One of the many differences between American and British English is the spelling of certain words. Words that mean the same thing are sometimes spelled differently in each language community, for a variety of historical and linguistic reasons.
Reasons aside, multiple spellings for the same word do not make life easy for writers. Much has been written about spelling differences between these two language communities, but in this article, I will focus on two words: story and storey.
What is the Difference Between Story and Storey?
In this post, I will compare story vs. storey. I will demonstrate the use of these words in at least one example sentence. I will also give you a memory tool to use when you can’t decide whether story or storey is more appropriate for your intended audience.
When to Use Story
What does story mean? Story is a noun with two meanings. Sometimes, it means a tale of events.
For example,
- I told a story about a man who played the piano and died.
Sometimes, though, story refers to a level or floor of a building. Some buildings have many stories, while some have only one.
For examples,
- I am moving to a fourth story apartment in a building with no elevator.
- The planned 100-story skyscraper will be the tallest building in Cuba.
- If you throw your toaster oven out of a 40th story window, it will no longer work.
- In the weeks leading up to the election, visitors at Trump Tower were subjected to bag checks and other screening but otherwise had free access to a five-story atrium that has shops and restaurants, including Trump Grill and a Starbucks. –US News and World Report
When to Use Storey
What does storey mean? Storey is an alternative spelling of the same word. It only has one sense, though. It is the preferred spelling in British English associated with the meaning a level or floor of a building.
As you can see from the chart below, the preference for storey over story in British English is relatively recent.
This chart isn’t scientific or exhaustive, since it only tracks frequency of use in books written in English since 1800. It isolates the words’ architectural sense by tracking the phrases storey building and story building.
A British person might use the word storey this way:
- I hailed the lorry from my window on the second storey.
- A 62-storey skyscraper – on the site of a previously planned building known as the Pinnacle or “Helter Skelter” – is to grace London’s skyline despite the uncertainty caused in the commercial property market by the vote for Brexit. –The Guardian
The plural of storey is storeys.
Trick to Remember the Difference?
Here is a helpful trick to remember storey vs. story.
It is not difficult to remember when to use each of these words. In American English, story refers to a floor in a building. In British English, the word is spelled storey. Since storey and England both contain the letter E, it is simple to keep this usage straight in your head.
If you are referring to a tale of events, you must choose story. Storey is not used in this way.
Summary
Is it story or storey? These spellings refer to the same thing, but they are used in different regions of the English speaking world.
- Story is the American English word for a level of a building.
- Storey is the British spelling of the same word. The British began spelling storey as such in roughly the 1940s.
Story also means a tale of events.
Since storey and England are both spelled with an E, remembering that storey is for British audiences should be a simple feat.
To summarize: story is prevalent in American English. Storey has become the standard British spelling.
Contents
- 1 What is the Difference Between Story and Storey?
- 2 When to Use Story
- 3 When to Use Storey
- 4 Trick to Remember the Difference?
- 5 Summary
History and Story are confusing in some context and thus people see no difference between history and story in such situations. However, strictly speaking, they are different words with different meanings and usages. The word history refers to the events of the ‘past.’ On the other hand, the word story refers to ‘an account of some event.’ This is the main difference between the two words. It is believed by the philologists that the word story would have formed from the word history by means of the phonetic change called ‘aphaeresis.’ According to aphaeresis, some words tend to lose the initial vowel sound due to phonetic change. In the example of history, the initial vowel sound ‘I’ in history is lost and hence it got converted to story.
What does History mean?
According to the American Heritage dictionary history is ‘a chronological record of events, as of the life or development of a people or institution, often including an explanation of or commentary on those events.’ In other words, history is an account of the past. History is always factual. It is always the truth. When we say ‘history of Europe’ we are discussing about the actual events that took place in the past in Europe.
One can say that history deals with the events of the past that had taken place in a country or a society. Political events, social events and other types of events come under history. History is important in the sense it helps us to understand a particular country better.
It is interesting to note that the word history is used as a noun, and it has its adjectival form in the word ‘historical’ as in the expression ‘historical events.’
Europe in 1907
What does Story mean?
According to the American Heritage dictionary story means ‘an account or recital of an event or a series of events, either true or fictitious.’ In other words, a story is when you tell about something to someone else or write an account of something. However, this account can be true or pure fiction. Sometimes you will see that some stories are part fictional. Let us see an explanation. If you take the story of Jack and Beanstalk it is pure fiction. There are no giants in the world. So, it is the work of pure imagination. Then, if you take a news story about a bill that was passed in the parliament, that is actually a true story. It is known as a story because you are reporting or reciting what happened to the viewers or the readers. Then, sometimes you come across partial fictional stories. For example think about a news story that says a celebrity hit a paparazzi fellow to a pulp. However, in reality, the celebrity has merely pushed the paparazzi fellow away. So, that story is partial fiction.
When it comes to the literature field, we have seen that the word story is indicative of any narration based on imagination or fiction. The writer of stories is often called by the name ‘story writer.’ A story centers on a certain event in one’s life or any incident pertaining to his or her life. It gives a unique message at the end. A story comes in different forms such as novel, poem, short story, etc.
Jack and the Beanstalk
Also, remember that story is never limited to the past. It can be an account of past events, present events, as well as future events. This is mainly because the story does not always have to be the truth. So, you can talk about the future too.
Moreover, the word story is often used as a noun only. Expressions such as ‘storyline,’ ‘crime story’ have been formed from the word ‘story.’
What is the difference between History and Story?
• Definition of History and Story:
• History is a chronological record of events of the past and often includes the description of those events.
• Story is an account or narration of an event or events that are either true or fictitious.
• Fact or Fiction:
• History is always factual. It is always the truth.
• Story can be true or fictional. Some stories are partial fictional.
• Period:
• History is an account of the past
• Story can be an account of events of the past, present, or the future.
• Adjectives:
• The adjective of history is historical.
• Story does not have an adjective.
These are the differences between the words, history and story.
Images Courtesy: Europe in 1907 and Jack and the Beanstalk via Wikicommons (Public Domain)
Princeton’s WordNetRate this definition:3.9 / 8 votes
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narrative, narration, story, talenoun
a message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program
«his narrative was interesting»; «Disney’s stories entertain adults as well as children»
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storynoun
a piece of fiction that narrates a chain of related events
«he writes stories for the magazines»
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floor, level, storey, storynoun
a structure consisting of a room or set of rooms at a single position along a vertical scale
«what level is the office on?»
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history, account, chronicle, storynoun
a record or narrative description of past events
«a history of France»; «he gave an inaccurate account of the plot to kill the president»; «the story of exposure to lead»
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report, news report, story, account, write upnoun
a short account of the news
«the report of his speech»; «the story was on the 11 o’clock news»; «the account of his speech that was given on the evening news made the governor furious»
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fib, story, tale, tarradiddle, taradiddlenoun
a trivial lie
«he told a fib about eating his spinach»; «how can I stop my child from telling stories?»
WiktionaryRate this definition:2.0 / 2 votes
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storynoun
An account of real or fictional events.
The book tells the story of two roommates.
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storynoun
A lie.
You’ve been telling stories again, haven’t you?
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storynoun
A floor or level of a building; a storey.
Our shop was on the fourth story of the building, so we had to install an elevator.
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storynoun
A soap opera.
What will she do without being able to watch her stories?
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storynoun
History.
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storynoun
A sequence of events, or a situation, such as might be related in an account.
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Etymology: From estorie, from historia, from ἱστορία. Compare history and storey.
Samuel Johnson’s DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes
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STORYnoun
Etymology: stœr , Saxon; storie, Dutch; storia, Italian; ἱστοϱία.
1. History; account of things past.
The fable of the dividing of the world between the three sons of Saturn, arose from the true story of the dividing of the earth between the three brethren the sons of Noah.
Walter Raleigh.Thee I have heard relating what was done
Ere my remembrance: now hear me relate
My story which perhaps thou hast not heard.
John Milton.To king Artaxerxes, thy servants Rathumnus the story-writer, and Smellius the scribe.
1 Esdr. ii. 17.The four great monarchies make the subject of ancient story, and are related by the Greek and Latin authors.
William Temple.Governments that once made such a noise, as founded upon the deepest counsels and the strongest force; yet by some slight miscarriage which let in ruin upon them, are now so utterly extinct, that nothing remains of them but a name; nor are there the least traces of them to be found but only in story.
Robert South, Sermons.2. Small tale; petty narrative; account of a single incident.
In the road between Bern and Soleurre, a monument erected by the republick of Bern, tells us the story of an Englishman not to be met with in any of our own writers.
Addison.3. An idle or trifling tale; a petty fiction.
These flaws and starts, would well become
A woman’s story at a winter’s fire,
Authoris’d by her grandame.
William Shakespeare, Macbeth.This scene had some bold Greek or British bard
Beheld of old, what stories had we heard
Of fairies, satyrs, and the nymphs their dames,
Their feasts, their revels, and their am’rous flames.
John Denham.My maid left on the table one of her story-books, which I found full of strange impertinence, of poor servants who came to be ladies.
Jonathan Swift.4. [ stor , place, Saxon.]A floor; a flight of rooms.
Avoid enormous heights of seven stories, as well as irregular forms, and the contrary fault of low distended fronts.
Henry Wotton.Sonnets or elegies to Chloris,
Might raise a house about two stories;
A lyrick ode wou’d slate; a catch
Would tile; an epigram would thatch.
Jonathan Swift. -
To Storyverb
Etymology: from the noun
1. To tell in history; to relate.
How worthy he is, I will leave to appear hereafter, rather than story him in his own hearing.
William Shakespeare, Cymbeline.’Tis not vain or fabulous
What the sage poets, taught by th’ heav’nly muse,
Story’d of old in high immortal verse,
Of dire chimera’s and enchanted isles,
And rifted rocks; whose entrance leads to hell.
John Milton.It is storied of the brazen Colossus, in the island of Rhodes, that it was seventy cubits high; the thumbs of it being so big, that no man could grasp one of them about with both his arms.
John Wilkins.Recite them, nor in erring pity fear,
To wound with storied griefs the filial ear.
Alexander Pope.2. To range one under another.
Because all the parts of an undisturbed fluid are of equal gravity, or gradually placed or storied according to the difference of it; any concretion that can be supposed to be naturally and mechanically made in such a fluid, must have a like structure of its several parts; that is, either be all over of a similar gravity, or have the more ponderous parts nearer to its basis.
Richard Bentley, Sermons.
Webster DictionaryRate this definition:2.5 / 2 votes
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Storyverb
a set of rooms on the same floor or level; a floor, or the space between two floors. Also, a horizontal division of a building’s exterior considered architecturally, which need not correspond exactly with the stories within
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Storynoun
a narration or recital of that which has occurred; a description of past events; a history; a statement; a record
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Storynoun
the relation of an incident or minor event; a short narrative; a tale; especially, a fictitious narrative less elaborate than a novel; a short romance
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Storynoun
a euphemism or child’s word for «a lie;» a fib; as, to tell a story
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Storyverb
to tell in historical relation; to make the subject of a story; to narrate or describe in story
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Etymology: [OF. estor, estore, built, erected, p. p. of estorer to build, restore, to store. See Store, v. t.]
FreebaseRate this definition:1.0 / 1 vote
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Story
Story was a magazine founded in 1931 by journalist-editor Whit Burnett and his first wife, Martha Foley, in Vienna, Austria. Showcasing short stories by new authors, 67 copies of the debut issue were mimeographed in Vienna, and two years later, Story moved to New York City where Burnett and Foley created The Story Press in 1936.
By the late 1930s, the circulation of Story had climbed to 21,000 copies. Authors introduced in Story included Charles Bukowski, Erskine Caldwell, John Cheever, Junot Diaz, James T. Farrell, Joseph Heller, J. D. Salinger, Tennessee Williams and Richard Wright. Other authors in the pages of Story included Ludwig Bemelmans, Carson McCullers and William Saroyan. The magazine sponsored various awards, and it held an annual college fiction contest.
Burnett’s second wife, Hallie Southgate Burnett, began collaborating with him in 1942. During this period, Story published the early work of Truman Capote, John Knowles and Norman Mailer. Story was briefly published in book form during the early 1950s, returning to a magazine format in 1960. Due to a lack of funds, Story folded in 1967, but it maintained its reputation through the Story College Creative Awards, which Burnett directed from 1966 to 1971.
Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:5.0 / 1 vote
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Story
stō′ri, n. history or narrative of incidents in their sequence: an account, report, statement: an anecdote: the plot of a novel or drama: a lie, a fib, a fictitious narrative.—v.t. to tell or describe historically, to relate: to adorn with sculptured or painted scenes from history.—v.i. to relate.—adjs. Storiā′ted, decorated with elaborate ornamental designs; Stō′ried, told or celebrated in a story: having a history: interesting from the stories belonging to it: adorned with scenes from history.—ns. Storiol′ogist, one learned in the comparative study of folk-tales; Storiol′ogy, the scientific study of folk-tales; Stō′ry-book, a book of stories or tales true or fictitious; Stō′ry-tell′er, one who relates tales, a liar; Stō′ry-tell′ing, act of relating stories: lying. [A short form of history.]
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Story
Storey, stō′ri, n. a division of a house reached by one flight of stairs: a set of rooms on the same floor.—The upper story, the brain. [O. Fr. estoree—estorer—L. instaurāre, to build.]
Suggested ResourcesRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes
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Story
Story vs. Storey — In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Story and Storey.
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Story
Storey vs. Story — In this Grammar.com article you will learn the differences between the words Storey and Story.
Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes
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STORY
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Story is ranked #1867 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
The Story surname appeared 19,218 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 would have the surname Story.
83.2% or 16,003 total occurrences were White.
11.4% or 2,195 total occurrences were Black.
2.5% or 490 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
1.7% or 334 total occurrences were of two or more races.
0.6% or 121 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
0.3% or 73 total occurrences were Asian.
Matched Categories
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- Fiction
- History
- Lie
- Message
- News
- Record
- Structure
British National Corpus
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Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word ‘Story’ in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #732
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Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word ‘Story’ in Written Corpus Frequency: #847
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Nouns Frequency
Rank popularity for the word ‘Story’ in Nouns Frequency: #204
How to pronounce Story?
How to say Story in sign language?
Numerology
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Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of Story in Chaldean Numerology is: 8
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Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of Story in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7
Examples of Story in a Sentence
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Rachel Crooks:
Mine was a story all too common for women so I had a choice to make, i could either keep quiet or speak up. I spoke up. I said, ‘Me Too.’.
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Niki Benedict:
A core part of my story is that I always wanted more and I will never settle for anything less.”
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Jeff Merkley:
This is terrific news for Stacey, for her family, and for all the Oregonians who have followed Stacey’s story and helped support her from afar.
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Selena Ling:
That will be key, the game changer. I think the slow growth story is pretty much priced in.
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Good Sam:
I’d let down my guard, let him suck me into the Good Sam story, never fully realizing he might be manipulating me for his own benefit. Jack had that effect on me. Being with Jack was like standing in the midst of a brilliant sunbeam, at once dazzled by its radiance even as you knew it was burning you.”
Popularity rank by frequency of use
Translations for Story
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- ተረትAmharic
- قِصّة, حَكايةArabic
- příběhCzech
- historieDanish
- Geschichte, ErzählungGerman
- ŋutinyaEwe
- ιστορίαGreek
- rakontoEsperanto
- historia, cuentoSpanish
- luguEstonian
- داستانPersian
- juttu, tarina, kertomusFinnish
- conte, histoireFrench
- sêgeWestern Frisian
- scéalIrish
- sgeul, sgeulachd, naidheachdScottish Gaelic
- סיפרHebrew
- कहानीHindi
- istwaHaitian Creole
- elbeszélés, történetHungarian
- պատմությունArmenian
- contoInterlingua
- sagaIcelandic
- storia, raccontoItalian
- סיפורHebrew
- 物語, ストーリー, 話し, 小説Japanese
- მოთხრობაGeorgian
- ಕಥೆKannada
- 이야기Korean
- fābulaLatin
- stāstījums, stāstsLatvian
- കഥMalayalam
- गोष्टMarathi
- ceritaMalay
- storja, rakkontMaltese
- vertelsel, verhaal, vertellingDutch
- historieNorwegian
- bahaneʼNavajo, Navaho
- opowieść, historiaPolish
- história, conto, estóriaPortuguese
- poveste, istorieRomanian
- повесть, рассказ, историяRussian
- prȋčaSerbo-Croatian
- berättelse, historiaSwedish
- hadithi, nganoSwahili
- கதைTamil
- కత, కథTelugu
- เรื่องราวThai
- hekaýaTurkmen
- istorya, kuwentoTagalog
- hikayeTurkish
- оповідьUkrainian
- کہانیUrdu
- quyển chuyện, chuyện, cuốn chuyệnVietnamese
- דערציילונגYiddish
- 故事Chinese
- inganekwane, indabaZulu
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Are we missing a good definition for Story? Don’t keep it to yourself…
Are story and storey different? Yes and no; in most cases, it depends on what story means in a particular context. Find out more about these two words and what makes them different, as well as when and how to use them, with the help of some examples from Once Upon a Time, Charlaine Harris’s The Southern Vampire Series (Dead Until Dark) and Charles Dickens’s David Copperfield (a lot of them, I know).
Bonus: some information about “history” and “floor”, as well!
The noun story can be used to talk about various kinds of descriptions, accounts, or reports. A story can be an entertaining description, a report about a certain event (published in a newspaper, for instance), an account of something that has happened, or the plot of a film, book, or play. It can be about something real that has happened to someone, or it can be invented. Other related words include storybook, storyline, and storyteller.
When I thought of the word story, the first thing that came to my mind was Once Upon a Time. First, we have Storybrooke. And let’s just think about how many times the word story is mentioned in that show! Here’s an example:
Emma Swan: You’ve clearly glommed onto my kid Henry’s thing. They’re just stories! The Mad Hatter is in Alice in Wonderland, a book — a book I actually read.
Jefferson: Stories. Stories! What’s a story? When you were in high school, d’you learn about the Civil War?
Emma Swan: Yeah, of course.
Jefferson: How? D’you read about it, perchance, in a book? How’s that any less real than any other book?
Emma Swan: History books are based on history.
Jefferson: And storybooks are based on what? Imagination. Where does that come from? It has to come from somewhere.
Interestingly, this quote brings up the word «history» and connects it to story. I couldn’t help but notice that the word “history” includes the word “story” within it. The word “story” actually has its origin in Latin; the word “historia” meant «history, account, tale, story» and has its origin in Ancient Greek, where ἱστορία (historía) meant “learning through research, narration of what is learned”. Also, in many Romance languages and North Germanic languages, the word that means «history» can also mean «story». We have the French «histoire», the Romanian «istorie», the Danish «historie» and the Swedish «historia».
However, story has another meaning, as well, completely unrelated to that of descriptions, accounts, and reports. In American English, it is also used when referring to a floor or level of a building. It has the same meaning as storey, which is used in British English. As for the origin of «storey», I have found that it is often linked to that of «story». However, the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica says that «storey» (and «story», when referring to a floor of a building) comes from the Old French word “estorée” (building) and “estorer” (to build).
Here’s an example of the American story, from Dead Until Dark:
«Somebody killed Maudette in her apartment last night.»
Gran and I were riveted. «When?» Gran asked, puzzled that she hadn’t heard already.
«They just found her this very morning in her bedroom. Her boss tried to call her to find out why she hadn’t shown up for work yesterday and today and got no answer, so he rode over and got the manager up, and they unlocked the place. You know she had the apartment across from Dee-Anne’s?”
Bon Temps had only one bona fide apartment complex, a three-building, two-story U-shaped grouping, so we knew exactly where he meant.
And now, an example with storey, found in David Copperfield:
The house swarmed with inmates. As we went up, doors of rooms were opened and people’s heads put out; and we passed other people on the stairs, who were coming down. In glancing up from the outside, before we entered, I had seen women and children lolling at the windows over flower-pots; and we seemed to have attracted their curiosity, for these were principally the observers who looked out of their doors. […] We proceeded to the top-storey of the house. Two or three times, by the way, I thought I observed in the indistinct light the skirts of a female figure going up before us. As we turned to ascend the last flight of stairs between us and the roof, we caught a full view of this figure pausing for a moment, at a door. Then it turned the handle, and went in.
In the example taken from David Copperfield, storey is used meaning “floor” (top floor, in that case). The Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English offers a useful explanation when it comes to choosing the right word between story, storey, and floor. Story and storey can be used when talking about the structure of a building: you can say that the building is 20 stories high or that you’re living in a two-story house. However, you should use floor when you’re talking about where someone or something can be found in a building. You can say that you live in a four-storey building, though on the second floor.
You should also be careful when using the words in their plural form, as they’re also different. The plural for story is stories (regardless of its meaning), while the plural for storey is storeys.
Lastly, I’ll mention an interesting fact about floor numbering; we have what can be called the British convention and the American convention. What’s different about these two? The British consider the ground level as the ground floor, having the number 0; it is followed by the first floor (1), second floor (2), and so on. However, the Americans consider the ground level to be the first floor. Despite this, the storeys are counted the same in both cases. This way, a seven-storey building has seven covered floors: a ground floor and 6 upper floors. You just have to be careful what convention you’re using, as the top floor could be either the 6th floor or the 7th floor.
Sources: Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, Wikipedia, Wiktionary, Wikisource, etymonline.
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