Как правильно пишется jewelry или jewellery

If your spouse has a birthday coming up, should you buy jewelry or jewellery?

Choosing a birthday gift for a loved one can be a stressful shopping experience, but, luckily, knowing the difference between these two words does not have to be so nerve-racking.

Even if your spouse wants something else as a gift, it is still a good idea to be aware of the difference between these two words. In reality, they are two versions of the same noun. One is used by American writers, and the other by British writers, so your gift choice might depend on whether you are living in America or England.

What is the Difference Between Jewelry and Jewellery?

In this post, I will compare jewelry vs. jewellery. I will use each of these words in example sentences, so you can see them in context. Plus, I will show you a helpful memory tool that will allow you to choose jewellery or jewelry correctly every time.

When to Use Jewelry

What does jewelry mean? Jewelry is a noun. It refers to decorative adornments worn as accessories. Jewelry can be made of precious stones and metals, but it can also be made of plastic or glass. It can be very expensive or very cheap.

Jewelry preferences vary widely from person to person and region to region. Some common types of jewelry are bracelets, necklaces, rings, and various objects worn in body piercings.

For example,

• Kara bought Edina jewelry for her birthday, but Edina returned it and chose a different item.
• Albert wore so much gold jewelry that his outfits were worth more than many of his employees’ cars.
• A staggering $53 million worth of diamonds and other jewels was stolen Sunday from the Carlton Intercontinental Hotel in Cannes, in one of Europe’s biggest jewelry heists in recent years, police said. –New York Daily News

Jewelry is a singular collective noun. Whether a person is wearing one piece of jewelry or a dozen is irrelevant; jewelry is the word to use either way. Its plural is jewelries, but most writers would use the phrase pieces of jewelry instead.

A seller of jewelry is called a jeweler. Jewelers may also provide other services, like repair or appraisal.

When to Use Jewellery

What does jewellery mean? Jewellery is an alternative spelling of the same word. It is the preferred spelling in British English, while jewelry is the preferred spelling in American English.

• Malka said the safe-deposit boxes were used to store both jewellery and loose diamonds in packets. –The Guardian

The charts below graph jewellery vs. jewelry in American and British English, respectively.

American English:

British English:

As you can see, jewelry is used much more often by American writers, while British writers are more likely to use jewellery.

Trick to Remember the Difference

Jewelry and jewellery are alternative forms of the same word. The only difference between them is where they are used.

• American English writers have standardized around jewelry.
• British writers have made jewellery the standard form in their language community.

Since jewellery has an extra L, like the city of London, England, it should be easy to remember that jewellery is the British version of this word.

Summary

Is it jewelry or jewellery? Jewelry and jewellery are spelling variations of a noun that refers to decorative adornments worn as accessories.

• Jewelry is the American English version.
• Jewellery is the British version.

At first glance, the variations of spelling, “jewellery” and “jewelry” seem almost like a brain teaser or tongue twister.

You don’t want to look at the two side-by-side very long, or you might get hypnotized.

Yet, if you’re trying to decide between jewellery or jewelry, please rest assured that both spellings are technically correct.

Jewellery is the British and Canadian version, while “jewelry” is the correct spelling in the U.S.

But even if both versions are correct, we still have to solve the mystery of where the spellings came from and why we have both of them.

Let’s investigate.

Jewellery vs Jewelry: The English Spelling Rule

When there’s a discrepancy in spelling, the first question that pops into many people’s heads is how did it get to be that way?

Well, one very important factor in the difference between the American spelling and the British spelling is the English Spelling Rule.

This rule states that when a word ends in a consonant and the suffix (in this case “ery”) begins in a vowel, one doubles the consonant.

Another example would be the word format. “Format” would become formatting, doubling the “t” because the suffix begins with a vowel.

Well, even if it’s called the English spelling rule, it isn’t adopted by America (the U.S). But only by England and Australia and Canada.

Thus, when you see “jewellery” you see the correct spelling in British English.

Noah Webster and the American Spelling

Noah Webster was an editor, linguist, and lexicographer who would go down in history as one of the inventors of American English.

He was born in 1758, while America was still under British rule. As the colonies became an independent country, immigration from various European countries added to the population of the U.S.

Webster thought it was important to create a dictionary of uniquely American words.

Another main thing Webster wanted to do was simplify various English words by spelling them in a way that mimicked their sound.

So, for example, he wanted to spell “women” “wimmen.” By logic, if choosing jewellery or jewelry, you’d have to go with the latter, the one that spells out the pronunciation more directly.

Which do you Use?

Jewellery or jewelry? For the most part, this will be determined by whether or not you’re using American English or British English.

This small spelling difference is still enough to trigger a spell-check on a word processor, so you may let that be your guide.

But now you know the standard spelling in the major varieties of English.

Is jewellery and jewelry the same?

Well, both of these are spellings of the same word. Jewellery is the standard spelling in British (Canadian, Australian) English, while jewelry is the preferred spelling in American English.

Is there a plural for jewellery?

There is. While general, you’d just say jewellery or jewelry to refer to multiple pieces, an obscure usage is “jewelleries” for, say, the jewelleries of various centuries or of different cultures.

Is it correct to say jewelleries?

While this is not the most common word for multiple pieces of jewelry an obscure usage is “jewelleries” for, say, the jewelleries of various centuries or of different cultures.

How do Canadians spell jewelry?

They spell it “jewellery,” as Canada was part of the British monarchy for centuries. Unlike the U.S., with someone like Noah Webster to make changes, Canadians didn’t develop a variation like “jewelry”

ювелирные изделия, драгоценности, ювелирный

существительное

- драгоценности; ювелирные изделия
- ювелирное дело

Словосочетания

a wooden jewellery box inlaid with ivory — деревянная коробка для украшений, инкрустированная слоновой костью  
discreet jewellery — скромные ювелирные украшения  
antique jewellery — старинные драгоценности  
imitation jewellery — искусственные драгоценности  
jewellery store — ювелирный магазин  
costume jewellery — декоративная бижутерия; украшения для платья; дешевые украшения  
art property and jewellery insurance — страхование предметов искусства и драгоценностей  
jewellery alloy — ювелирный сплав  
jewellery gold — ювелирное золото  
jewellery insurance — страхование ювелирных изделий; страхование драгоценностей  
jiggle the jewellery — мастурбировать  

Примеры с переводом

Примеры, ожидающие перевода

Возможные однокоренные слова

jeweller  — ювелир, торговец драгоценностями

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