Tell me more ×
English Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for linguists, etymologists, and serious English language enthusiasts. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 8 down vote favorite

Should cardinal points be capitalised? Please give a reason why they should or should not.

share|improve this question

1 Answer

up vote 11 down vote accepted

North as an adjective (and other cardinal points) is never capitalized, except when part of a construct that is capitalized in itself, such as a country name (North Korea, South Africa).

As a noun, it is capitalized when used in the game of bridge (North and South play together) and, more commonly, when designating a known part of a country (Virginia joined the North) or of the world (the mysterious East, the history of music in the West).

share|improve this answer
What about "go East" or "go east?" – Maxpm Mar 4 '11 at 0:19
3  
@Maxpm: Lowercase. In the cases where you capitalize, you aren't talking just about the direction, you are talking about a specific thing that happens to include a direction in its name. So, "Virginia was part of the North" is referring to an entity called the North (during the American Civil War). But if you just said "Virginia is in the north", it just means that Virginia is located in a northerly direction with respect to you. – Kosmonaut Mar 4 '11 at 3:12

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.