User:Roger Davies/EngVar

This is intended to be a quick guide, offering spelling equivalences. This is not intended as a discussion of nuanced difference in meaning; these may be added later with alert tags or footnotes. Where two spellings are given, the headword in the sources comes first, followed by the variant.

General vocabulary

English Variant Spellings: General

Mostly American English	Rule	Mostly British/Commonwealth English
-ise surprise, advise etc	-ise	-Unchanged in both Oxford and Cambridge spelling
-ization industrialization etc	-ize	-Oxford keeps –ization ending. Cambridge uses –isation ending.
-ize recognize etc	-ize	-Oxford keeps –ize endings. Cambridge uses –ise endings.
aging, ageing		ageing, aging
analyze, analysis	-yze	analyse, analysis
artifact		artefact
ax, axe		axe
behavior		behaviour
center, centered, centering		centre, centred, centring, centered, centering
color, colored, coloring		colour, coloured, colouring
defense, defensive		defence, defensive
dialog	se / ce	dialog (computer), dialogue (other usages)
disk		disk (computer), disc (other usages)
endeavor, endeavoring	endeavour, endeavouring
drag, dragging, dragged, drug†		drag, dragging, dragged
favor, favorable, favored, favoring, favorite		favour, favourable, favoured, favouring, favourite
fit (simple past)		fitted
flavor, flavored, flavoring		flavour, flavoured, flavouring
gotten (past participle)		got
governor, governorship		governor, governorship
gray, grey		grey, gray
harbor, habored, harboring		harbour, haboured, harbouring
honor, honorable, honored		honour, honourable, honoured
humor, humorous		humour, humorous
jewelry		jewellery
judgment		judgement
labor		labour
license (n); license (v), licensed, licensing	se / ce	licence (n); license (v), licensed, licensing
math		maths
maneuver, maneuvered, maneuvering (also manoeuver etc)	Oe > e	manoeuvre, manoeuvred, manoeuvring
misspelled		misspelled, misspelt
model, modeled, modeling		model, modelled, modelling
neighbor, neighborhood, neighboring, neighborly		neighbour, neighbourhood, neighbouring, neighbourly
offense, offensive		offence, offensive
panel, paneled, paneling		panel, panelled, panelling
practice (v); practice (n)	se/ce	practise (v); practice (n)
program	m / mme	program (computer), programme (other usages)
skeptic, skeptical, skepticism		sceptic, sceptical, scepticism
snuck		sneaked
specialty		speciality
splendor		splendour
story, stories (building)		storey, storeys (building)
theater, theatre, theatrical, theatrically		theatre, theatrical, theatrically
tire (n)		tyre
travel, traveler, traveling		travel, traveller, travelling
valor, valorous, valorously	o(u)r	valour, valorous, valorously

† = Dialect (deprecated)

Medical & Scientific

English Variant Spellings: Medical & Scientific

Mostly American English	Mostly British/Commonwealth English
aluminum	aluminium
celiac	coeliac
edema	oedema
sulfur	sulphur

Sources

• American English = Merriam Webster Unabridged (online)
• British English = Oxford English Diction v2 on CD-rom