Entries - D

DAI

Demande d'Achat Interne (Internal Purchase Order)

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abbreviations, acronyms, translation

DAMA

Dark matter experiment at Gran Sasso National Laboratory

Acronym doesn’t need spelling out for the CERN Courier

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abbreviations, acronyms, Courier

DANTE

Organisation that operates advanced networks for research and education, including GÉANT

Acronym doesn’t need spelling out for the CERN Courier

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abbreviations, acronyms, Courier

DAO

Departmental Administrative Officer

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abbreviations, acronyms, translation

DAPNIA

Département d'Astrophysique, de physique des Particules, de physique Nucléaire et de l'Instrumentation Associée (Department of Astrophysics, Particle Physics, Nuclear Physics and Associated Instrumentation​), CEA

Acronym doesn’t need spelling out for the CERN Courier

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abbreviations, acronyms, Courier

dark energy

lower case

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translation

dark matter

lower case

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physics, style, translation

data

"Data" can mean two rather different things, and this poses a style problem.

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style

data centre

Two words. Initial capital letters if talking about the CERN Data Centre.

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translation

data processing (noun); data-processing (adj.)

translation

data set

Not dataset or data-set.

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Courier

data-taking

use hyphen

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Courier

databank

translation

database

translation

dates

Dates should be written Saturday, 24 April 2010 (not 24th).

Use the following construction for spans of time:

Willibald Karl Jentschke was the Council delegate for the Federal Republic of Germany from 1964 to 1967.

Though this often reads better if reworded:

From 1964 to 1967, Willibald Karl Jentschke was the Council delegate for the Federal Republic of Germany. 

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style, translation

daytime

translation

DAΦNE

Double Annular Φ Factory for Nice Experiments, an electron–positron collider at the Laboratori Nazionali di Frascati (LNF)

Acronym doesn’t need spelling out for the CERN Courier

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abbreviations, acronyms, Courier

DCal

Di-jet Calorimeter (ALICE)

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abbreviations, acronyms, translation

DDU

Delivered Duty Unpaid

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abbreviations, acronyms, translation

de facto

no italics

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translation

de jure

no italics

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translation

deadline

translation

debug, debugging, debugged

translation

début

translation

decades

Use digits:

the 1950s, 1960s, etc.

the roaring 20s

a man in his 60s

Note that no apostrophe is needed before the "s"

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style

decay

Most often used in the context of particle decay.

The kaon decayed into a pion and a neutrino-antineutrino pair.

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physics

decimals

Decimals and percentages use the number, not the word: 2% and 50% and 2.6 kilometres.

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style

decision-maker

use hyphen

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Courier, translation

decision-making (adj. and noun)

translation

deep space (noun); deep-space (adj.)

translation

defence

With a "c", unless in the official name of a body that uses US spellings, e.g. US Department of Defense

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translation

degrees

When referring to angles, spell out “degrees” (as for any other unit):

The tower at Pisa has a tilt of more than 5 degrees

For temperature, use °C

Ethanol boils at 79 °C

For latitude and longitude use ° (closed up to the numeral)

Switzerland lies at latitude 47° north

(note the lower case for north – or south, east or west)

To make a degree (°) symbol on a Mac or a PC, use the key combination Alt-Shift-8 or Alt-0176.

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style

delegation, delegate

not Delegation, Delegate

Note that the word “delegate” should only ever be used to describe the two delegates to the Council appointed by each Member State.

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translation

DELPHI

Detector with Lepton, Photon and Hadron Identification, one of the four main detectors on the Large Electron–Positron Collider (LEP)

Acronym doesn’t need spelling out for the CERN Courier

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abbreviations, acronyms, Courier

demise

translation

department

Lower case d. Likewise for group, section, etc.

Use capital letters on the name of a department, but not on the word "department". 

CERN has many departments. While Physics is the largest, the Technology department is also substantial. 

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style, translation

Department Head

NOT Head of Department or Department Leader

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translation

dependant (noun); dependent (adj.)

translation

dependency allowance

translation

depositary

of a text or instrument

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translation

depository

warehouse

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translation

Deputy Department Head

translation

desktop

translation

DESY

Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (German electron synchrotron facility).

Acronym doesn’t need spelling out for the CERN Courier

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abbreviations, acronyms, Courier, translation

detectors

All caps for ATLAS, ALICE, CMS, TOTEM. But LHCb, LHCf.

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style

device (noun)

piece of equipment

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translation

devise (verb)

to invent

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translation

dial, dialling, dialled

translation

dialogue

but dialog in a computing context

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translation

dialyse

translation

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