In American usage,insure may also be used in the former sense, butensure may not be used in the latter sense. According to Merriam-Webster's usage notes,ensure andinsure "are interchangeable in many contexts where they indicate the making certain or [making] inevitable of an outcome, butensure may imply a virtual guarantee 'the government hasensured the safety of the refugees', whileinsure sometimes stresses the taking of necessary measures beforehand 'careful planning shouldinsure the success of the party'."^[96]
• matt ormatte: in the UK,matt refers to a non-glossy surface, andmatte to themotion-picture technique; in the US,matte covers both.^[12]
• programme orprogram: the Britishprogramme is from post-classical Latinprogramma and Frenchprogramme.Program first appeared in Scotland in 1633 (earlier thanprogramme in England in 1671) and is the only spelling found in the US. TheOED entry, updated in 2007, says thatprogram conforms to the usual representation of Greek as inanagram,diagram,telegram etc. In British English,program is the common spelling for computer programs, but for other meaningsprogramme is used. New Zealand also follows this pattern. In Australia,program has been endorsed by government writing standards for all meanings since the 1960s,^[12] and is listed as the official spelling in theMacquarie Dictionary;^[8] see also the name ofThe Micallef P(r)ogram(me). In Canada,program prevails, and theCanadian Oxford Dictionary makes no meaning-based distinction between it andprogramme. However, some Canadian government documents nevertheless useprogramme for all meanings of the word – and also to match the spelling of the French equivalent.^[12]
• tonne orton: in all Anglophone countries, the spellingtonne refers to the metric unit (1,000 kilograms), which is the nomenclature used inSI units, but the preferred name for the same unit in the US ismetric ton. Canada uses either nomenclature.^[97] The unqualifiedton usually refers to thelong ton (2,240 pounds or 1,016 kilograms) in the UK and to theshort ton (2,000 pounds or 907 kilograms) in the US (the tonne and long ton differ by only 1.6%, however, and are roughly interchangeable when accuracy is not critical; ton and tonne are usually pronounced the same in speech).
• metre ormeter: in British English there is a distinction betweenmetre as a unit of length (which is also the international spelling for the unit according to the SI brochure by theBIPM), and ameter in the sense of a measuring device (e.g., ammeter, water meter), whereas the standard American spelling for both is "meter".^[98]

In a few cases,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 withsmelt (UK) versussmelled (US) (seeAmerican and British English grammatical differences: Verb morphology).

In the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, it is more common to end some past tense verbs with a "t" as inlearnt ordreamt rather thanlearned ordreamed.^{[dubious –discuss][135]} However, such spellings are also found in American English. However, in American English,burned andburnt 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 sometimes used in its place in American English.^[136] Both terms are understood in Canada and Australia, and may be found either in minority use or in regional dialect in the US.
• 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 haveobtained a car", and "I have gotten to go" would mean "I have had theopportunity/privilege to go"). None of this affects "forget" and "beget", whose past participles are "forgotten" and "begotten" in all varieties.

In the table below, the main spellings are above the accepted alternative spellings.

British English often prefers hyphenated compounds, such asanti-smoking, whereas American English discourages the use of hyphens in compounds where there is no compelling reason, soantismoking is much more common.^[190] 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 aseditor-in-chief).^[12] Commander-in-chief prevails in all forms of English.

Compound verbs in British English arehyphenated more often than in American English.^[191]

• any more oranymore: in the sense "any longer", the single-word form is usual in North America and Australia but unusual elsewhere, at least in formal writing.^[12] 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]". InHong Kong English,any more is always two words.^[192]
• for ever orforever: traditional British English usage makes a distinction betweenfor 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"; andforever, meaning continually, always, as in "They are forever arguing".^[193] In British usage today, however,forever prevails in the "for eternity" sense as well,^[194] in spite of several style guides maintaining the distinction.^[195] American writers usually useforever regardless of which sense they intend (althoughforever in the sense of "continually" is comparatively rare in American English, having been displaced byalways).
• near by ornearby: some British writers make the distinction between the adverbialnear by, which is written as two words, as in, "No one was near by"; and the adjectivalnearby, which is written as one, as in, "The nearby house".^[196] In American English, the one-word spelling is standard for both forms.
• per cent orpercent: 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 theCommonwealth 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 pronounced as words are often written intitle case by Commonwealth writers, but usually asupper case by Americans: for example,Nasa / NASA orUnicef / UNICEF.^[197] This does not apply to abbreviations that are pronounced as individual letters (referred to by some as "initialisms"), such asUS,IBM, orPRC (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 asPc (Police Constable).^[198]

Contractions where the final letter is present are often written in British English without full stops/periods (Mr,Mrs,Dr,Fr, andSt — for "Saint" but not for "Street").Abbreviations where the final letter is not present generally do take full stops/periods (such asvol.,etc.,i.e.,ed.); British English shares this convention with French:Mlle,Mme,Dr,Ste, butM. forMonsieur. In American and Canadian English, abbreviations likeSt.,Ave.,Mr.,Mrs.,Ms.,Dr., andJr., 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 L or25 mL vs2 l or25 ml);^[199][200] andante meridiem and post meridiem (10 P.M. or10 PM vs10 p.m. or10 pm).^{[201][202][203]} BothAM/PM anda.m./p.m. are acceptable in American English, but US style guides overwhelmingly prefera.m./p.m.^[204]

The use ofquotation marks, also called inverted commas or speech marks, is complicated by the fact that there are two kinds:single quotation marks (') anddouble 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.^[205]

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.^[206]

Look upCategory:American English orCategory:British English in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide forEnglish language varieties.

• The Chicago Manual of Style
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• Word substitution list, by theUbuntu English (United Kingdom) Translators team
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