Definition:
The form of an alphabetical letter (such as A, B, C) used to begin a sentence or proper noun; an uppercase letter, in contrast to lower case. In classical Greek and Latin writing, only capital letters (also called majuscules) were used. Verb: capitalize. See also:
Examples and Observations:
- "By the sixth and seventh centuries the various letter forms we now use had been invented . . .. From the ninth century on all writing in the Latin alphabet, in whatever style or hand, used capital and small-letter pairs as we do now."
(Thomas A. Sebeok, Current Trends in Linguistics, 1974) - "A capital is always used for the first letter of a sentence. It is a universal rule. But the same cannot be said for the capitalization of names or 'proper' nouns. Style varies wildly between--and even within--publications such as national newspapers and magazines. Apply commonsense rules. All names of people and places--Peter Cook, Paraguay, Piccadilly Circus--take capitals. All titles of specific works of art--Citizen Kane, the Mona Lisa, Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, Anna Karenina--take a capital. Languages and nationalities--English, the French--take capitals. Institutions--the Houses of Parliament, the White House, the Anglican Church--take capitals. Days, months and formally defined periods of history--Monday, February, the Middle Ages--take capitals. . . ."
"Words deriving from proper names usually take a capital--as Christian from Christ and Marxist from Marx. But some such words, known as eponyms, have come into everyday use and no longer take a capital."
(Ned Halley, Dictionary of Modern English Grammar, Wordsworth, 2005) - "If in doubt use lower case unless it looks absurd."
(The Economist Style Guide, Profile Books, 2005)
Also Known As: majuscule, uppercase, upper-case, block letter, caps
