Language/English/Vocabulary/Words-with-different-spellings
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Hi Polyglots!
Did you know that in English some words can be written in several different ways (they have different spellings).
Here is a list of the main words:
English words | Comment |
---|---|
Acknowledgment/acknowledgement | acknowledgment, without the middle e, is preferred in U.S. and Canadian English, while acknowledgement is preferred outside North America. |
Adviser/advisor | In the U.S. and Canada, advisor is commonly used in official job titles, but adviser is still generally preferred over advisor in North America, and advisor is only marginally more common in American and Canadian English than in other varieties of English. |
Aesthetic/esthetic | You can you use both. The main difference between aesthetics and esthetics is that "aesthetic" is used in British English while "esthetics" is used in American English.
Aesthetics is a philosophical study that deals with the nature and appreciation of art, beauty, and taste. |
Among/amongst | Among is the earlier word of this pair: according to the Oxford English Dictionary, it first appeared in Old English. The variant form, amongst, is a later development, coming along in the Middle English period. With regard to their meanings, there’s no difference between among and amongst. |
Analog/analogue | |
Archaeology/archeology | Both spellings are correct. Archaeology, or archeology, is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. |
Ax/axe | Ax is used in American English. Axe is used in British English (Australia and Canada side with the British spelling). |
Barbecue/Barbeque/BBQ | The abbreviated spelling, BBQ, is the most popular way to spell barbecue, while "barbecue" comes in second. "Barbeque" is a distant third. |
Collectable/collectible | Collectable is a state of being. Collectible is a being. They may be interchangeable, but the word 'collectible' is mostly used to name a class of objects (THINGS that are collected), while the word 'collectable' describes objects (things that CAN BE collected). |
Color/colour | |
Disc/disk | |
Donut/doughnut | |
Enquire/inquire | |
Flavor/flavour | |
Flier/flyer | The noun flier describes something or someone that flies. (In the United States, flier is occasionally used to denote a leaflet. However, flyer is more widely accepted for a leaflet.) |
Gray/grey | |
Licence/license | The noun is spelled either way, but the verb is always spelled license. |
Nite/night | Even though you might see it on signs, nite is not (yet) an accepted spelling in standard English. It's a "cosy," informal way to spell night. |
Organise/organize | |
Theater/theatre | |
Toward/towards | |
Whiskey/whisky |
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