I was going to introduce this as today’s “quick and dirty tip,” but I guess it’s not really quick, nor is it dirty. Goodness gracious, it isn’t all Greek, either! The word capitonym is a combination of capit– (English capital, from Latin caput meaning head) + nym (Greek for name, word). A capitonym is a word that changes its meaning (and sometimes pronunciation) when it is capitalized. For more information and an unedited chart of capitonyms, see Wikipedia. For the abbreviated version, see the table below.
| Capitalized Word | Lowercase Word | Notes |
| August: the eighth month of the year | august: majestic or venerable | Different pronunciations |
| Cancer: a constellation and astrological sign, or a genus of crab | cancer: a class of diseases | |
| Catholic: relating to the Catholic Church (usually the Roman Catholic Church) (adj.); a member of that church (noun) | catholic: free of provincial prejudices or attachments; universal | |
| Earth: a planet | earth: the dry land of this planet | |
| Ionic: relating to Ionia or to a style of classical architecture | ionic: relating to (chemical) ions | |
| Italic: of, or relating to Italy | italic: pertaining to a sloping typeface or font | |
| Job: subject of a book of the Bible | job: a form of employment | Different pronunciations |
| March: the third month of the year | march: to walk briskly and rhythmically | |
| Mass: a liturgical function | mass: a physical property of matter | |
| May: the fifth month of the year | may: modal verb | |
| Mosaic: pertaining to Moses | mosaic: a kind of decoration | |
| Nice: a city in France | nice: pleasant | Different pronunciations |
| Polish: from Poland | polish: to create a shiny surface by rubbing ; a compound used in that process | Different pronunciations |
| Tangier: a city in Morocco | tangier: comparative of adjective "tangy". | Different pronunciations |
Kara Church
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