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British and American English Spelling

The British English spellings are often related to their French and Greek spelling, while American spellings often reflect the Latin.

1. ae/e, oe/o, ou/o, iu/u

aetiology / etiology
anaemic / anemic
anaesthetic / anesthetic
caesium / cesium
faeces / feces
foetus/foetal fetus/fetal
haemo- / hemo-
oedema edema
mould mold
aluminium aluminum

2. gue/g

analogue / analog
catalogue / catalog
dialogue / dialog

3. se/ze, ce/se

analyse / analyze
catalyse / catalyze
dialyse / dialyze
electrolyse / electrolyze
hydrolyse /hydrolyze
paralyse /paralyze
defence defense

4.our/or

behaviour / behavior
colour / color
favour / favor
harbour / harbor
labour (laborious) / labor (laborious)
neighbour / neighbor
odour / odor
tumour . tumor

5. re/er

centre, centred / center, centered
fibre / fiber
litre / liter
metre (100 cm) / meter
meter (measuring device) / meter

6. l/ll

channelled, channelling / channeled, channeling
fulfil / fulfill
labelling, labelled / labeling, labeled
modelled, modelling / modeled, modeling
skilful skillful
tunnelling tunneling

7. co-/co

co-worker / coworker
co-factor / cofactor

8. ph/f

sulphur, sulphate, sulphite, sulphide, etc. sulfur, sulfate, sulfite, sulfide, etc.

9. others

grey / gray
through / thru
programme (TV, project etc.) / program
but computer program / program





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