Editing Capitalization (section)

===Nouns===
* The various languages and dialects in the [[High German]] family, including [[Standard German]] and [[Luxembourgish]], are the only major languages using the [[Latin alphabet]] in which all [[German noun|noun]]s (including [[Nominalization|nominalized]] verbs) are capitalized.<ref name="Gschossmann-2014">{{cite book |last1=Gschossmann-Hendershot |first1=Elke  |last2=Feuerle |first2=Lois |title=Schaum's Outline of German Grammar, 5th Edition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=swdPAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA14 |date=7 February 2014 |publisher=McGraw Hill Professional |location=New York |isbn=978-0-07-182335-7 |page=14 |oclc=881681594 |access-date=30 September 2018}}</ref> This was also practiced in other [[Germanic languages]] (mainly due to German influence):
** [[Danish language|Danish]], before the [[spelling reform]] of 1948
** [[Swedish language|Swedish]], during the 17th and 18th centuries<ref>{{cite web |url=http://spraktidningen.se/artiklar/2009/06/sma-bokstaver-okade-avstandet-till-tyskarna |title=Små bokstäver ökade avståndet till tyskarna |publisher=Språktidningen |language=sv |author=Daniel Solling |date=June 2009 |access-date=28 June 2016 }}</ref>
** English, during the 17th and 18th centuries<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=Kh_RZhvHk0YC&q=%22as+is+done+systematically+in+modern+German%22&pg=PA65 Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language], p.65</ref> (as in ''[[Gulliver's Travels]]'', and most of the original 1787 [[United States Constitution]])
** Some [[regional languages]], such as [[Saterland Frisian language|Saterland Frisian]]
* In nearly all European languages, single-word [[proper noun]]s, including personal names, are capitalized (like ''[[France]]'' or ''[[Moses]]''). Multiple-word proper nouns usually follow the traditional English rules for [[Title capitalization|publication titles]] (as in ''[[Robert the Bruce]]'').
** Where place names are merely preceded by the [[definite article]], this is usually in lower case (as in ''the [[Philippines]]'').
*** Sometimes, the article is integral to the name, and thus is capitalized (as in {{lang|nl|[[The Hague|Den Haag]]}}, {{lang|fr|[[Le Havre]]}}). However, in French this does not occur for [[French articles and determiners#Definite article|contractions {{lang|fr|du|nocat=y}} and {{lang|fr|au|nocat=y}}]] (as in {{lang|fr|Je viens du Havre}}, "I come from Le Havre"). In other European languages, it is much more common for the article to be treated as integral to the name, but it may not be capitalized ({{lang|de|die Schweiz}}, {{lang|fr|les Pays-Bas}}, {{lang|cy|yr Almaen}}, etc.).
** A few English names are written with two lowercase "f"s: ''ffrench'', ''ffoulkes'', etc. This originated as a variant script for capital F.
** A few individuals have chosen not to use capitals in their names, such as [[k.d. lang]] and [[bell hooks]]. [[E. E. Cummings]], whose name is often written without capitals, did not do so himself: the usage derives from the [[typography]] used on the cover of one of his books.<ref>See [[E. E. Cummings#Name and capitalization|E. E. Cummings: Name and capitalization]] for further discussion.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Friedman |first=Norman |year=1992 |title=Not "e. e. cummings" |journal=Spring |volume=1 |pages=114–121 |url=http://www.gvsu.edu/english/cummings/caps.htm |access-date=December 13, 2005 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051212042425/http://www.gvsu.edu/english/cummings/caps.htm |archive-date=2005-12-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[File:Easyjet A319 G-EZEZ AMS 2016-09-04.jpg|thumb|easyJet A319 at [[Amsterdam Schiphol Airport]].]]
** Most [[brand]] names and [[trademark]]s are capitalized (e.g., [[Coca-Cola]], [[Pepsi]]), although some have chosen to deviate from standard rules (e.g., [[easyJet]], [[id Software]], [[eBay]], [[iPod]]) to be distinctive. When capitals occur within a word, it is sometimes referred to as [[camel case]].
** Some speakers of Eastern Slavic languages associate capitalization with respect and decapitalize proper nouns to show disrespect.
* In English, the names of days of the [[week]], [[month]]s and [[language]]s are capitalized, as are [[demonym]]s like ''Englishman'', ''Arab''. In other languages, practice varies, but almost all languages other than German and Luxembourgish (which capitalize ''all'' nouns) do not.<ref>[[meta:Capitalization|Capitalization rules for days, months, demonyms and language-names in many languages]] from [[Meta-wiki]]</ref>
* In English-language addresses, the noun following the proper name of a street is capitalized, whether or not it is abbreviated: ''Main Street'', ''Fleming Ave.'', ''Montgomery Blvd.'' This capitalization is often absent in older citations and in combined usages: ''Fourth and Main streets''. In [[French language|French]], street names are capitalized when they are proper names; the noun itself ({{lang|fr|rue}}, {{lang|fr|place}}) is normally not capitalized: {{lang|fr|rue de Rivoli}}, {{lang|fr|place de la Concorde}}.{{Citation needed|date=December 2023}}
* In [[Italian language|Italian]] the name of a particular concept or object is capitalized when the writer wants to emphasize its importance and significance.<ref>See the entry {{lang|it|[[:it:Maiuscolo|Maiuscolo]]}} in the [[Italian Wikipedia]] for descriptions of various rules of capitalization in [[Italian language|Italian]] and for references.</ref>
* Capitalization is always used for most names of [[taxon|taxa]] used in [[biological|scientific classification]] of living things, except for [[species]]-level taxa or below. Example: ''[[Homo sapiens|Homo sapiens sapiens]]''.
* Controversially, some authors capitalize [[common name]]s of some animal and plant [[species]]. As a general rule, names are not capitalized, unless they are part of an official list of names, in which case they have become [[proper noun]]s and are capitalized. This is most common for birds<ref>[http://www.worldbirdnames.org/rules-caps.html Worldbirdnames.org<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928001953/http://www.worldbirdnames.org/rules-caps.html |date=September 28, 2007 }}</ref> and [[fish]]es. Names referring to more than one species (e.g., ''horse'' or ''cat'') are always in lower case. Botanists generally do not capitalize the common names of [[plant]]s, though individual words in plant names may be capitalized for another reason: (''Italian stone pine''). See the discussion of official common names under [[common name]] for an explanation.
* Common nouns may be capitalized when used as names for the entire class of such things, e.g. ''what a piece of work is Man''. Other [[Romance languages]] such as [[French language|French]] often capitalize such nouns as {{lang|fr|l'État}} (the state) and {{lang|fr|l'Église}} (the church) when not referring to specific ones.
* Names by which gods are known are capitalized, including ''[[God]]'', ''[[Athena]]'', and ''[[Vishnu]]''. The word ''god'' is generally not capitalized if it is used to refer to the generic idea of a [[deity]], nor is it capitalized when it refers to multiple gods, e.g. ''[[Roman gods]]''. There may be some confusion because [[Judaism]], [[Christianity]], and [[Islam]] rarely refer to the Deity by a specific name, but simply as ''God'' (see [[Names of God in Judaism|Writing divine names]]). Other names for the God of these three Abrahamic faiths, such as ''Elohim'', ''Yahweh'', and ''Lord'', are also capitalized.
* While [[acronym]]s have historically been written in all-caps, British, Finnish, Swedish and some German usage has moved towards capitalizing only the first letter in cases when these are pronounced as words (e.g. [[Unesco]] and [[Nato]]), reserving all-caps for initialisms (e.g. UK, USA, [[UNHCR]]).
* In [[life stance orthography]], in order to distinguish [[life stance]]s from general [[-ism]]s. For instance, [[Secular humanism#Terminology|Humanism]] is distinguished from [[humanism]].<ref>{{cite journal |last=Doerr |first=Edd |date=November–December 2002 |title=Humanism unmodified |journal=The Humanist |publisher=American Humanist Association |volume=62 |issue=6 |pages=1–2 }}</ref>
* In [[legal English]], ''defined terms'' that refer to a specific entity, such as "Tenant" and "Lessor", are often capitalized. More specifically, in legal documents, terms which are formally defined elsewhere in the document or a related document (often in a schedule of definitions) are capitalized to indicate that that is the case, and may be several words long, e.g. "the Second Subsidiary Claimant", "the Agreed Conditional Release Date".
** In contracts, particularly important clauses are often typeset as [[All caps#Contract Law|all-caps]]
* Most English [[honorific]]s and [[title]]s of persons, e.g. ''Sir'', ''Dr Watson'', ''Mrs Jones'', ''His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh''. This does not apply where the words are not titles; e.g. ''Watson is a doctor, Philip is a duke.''
*In very formal British English the King is referred to as The King.
* The governing body of English solicitors is correctly referred to as The Law Society. (In general any organisation may choose a name starting with a capitalized "The".)