TomH: Thanks for giving insight into the subject that I actually asked about- I appreciate it! 
kbutcher - that was awesome! Thanks for sharing.
Oh, I’m gonna keep using these #%@&* codes 'til I get 'em right.
As said above, “ou” became “o” where the word originally came from Latin with an “o”; the “u” in these words came from French.
Similarly, “-ise” became “-ize”, not only because of pronunciation, but because it’s a zeta, not a sigma, in the original Greek.
Aluminum was not isolated until 1825, and “aluminum” is the original form of the word. The British changed it. (In general, where the US and UK differ in the names of chemicals, it is the US that adheres to the international standard.)
“Alphabetize” is also 19th-century; “alphabeticalize” is not listed in the Oxford English Dictionary at all.
It is a great mistake to assume that present-day British English is the original of present-day American English. The two dialects diverged centuries ago, and in many cases, it is the American that is the more conservative, in both issues of pronunciation and of vocabulary.
John W. Kennedy
“Compact is becoming contract; man only earns and pays.”
– Charles Williams
Or does the international standard adhere to the US usage?
No, historically, international standards in chemical terminology have their roots in Germany, which led the world in the 19th and early 20th centuries. That’s why we have words like paradimethylaminobenzaldehyde.
To chemists anywhere in the world but Britain, “toluene”, for example, is right and “toluol” is wrong, wrong, wrong!.
John W. Kennedy
“Compact is becoming contract; man only earns and pays.”
– Charles Williams
If you mean the stuff in nail polish remover, we say “toluene” as well.
Does that go for drug names as well (e.g. epinephrine/adrenaline, acetominophen/paracetamol)? I’ve probably spelt the US names wrong, but I’m sure you can figure out what I mean.
Well, I can tell you that in Spain, at least, they sell paracetamol, not acetaminophen. I think we covered that there is actually a slight difference between the two.
Hmmm… Perhaps I’m out of date (my reference is a couple of decades old) and the British converted – as part of metrification or the EC?
John W. Kennedy
“Compact is becoming contract; man only earns and pays.”
– Charles Williams
Drug names aren’t scientific names, and don’t count. Trademark considerations also apply, as well as euphony.
Scientific names, on the other hand, tell you what the chemical is.
John W. Kennedy
“Compact is becoming contract; man only earns and pays.”
– Charles Williams
see 2nd post.
what is essential is invisible to the eye -the fox