Dictionary of English Capitonyms: Vocabulary Building

Manik Joshi

oct 2014 · English Word Power Libro 4 · Manik Joshi

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What are “Capitonyms”?

CAPITONYMS ----

[Capital- capital letter; -Onym: Name]

Capitonym is a word that changes its meaning (and sometimes pronunciation) based on whether or not it is capitalized.

Capitonym [singular] | Capitonyms [plural]

Capitonyms may be nouns, pronouns, verbs, or adjectives.

Characteristics of Capitonyms:

Same spelling except for capitalization

Different meaning when capitalized

Same or different pronunciation

Examples:

Polish and polish

Polish: connected with Poland [adjective]

polish: to make a surface smooth and glossy [verb]

Piedmonts and piedmonts

Piedmont: a region of North West Italy (noun)

piedmont: a slope leading from the foot of mountains to a region of flat land (noun)

Traveler and traveler

Traveler: traveling people of Irish origin [noun]

traveler: a person who is traveling [noun]

Roman and roman

Roman: connected with the Rome

roman: the ordinary type of printing [adjective]

Rosemary and rosemary

Rosemary: a common first name for females in English speaking countries [noun]

rosemary: a bush with small narrow leaves that smell sweet and are used in cooking as a herb [noun]

Regency and regency

Regency: in the style of the period 1811–20 in Britain [adjective]

regency: government by a regent (a person who rules a country in place of the king or queen) [noun]

Scot and scot

Scot: a native of Scotland [noun]

scot: a charge, tax, or payment [noun]

Self and self

Self: a popular American magazine [noun]

self: character or personality [noun]

Warren and warren

Warren: a common name in English speaking countries [noun]

warren: a system of holes and underground tunnels where wild rabbits live [noun]

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Capitonyms are case-sensitive words. However, when capitonyms appear at the beginning of a sentence, there is no way to understand which meaning is being referred to except the context in which they are used.

Capitonyms also create confusion in the aspect of listening. Because there is no way to understand which meaning is being referred to except the context in which they are used.

Capitonyms generally occur due to one form being a proper noun. A proper noun is a word that is the name of a person, a place, an establishment, etc. and is written with a capital letter.

Thus, capitonyms may include:

A name of a person (Jack/jack)

A name of a place, city, country, etc. (Japan/japan)

A name of a language (Ewe/ewe)

A name of a company (Fiat/fiat)

A name of a publication (Time/time)

A name of a river/lake/hill/mountain, etc.

DETAILED LIST OF PAIRS OF CAPITONYMS:

Acerca del autor

Manik Joshi was born on January 26, 1979, at Ranikhet, a picturesque town in the Kumaon region of the Indian state of Uttarakhand. He is a permanent resident of the Sheeshmahal area of Kathgodam located in the city of Haldwani in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand in India. He completed his schooling in four different schools. He is a science graduate in the ZBC – zoology, botany, and chemistry – subjects. He is also an MBA with a specialization in marketing. Additionally, he holds diplomas in “computer applications”, “multimedia and web-designing”, and “computer hardware and networking”. During his schooldays, he wanted to enter the field of medical science; however, after graduation, he shifted his focus to the field of management. After obtaining his MBA, he enrolled in a computer education center; he became so fascinated with working on the computer that he decided to develop his career in this field. Over the following years, he worked at some computer-related full-time jobs. Following that, he became interested in Internet Marketing, particularly in domaining (business of buying and selling domain names), web design (creating websites), and various other online jobs. However, later he shifted his focus solely to self-publishing. Manik is a nature-lover. He has always been fascinated by overcast skies. He is passionate about traveling and enjoys solo travel most of the time rather than traveling in groups. He is actually quite a loner who prefers to do his own thing. He likes to listen to music, particularly when he is working on the computer. Reading and writing are definitely his favorite pastimes, but he has no interest in sports. Manik has always dreamt of a prosperous life and prefers to live a life of luxury. He has a keen interest in politics because he believes it is politics that decides everything else. He feels a sense of gratification sharing his experiences and knowledge with the outside world. However, he is an introvert by nature and thus gives prominence to only a few people in his personal life. He is not a spiritual man, yet he actively seeks knowledge about the metaphysical world; he is particularly interested in learning about life beyond death. In addition to writing academic/informational text and fictional content, he also maintains a personal diary. He has always had a desire to stand out from the crowd. He does not believe in treading the beaten path and avoids copying someone else’s path to success. Two things he always refrains from are smoking and drinking; he is a teetotaler and very health-conscious. He usually wakes up before the sun rises. He starts his morning with meditation and exercise. Fitness is an integral and indispensable part of his life. He gets energized by solving complex problems. He loves himself the way he is and he loves the way he looks. He doesn’t believe in following fashion trends. He dresses according to what suits him and what he is comfortable in. He believes in taking calculated risks. His philosophy is to expect the best but prepare for the worst. According to him, you can’t succeed if you are unwilling to fail. For Manik, life is about learning from mistakes and figuring out how to move forward.