Les Jones: Word of the Day: Capitonym

August 19, 2004

Nifty > Word of the Day: Capitonym

A capitonym is a word that changes its meaning (and sometimes pronunciation) when it is capitalized, and usually applies to capitalization due to proper nouns or eponyms. It is a compound word of the word capital with the suffix -onym. Capitonyms are a form of homonym.
Obviously capitonyms can cause confusion when capitalized for other reasons - when starting a new sentence, for example.

August / august o August: the eigth month of the year o august: inspiring awe or admiration
Polish / polish o Polish: people from Poland or the Polish language o polish: to make smooth
Reading / reading o Reading: a town or city name o reading: to examine and understand the meaning of written words

Posted by lesjones

Comments

So, the polish remover i've been using to get rid of that annoying guy at the office isn't gonna work?

Posted by: SayUncle at August 19, 2004

You mean William? If you want to get rid of him take him shooting. When the rangemaster says "fire at will" you know what to do.

Posted by: Les Jones at August 19, 2004

Don't forget this little gem.

Posted by: Thibodeaux at August 19, 2004