Capitalization & Compound Words

Compound Words

Compound words formed from the prefixed below are to be used as single words without hyphens:

ante	counter	macro	multi	pre	socio	ultra
anti	extra	meta	neo	pro	sub	un
bi	infra	micro	non	proto	super	under
bio	inter	mid	over	pseudo	supra
co	intra	mini	post	semi

Exceptions	Rule	Example
base word begins with the same letter that ends the prefix	use a hyphen	anti-inflammatory, semi-independent
prefix ends with "e" or "o" and the base word begins with the same letter	hyphen is generally omitted	coordinate, reexamine, preexisting
hyphen is needed to eliminate confusion between words	use a hyphen	co-op, re-create, re-cover
base word is normally capitalized	use a hyphen	mid-August, pseudo-Victorian, trans-Atlantic

See the Planning Department's list of commonly used words and phrases.