Capitalization of named latitudes

Jennifer Murphy

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Aug 2, 2013, 10:05:52 PM8/2/13

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Are these terms correctly capitalized?

equator

tropic of Cancer
tropic of Capricorn

tropic (one of the above)
Tropics (area between the tropics)
tropics (general region near the equator)

Arctic (the region)
arctic (adj)
Arctic Circle
Antarctic
Antarctic Circle

North Pole
South Pole
pole

This is according to my American Heritage dictionary. I am curious why
"tropic" is not capitalized in "tropic of Cancer" and "tropic of
Capricorn".

Jennifer Murphy

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Aug 2, 2013, 10:24:02 PM8/2/13

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I forgot to include:

equinox
vernal equinox
autumnal equinox
solstice
summer solstice
winter solstice

Peter T. Daniels

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Aug 2, 2013, 11:50:45 PM8/2/13

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On Friday, August 2, 2013 10:24:02 PM UTC-4, Jennifer Murphy wrote:
> On Fri, 02 Aug 2013 19:05:52 -0700, Jennifer Murphy
>
> <JenM...@jm.invalid> wrote:
>
>
>
> >Are these terms correctly capitalized?
>
> >
>
> >equator
>
> >
>
> >tropic of Cancer
>
> >tropic of Capricorn

They are proper names, including "Tropic," so yes, "Tropic" should be
capitalized.

> >tropic (one of the above)
>
> >Tropics (area between the tropics)
>
> >tropics (general region near the equator)

Yes to all three

> >Arctic (the region)
>
> >arctic (adj)
>
> >Arctic Circle
>
> >Antarctic
>
> >Antarctic Circle
>
> >
>
> >North Pole
>
> >South Pole
>
> >pole

Yes to all of those

> >This is according to my American Heritage dictionary. I am curious why
> >"tropic" is not capitalized in "tropic of Cancer" and "tropic of
> >Capricorn".

They made a mistake??

> I forgot to include:
>
>
>
> equinox
>
> vernal equinox
>
> autumnal equinox
>
> solstice
>
> summer solstice
>
> winter solstice

Again, the ones that name specific unique events are proper names and
should be capitalized.

quia...@yahoo.com

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Aug 3, 2013, 4:23:44 PM8/3/13

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On Fri, 02 Aug 2013 19:24:02 -0700, Jennifer Murphy

<JenM...@jm.invalid> wrote:

>On Fri, 02 Aug 2013 19:05:52 -0700, Jennifer Murphy
><JenM...@jm.invalid> wrote:
>
>>Are these terms correctly capitalized?
>>
>>equator
>>
>>tropic of Cancer
>>tropic of Capricorn
>>
>>tropic (one of the above)
>>Tropics (area between the tropics)
>>tropics (general region near the equator)
>>
>>Arctic (the region)
>>arctic (adj)
>>Arctic Circle
>>Antarctic
>>Antarctic Circle
>>
>>North Pole
>>South Pole
>>pole
>>

Look at onelook.com, where multiple spellings from different
dictionaries can be seen on one page. They aren't all the same, but at
least "[the] equator" isn't usually capitalized, though Macmillan
dicitonary shows it both ways.

"Arctic Circle" usually is.

>>This is according to my American Heritage dictionary. I am curious why
>>"tropic" is not capitalized in "tropic of Cancer" and "tropic of
>>Capricorn".

The word "tropic" in tropic of Cancer/Capricorn isn't usually
capitalized, though "Tropics" (the area between the two) is. "Cancer"
and "Capricorn" are capitalized because they are signs of the zodiac.

>I forgot to include:
>
>equinox
>vernal equinox
>autumnal equinox
>solstice
>summer solstice
>winter solstice

Those aren't usually capitalized.

--
John

Peter T. Daniels

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Aug 3, 2013, 4:53:32 PM8/3/13

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Looks like Jennifer will have to reveal which country she's writing
from (or publishing in).

Don Phillipson

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Aug 3, 2013, 11:49:51 AM8/3/13

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"Jennifer Murphy" <JenM...@jm.invalid> wrote in message
news:lloov8hllaqa1oucm...@4ax.com...

You may well get an answer from the AH dictionary if you send
a written inquiry. Capitalization is a matter of writing style,
which style books deal with in detail, usually offering explicit
reasons for their recommendations (cf. Chicago Manual of Style.)
I doubt many dictionaries offer also to be style guides.

--
Don Phillipson
Carlsbad Springs
(Ottawa, Canada)