AP Stylebook: M

Maine

Do not abbreviate Maine in datelines or stories, Postal code: ME

man, mankind

Either may be used when both men and women are involved and no other term is convenient. Do not use duplicate phrases (man or a woman, mankind or womankind). Best choices are humanity, a person or individual.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King Jr., who was born Jan 15. 1929, is on the third Monday in January. It was first celebrated in 1986.

-maker

Follow Webster's New College Dictionary. If the word combination nor in this book, use two words for a verb form and hyphenate any noun or adjective. Except for drugmaker, policymaker, coffeemaker

Memorial Day

Formerly May 30. The federal legal holiday is the last Monday in May.

McDonald's Corp.

Headquarters is in Oak Brook, Ill.

Merck & Co

Headquarters is in Whitehouse Station, NJ

Malaysia Airlines

Headquarters of this airline is in Subang, Malaysia.

MediaNews Group Inc.

Privately held U.S. newspaper publisher with headquarters in Denver. Owns dailies including The Denver Post, San Jose Mercury, The Detroit News.

Mafia

Secret criminal organization operating mainly in the U.S. and Italy and engaged in illegal activities. Lowercase as a synonym for organized crime.

Marxism (Marxist)

The system of thought developed by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels

McClathy Co.

US newspaper publisher with headquarters in Sacramento, Calif. Owns dailies (Miami Herald, the Charlotte Observer and the Sacramento Bee)

Mallorca

Use instead of Spain on stories from communities on this island. (Mallorca)

Maldives

Use this name with a community name in a dateline: MALE, _____/ Refer to the country in the text as the _____

Marshall

Used in proper names (Marshall)

magistrate

Capitalize when used as a formal title before a name. Use magistrate judge when referring to the fixed-term judge who presides in U.S. District judges

manager

Capitalize when used as a formal title before a name.-General Manager Dick. Do not capitalize in job descriptions.-Ex: equipment manager John Smith

medieval

medieval

medium-rare

medium-rare

melee

melee

melon baller

melon baller

memento, mementos

memento, mementos

memo, memos

memo, memos

memorandum, memorandums

memorandum, memorandums

plurality

more than the next highest number

menswear

not men's wear

machine gun

noun (machine gun)

makeup

noun and adjective (makeup)

margin

the difference between the amount if the loan and the value of the securities used a collateral.

mayday

the international signal for distress, meaning help me

marshal

the sleeping for both the verb and the noun (marshal)

Mach 1

traveling at the speed of sound

Mach 2

twice the speed of sound

machine-gun

verb and adjective (machine-gun)

make up

verb. (make up)

magazine names

Capitalize the initial letters of the name but do not place it in quotes. Lowercase magazine unless it is part of the publication's formal title.

Marines

Capitalize when referring to U.S. forces; Capitalize when referring to an individual in a Marine Corps unit. Do not describe Marines as soldiers

managing editor

Capitalize when use as a formal title before a name. (managing editor)

majority leader

Capitalize when used as a formal title before a name (majority leader)

Medicaid

A federal-state program that helps pay for health care for the needy, aged, blind and disabled, and for low-income families with children

Master of Arts, Master of Science

A master's degree or a master's is acceptable in any reference.

megahertz

A measure of radio frequency or the speed of a computer processor. Abbreviate MHz.

mega-

A prefix denoting 1 million units of a measure. Move the decimal point six places to the right.

Manitoba

A province of central Canada. Do not abbreviate. (Manitoba)

mantel

A shelf

Mailgram

A trademark for telegram sent to a post office near the recipient's address and delivered to the address by a letter carrier.

Mace

A trademark, shortened from Chemical Mace, for a brand of tear gas that is packaged in an aerosol canister and temporarily stuns its victims

megabyte

A unit of storage capacity in computer systems, loosely 1 million bytes. (megabyte)

M.D.

A word such as physician or surgeon is preferred.

Massachusetts

Abbreviate Mass. in datelines or stories. Legally a commonwealth, not a state. Postal code: MA

Maryland

Abbreviate Md. in datelines and stories. Postal code: MD

medevac

Acceptable abbreviation for medical evacuation, especially in referring to aircraft used to transport wounded military personnel.

mad cow disease

Acceptable for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, a progressive disease that afflicts cattle.

mark to market

An accounting requirement that securities must be valued at their current price, rather than the purchase price or the price they might fetch later. Also called "fair value."

speed of sound

Approximately 750 mph at sea level and approximately 660 mph at 30,000 feet above sea level

maturity

In a financial sense, the date on which a bond, debenture or note must be repaid.

media

In the sense of mass communication, such as magazines, newspapers, the news services, radio, television, and online, the word is plural.

Mass

It is celebrated not said. Always capitalize when referring to the ceremony, but lowercase any preceding adjectives.

Medal of Freedom

It is now the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

mailman

Letter carrier is preferable because many women hold this job.

Mardi Gras

Literally fat Tuesday, the term describes a day of merrymaking on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday. In New Orleans and many Roman Catholic countries, the Tuesday celebration is preceded by a week or more of parades and parties.

merchant marine

Lowercase in referring to the ships of a nation used in commerce. Capitalize only in references to the organization the Merchant Marine.

mecca

Lowercase in the metaphorical sense; capitalize the city in Saudi Arabia. (mecca)

Madeira

Madeira

Marsala

Marsala

May Day

May 1, observed as a festive or political holiday

Medfly

Mediterranean fruit fly. The capital M is an exception to Webster;s New World College Dictionary

Melkite Church

Melkite Church

majority

More than half of an amount

Mach number

Name for Ernst Mach, an Austrian physicist, it represents the ratio of the speed of an object to the speed of sound in the surround medium,

Marshall Islands

Name for John Marshall, a British explorer. In datelines, give the name of the city and Marshall Islands.

Magna Carta

Not Magna Charta. The charter the English barons forced King John of England to grant at Runnymede in June 1215. It guaranteed certain civil and political liberties.

Mercedez-Benz

Note hyphen in this division of Daimler (Mercedez-Benz)

Macau

Stands alone in datelines (Macau)

Maritime Provinces

The Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

Mason Dixon Line

The boundary line between Pennsylvania and Maryland, generally regarded as separating the North from the South. Named for 18th-century surveyors Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon, the line later extended to West Virginia

Madrid

The city in Spain stands alone in datelines

Maoism (Maoist)

The communist philosophy and policies of Mao Zedong

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

The disorder caused in humans by eating meet from diseased catttle

Medicare

The federal health care insurance program for people aged 65 and over, and for disabled. Eligibility based on eligibility for Social Security. n Canada, refers to the nation's national health insurance program

Medal of Honor

The nation's highest military honor, awarded by Congress for risk of life in combat beyond the call of duty. Synonym: Medal of Honor recipent

mentally disabled

The preferred term for mentally retarded.

mantle

a cloak

manageable

manageable

manchego cheese

manchego cheese

mandarin orange

mandarin orange

mandoline

mandoline

manhattan cocktail

manhattan cocktail

manslaughter

manslaughter

maraschino cherries

maraschino cherries

marijuana

marijuana

marketbasket, marketplace

marketbasket, marketplace

marquess, marchioness, marquis, marquise

marquess, marchioness, marquis, marquise

mascarpone cheese

mascarpone cheese

matrimony

matrimony

matzo

matzo

mayors' conference

mayors' conference

meager

meager

meatball

meatball

meatloaf

meatloaf