British spelling variant of epicenter; the point on Earth's surface directly above where an earthquake begins, or the central point of something.
Same etymology as 'epicenter.' The '-tre' spelling is the standard British English convention, while '-ter' is standard American English, reflecting traditional spelling differences between English variants.
British and American scientists have been debating their spelling preferences for over a century, but when earthquakes happen, the earth doesn't care which spelling you used—the physics remains identical on both sides of the Atlantic.
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