Spelling
Use the following list for consistent spelling of words commonly used at PATH.
Table of Contents
For the spelling of most words, see Merriam-Webster's dictionary. Below you will find the spelling (and sometimes the capitalization) of words commonly used at PATH—in particular, compound words. Should there be a discrepancy among sources, this list supersedes.
A
-
acknowledgment [not acknowledgement]
acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
Administration [e.g., Biden Administration]
among [not amongst]
animal-source foods
antiretroviral
antishock
app [i.e., software]
autodisable
B
-
bacillus Calmette-Guérin [with a hyphen not an en dash]
baseline
bednet
birth-dose [adjective], birth dose [noun]
birthweight [adjective], birth weight [noun]
bloodborne
breastfeeding
breast milk
C
-
capacity-building [adjective or noun]
co-brand
co-create
co-develop
coinfection
co-lead
Congress
congressional
cont. [abbreviation for continued; not con’t.]
cost-effective
COVID-19 [all caps]
cross-contamination
crosscutting
D
-
dataset
decision-maker, decision-making
Democratic Republic of the Congo [note the] [DRC is the abbreviation]
DHIS2 [not DHIS 2]
E
-
eLearning
email
endline
e-newsletter
Eswatini [not eSwatini]
extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis [XDR-TB is the abbreviation]
F
-
fact sheet
federal government
field-test [verb], field test [noun]
firsthand
first-line
flip chart
follow-on [adjective or noun; do not use as a verb]
follow-up [adjective or noun], follow up [verb]
frontline [adjective], front line [noun]
fundraising
H
-
handwashing [adjective or noun]
health care [adjective or noun]
hepatitis B
HIV/AIDS
HIV-1 and HIV-2 [use Arabic numerals and hyphens]
HIV prevention [adjective or noun]
home page
human immunodeficiency virus
I
-
in-country [adjective]
internet
intersectoral
K
-
Kyiv
L
-
life cycle
lifesaving
long COVID
longstanding
low-resource [adjective]
M
-
magnet theater
manikin
microplan
midlevel
mother-to-child transmission
multicountry
multidisciplinary
multidrug-resistant tuberculosis [MDR-TB is the abbreviation]
multifaceted
multisector, multisectoral
N
-
needlestick
noncommunicable
nongovernmental
nonpneumatic
nonprofit
nonreusable
O
-
One Health
online
on-site
overspend
P
-
pharmacokinetic
pickup [noun], pick-up [adjective], pick up [verb]
point-of-use [adjective]
policymaker, policymaking
postabortion [adjective only]
posttest [adjective or noun]
posttreatment [adjective only]
precancer
preclinical
preeclampsia
pre-exposure
prefilled
pretest
primary health care [lowercase]
principal investigator [not principle]
private-sector [adjective], private sector [noun]
problem-solving [adjective or noun]
product development partnership [no hyphen]
public-private partnership
public health [adjective or noun]
public-sector [adjective], public sector [noun]
Q
-
quality control [adjective or noun]
R
-
record-keeping [adjective], record keeping [noun]
reuse
roadmap
role-play [verb], role-playing [adjective or noun]
rollout [noun], roll-out [adjective], roll out [verb]
S
-
safe-injection [adjective], safe injection [noun]
scale-up [adjective or noun], scale up [verb], scaling up
self-injection [adjective or noun]
semiannual
service-delivery [adjective], service delivery [noun]
setup [noun], set up [verb]
shelf life
side effect
SILCS diaphragm
slideshow
social-sector [adjective], social sector [noun]
sociocultural
sociodemographic
socioeconomic
South-to-South
standalone [adjective]
stockout
sub-Saharan Africa
subagreement
subaward
subcontractor
subgrant
subgrantee
subnational
subpartner
subrecipient
subsite
T
-
task force
TB/HIV
The Gambia
the Netherlands
time frame
time point
timeline
toolkit
toward [not towards]
U
-
Ukraine [no the]
underspend
underway [adjective or adverb]
United States [noun]
universal health coverage (or care) [lowercase]
US [adjective; note no periods (full stops)]
US Congress
US$ [type of dollar needs to be specified only on first reference unless multiple currencies are used]
V
-
Vietnam
voicemail
W
-
Washington, DC [note no periods (full stops)]
web
web page
website
well-being
Woman’s Condom
work plan
workstream
worldwide
The words listed above are in American English. For a brief guide to British spelling, see British style / Spelling.