American and British English

Spelling Differences Unterschiede in der Rechtschreibung

Words that come from Latin or French and end in -our/-or  and -re/-er:

British                           American 

-our (BE)                       -or (AE)

colour                            color

flavour                           flavor

harbour                          harbor

honour                           honor

humour                          humor

labour                            labor

neighbour                      neighbor

rumour                          rumor

 

-re (BE)                          -er (AE)

calibre                            caliber

centre                             center         

fibre                                fiber

litre                                 liter

lustre                              luster der Lüster

manoeuvre                     manoeuver

meagre                           meager schwach

metre                              meter

mitre                               miter die Mitra (Bischofsmütze)

ochre                              ocher der/das Ocker

to reconnoitre                 to reconnoiter

sabre                              saber

saltpetre                         salpeter

sepulchre                       sepulcher das Grab                 

sombre                           somber düster

spectre                           specter

theatre                            theater

The ending -cre, as in acre, lucre, massacre and mediocre, is used in both British and American English to show that the c is pronounced /k/ rather than /s/.

Bei der Endung -cre wird auch im amerikanischen English die Schreibweise beibehalten, um die Aussprache /k/ und nicht /s/ für das c deutlich zu machen.