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It's New York State. You will see the word "state" in "New York State" uncapitalized all the time, even in newspapers and magazines, which presumably should know better. But that is wrong.

People think it's supposed to be uncapitalized because a "State" is synonymous with a "country": a self-governing political entity. A "state" is usually a division of a federal state (a country), such as the states of the United States of America.

Thus, since none of the 50 U.S. states are independent countries, the word "state" is not capitalized when you are referring to them (except in the United States of America, which is capitalized because it is a proper noun). So people think it's supposed to be, "New York state," because New York is not an independent country.

But again, that is wrong. New York State is capitalized because it is a formal, official name that is used to differentiate between New York the city and New York the state. Both have the same name, so they are given the official names of New York City and New York State, so people don't get confused about which one you're talking about.

The word "state" is capitalized in New York State for the same reason the word "city" is capitalized in New York City, and for the same reason the word "states" is capitalized in the United States of America: because these are proper nouns (names or titles of specific people, places or things). The words "city" and "state" are part of the names, so they are capitalized.

For the same reason, the word "state" in Washington state is capitalized, again, because it is a formal, official name that is used to differentiate between Washington the state and Washington, D.C., the capital of the U.S.

If you are in doubt, then Google, "new york state." The word "state" is capitalized in New York State's official website (nys.gov), as well as all other official New York State websites and U.S. government websites.

However, if you use the phrase, "state of New York," or "state of Washington," then "state" is uncapitalized, unless it is part of the title of a page or document (such as, "Access Washington: Welcome to the State of Washington!").

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13y ago

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