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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