internet

First recorded in 1970–75; shortening of internetwork

The lowercase form internet is now widely favored over the capitalized spelling Internet . Originally, the word was capitalized as a proper noun to distinguish the network that we now know (having developed from the large and specific U.S. Department of Defense ARPANET network) from smaller, more generic linked networks. Two major trends have eroded the former use of the capitalized form: the growing perception of the internet as a generic entity, and the general trend toward lowercase spelling and other shortcuts that minimize keystrokes in digital communication. Accordingly, the lowercase form internet was first embraced in digital media and informal writing. It was subsequently adopted by technology-related publications. Major newspapers and style guides have also now adopted the lowercase form internet as standard. The capitalized spelling may still be found in older published material or in some linguistically conservative publications. However, while either form is acceptable in writing (as long as it is used consistently), the lowercase spelling internet is the form best adapted to its evolving use.

Introduced in the 1960s, the internet became widely accessible by the 1990s. Over the years, many internet-related words entered mainstream usage, but given the pace of change, some terms gradually fell out of favor. Some new terms that at first seemed aptly modern quickly turned out to be inadequate to encompass what the internet rapidly became. For example, in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the metaphor information superhighway was popularized by former Vice President Al Gore to help people visualize how the internet could become a part of their everyday lives. But as the internet became ubiquitous, this metaphor, along with the related term infobahn (modeled on autobahn ), was forsaken by those who took the benefits of the internet as a given. Now the term information superhighway is generally considered outmoded and often used humorously. Netizen , a term used to describe a person who avidly uses the internet, has become less relevant as more people gain online access. (However, in some countries in which internet use is restricted or controlled by the government, the term netizen remains relevant because it connotes unfettered online access.) In contrast, the newer term digital citizen has grown in use amid concerns that more people, especially young people, need to learn how to safely and effectively navigate the internet. The term netiquette , or the rules of etiquette for communicating online, has also declined in use—hopefully because netiquette has become more widely accepted, rather than because it is now held in lower esteem. And, as dial-up services are phased out and replaced, the term itself has unsurprisingly fallen out of popular use. The colorful term cyberspace , coined by sci-fi author William Gibson in the early 1980s, peaked around the year 2000, but has declined since. However, the prefix cyber- has proven to be not only relevant but linguistically productive. The terms cybercrime , cyberterrorism , cyberbullying , and cyberstalking , for example, have surged in use as people have become increasingly concerned about online security and the personal and social outcomes of an interconnected online world. In the 1990s, you might have surfed the web, but today you’re more likely to see the verbs browse or search in this context. Similarly, you now look up something on the internet or you simply go online . The expression World Wide Web over the years has become truncated to the easier-to-say web . The term hyperlink , though still in use, has been overtaken by its shortened version, link . An instant message is more often referred to simply as an IM . In most internet contexts, the adjective electronic has been shortened to the prefix e- . So electronic mail has become email (originally e-mail ), and other open compounds like electronic learning and electronic signature have likewise become e-learning and e-signature. It is not uncommon for tech-savvy people to playfully use old-fashioned-sounding terms or awkward sentences to comically contrast with their actual technological competence: for example, replacing for the sake of humor the simple suggestion to “look it up online” with “ask the interweb.” They also may indulge in facetious grammatical errors—like “I has a hotdog”—and conspicuous misspellings—like “teh lolz kitteh” for “the funny cat.” Popular internet memes can take this playfulness further: for example, LOLcat and doge (an intentional misspelling of dog ), in which animal photos are paired with their imagined, usually humorous thoughts. It’s impossible to know exactly where these trends in internet-related language will go next. However, we can feel confident that as the internet grows and morphs, so too will the language we use to describe it.