# Is 'internet' a proper noun or not??? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 25, 2008, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516 "2008-05-25T01:03:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/1 "2008-05-25T01:03:01Z")
I don’t capitalize it. I’m getting sick of Microsoft Word flagging it and suggesting Internet. So which is it? Capitalized or not? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/2 "2008-05-25T01:24:18Z")
There’s only one Internet. That makes it a proper noun, and it should be capitalized. According to [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_capitalization_conventions), most newspapers, periodicals, and technical journals capitalize the term, though some (mostly in the UK) have started using it lower case. It is, of course, a matter of style, so you can do what you wish as long as you’re consistent. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/3 "2008-05-25T01:52:39Z")
I cap Internet but not intranet. The former is a proper noun, the latter is not. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/4 "2008-05-25T02:19:42Z")
Agreed. When I’m proofing, I cap Internet, but not intranet. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/5 "2008-05-25T02:38:26Z")
Yes. An internet is a group of computer networks, connected together. _The_ Internet is the worldwide publically-accessible internet (note small i) to which we all connect. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/6 "2008-05-25T03:12:52Z")
As a matter of style, internet will lose its capital in the near future. (If president has, I guarantee internet will follow.) If you want to leave it uncapitalized now in any informal context (like the Dope) it won’t raise an eyebrow. If you are in a formal context, use whatever the mandated style guide says. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/7 "2008-05-25T03:41:23Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] If you are in a formal context, use whatever the mandated style guide says. [/QUOTE] I’m writing for school, and the only style guide we’ve got so far is APA, which doesn’t have much to say about spelling. I haven’t asked my instructors, but judging from their writing, it’s a toss up. I was of the mind the word is so commonplace now it’s like saying “phone system.” ---
**Author:** ![mwbrooks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@mwbrooks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mwbrooks)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/8 "2008-05-25T09:37:12Z")
[QUOTE=Exapno Mapcase] As a matter of style, internet will lose its capital in the near future. (If president has, I guarantee internet will follow.) If you want to leave it uncapitalized now in any informal context (like the Dope) it won’t raise an eyebrow. If you are in a formal context, use whatever the mandated style guide says. [/QUOTE] I tend to agree, but are there cases where “internet” is still generic? Historically, two or more connected private networks would be called “an internet.” Has this usage been entirely replaced by “intranet”? If so, I guess the way is clear to downcase “the Internet.” BTW: “Phone system” is rather ambiguous nowadays. The last time I wrote about that copper wire that used to run to your house, it was an acronym: POTS, meaning plain old telephone service (in the U.S.). No kidding. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/9 "2008-05-25T12:01:18Z")
[QUOTE=RealityChuck] There’s only one Internet. That makes it a proper noun, and it should be capitalized. [/QUOTE] Whence this rule that everything of which there is only one needs to be capitalized? There is only one sun (only one star that we call sun, I mean) and we don’t capitalize that. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/10 "2008-05-25T14:51:28Z")
[QUOTE=Švejk] Whence this rule that everything of which there is only one needs to be capitalized? There is only one sun (only one star that we call sun, I mean) and we don’t capitalize that. [/QUOTE] Sometimes we do. It is a style choice. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/11 "2008-05-25T15:27:18Z")
[QUOTE=Švejk] Whence this rule that everything of which there is only one needs to be capitalized? There is only one sun (only one star that we call sun, I mean) and we don’t capitalize that. [/QUOTE] The way I do it is: “The spaceship headed for the Sun,” but “We hung the sheets up to dry in the sun.” ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/12 "2008-05-25T16:16:46Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] The way I do it is: “The spaceship headed for the Sun,” but “We hung the sheets up to dry in the sun.” [/QUOTE] The way I understand it is the planets are capitalized, including the earth, if it’s included in the list. By itself, earth doesn’t get capitalized. Not sure but the sun may be treated the same way. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/13 "2008-05-25T16:23:23Z")
[QUOTE=levdrakon] The way I understand it is the planets are capitalized, including the earth, if it’s included in the list. By itself, earth doesn’t get capitalized. Not sure but the sun may be treated the same way. [/QUOTE] I treat Earth/earth pretty much the same way I treat Sun/sun: “On Earth, there are 6 billion people,” but “They dug up the earth in their search.” That’s a little different than Sun/sun, because “earth” lowercased in my example is clearly a synonym for “dirt,” not the name of a planet. Of course, “sun” lowercased is also a synonym for “sunlight” or “sunshine,” I guess. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/14 "2008-05-25T16:45:18Z")
[QUOTE=Švejk] Whence this rule that everything of which there is only one needs to be capitalized? There is only one sun (only one star that we call sun, I mean) and we don’t capitalize that. [/QUOTE] Actually there are many suns. In astronomy, in science fiction, the lower-case \*sun - is often used when speaking of other stars and systems. ---
**Author:** ![iturntoyou](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e36b37/32.png) [@iturntoyou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iturntoyou)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/15 "2008-05-25T17:11:21Z")
So it’s like Saturn has many moons, _the_ Earth has one moon. If you’re standing on the black earth, staring up at _the_ Moon you can see Saturn’s moon, if you had eyes like a telescope ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/16 "2008-05-25T17:56:41Z")
I was surprised the Chicago Manual of Style doesn’t directly address this (checking both the book and the Web site). The closest thing I could find was from the Q&A section: > [@](#): > > Originally posted by [Chicago Manual of Style Online](http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/CMS_FAQ/InternetWebandOtherPost-WatergateConcerns/InternetWebandOtherPost-WatergateConcerns16.html) > Q. Your online Q&As are helpful. Is it time to revisit the question of whether to capitalize Internet and Web site? It seems that both of these have come to refer to phenomena that are generic, like telephone line or billboard. Or can you show us that they are formal, official names of entities that require a proper noun? > > A. The “website” versus “Web site” debate is discussed elsewhere in this section. As for “Internet,” I think it is relatively clear that people use the term “Internet” (capital I) to refer to the whole thing. This “whole thing” is the growing collection of servers worldwide that have a connection or potential connection to each other using a standard protocol for network addresses and communication known as TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). Government agencies involved in its development and maintenance, such as the National Science Foundation, refer to the capital-I Internet, and I think there is, for now, little reason to fret over capitalizing it, as long as one is not using the term more generically—for example, to refer simply to any network of computers. As always with these types of questions, your ultimate guide is whoever assigned the project (e.g., boss, professor, client). They choose which style guidelines to follow and what exceptions there are. If you have a style guide to work from but not a direct answer, try looking in other places for how it treats the term. There must be uses of Internet in the guidelines that deal with sources and citation – see how it’s used there. Good luck ETA: > [@Exapno Mapcase](#): > > As a matter of style, internet will lose its capital in the near future. (If president has, I guarantee internet will follow.) I missed this memo. I know there has always been a distinction between the general and the specific case, but when is it **p** resident Bush? ---
**Author:** ![mwbrooks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@mwbrooks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mwbrooks)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/17 "2008-05-25T19:31:13Z")
[QUOTE=Rhythmdvl] I missed this memo. I know there has always been a distinction between the general and the specific case, but when is it **p** resident Bush? [/QUOTE] Perhaps Expano is referring only to the noun, not the title. So you could say Bush is the president, but should still address him as President Bush. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/18 "2008-05-25T20:17:31Z")
[QUOTE=mwbrooks] Perhaps Expano is referring only to the noun, not the title. So you could say Bush is the president, but should still address him as President Bush. [/QUOTE] Right… I want to be the president of some country some day, but I’m not sure I want the responsibility of the President of the United States. I’d never known the lowercase president to have been capitalized. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/19 "2008-05-25T20:59:29Z")
[QUOTE=mwbrooks] Historically, two or more connected private networks would be called “an internet.” [/QUOTE] Historically, any network (not necessarily two connected ones) using TCP/IP protocol (not just any network) would be called an “internet” because that’s the name coined for the protocol. ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2008, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516/20 "2008-05-25T21:13:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Is ‘internet’ a proper noun or not??? No. As every Yorkshireman knows, the correct term is T’internet. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-internet-a-proper-noun-or-not/450516.md?page=2)