I'm looking for a list of common words in UK English spelling where
the US English spelling differs.  The purpose is to override MS Office
spell check error identification for UK English spellings (see
Question id=209700).

There must be a Scrabble list or British Council or other teaching
list available somewhere.  I don't need the US spelling equivalents,
just a list of UK words.  It doesn't have to be exhaustive; most of
the common ones would do.

Thanks

Here is a long list of just over 400 words along with historical
references, and broken down by word parts very neatly. I hope this is
what you're looking for. The original page is long dead, but I found a
copy of it on the Wayback Machine (an internet cache of old pages,
this one from early 2002).


Search Strategy:

"english spelling" colour on google:
://www.google.com/search?q=%22english+spelling%22+colour


Additional Links:

American and British Spelling Differences:
http://web.archive.org/web/20020602152820/http://www.peak.org/~jeremy/dictionary/spellcat.html


skermit-ga

---

Clarification of Answer by skermit-ga on 01 Jun 2003 03:35 PDT

Here's more "why" from another page:

http://people.cornell.edu/pages/jjh26/Spelling.htm

skermit-ga

Thanks; just the thing!

Hi - it seems like it might be simpler to select the UK dictionary in
Office rather than using the US dictionary - a page telling how to do
this (for WinXP and 2000):
http://uslinux.ied.edu.hk/stffaq/5.10.html

synarchy-ga, yeah thanks.  You're completely right.  That was my
first, second and third option (see id=209700).  This is my option of
almost-last resort, and AFAIK, the only safe one.

I append here the edited list of words from skermit-ga's link,
including only those that threw up a spell check error under the US
English language disctionary, plus one or two that were already in my
custom.dic file.

{Editors, it's possible you might wish to remove this list if it
throws off the Google Answers internal search engine.  If so, that's
fine by me.}

aeon, aeroplane, accoutre, aether, aggrandise, acquiror, aluminium,
amortisation, amortise, anaemia, anaemic, anaesthesia, anaesthetic,
anaesthetist, analyse, apologise, apophthegm, appal, arbour, ardour,
armour, armourer, armoury, arse, artefact, barelled, barelling,
behaviour, behavioural, behove, biassed, biassing, boracic, boult,
bureaux, burglarise, caesium, calibre, calliper, callisthenics,
camomile, cancelling, candour, cantaloup, capitalisation, capitalise,
capitalised, carburettor, carcase, cashflow, cashflows, catalyse,
catchup, categorise, centre, centreboard, centrefold, centreing,
centring, characterise, cheque, chequer, chilli, cissy, citrous,
clamour, clangour, clarinettist, colonise, colour, connexion,
corporatisation, corporatised, cosy, councillor, counselled,
counselling, counsellor, counterparty, criticise, criticised, defence,
deflexion, demeanour, demutualisation, desensitised, desulphurisation,
diaeresis, dialogue, dialyse, diarrhoea, disc, dishevelled,
dishevelling, dolour, doodah, dramatise, draughthy, emphasise,
enamour, encyclopaedia, endeavour, enrol, enthral, enure, equalise,
equalled, equalling, extemporise, faecal, faeces, favour, favourable,
favourably, favourite, favouritism, fervour, fibre, fibreboard,
fibreglass, finalise, flavour, fledgeling, focussing, foetal, foetid,
foetus, fulfil, fulfilment, furore, gaol, gaolbird, gaolbreak, gaoler,
garotte, garrotte, generalism, genuflexion, glamorise, glamourise,
gonorrhoea, gramme, goitre, grey, grovelled, groveller, grovelling,
gybe, gynaecology, haemoglobin, haemophilia, haemorrhage, haemorrhoid,
harbour, honour, hostelled, humour, inclose, instil, instalment,
investibility, jeweller, jewellery, judgement, kerb, kilogramme,
labour, leukaemia, levelled, leveller, levelling, libelled, libelling,
libellous, liberalisation, liberalise, licence, licences, liquorice,
litre, louvre, lustre, manoeuvre, marvelled, marvelling, marvellous,
maximise, meagre, menorrhoea, metalled, metalling, metre, minimise,
minimising, misdemeanour, misjudgement, mitre, mobilise, modelled,
modeller, modelling, mollusc, monetisation, monetise, motorise,
moulding, moult, naturalise, neighbour, neighbourhood, neighbourly,
nett, nitre, normalise, nought, nurseling, odour, oedema, oenology,
oesophagus, oestrogen, oestrus, omelette, organisation, organisations,
organise, organised, orthopaedics, paedagogy, paederast, paediatric,
paediatrician, paediatrics, paedophile, paedophilia, palaeobotany,
palaeoclimatology, palaeogeography, palaeography, palaeolithic,
palaeomagnetism, palaeontology, panelled, panelling, panellist,
paralyse, parametrise, parenthesise, parlour, pasteurised, pavior,
paviour, pedlar, philtre, piccaninny, poenology, politicise,
politicised, polyethene, popularise, practise, premiss, primaeval,
privatisation, privatisations, privatise, privatised, programme,
programmed, swop, programmer, programming, propellent, pupillage,
pyjamas, quarrelled, quarreller, rancour, realisation, realise,
realised, recognise, recognises, reconnoitre, refinancings, reflexion,
refocussing, releveraging, renegue, reorganisation, reorganised,
reorganising, retroflexion, revelled, rigour, romanise, rouble, ruble,
rumour, sabre, saltpetre, satirise, saviour, savour, savoury, sceptic,
sceptical, scepticism, sceptre, securitisation, sepulchre, smoulder,
snowplough, sombre, specialised, specialising, speciality, spectre,
splendour, stabilise, standardise, storey, succour, sulphate,
sulphide, sulphur, sulphuretted, summarise, summarised, summarises,
surprise, swob, symbolise, synaeresis, synaesthesia, syphon,
tantalise, tho', thraldom, tiro, titbit, titre, totalling, tranche,
tranches, travelled, traveller, travellers, travelling, trisulphate,
trowelled, trowelling, tumour, tyre, unfavourable, utilisation,
utilised, utilising, valour, vaporise, vapour, vigour, wilful,
woollen, waggon

Of spurious-ga's list of words, some may not be recognised by a US
English spell checker, but that doesn't mean they're standard British
English - such as "burglarise". The British verb is burgle, burgling,
burgled. There are probably a few others.

Owain