Capitonym
A capitonym is a word that changes its meaning when it is capitalized; the capitalization usually applies due to one form being a proper noun or eponym. It is a portmanteau of the word capital with the suffix -onym. A capitonym is a form of homograph and – when the two forms are pronounced differently – is also a form of heteronym. In situations where both words should be capitalized, there will be nothing to distinguish between them except the context in which they are used.
Although some pairs, such as march and March, are completely unrelated, in other cases, such as august and catholic, the capitalized form is a name that is etymologically related to the uncapitalized form. For example, August derives from the name of Imperator Augustus, who named himself after the word augustus, whence English august came. Likewise, both Catholic and catholic derive from a Greek adjective meaning "universal".
Capital letters may be used to differentiate between a set of objects, and a particular example of that object. For instance in astronomical terminology a distinction may be drawn between a moon, any natural satellite, and the Moon, the natural satellite of Earth.
In English
Philosophical, religious, and political terms
A particular example of where capitonyms are prominent is in terminology relating to philosophy, religion, and politics. Capitalized words are often used to differentiate a philosophical concept from how the concept is referred to in everyday life, or to demonstrate respect for an entity or institution.It is common practice to capitalize the pronouns referring to the Abrahamic God and many versions of the Bible, such as the NKJV, therefore do so. In this tradition, possessive pronouns are also capitalized if one is quoting God; "My" and "Mine" are capitalized, which should not be done when a human speaks. The pronouns "You", "Your", and "Yours" are also sometimes capitalized in reference to God.
Words for transcendent ideas in the Platonic sense are often capitalized, especially when used in a religious context. Examples include "Good", "Beauty", "Truth" or "the One".
The word "god" is capitalized to "God" when referring to the single deity of monotheistic religions such as Christianity, Judaism, or Islam. Other distinctions made include church and Church, and the liturgical Mass, versus the physical mass.
As political parties are often named after philosophies, a capital letter is used to differentiate between a supporter of the philosophy, and a supporter of the party, for instance Liberal, a supporter of any Liberal Party, and liberal, a supporter of the philosophy of liberalism. Terms such as "small-l liberal" may be used to indicate the concept that an individual supports. Similar examples are conservative/Conservative, democrat/Democrat, libertarian/Libertarian, republican/Republican, socialist/Socialist, and a supporter of labour/Labour.
List of capitonyms in English
The following list includes only "dictionary words". Personal names, place-names, company names, names of publications etc. are all excluded as too numerous to list. Adjectives distinct from placenames are allowed. Pairs in which one word is simply a secondary meaning of the other – e.g. Masonry, which is in essence a peculiar use of the word masonry – are omitted.| Capitalised word | Lowercase word | Notes |
| Arabic: of or relating to the Arabic language or Arabic literature | arabic: gum arabic, also called gum acacia, a food ingredient | |
| Ares : god of war | ares : plural of are, a metric unit of area | Different pronunciations |
| August : the eighth month of the year | august : majestic or venerable | Different pronunciations |
| Bohemian: Relating to Bohemia | bohemian: Socially unconventional | |
| Cancer: a constellation and astrological sign, or a genus of crab | cancer: a class of diseases | |
| Catholic: Of the Catholic church, as differentiated from e.g. the Orthodox church|Eastern Orthodox |Church | catholic: Universal; all-encompassing. | |
| Cuban: from Cuba | cuban: relating to cubes, as in cuban prime | |
| Divine: relating to God | divine: to discover by intuition or insight; to locate water, minerals, etc. | In lower case, the word can take either meaning |
| Gallic: relating to France or to the ancient territory of Gaul | gallic: relating to galls or gallic acid | |
| Hamlet: A play by William Shakespeare, or the play's protagonist | hamlet: a small town | |
| Ionic: relating to Ionia or to a style of classical architecture | ionic: relating to ions | |
| Lent: the period between Ash Wednesday and Easter | lent: past tense and participle of to lend | |
| Mandarin: a northern Chinese dialect, especially as spoken in and around Beijing | mandarin: a member of an elite or powerful group or class, as in intellectual or cultural milieus. Also a small flattish citrus fruit with a loose yellow-orange skin. | - |
| March: the third month of the year | march: to walk briskly and rhythmically | |
| May: the fifth month of the year | may: modal verb | |
| Mosaic: Relating to Moses | mosaic: a kind of decoration | |
| Muse: One of the nine Greek goddesses involved with the arts, music, poetry, etc. | muse: A person who serves as inspiration for artistic endeavours; also, to ponder reflectively over. | |
| Pole: a Polish person | pole: a long, thin cylindrical object; various other meanings | Pole is not genetically related to pole: The Old English word for "pole" was spelled pal with a short a. |
| Polish : from Poland | polish : to create a shiny surface by rubbing; a compound used in that process | Different pronunciations |
| Scot: a native of Scotland | scot: a payment, charge, assessment, or tax | |
| Scotch: from or relating to Scotland, or a form of whisky | scotch: to put an end to something | |
| Swede: a person from Sweden or of Swedish descent | swede: the yellow root of Brassica napus | |
| Welsh: from or relating to Wales | welsh: to renege | The verb welsh is of unknown etymology but is often described as deriving from the adjective Welsh and consequently perceived as insulting to people from Wales, although there is no direct evidence of the connection, nor any popular perception that people from Wales do not comply with agreements |
Example in poetry
The following poem from Richard Lederer's The Word Circus is an example of the use of capitonyms:Job's Job
In August, an august patriarch
Was reading an ad in Reading, Mass.
Long-suffering Job secured a job
To polish piles of Polish brass.