CSS Custom Properties are not Variables

When mentioning CSS Custom Properties here on bram.us I do tend to name them like that — and not CSS Variables — as that’s their official name.

I always thought the terms could be used interchangeably — with CSS Variables simply being the unofficial name — but as detailed by Šime Vidas on Web Platform News that’s not the case:

The spec distinguishes the two terms: A custom property is not a variable, but it defines a variable. Any property can use variables with the var() function whose values are defined by their associated custom properties.

Aha!

CSS custom properties are not variables →