Difference between Diapers and Nappies?

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Trevor said:
To my knowledge, those aren't used in anything formal. They're a mix of organic changes and attempts to change things or make English easier: http://www.barnsdle.demon.co.uk/spell/histsp.html. I'm not aware of "tire" as one of those conscious efforts. It's the accepted spelling 'round these parts: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tire.
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Huh. Wow. That's absolutely fascinating! :smile:

"Thru" is another one that you see a lot on US signs, and I wondered where/when that came from. Now I know! Cool stuff.
 
Pretty sure it's just a difference in name.
 
Diapers and nappies are two different names for the same thing.
 
country of origin. This is also just me but I generally associate nappy more with cloth diapers and diapers with the traditional disposable kind but again I think cloth is more popular in the u.k. so it's still country of origin.
 
The main toll road in New York State is the Thruway. Just like we have dropped the u in honour and colour, Americans like to simplify spelling and using thru for through is an extreme example of that. Even in place where we don't change the spelling we often change the way we say it (schedule is an example that comes to mind, we start it with the sk sound and the Brits with an sh sound).

On the other hand, I really prefer the Brit pronunciation of Z (zed) over the US one (zee). Language is wonderful and English with its propensity to borrow (steal) from other languages and to continually evolve is really interesting. I believe that the use of texting will cause even more shortening and modification (and drive 10th grade English teachers crazy).
 
tiny said:
"Thru" is another one that you see a lot on US signs, and I wondered where/when that came from. Now I know! Cool stuff.
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you're forgetting 'boro', although that is also used on some road signs over here.
and, erm, let's also not forget that 'doughnut' is a shortened form of dough-nought :cool:
 
There is no physical difference between them. They are just different names.
 
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