Decapitalize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To convert all capital letters in a text to lowercase letters in accordance with typical writing conventions; to remove uppercase formatting from the initial character of a word or sentence; to change a capitalized letter into its non-capitalized form
2. The process of making a previously uppercase letter or letters lowercase in a word or phrase; reducing the prominence of capital letters to a simpler lowercase style; altering text so that initial uppercase characters become lowercase
3. Changing letters that begin with capitals into lowercase to follow standard usage; transforming the first letter of a word or sentence from capital to small case; adjusting letter case from uppercase to lowercase in writing or typing contexts

Etymology: "Decapitalize" is a plain formation: the prefix "de-" joined to "capitalize," meaning to reverse the process of giving something capital letters. The prefix comes from Latin "de," which carried the sense of removing or reversing, as in "deform" or "decode," and English attached it to "capitalize" to produce a verb for taking capitals away. Because it is built directly from two English parts, the word needs no separate history of its own. "Capitalize" supplies the core meaning, and "de-" signals the opposite action. The word is therefore best understood as a compound of ordinary English vocabulary rather than a term with a distinct origin story.

Synonyms: lowercase, unalphabetize

Antonyms: capitalize, uppercase