Acceptable in all references for Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. Inc. Headquarters is in Montvale, N.J.

Use a before consonant sounds: a historic event, a one-year term (one sounds like won), a united stand (united sounds like yoo).

Use an before vowel sounds: an energy crisis, an honorable man (the h is silent), an NBA record (n sounds like en), an 1890s celebration.

No hyphen: amoral, achromatic, atonal.

The organization prefers A.A. to AA. See Alcoholics Anonymous.

Acceptable in all references for anno Domini: in the year of the Lord.

Because the full phrase would read in the year of the Lord 96, place A.D. before the year: A.D. 96. Omit A.D. in: the fourth century A.D. If A.D. is not specified with a year, it is presumed to be A.D. See B.C.

Lowercase, with periods. Note: 10 a.m. this morning is redundant.

In these designations, m. stands for meridiem, from the Latin meaning noon. Thus, p.m. means post meridiem, or afternoon; a.m. means ante meridiem, or before noon. Midday is designated by noon, not 12 noon or 12 m.

Although the travel service organization is no longer called the American Automobile Association, automobile association or association are acceptable on second reference. There are more than 1,000 AAA offices in the United States and Canada. Headquarters is in Heathrow, Fla.

The official name of the organization previously known as the American Association of Retired Persons. The AARP, founded in 1958, is for people 50 and over. Headquarters is in Washington, D.C.

A few universally recognized abbreviations are sometimes required. Others are acceptable but in general avoid alphabet soup.

Apply the same guidelines to acronyms -- pronounceable words formed from the letters in a series of words: Alcoa, NATO, radar, scuba, etc.

Guidelines:

1. Use Dr., Gov., Lt. Gov., Mr., Mrs., Rep., the Rev., Sen., and abbreviate certain military titles before a name outside direct quotations. In direct quotations, spell out all except Mr., Mrs. and Dr. before a name.

Never abbreviate president, vice president, secretary, attorney general, ambassador, chairman, professor. See titles.

2. Abbreviate junior or senior after a person's name. Abbreviate company, corporation, incorporated and limited after a company name. See company and academic degrees.

3. Use A.D., B.C., a.m., p.m., No. and abbreviate certain months with the day of the month. See months.

Right: In 450 B.C.; at 9:30 a.m.; in room No. 6; on Sept. 16.

Wrong: Early this a.m. he asked for the No. of your room. The abbreviations are correct only with the figures.

Right: Early this morning he asked for the number of your room.

4. Abbreviate avenue, boulevard and street in numbered addresses: He lives on Pennsylvania Avenue. He lives at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. See addresses.

5. Certain states, the United States, European Union, United Kingdom, United Nations are sometimes abbreviated. See states and individual entries.

6. Some organizations are widely recognized by their initials: CIA, FBI, GOP, TVA, which are acceptable on first reference. Even then, an abbreviation is not always necessary. If it fits the occasion, use Federal Bureau of Investigation, for example, rather than FBI.7. Do not use an abbreviation or acronym in parentheses after a full name. If the abbreviation would not be clear without this arrangement, do not use it. Do not reduce names to unfamiliar abbreviations solely to save a few words.At times an abbreviation or acronym requires special handling, especially if an English translation is needed.Examples, with suggested solution in italics:The Federal Security Service, known by its Russian initials FSB, is a successor to the KGB.The Independent Moralizing Front, or Frente Independiente Moralizador, is headed by Fernando Olivero Vega. Six members of the FIM were

Acceptable in all references for American Broadcasting Cos. The plural is part of the corporate name. Divisions include ABC News, ABC Radio and ABC-TV.

No apostrophe.

King Abdullah of Jordan. Not Abdallah.

Use anti-abortion to describe individuals or groups opposed to abortion: The anti-abortion group staged a peaceful demonstration. Abortion-rights may be used for those in favor of legalized abortion, but use the term with care: Abortion-rights advocates supported the legislation. Shun labels such as pro-abortion, pro-choice, anti-choice. The labels over-generalize and are objectionable to some people, who, for instance, may favor abortion in some cases, but object to it in others.

Where possible, be specific and state clearly what people propose or oppose:

-- The candidate supported a woman’s right to abortion.

-- People opposed to the use of Medicaid funds for abortion demonstrated outside the White House.

-- Women supporting the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion assembled on the Capitol steps.

-- Supporters of legal abortion are backing the legislation.

Avoid this term, which is offensive to many and suggests illegality.

AWOL is acceptable on second reference.

The professor is absent-minded. An absent-minded professor.

(Not Sayaff.) Islamic guerilla group in the Philippines.

If it is necessary to establish credentials, avoid an abbreviation. Make it: a bachelor's degree, a master's (note the apostrophe), a doctorate in psychology.

Use B.A., M.A., LL.D., Ph.D., etc. only when many listings would make the preferred form cumbersome. Use the abbreviation only after a full name (Mary Smith, Ph.D.) -- never after just a last name.

For spelling and abbreviations of academic degrees, follow the first listing in Webster’s New World College Dictionary.

See doctor.

Lowercase except for proper nouns or adjectives: department of history, history department, department of English, English department.

Capitalize and spell out such formal titles as professor, dean, president, chancellor, chairman, etc., before a name. Lowercase elsewhere.

Lowercase such modifiers as history in history Professor Oscar Handlin or department in department Chairman Jerome Wiesner.

See military academies.

Presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Also: the Oscars, the academy, the awards.

Accept means to receive. Except means to exclude.

Two c's, two m's.

Avoid this awkward attribution when possible. Use said or announced, etc.

One is accused of, not with, a crime. Avoid any suggestion that someone is being judged before a trial. Do not use accused slayer John Jones. Make it: John Jones, accused of the slaying. See allege , arrest and indict.

A trademark for an elastic bandage.

not acknowledgement.

Usually with plural verbs and pronouns: The acoustics were not at their best. Use singular verbs and pronouns for the study: Acoustics is an exact science.

Equal to 43,560 square feet, or 4,840 square yards. The metric equivalent is 0.4 (two-fifths) of a hectare, or 4,047 square meters. To convert to hectares, multiply by 0.4 (5 acres x 0.4 equals 2 hectares).

See abbreviations and acronyms.

Capitalize for legislation: the Taft-Hartley Act. See act numbers.

Use Arabic numerals and capitalize: Act 1; Act 2, Scene 2. But: the first act, the second act.

Always lowercase: acting Mayor Peter Barry.

Headquarters is in New York.

To the point of disgust.

Old adage is redundant.

After Thomas Addison, an English physician who identified the disease caused by failure of the adrenal glands.

Use Ave., Blvd. and St. with a numbered address: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Spell out without a number: Pennsylvania Avenue.

Lowercase standing alone or in plural uses: the avenue, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania avenues.

Do not abbreviate similar words, such as alley, drive, road and terrace. Capitalize as part of a formal name: Printers Alley. Lowercase standing alone or in plural uses: the alley, Broadway and Tin Pan alleys.

Use figures for an address number: 9 Morningside Circle.

Spell out and capitalize First through Ninth as street names; use figures with two letters for 10th and above: 7 Fifth Ave., 100 21st St.

Abbreviate compass points that indicate directional ends of a street or quadrants of a city in a numbered address: 220 E. 42nd St., 600 K St. N.W. Do not abbreviate if the number is omitted: East 42nd Street, K Street Northwest.

Lowercase: the administration, the president's administration, the Eisenhower administration. If a news story clearly refers to the incumbent administration, it is not necessary to use the name of the president. See government.

A federal title formerly known as hearing examiner. To avoid a long title before a name, try to set if off by commas: The administrative law judge, Judy Williams, disagreed.

Do not abbreviate. Capitalize as a formal title before a name.

See military titles.

Not admissable.

These words may in some contexts give the erroneous connotation of wrongdoing. A person who owns up to being old is conceding it or acknowledging it. A person who announces he is a homosexual may be proclaiming it, not admitting it. Said is usually sufficient.

Amendments, ordinances, resolutions and rules are adopted or approved. Bills are passed. Laws are enacted.

Slovenia's national airline. Headquarters is in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

See Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Adverse means unfavorable; averse means reluctant or opposed: He predicted adverse weather. She is averse to change.

Not advisor. (This is an exception to Webster's New World.)

Ireland’s national airline. Headquarters is in Dublin. Aer Lingus is an anglicization of Air Loingeas, Irish for air fleet.

The Russian airline. Headquarters is in Moscow.

(No space, capital M.) Headquarters is in Mexico City.

Not esthetic.

Affect, as a verb, means to influence: The game will affect the standings. As a noun it is best avoided. It occasionally is used in psychology to describe an emotion, but there is no need for it in everyday language.

Effect, as a verb, means to cause: He will effect many changes in the company. As a noun it means result: The effect was overwhelming. He miscalculated the effect of his actions. It was a law of little effect.

Not affadavit.

A native or inhabitant of Afghanistan. Afghani is the Afghan unit of currency.

The article of clothing.

Preferred in all references for the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. Headquarters is in Washington.

The peoples or languages of Africa. See black and colored.

Always hyphenated. May be used interchangeably with black when referring to black Americans of African heritage. See black.

No hyphen to form a noun: aftereffect, afterthought. Hyphenate compound modifiers: after-dinner drink, after-theater snack.

Not afterwards.

AID is acceptable on second reference.

A list. It takes singular verbs and pronouns: The agenda has run its course. The plural is agendas.

Lowercase unless a formal title before a name. In the FBI the formal title is special agent. Use agent John Jones, FBI agent John Jones or Special Agent John Jones as appropriate.

Always use figures. When the context does not require years or years old, the figure is presumed to be years. Avoid aged in designating age.

Hyphenate as a compound modifier before a noun or as a noun substitute. Use commas to set off the ages of individuals.

A 5-year-old boy. The boy is 5 years old. The boy, 7, has a sister, 10. The woman, 26, has a daughter 2 months old. The law is 8 years old. The race is for 3-year-olds. The woman is in her 30s (no apostrophe).

See historical periods.

Not ageing.

An agnostic believes it is impossible to know whether there is a God. An atheist believes there is no God.

Aid is assistance. An aide is an assistant.

Acceptable in all references for acquired immune deficiency syndrome. See HIV.

A dialectical or substandard contraction. Avoid it.

Two words. Use air force base in the United States and air base abroad: Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. Clark Air Base, Philippines.

On second reference: the Air Force base, the air base or the base.

Do not abbreviate, even in datelines:

LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas, May 13 (UPI) --

CLARK AIR BASE, Philippines, May 13 (UPI) --

Headquarters is in Montreal.

Capitalize references to the U.S. Air Force: the U.S. Air Force, the Air Force, Air Force regulations. Do not use USAF.

Many nations do not use air force as a proper name. For consistency, lowercase all others: the Canadian air force. Exception: Capitalize Royal Air Force when referring to the British air force. RAF acceptable on second reference.

An air force is a tactical unit of the U.S. Air Force, usually consisting of several divisions, each of which is composed of two or more wings. Capitalize a numbered air force: the 8th Air Force See military units, military titles and wing.

See air base.

The Air Force applies this name to whatever airplane the president of the United States happens to be using. In ordinary usage, however, Air Force Oneis the airplane normally reserved for the president's use.

Headquarters is in Paris.

Headquarters is in Kingston, Jamaica.

Use the hyphen. Headquarters is in Mumbai.

Also called an ALCM, it is carried beneath a bomber, launched in flight and guided to its target by an onboard computer.

Use a hyphen to add figures to letters; no hyphen to add a letter to figures: AC-130, B-1, B-1B Lancer, B-2 Spirit, B-52H, BAC-111, C-5A, C-130, DC-10, FH-227, F-14 Tomcat, F-15 Eagle, F-16 Fighting Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, F/A-22 Raptor, F-86 Sabre, F-111, F-117A Nighthawk, L-1011, MiG-25, RC-135, Tu-144, 727-100C, 747, 747B, VC-10. An exception: Airbus A380.

For other elements of a name, follow the terminology adopted by the manufacturer or user. If in doubt, consult Jane's All the World's Aircraft.

Do not use quotation marks for aircraft names: Air Force One, the Spirit of St. Louis, Concorde. For plurals: DC-10s, 727s. But: 747B's. For sequence of aircraft, spacecraft and missiles, use Arabic numerals, but no hyphens: Apollo 13.

Use engine, not motor, for the units that propel aircraft: a twin-engine plane (not twin-engined).

Nearly all commercial and military aircraft are now jets, so the term jet is not routinely necessary. But when the term is used, make it jet plane, jetliner, jet fighter, jet bomber, etc., to describe only those aircraft driven solely by jet engines.

Do not flip-flop the adjective and noun and use fighter jet or bomber jet.

Use turboprop to describe an aircraft on which the jet engine is geared to a propeller. Turboprops are sometimes called propjets.

See military titles.

Capitalize as part of a proper name: La Guardia Airport, Newark International Airport.

The first name of a person and international may be deleted while the remainder is capitalized: John F. Kennedy International Airport, Kennedy International Airport or Kennedy Airport, as appropriate.

Do not make up proper names such as Boston Airport. The proper name is Logan International Airport. The Boston airport is acceptable.

The federal system of routes for airplane traffic.

A Soviet-designed rifle first produced in 1947, capable of full-automatic or semiautomatic fire. The initials stand for automat (automatic) Kalashnikov (the last name of the designer). The original design has been modified several times. For accuracy’s sake, all models may be referred to as Kalashnikovs. Caliber is 7.62mm. See weapons.

No spaces or periods in this police term for also known as. (This is an exception to Webster’s, whichuses spacing.)

A Palestinian guerrilla organization. Drop the article Al if preceded by an English article: the Fatah statement, a Fatah leader.

Abbreviation: Ala. See state(s) .

Do not abbreviate. See state(s).

Headquarters is in Seattle.

Used in all of Alaska, except St. Lawrence Island and the western Aleutians, which are on Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time. There is an Alaska Daylight Time. See time and Hawaii Standard Time.

A province of western Canada. Do not abbreviate. In datelines: EDMONTON, Alberta, May 13 (UPI) --

The city in New Mexico stands alone in datelines.

Alcoa is acceptable in all references to the company formerly known as the Aluminum Company of America. Headquarters is in Pittsburgh.

Alcoa also is a city in Tennessee.

Use recovered, not reformed, in referring to those previously afflicted with the disease of alcoholism.

A.A. may be used on second reference.

The organization for people recovering from alcoholism was founded in 1935. Following is the definition of A.A. appearing in its literature and cited frequently at meetings of A.A. groups:

Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking.

Do not abbreviate. See legislative titles.

Headquarters is in Rome.

Not alright. Hyphenate the slang: an all-right guy.

An all-time high. But: The greatest runner of all time. Avoid the redundant all-time record.

Hyphenate: all-around (not all-round), all-clear, all-out, all-pro, all-purpose, all-spice, all-star.. See individual entries, including all right, all-star and all time all-time.

Usually lowercase: Carter was an all-star catcher. Gretzky scored 25 points in 18 all-star games. Capitalize as part of the formal name of an event: The NHL All-Star Game.

The word must be used with great care. Guidelines:

-- Avoid any suggestion that the writer is making an allegation.

-- Specify the source of an allegation. It should be an arrest record, an indictment or the statement of a public official connected with the case.

-- Use alleged bribe, etc., to make it clear that an unproved action is not being treated as fact.

-- Avoid redundant uses of alleged. It is proper to say: The district attorney alleged that she took the bribe. Or: The district attorney accused her of taking a bribe. But not: The district attorney accused her of allegedly taking a bribe.

-- Do not use alleged before an event known to have occurred when the dispute is over who participated in it. Do not say: He attended the alleged meeting when what you mean is: He allegedly attended the meeting.

-- Do not use alleged as a routine qualifier. Instead, use apparent, ostensible, reputed, etc.

See accuse, arrest and indict.

Or simply: the Alleghenies.

Do not abbreviate. See addresses.

Capitalize only when referring to the combination of the United States and its allies during World War I or World War II: The Allies defeated Germany. He was in the Allied invasion of France.

To allude to something is to speak of it without specifically mentioning it. To refer is to mention it directly.

Allusion is an indirect reference; illusion an unreal or false impression: The allusion was to his opponent's war record. The director created the illusion of choppy seas.

The initial test(ing) of new computer hardware or software. The second stage is beta testing.

An altar is used in a church service. To alter is to change.

An Internet search engine. See search engine.

Alternately means one after the other; alternatively means one or the other.

Formerly Philip Morris Companies Inc. Holdings include the Philip Morris tobacco companies and Kraft Foods. Headquarters is in New York. (Note the single l in Philip Morris.)

Acceptable in all references for the amplitude modulation system of radio transmission.

Headquarters is in Washington.

Use for both men and women. Capitalize as a formal title before a name. Never abbreviate.

As a formal title before a name: Ambassador-at-Large Averell Harriman, Ambassador Extraordinary John Jones.

A program in which news bulletins and electronic highway signs are used to alert the public in child-abduction cases. It is named for Amber Hagerman, a 9-year-old Texas girl who was abducted and killed in 1996.

See constitution.

A person of both American and Asian descent.

The world’s largest commercial online service. Headquarters is in Dulles, Va.

Headquarters is in Fort Worth, Texas.

See Baptist churches.

See Baptist churches.

ABA is acceptable on second reference. Also: the bar association, the association. Headquarters is in Chicago.

ACLU is acceptable on second reference. Headquarters is in New York.

Use the full name on first reference to prevent confusion with other unions that represent government workers. Headquarters is in Washington.

May be shortened to American Federation of Musicians on first reference. Musicians union is acceptable in subsequent references. Headquarters is in New York.

Use the full name on first reference to prevent confusion with other unions that represent government workers. Headquarters is in Washington.

Use the full name on first reference to prevent confusion with other unions that represent teachers. Headquarters is in Washington.

AFTRA is acceptable on second reference. Headquarters is in New York.

AHA is acceptable on second reference. Also: the hospital association, the association. Headquarters is in Chicago.

See Indians and native American.

AIG is acceptable on second reference for the financial services and insurance company. Headquarters is in New York.

Also: the Legion, the Legionnaires. A legion (lowercase) is a large group of soldiers, or by derivation, a large number: His friends are legion.

AMA is acceptable on second reference. Also: the medical association, the association. Headquarters is in Chicago.

See ANSI.

The name was changed. See Newspaper Association of America.

API is acceptable on second reference. Headquarters is in Washington.

Postal Workers union is acceptable on second reference. This union represents clerks and similar employees who work inside post offices. Headquarters is in Washington. Use the full name on first reference to prevent confusion with the National Association of Letter Carriers.

API is acceptable on second reference. Headquarters is in Reston, Va.

ASPCA is acceptable on second reference. Note that this organization, with American in its name, is limited to the five boroughs of New York City. See Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

ASCAP is acceptable on second reference.

See ASCII

In second reference: the American Exchange, the Amex or the exchange.

See AT&T Corp.

Headquarters is in Indianapolis.

Words and phrases that have become part of the English language as spoken in the United States are marked in Webster's New World with a star. They are acceptable in news stories if they fit the occasion.

Not amidst.

See pardon.

Not amuck.

Usually between relates two items; among more than two. The money was divided among Ford, Carter and McCarthy.

But use between for three or more items related one pair at a time: Bargaining on the debate is under way between the network and the Ford, Carter and McCarthy committees.

Use an ampersand if it is part of a company's proper name: Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. Do not otherwise use the ampersand in place of and.

This acronym, from American travel by track, is acceptable in all references to the National Railroad Passenger Corp. Headquarters is in Washington.

The corporation was established by Congress in 1970 to take over intercity passenger operations from railroads that wanted to drop passenger service. All except Southern Railway, Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad, and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad elected to do so. See Conrail.

Acceptable in all references for American Veterans of World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Headquarters is in Washington.

Do not use anchor to refer to people in these jobs.

Legalese that should be avoided when possible.

The worldwide association of the 22 separate, independent national Anglican churches. Members include the Church of England, the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church of Canada and, in the United States, the Episcopal Church. See Episcopal Church.

Always capitalized. Hyphenate with a capitalized suffix: Anglomania, Anglophile, Anglo-American, Anglo-Catholic, Anglo-Indian, Anglo-Saxon.

Do not apply a personal pronoun to an animal unless its sex has been established or the animal has a name: The dog was scared; it barked. Rover was scared; he barked. The cat, which was scared, ran to its basket. Susie the cat, who was scared, ran to her basket. The bull tossed his horns.

Capitalize the name of a specific animal, and use Roman numerals to show sequence: Bowser, Whirlaway II.

For breed names, follow the spelling and capitalization in Webster’s New World College Dictionary. For breeds not listed in the dictionary, capitalize words adopted or derived from proper nouns; use lowercase elsewhere: basset hound, Labrador retriever.

If a zoological name is used, capitalize the first word, the genus, but lowercase the second, the species: Homo sapiens (humans), Ailuropoda malanoleuca, (giant panda).

Lowercase in all uses.

American National Standards Institute Pronounced an-see. A United States technical standards organization of industry and university representatives. ANSI standards (in some computer programs) include those affecting graphics and color, cursor location, line-wrapping and keyboard functions.

Hyphenate with a capitalized word or to avoid a double-e: ante-Victorian. Elsewhere, follow Webster's New World, hyphenating words not listed there.

Lowercase national anthem. See composition titles.

Hyphenate all except the following words:

antibiotic

antibody

anticlimax

antidepressant

antidote

antifreeze

antigen

antihistamine

antiknock

antimatter

antiparticle

antipasto

antipathy

antiperspirant

antiphon

antiseptic

antiserum

antithesis

antitoxin

antitrust

antitussive Hyphenated words, many of them exceptions to Webster's New World, include: anti-abortion, anti-aircraft, anti-bias, anti-inflation, anti-intellectual, anti-labor, anti-slavery, anti-social, anti-war.

Anticipate means to expect and prepare for something. Expect does not include the notion of preparation: They expect a record crowd. They have anticipated it by adding more seats to the auditorium.

Formed in 1975 by the merger of the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of New York and All North America and the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocese of Toledo, Ohio, and Dependencies in North America. It is under the jurisdiction of the patriarch of Antioch. See Eastern Orthodox churches.

Federal laws to prevent restraint of trade and monopolies.

Any more means something additional: Do you have any more money? I don't have any more.

Anymore is an adverb meaning now, at present or any longer: He doesn't work here anymore, Don't do that anymore.

One word for an indefinite reference: Anyone can do that. Two words to single out one element of a group: Any one of them may speak up.

See America Online

Acceptable on second reference for The Associated Press. Do not capitalize the when it precedes AP.

Use an apostrophe to show possessives. See possessives. Elsewhere:

1. Use the apostrophe to show omitted letters or figures: I've, it's, don't, rock 'n' roll. 'Tis the season to be jolly. He is a ne'er-do-well. The class of '62. The Spirit of '76. The '20s.

2. Use the apostrophe to show the plurals of single letters, but not multiple letters: Mind your p's and q's. He learned the three R's and brought home a report card with four A's and two B's. But: She learned her ABCs. See plurals.

In the broadest sense, it is the entire region along the Appalachian Mountains from Maine to northern Alabama. In a stricter sense, it refers to those sections characterized by economic depression and poverty.

Or simply: the Appalachians.

Avoid an ambiguous usage.

Ambiguous: He apparently killed himself. (Is he dead?)

Better: He died, apparently a suicide.

See U.S. Court of Appeals.

Manufacturer of the Macintosh line of computers. Headquarters is in Cupertino, Calif.

Appraise means to set a price or estimate value. Apprise means to inform or notify.

See adopt.

See months.

A trademark for an underwater breathing apparatus.

Transliteration is difficult. One basic rule: Use a hyphen after al- or el- unless another style for a particular name or place has been established: Yousef al-Ahmad, Saud al-Faisal, Sharm el-Sheik resort, al-Sujoud presidential palace, crossing the Shatt al-Arab, al-Qaida, al-Jazeera correspondents, etc.

The word al means the. It is part of a person's name when referring to tribal origins but may be dropped in many cases. For example, in the Masri family: Rabihya Masri.

The naming system is done simply: The parents give a male child one name, the second name is the name of the father, the third of the grandfather, and so on. But when you see al-Saud it refers to the Saud tribal family. The family name is the last name -- and may or may not be used in the name chosen for use in English -- but this is the one to use on second reference if it is available: She said al-Saud was an avid reader. Drop titles (king, prince, sheik, etc.) on second reference: Saud said (not Prince Saud said).

(Avoid using the before al- because you then have the, the. Recast sentences to get around this problem. Remove al- if a double the is unavoidable on second reference.)

Further complicating the transliteration is the way al is pronounced, depending on the first letter of the name. In Arabic, al-Saud is pronounced as Saud and al-Shabi is ash Shabi. There are a number of letters that, if appearing after the word al, change its pronunciation.

Al is used in Arabic as the in front of other nouns: al-baite (the home).

When el is used before a name in English, it is another way of transliterating the al sound. Usually, when a name appears that way it is because the person has chosen that spelling in English.

Abu means father of and ibn means son of. Abu is either part of a nickname given to a man because of a cause or jovial greeting (for example, Abu Jihad means father of the struggle) or a nickname that uses the first son. If a man has only daughters, he occasionally will be nicknamed (by friends) using the eldest daughter's name. In some more conservative Arabic cultures, the latter is not done since it is considered improper.

The word ibn can be used as part of the tribal name. Ibn Saud means son of the Saud family.

The numerical figures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 0. In general, use Arabic forms except for wars and for personal sequence for people or animals. See numerals and Roman numerals.

These terms of labor negotiations are not interchangeable. One who arbitrates hears evidence from all persons concerned, then hands down a decision. One who mediates listens to arguments of both parties and tries by the exercise of reason or persuasion to bring them to an agreement.

Hyphenate with a capitalized word: arch-Democrat. Otherwise, mostly solid: archbishop, archduke, archenemy, archfiend, archrival. Follow Webster's New World, hyphenating words not listed there.

See Episcopal Church and Roman Catholic Church.

Lowercase archbishop unless it precedes the name of the person who holds the office.

The diocese of an archbishop. Lowercase unless part of a proper name: the archdiocese of Chicago, the Chicago archdiocese. But: Anglican Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America. See entries for each denomination.

A surface measure in the metric system, equal to 100 square meters. An are is equal to about 1,076.4 square feet or 119.6 square yards.

See telephone numbers.

Slang words and phrases used by people in the same occupation or way of life, sometimes with the intention to limit the meaning to those within their own ranks. See slang, jargon.

Either may be used: The court will hear arguments. The court will hear argument.

Abbreviation: Ariz. See state(s).

Abbreviation: Ark. See state(s) .

The term encompasses two independent dioceses that cooperate in some activities: the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, for areas outside California, and the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of America, which serves California. See Eastern Orthodox churches.

See Veterans Day.

Capitalize references to the U.S. Army: the U.S. Army, the Army, Army regulations. Do not use the abbreviation USA.

Some nations do not use army as a proper name. For consistency, lowercase for all others: the Canadian army. Exception: Capitalize Red Army when referring to the Soviet army of World War II.

In the U.S. Army, a tactical army is composed of two or more corps. Two or more armies compose an army group, the largest tactical formation. Capitalize with numerical designations: 3rd Army, 12th Army Group. Otherwise, lowercase: Patton's army, Bradley's army group See corps, military titles and military units.

To avoid any suggestion that someone is being judged before a trial, do not use arrested for killing, etc. Make it: arrested on a charge of killing. See accuse, allege and indict.

It requires a preposition. He will arrive at Kennedy. Do not omit as some airline dispatchers do in: He will arrive Kennedy.

See composition titles.

An operation performed with a fiber-optic instrument.

American Standard Code for Information Interchange. A computer character set that enables exchange of data among different computer devices. ASCII is pronounced ass’-kee. ASCII files aresometimes referred to as text files and are the opposite of binary files. Seebinary files .

Use Asian or Asians when referring to people. Some Asians regard Asiatic as offensive when applied to people.

Formerly a trademark, now a generic term.

The killer of a politically important person. See homicide.

A politically important person is shot one day and dies the next. Which day was he assassinated? The day he was shot.

See weapons.

Popularly, assault almost always implies physical contact and sudden, intense violence.

In legal terms, however, an assault means simply to threaten violence, as by pointing a pistol at someone without firing it. Assault and battery is the legal term for physical harm or violence.

Capitalize as the proper name of a legislative body, with or without a state name: the California Assembly, the state Assembly.

Lowercase plural uses: the California and New York assemblies.

Do not abbreviate. See legislative titles.

Do not abbreviate. Lowercase as a job description; capitalize as part of a formal title before a name.

Job description: The typist is assistant secretary John Jones.

Formal title: Assistant Secretary of State Geoff Connor.

Do not abbreviate. Capitalize only when part of a formal title before a name: Associate Editor Allison Smith.

The capitalized article is part of the formal name of the newsgathering cooperative. AP or the AP (lowercase the) is acceptable on second reference. Headquarters is in New York.

Do not abbreviate. Capitalize only as part of a proper name: The American Medical Association is a doctors' association.

It is not a formal title. Do not capitalize: astronaut John Glenn.

Trademarks for artificial grass.

Usually two words for a person representing more than a single district: congressman at large, councilman at large. But it is ambassador-at-large for an ambassador assigned to no particular country.

Used in an e-mail address between the user’s ID, or username, and the domain name: maryjones(@)wherever.com. See domain name.

Formerly known as American Telephone & Telegraph. Headquarters is in New York.

See agnostic, atheist.

The city in Georgia stands alone in datelines.

Used in the Maritime Provinces of Canada and in Puerto Rico. See time.

Seeautomated teller machine.

It began Dec. 2, 1942, at the University of Chicago, with the creation of the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.

See Energy Research and Development Administration.

Not a formal title. Always lowercase.

A person legally appointed or empowered to act for another; usually, but not always, a lawyer. An attorney at law is a lawyer.

Do not abbreviate. Do not capitalize unless it is an officeholder's title before a name: defense attorney Perry Mason, attorney Perry Mason, District Attorney Hamilton Burger. See lawyer.

Do not abbreviate. Capitalize only as a title before a name: Attorney General John Jones.

Not augur for. Omit for in: The tea leaves augur (for) success.

See months.

Do not use as a verb.

Wrong: He authored the book.

Right: He wrote the book.

ATM may be used on second reference. (It is redundant to say ATM machine.) Also bank machine, cash machine.

See weapons.

Capitalize brand names: Buick, Ford, MG, Maxima. Lowercase generic terms: a Volkswagen bus, a Mack truck.

See addresses.

Average refers to the result obtained by dividing a sum by the number of quantities added together: the average of 7, 9, 17 is 33 divided by 3, or 11.

Mean commonly designates a figure intermediate between two extremes: the mean temperature of the day with a high of 56 and a low of 34 is 45.

Median is the middle number of points in a series arranged in order of size: the median grade in the group of 50, 55, 85, 88, 92 is 85; the average is 74.

Norm implies a standard of average performance for a given group: The child was below the norm for his age in reading comprehension.

It takes a plural verb in: An average of 100 jobs are lost daily.

See adverse, averse.

Headquarters of this airline is in Bogota.

Use for both men and women. Do not use aviatrix even for those women who were commonly referred to as aviatrixes or aviatrices during their lifetimes.

When an entry in this book uses the word avoid, it should not be considered a prohibition. It means do not use unless you have a reason; try to find an alternate form.

Capitalize them: Bronze Star, Medal of Honor, Best Actress, Song of the Year, Citizen of the Month, Most Valuable Player, etc.

He plans to stay awhile. He plans to stay for a while.

Not axe. The verb forms: ax, axed, axing.

The alliance of Germany, Italy and Japan during World War II.

(Not Azore Islands.) The form in datelines: PONTA DELGADA, Azores, March 16 (UPI) --