Upper case for Mum an Dad or lower?

Question

Hi can you clarify whether or not upper or lower case is required when using mum and dad in a personal context?  Thanks  Susan

Clive · Accepted Answer

Hi,

can you clarify whether or not upper or lower case is required when using mum and dad in a personal context?

The general approach is to use a capital if you are using the word as a title or name,

eg Hi, Mum

eg I have good news, Mum

and otherwise to use lower case,

eg I visited my mum yesterday.

( In N. America, people say 'mom' more than 'mum'. )

Best wishes, Clive

Anonymous · Answer

Clive

Your answer is an accurate and concise description of current usage - best I've come across so far, so well done.

The OED is actually quite relaxed, in that "mum" is a colloquial term, so less subject to the rigors reserved for formal words. From the quotations presented by the OED (the first from ?1595, the last from 1996), it is easy to evince that the term has followed a trend that's indeed been fairly common, where the original lower case form (as one would expect for common nouns) inconsistently moved to upper case to reflect actual or perceived importance (e.g., the "Company" when referring to one's employer, the "Mayor" of one's city, the "Principal" in a school etc ).

Clive Hi,can you clarify whether or not upper or lower case is required when using mum and dad in a personal context? The general approach is to use a capital if you are using the word as a title or name, eg Hi, Mum eg I have good news, Mumand otherwise to use lower case,eg I visited my mum yesterday.( In N. America, people say 'mom' more than 'mum'. )Best wishes, Clive

Upper case for Mum an Dad or lower?

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