A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
D
dates
January 1, 2010
debatable
departments of state
British government ministries (but not ministers) take initial caps as follows:
Cabinet Office (but the cabinet)
Department of Health
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI on second mention)
Department for Transport
Department for Work and Pensions
Foreign Office
Home Office
Ministry of Defence (MoD on second mention)
Scotland Office (not Scottish Office)
Treasury
Wales Office (not Welsh Office)
lc when departments are abbreviated, eg environment department, transport department
dependant
noun dependent adjective
dependence
depth-of-field
zone of sharp focus in photography, hyphenated
descendants
come after ancestors
dialects
cockney, estuary English, geordie, scouse
different from
or to, not different than
dilapidated
not delapidated
diplomatic service
director general
disabled people
not “the disabled”. Use positive language about disability, avoiding outdated terms that stereotype or stigmatise. Terms to avoid, with acceptable alternatives in brackets, include victim of, crippled by, suffering from, afflicted by (prefer person who has, person with); wheelchair-bound, in a wheelchair (uses a wheelchair); invalid (disabled person); mentally handicapped, backward, retarded, slow (person with learning difficulties); the disabled, the handicapped, the blind, the deaf (disabled people, blind people, deaf people); deaf and dumb (deaf and speech-impaired, hearing and speech-impaired)
discreet
circumspect discrete separate
disfranchise
not disenfranchise
disinterested
free from bias, objective (the negative form of interested as in “interested party”) uninterested not taking an interest (the negative form of interested as in “interested in football”)
dispatch, dispatch box
(Commons), dispatched; not despatch, despatched
disk
(computers), not disc
dissociate, dissociation
not disassociate, disassociation
dogs
lc, alsatian, doberman, rottweiler, yorkshire terrier; but Irish setter, old English sheepdog
dos and don'ts
draftsman
of document draughtsman of drawing
dreamed
not dreamt
driving licence
not driver's licence
due to/owing to
Many people ignore this distinction, but it can be valuable. For example, compare “It was difficult to assess the changes due to outside factors” with “It was difficult to assess the changes owing to outside factors”. The first says the changes that were a result of outside factors were difficult to assess, the second says outside factors made the changes difficult to assess (if in doubt, because of can be substituted for owing to, but not due to)
Duke of Westminster
or wherever, first mention; thereafter the duke
Duke of York
first mention; thereafter Prince Andrew or the prince
dynamo
plural dynamos
January 1, 2010
debatable
departments of state
British government ministries (but not ministers) take initial caps as follows:
Cabinet Office (but the cabinet)
Department of Health
Department of Trade and Industry (DTI on second mention)
Department for Transport
Department for Work and Pensions
Foreign Office
Home Office
Ministry of Defence (MoD on second mention)
Scotland Office (not Scottish Office)
Treasury
Wales Office (not Welsh Office)
lc when departments are abbreviated, eg environment department, transport department
dependant
noun dependent adjective
dependence
depth-of-field
zone of sharp focus in photography, hyphenated
descendants
come after ancestors
dialects
cockney, estuary English, geordie, scouse
different from
or to, not different than
dilapidated
not delapidated
diplomatic service
director general
disabled people
not “the disabled”. Use positive language about disability, avoiding outdated terms that stereotype or stigmatise. Terms to avoid, with acceptable alternatives in brackets, include victim of, crippled by, suffering from, afflicted by (prefer person who has, person with); wheelchair-bound, in a wheelchair (uses a wheelchair); invalid (disabled person); mentally handicapped, backward, retarded, slow (person with learning difficulties); the disabled, the handicapped, the blind, the deaf (disabled people, blind people, deaf people); deaf and dumb (deaf and speech-impaired, hearing and speech-impaired)
discreet
circumspect discrete separate
disfranchise
not disenfranchise
disinterested
free from bias, objective (the negative form of interested as in “interested party”) uninterested not taking an interest (the negative form of interested as in “interested in football”)
dispatch, dispatch box
(Commons), dispatched; not despatch, despatched
disk
(computers), not disc
dissociate, dissociation
not disassociate, disassociation
dogs
lc, alsatian, doberman, rottweiler, yorkshire terrier; but Irish setter, old English sheepdog
dos and don'ts
draftsman
of document draughtsman of drawing
dreamed
not dreamt
driving licence
not driver's licence
due to/owing to
Many people ignore this distinction, but it can be valuable. For example, compare “It was difficult to assess the changes due to outside factors” with “It was difficult to assess the changes owing to outside factors”. The first says the changes that were a result of outside factors were difficult to assess, the second says outside factors made the changes difficult to assess (if in doubt, because of can be substituted for owing to, but not due to)
Duke of Westminster
or wherever, first mention; thereafter the duke
Duke of York
first mention; thereafter Prince Andrew or the prince
dynamo
plural dynamos
