Orthographic conventions have varied over time, and vary by publishers, authors, and regional preferences, on whether and when ''
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
'' (or ''internet'') should be
capitalized. When the Internet first came into common use, most publications treated ''Internet'' as a capitalized
proper noun
A proper noun is a noun that identifies a single entity and is used to refer to that entity ('' Africa''; ''Jupiter''; '' Sarah''; ''Walmart'') as distinguished from a common noun, which is a noun that refers to a class of entities (''continent, ...
, but this has become less common. This reflects the tendency in English to capitalize new terms and move them to lowercase as they become familiar. The word is sometimes still capitalized to distinguish the global
IP-based Internet from internets that are smaller or not IP-based, though many publications, including the ''
AP Stylebook
''The Associated Press Stylebook'' (generally called the ''AP Stylebook''), alternatively titled ''The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law'', is a style and usage guide for American English grammar created by American journali ...
'' since 2016, recommend the lowercase form in every case. In 2016, the ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...
'' found that, based on a study of around 2.5 billion printed and online sources, "Internet" was capitalized in 54% of cases, with ''Internet'' being preferred in the United States and ''internet'' being preferred in the United Kingdom.
The Internet versus generic internets
The
Internet standard
In computer network engineering, an Internet Standard is a normative specification of a technology or methodology applicable to the Internet. Internet Standards are created and published by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). They allow ...
s community historically differentiated between ''an internet'', as a short-form of an
internetwork, and ''the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
'': treating the latter as a
proper noun
A proper noun is a noun that identifies a single entity and is used to refer to that entity ('' Africa''; ''Jupiter''; '' Sarah''; ''Walmart'') as distinguished from a common noun, which is a noun that refers to a class of entities (''continent, ...
with a capital letter, and the former as a
common noun with a lower-case first letter. An internet is any set of interconnected networks, whether they use
Internet Protocol
The Internet Protocol (IP) is the network layer communications protocol in the Internet protocol suite for relaying datagrams across network boundaries. Its routing function enables internetworking, and essentially establishes the Internet.
IP ...
or otherwise.
The distinction is evident in
Request for Comments
A Request for Comments (RFC) is a publication in a series from the principal technical development and standards-setting bodies for the Internet, most prominently the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). An RFC is authored by individuals or ...
documents from the early 1980s, when the transition from the
ARPANET
The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was the first wide-area packet-switched network with distributed control and one of the first computer networks to implement the TCP/IP protocol suite. Both technologies became the tec ...
, funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, to the Internet, with broad commercial support, was in progress, although it was not applied with complete uniformity.
Another example from that period is IBM's ''TCP/IP Tutorial and Technical Overview'' from 1989 (updated in 1998), which stated that:
In the Request for Comments documents that define the evolving Internet Protocol standards, the term was introduced as a
noun adjunct
In grammar, a noun adjunct, attributive noun, qualifying noun, noun (pre)modifier, or apposite noun is an optional noun that grammatical modifier, modifies another noun; functioning similarly to an adjective, it is, more specifically, a noun funct ...
, apparently a shortening of "internetworking" and is mostly used in this way.
In its generic sense, ''internet'' is a common noun, a synonym for ''internetwork''; therefore, it has a plural form (first appearing in the RFC series RFC 870, RFC 871 and RFC 872) and is not capitalized.
Within Internet studies
In their 2009 book ''
Internet Inquiry'', academics
Annette Markham and
Nancy Baym reported that the tendency within the field of
Internet studies was to use an uncapitalized ''internet''.
Markham and Baym state that to capitalize ''internet'' arguably provides power and agency to the medium better provided to developers and users.
Evolution of the word
Conventions for the capitalization of ''Internet'' have varied over time. The term ''internet'' was originally coined as a shorthand for ''
internetwork'' in the first specification of the
Transmission Control Protocol
The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is one of the main communications protocol, protocols of the Internet protocol suite. It originated in the initial network implementation in which it complemented the Internet Protocol (IP). Therefore, th ...
in 1974. Because of the widespread deployment of the
Internet protocol suite
The Internet protocol suite, commonly known as TCP/IP, is a framework for organizing the communication protocols used in the Internet and similar computer networks according to functional criteria. The foundational protocols in the suite are ...
in the 1980s by educational and commercial networks beyond the
ARPANET
The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was the first wide-area packet-switched network with distributed control and one of the first computer networks to implement the TCP/IP protocol suite. Both technologies became the tec ...
, the core network became increasingly known as ''the Internet'', treated as a
proper noun
A proper noun is a noun that identifies a single entity and is used to refer to that entity ('' Africa''; ''Jupiter''; '' Sarah''; ''Walmart'') as distinguished from a common noun, which is a noun that refers to a class of entities (''continent, ...
. The
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...
says that the global network is usually "the internet", but most of the American historical sources it cites use the capitalized form.
Increasingly, the
proper noun
A proper noun is a noun that identifies a single entity and is used to refer to that entity ('' Africa''; ''Jupiter''; '' Sarah''; ''Walmart'') as distinguished from a common noun, which is a noun that refers to a class of entities (''continent, ...
sense of the word takes a lowercase ''i'', in
orthographic parallel with similar examples of how the proper names for the
Sun (the sun), the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
(the moon), the
Universe
The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s ...
(the
universe
The universe is all of space and time and their contents. It comprises all of existence, any fundamental interaction, physical process and physical constant, and therefore all forms of matter and energy, and the structures they form, from s ...
), and the World (the
world
The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that Existence, exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk ...
) are variably capitalized in
English orthography
English orthography comprises the set of rules used when writing the English language, allowing readers and writers to associate written graphemes with the sounds of spoken English, as well as other features of the language. English's orthograp ...
.
The spelling ''internet'' has become often used, as the word almost always refers to the global network; the generic sense of the word has become rare in non-technical writings. As a result, various
style manuals, including ''
The Chicago Manual of Style
''The Chicago Manual of Style'' (''CMOS'') is a style guide for American English published since 1906 by the University of Chicago Press. Its 18 editions (the most recent in 2024) have prescribed writing and citation styles widely used in publ ...
'', the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.
Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
's ''
AP Stylebook
''The Associated Press Stylebook'' (generally called the ''AP Stylebook''), alternatively titled ''The Associated Press Stylebook and Briefing on Media Law'', is a style and usage guide for American English grammar created by American journali ...
'', and the ''
AMA Manual of Style'', revised their formerly capitalized stylization of the word to lowercase ''internet'' in 2016.
''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', which followed suit in adopting the lowercase style, said that such a change is common practice when "newly coined or unfamiliar terms" become part of the lexicon.
The same trend was previously applied to mentions of ''Web site'' (
website
A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...
).
In 2002, a ''New York Times'' column said that ''Internet'' has been changing from a proper noun to a generic term.
Words for new technologies, such as ''phonograph'' in the 19th century, are sometimes capitalized at first, later becoming uncapitalized.
In 1999, another column said that ''Internet'' might, like some other commonly used proper nouns, lose its capital letter.
Capitalization of the word as an
adjective
An adjective (abbreviations, abbreviated ) is a word that describes or defines a noun or noun phrase. Its semantic role is to change information given by the noun.
Traditionally, adjectives are considered one of the main part of speech, parts of ...
(specifically, a
noun adjunct
In grammar, a noun adjunct, attributive noun, qualifying noun, noun (pre)modifier, or apposite noun is an optional noun that grammatical modifier, modifies another noun; functioning similarly to an adjective, it is, more specifically, a noun funct ...
) also varies. Some guides specify that the word should be capitalized as a noun but not capitalized as an adjective, e.g., "internet resources."
Usage
Increasingly, organizations that formerly capitalized ''Internet'' have switched to the lowercase form, whether to minimize distraction (''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'')
or to reflect growing trends as the term became generic (
''Associated Press Stylebook''). In 2016, the ''
Oxford English Dictionary
The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...
'' found that, based on a study of around 2.5 billion printed and online sources, "Internet" was capitalized in 54% of cases.
The study found that ''Internet'' remained more common in the US, while ''internet'' had become predominant in the UK.
Organizations and style guides that capitalize ''Internet'' include the
Modern Language Association
The Modern Language Association of America, often referred to as the Modern Language Association (MLA), is widely considered the principal professional association in the United States for scholars of language and literature. The MLA aims to "str ...
,
Garner's Modern English Usage,
the
Internet Engineering Task Force
The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) is a standards organization for the Internet standard, Internet and is responsible for the technical standards that make up the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP). It has no formal membership roster ...
, ''
Ars Technica'', the
Internet Society, and
Cloudflare. Organizations and style guides that use lowercase ''internet'' include
Apple
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...
,
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
,
Google
Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
, ''
Wired News'' (since 2004), the
United States Government Publishing Office, the
United States National Institute of Standards and Technology, the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.
Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
(since 2016), ''The New York Times'' (since 2016),' ''
The Chicago Manual of Style
''The Chicago Manual of Style'' (''CMOS'') is a style guide for American English published since 1906 by the University of Chicago Press. Its 18 editions (the most recent in 2024) have prescribed writing and citation styles widely used in publ ...
'' (since 2017),
APA style (since 2019), ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', ''
The Observer'',
BuzzFeed, and
Vox Media
Vox Media, Inc. is an American mass media company founded in Washington, D.C. with operational headquarters in Lower Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in November 2011 by CEO Jim Bankoff and Trei Brundrett to encompass ''S ...
.
Notes
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Internet capitalization conventions
Internet terminology
Capitalization
English usage controversies