Donut or doughnut?

A few weeks ago at a computer in the library a buddy of mine pulls up to me and we start talking about proxy servers. He gave me the link to one and tells me to type it into the browser. So I do and nothing happened. The site was something lame...

liketowerofdonuts dot com. He inspected what I had typed and saw how I spelled 'donut' as 'doughnuts'. He put his hand on my shoulder and laughed while saying we're not in England, love. Now, I am English, my father is English, and growing up in an English household, there is a slim chance that this may be the case. But is there really a difference in spelling between the two areas? America - donut England - doughnut
I have been scolded for spelling your 'color' as 'colour'

In short. Is my father ruining me? Do I need to double check my entire vocabulary?

Actually. I really just want to know, is doughnut correct in England, but not America, or is this kid a wanker?

Samantha Ray

Dear rabies,
Although both words are acceptable. Words like colour, neighbour etc. are used here in Canada and you will get your fingers slapped here (in Canada) for using the American color, neighbor etc. So your friends spelling is correct and we use doughnut more than not. The doughnut was first developed as a dutch treat and they spelled it doughnut. So your friend may be a wanker but we do use doughnut here in Canada as the correct spelling.
Sue

Well, in America words get butchered all the time. Then we tend to popularize the bastardized form of the word then the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) or the American Heritage Dictionary and does the world a disservice by accepting the new form of the word. English is a terrible language and this is why the Japanese really hate our language.

Either form of the word is technically correct, unless you are in Portugal or Spain where the word is Donut with out the origin of the conjunctive word shown in its spelling. The word is simply derived from the combination of the two words dough and nut which technically means that you are correct in the proper spelling in either the US or England and your friend needs to stop frequenting so many Dunkin Donuts and read a little more before he speaks aloud.

So to answer your real question, Yes, He is a wanker. (We Americans just adore that word)

:D