The interpretation of "lidar" as an acronym ("LIDAR") came later, beginning in 1970,[6] based on the assumption that since the base term "radar" originally started as an acronym for "RAdio Detection And Ranging", "LIDAR" must stand for "LIght Detection And Ranging",[7] or for "Laser Imaging, Detection and Ranging".[8] Although the English language no longer treats "radar" as an acronym and printed texts universally present the word uncapitalized, the word "lidar" became capitalized as "LIDAR" in some publications beginning in the 1980s. Currently no consensus exists on capitalization, reflecting uncertainty about whether or not "lidar" is an acronym, and if it is an acronym, whether it should appear in lower case, like "radar". Various publications refer to lidar as "LIDAR", "LiDAR", "LIDaR", or "Lidar". The USGS uses both "LIDAR" and "lidar", sometimes in the same document;[9] the New York Times uses both "lidar" and "Lidar".