False Friends - HTML Elements which are also Top Level Domains
By @edent
· HTML internet tld · 7 comments · 400 words · read ~298 times.
In linguistics, a "False Friend" is a word which looks similar in multiple languages, but means something different in each of them. For example the word "gift" in English means "a present", in German means "poison", and in Norwegian it means "married".
The Internet uses Top Level Domains (TLD) to organise information into hierarchies. This website uses .mobi - you may also be familiar with .com for commercial entities, or .de for German pages.
The World Wide Web uses HyperText Markup Language (HTML) to structure web pages. For example <footer> to display a footer, or <ol> for an ordered list.
There is absolutely no relationship between the two sets of entities. But, just for fun, are there any HTML elements which happen to be false friends of the TLDs?
Before we go any further, have a quick think. How many do you reckon there are? Are there some which spring to mind immediately?
Obviously, the first port of call is AI. Its mastery of all things means that we can get an accurate answer in a nanosecond.
Oh.
Right, let's compare the Element Reference with the Root Zone Database.
There are fifteen current HTML elements which have a match with a TLD. And a couple which are deprecated. Here they are:
| HTML | TLD | |
|---|---|---|
| 🔊 | <audio> |
.audio |
| 🇧🇷 | <br> |
.br |
| 🗂 | <data> |
.data |
| 🇭🇷 | <hr> |
.hr |
| 🇱🇮 | <li> |
.li |
| 🔗 | <link> |
.link |
| 🗺 | <map> |
.map |
| ☰ | <menu> |
.menu |
| 🔎 | <search> |
.search |
| 👉 | <select> |
.select |
| 🧥 | <style> |
.style |
| 🇹🇩 | <td> |
.td |
| 🇹🇭 | <th> |
.th |
| 🇹🇷 | <tr> |
.tr |
| 📹 | <video> |
.video |
And the ones which are no longer valid HTML:
| HTML | TLD | |
|---|---|---|
| 🖕 | <center> |
.center |
| 🇹🇹 | <tt> |
.tt |
Is that more than you expected? Less? Are there others which you think should be TLDs? Should HTML get a <uk> element post-Brexit? Have I missed any?
Comments in the usual box.
@blog
FYI, "gift" means both "married" and "poison" in Swedish.
@Edent I asked bing chat and it made stuff up, like a span (Spanish culture), img (image sites), div (diversity and inclusion) and aero (for an actual plane).
@Edent Enjoying the choice of emoji for deprecated formatting elements.
@Edent Petition for a .blink TLD
@Edent That GPT interaction is pure gold
@Edent Are the HTML elements false friends, or is it really the TLDs that are false friends?
I see that AI is as reliable as ever. In unrelated news, I love the idea of this post it appeals to my nerdy brain while being something I had never even considered before. My mind is racing trying to think of some pointless but fun application of these false friends of HTML and TLD you have introduced me to.
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