最近“云改”，苏研又增加了一个名称：中国移动云能力中心，有一天在会议室开会，看到了英文是“China Mobile Cloud Centre”，感觉挺有意思，就研究了一下Center和Centre的区别，看了几篇文章。其实这两个单词的含义是一模一样的，而且在很多场合也是可以互换的，他们的区别在于：

Center是美式英语的说法，而Centre是英式英语的说法。

Centre一般在英国、印度、加拿大等选择英国语系的国家（我理解多数是殖民地），而Center则用途更加广泛，我们现在选择Centre是不是有些深层次的含义呢:-)

 

Reference the graphs below for the relative usage of these terms in both of these language communities.

As you can see, Americans prefer center by a wide margin. The opposite holds true for British writers:

These graphs aren’t scientifically precise, since they only look at print sources written in English since the dawn of the 18th century. Still, they clearly illustrate a widespread usage trend.

文章1：http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-center-and-centre/

There is not much of a difference between center and centre; however, knowing the difference is important to use them correctly in the right place. In fact, it is two different ways of spelling the same word. Therefore people often confuse whether they are using the correct spelling or not. Center is the American way of spelling, whereas Centre is the British way of spelling. As a matter of fact, both the words are generally used in the sense of ‘core’ or ‘hub’. As for both the words, center and center, they are both used as nouns as well asverbs. There are number of phrases too that employ the word centre such as centre of attention, centre of attraction, centre of excellence, etc.

CONTENTS

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What Does Center or Centre Mean
3. Similarities Between Center and Centre
4. Side by Side Comparison – Center vs Centre in Tabular Form
5. Summary

What Does Center or Centre Mean?

It is important to know that the word center (centre) refers to the middle of an object or a place. On the other hand, the word centre also refers to the middle of an object or a place. Sometimes, it refers to a certain sporting position. Center or centre is a sporting position in games like football.

Sometimes, even in Great Britain, the word center is occasionally used depending upon the context. For example, the quarterback in the game of football throws the ball to the center. Such usages are only temporary. This is to make the people of the land understand the significance of the word.

The converse is also true. Sometimes, Americans also show the British spelling in some of their establishments just to gain more popularity and importance. For example, one can see many theatre centres in some places in America. This is just to attract more crowds in the place. Thus, we can see that the words center and centre are sometimes interchanged depending upon context too.

Otherwise, the word center is used largely in America, especially in their media. The same spelling is used in the case of towns in the country of America. On the other hand, the word centre is chiefly used in Great Britain and the other countries that follow the British system of spelling like India and Canada. Now, have look at the following sentences.

She went to the city centre with her brother.

Amanda went to the exhibition centre early in the morning.

Now, in both of these examples, the word centre, which is the British word, is used. However, you can replace the word centre in these sentences with center, the American word. Even when you do the change, still the meaning will remain the same, because as we have discussed throughout the article, the two words have the same meaning though they have different spellings.

What are the Similarities Between Center and Centre?

• Center and centre are used in the sense of ‘core’ or ‘hub’.
• Both center or centre refer to the middle of an object or a place.
• Center or centre is also used to refer to a sporting position.
• Depending on the context the Americans use centre as well as the British use center.

What is the Difference Between Center and Centre?

Center vs Centre

Center is the American way of spelling
Centre is the British way of spelling

Summary – Center vs Centre

The key difference between center and centre is their spelling; center is the spelling used by Americans while centre is the spelling used by British.

 

文章2：http://www.differencebetween.net/language/difference-between-center-and-centre/

An old joke speaks of an American couple who decides to take a trip to England. When they get back they tell their friends they had such a lovely time. The castles, the food, and the countryside were all great. The only thing that would make it better is if the natives could speak English!

Of course, both Americans and British speak English, just with local variations. These variations are in both spoken and written English. Someone from northern Scotland and someone from southern Mississippi would have a hard time understanding each other. Written language is much easier to wade through, but there are certain spelling and vocabulary differences that can get you in trouble if you don’t know to look out for them. For instance, torch is a British flash, truck is an American lorry, and braces are orthodontic equipment in American and a device to keep your pants up in Britain. Center and centre can also cause a problem if you’re not careful.

The Definition of Centre and Center
Centre ‘“ is the British spelling of the word that refers to the middle of something, a meeting place, or certain sporting positions.
Center ‘“ is the American spelling of the word that refers to the middle of something, a meeting place, or certain sporting positions.

Usage of Centre and Center
Centre ‘“ is used in Britain and countries that have adopted the British system of spelling such as Canada and India. It is also used in America for certain place names or institutions such as Centre, Alabama, Centre College in Kentucky, and the Centre Region of Haiti.
Center ‘“ is used in America and in much popular media, regardless of whether or not the country uses British spelling otherwise. It is also used for place names with that specific spelling such as town names Center is places as diverse as Texas, Wisconsin, and Slovenia.

Other Notes on Centre and Center
Center ‘“ is used worldwide to describe sporting positions in traditionally American sports, such as American football and baseball. Even in Britain the quarterback will throw the ball to the center in football and the center fielder will catch the pop fly in baseball.
Centre ‘“ is used worldwide to describe sporting positions in traditionally British sports such as the centre and centre forward in rugby. Sometimes American businesses will adopt the British spelling to give their establishment a little more class. There are many ‘theatre centres’ in small town America.

Summary:
1.British and American English differ in vocabulary, pronunciation, and spelling on a great number of words.
2.Centre is the British spelling of the word that is spelled center in America.
3.Both centre and center refer to the middle of objects, meeting places, and certain sporting positions.
4.Sometimes, depending on the context, you will see centre being used in America and center being used in Britain, but these usages are rare and often considered affected by their fellow countrymen.