Q. I found nothing in the Manual regarding this, and maybe there is no actual standard on this topic. My English-speaking colleagues capitalize the word following “Dear” in a group letter—for example, “Dear Colleagues,” or “Dear Teachers.” Is the capital necessary? Thank you for your help.
A. You’ll still find “forms of address” in the back of printed editions of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary. And though the purpose of that section is to help you address someone like a pope or a judge with a traditionally proper, respectful formula, you can glean an answer to your question there. Words that would otherwise be lowercase—like “sir” and “madam”—are capitalized in an address: “Dear Sir,” “Dear Madam.” For one thing, these words stand in for a person’s name. And capital letters are generally more formal than lowercase, making them a natural choice for something as conventional as the greeting at the head of a letter or email.
The Gregg Reference Manual, which specializes in business documents, confirms this choice. For a letter to more than one person, the tenth edition (published in 2005) advises “Dear Friends (Colleagues, Members, or some other appropriate collective term).” So unless you’re being casual—or writing according to a tradition where lowercase is the norm—prefer capitalization for words like “Colleagues” and “Teachers” in your salutations.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. If the word “god” is capitalized only when it is a proper name, why would you capitalize it in the expression “Oh my god!” unless you know that the speaker is referring to the specific deity worshipped by Christians and other monotheists? Does Chicago style uppercase or lowercase “Oh my god!”?
A. In general, when “god” is used nonliterally (as in your example), or when the reference is to plural “gods” (or to one god among many), lowercase g is the better choice; as your question suggests, a capital G is normally reserved for literal references to the supreme being (or Supreme Being, when referring to a specific God) worshiped according to any of a number of monotheistic religions. But religion is as varied as it is personal; some authors will prefer to capitalize “god” even in apparently nonliteral references. And some may prefer plural “Gods.” Editors should therefore try to confirm an author’s preference before making any wholesale changes. For some additional considerations, see CMOS 8.91.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I am editing a series about the Communist Party of Italy in the early 1900s. My question is specifically whether to capitalize “communist” when used as an adjective. For instance, when the work references workers who are sympathetic to communism, should I refer to them as “Communist workers” or “communist workers”? Similarly, would I capitalize the C in the following phrases: “communist cells”; “communist vanguard”; “communist program”?
A. You could draw a bright line and use a capital C only to refer to the emerging Italian Communist Party and its members and adherents. The philosophy or program of communism and those who are sympathetic to it or otherwise identify with it would get a lowercase c. A “Communist,” then, would be a party member, whereas “communist workers”—and “communist cells,” “communist vanguard,” and “communist program”—would refer to workers (or cells etc.) who espouse communism, whether or not any of these instances also imply party membership or affiliation. If this distinction seems difficult to maintain or unhelpful to readers (perhaps the series also discusses the program of Communism that became official in the Soviet Union), you might apply a capital C to all references to communism, regardless of how the word is being used. See CMOS 8.66 for some additional considerations.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. When an author speaks of a particularly difficult experience with the following metaphor, how should it be styled: “category 5 storm,” “category five storm,” “Category 5 storm,” “Category Five storm”?
A. Many proper nouns and adjectives lose their capital letters when they are demoted from literal to figurative use. So a French restaurant in Detroit might serve french fries (not literally from France). Or Thomas More’s Utopia might inspire utopian dreams. But for maximum impact, some metaphors are best expressed in literal terms. If you’re going to compare something to a numbered category in the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, it will be more effective if you parrot official style and retain the capital C (and the numeral 5).
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. When writing a name that has a mix of capital and lowercase letters, such as “LeBron James,” in all caps, should it be written as “LeBRON JAMES” or “LEBRON JAMES”?
A. We get this question a lot (and we’ve answered it in the past). When a question keeps popping up, that’s usually because it concerns an editorial gray area for which there is no definitive answer. The problem in this case is that applying all caps is bound to obscure any detail that depends on a mix of capitals and lowercase. For example, the meaning of a headline that reads “UK to help US” is clear. But in all caps, ambiguity threatens: “UK TO HELP US.” In “LeBron,” the independent role of “Le” as a particle (an article or preposition used with a name) is overwritten when it becomes “LEBRON.”
The verdict? Prefer “LEBRON.” Even the most attentive editor can’t promise to account for every potential all-caps scenario in every document and make the necessary adjustments—for example, by applying a lowercase letter (LeBRON) or a small capital (LEBRON) or a space (LE BRON) or punctuation (“UK to help U.S.”). Life’s too short—and too filled with more important matters—without adding that to your workflow. (Though we would advise rewording that UK/US headline.)
Not that you can’t make a one-time intervention in a headline or other prominent place if you have the authority to do so. But if you need confirmation that it’s okay to stick with all caps, check out this detail from the front of the 2020 LeBron James “I Promise” Wheaties cereal box:
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Searching through CMOS, I can’t determine if this sentence is properly capitalized: “It is the sign that sat squarely on the Earth’s eastern horizon when you were born.” (It’s for an astrological publication.) Specifically, should the words earth, eastern, and horizon be capitalized, and is the “the” before Earth correct? Thank you.
A. Considered as a planet among other planets and bodies in our own solar system, “Earth” may be capitalized. In such contexts, “Sun” and “Moon” may also be capitalized, and “Earth” often appears without the definite article—like Mars and the other planets, but unlike the Sun and the Moon:
The Moon is much closer to Earth than the Sun is to Mercury.
If you (or your publication) prefer instead to write “the Earth” (as in your example)—and to use lowercase for the sun and the moon—that’s okay too. Just be consistent.
Questions like yours wouldn’t come up if not for the fact that there are many moons and suns besides our own, and the earth to us is both a planet and the substance on its surface (and the model for other earthlike planets). In ordinary prose—or in any generic reference that doesn’t depend on the identity of a specific astronomical body among other such objects, or where our own earth and sun and moon may be assumed—lowercase is almost always appropriate:
We learned that the moon is round, the earth is flat, and the sun is a golden orb.
Why on earth would anyone under the sun believe the moon is made of cheese?
Ganymede is Jupiter’s largest moon.
Circumbinary planets are planets that orbit two suns.
As for “eastern horizon,” that’s a relatively generic description, so lowercase is your best option. See CMOS 8.140 and 8.141 for a few additional considerations.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Hi, I see that CMOS 8.36 discusses kinship names and when to capitalize versus when to lowercase. I’m wondering about a term like “sir” or “ma’am” used in direct address: “Yes, ma’am” or “Yes, Ma’am”? I think probably the former, but what do you recommend? Thank you.
A. You’re right to prefer lowercase. Terms like “sir” and “ma’am” are almost never used literally as titles these days. Instead they’re more often like common nouns or pronouns, as in “Hello, stranger,” or “Hey, you.” So unless you are transcribing a conversation with Sir Paul McCartney or Dame Judi Dench (two modern celebrities on whom titles have been conferred; see CMOS 8.32), write “Yes, sir” and “Yes, ma’am.” Compare “Greetings, Doctor.” In that case, “Doctor” is a proper noun standing in for a person’s name in the form “Dr. Surname.” But these distinctions can be fuzzy; when in doubt—or to convey a less formal tone—use lowercase.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. I see that CMOS 8.155 has “Google Docs” as an example. Would you also cap the singular “Google Doc,” or because it’s not the name of a program and just referring to a document in the Google Docs platform, would it be “Google doc,” akin to “Word doc”?
A. The answer depends on how formal you want to be and whom you are writing for and why. Many writers would consider “doc” to be too casual for formal prose. Unlike “app”—which was considered casual a generation ago but is now a universally accepted synonym for “application” or “program”—“doc” is still listed in Merriam-Webster as an abbreviation only.
But if you do write about docs instead of documents, be consistent. Your suggestion that a Google doc is akin to a Word doc is exactly right. If, on the other hand, you work for Google or you’re describing how to use Google Docs, you might write “Doc” with a capital “D”—as in, “Create a new Google Doc.” (That’s what Google does in its tutorials for teachers.)
Otherwise, refer generally to documents created or edited in Google Docs; ditto for Microsoft Word. This advice extends to spreadsheets created or edited in Google Sheets or Microsoft Excel and to slides created or edited in Google Slides or Microsoft PowerPoint.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Why do you folks at CMOS continue to describe words whose initial letters are capitals as “capitalized.” I suppose it’s easier than the more precise formulation and could be defended as commonly understood—but it’s not. This usage is at best confusing. Words are often truly capitalized, and I’m sure that most English speakers unschooled in CMOS’s peculiar practice will take “capitalized” to mean what it says. And if “France” is said to be “capitalized,” what is “EPA”? Super-capitalized?
A. We, too, like precision. But the first definition of “capitalize” at Merriam-Webster.com is “to write or print with an initial capital or in capitals.” As you suggest, this is especially convenient for people like us who write and maintain a style guide. Rather than being obliged to write “spelled with an initial capital letter” each and every time we refer to the principle, we can simply say “capitalized.” And when we need to distinguish a word like “France” from an abbreviation like “EPA,” we have a handy go-to: the former is merely capitalized whereas the latter is in all caps.
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]
Q. Should the term “Fourth Estate,” as a collective noun for journalism and journalists, be capitalized?
A. Merriam-Webster specifies “often capitalized F&E” in its entry for the term. In citing 1837 as the first known use, M-W is likely referring to the term’s appearance in The French Revolution by Thomas Carlyle. Carlyle wrote “Fourth Estate,” but he capitalized lots of words that would remain lowercase today:
Alas, yes: Speculation, Philosophism, once the ornament and wealth of the saloon, will now coin itself into mere Practical Propositions, and circulate on street and highway, universally; with results! A Fourth Estate, of Able Editors, springs up; increases and multiplies; irrepressible, incalculable. New Printers, new Journals, and ever new (so prurient is the world), let our Three Hundred curb and consolidate as they can! (vol. 1, bk. 6, chap. 5)
This passage could almost be referring to today’s social media—which has been called a Fifth Estate in its role as an additional check on institutional power beyond the traditional press. The initial capitals, though optional, provide a helpful clue that these terms are being used in a special sense. So whereas general references to the historical concept can remain lowercased (“the three estates”), initial capitals are usually appropriate for referring to specific estates (“the Fourth Estate,” “the First and Third Estates”).
[This answer relies on the 17th edition of CMOS (2017) unless otherwise noted.]