Plural of c.v.

Subject: Plural of c.v.
From: Melissa Hunter-Kilmer <mhunterk -at- BNA -dot- COM>
Date: Tue, 7 Mar 1995 09:23:12 EST

On Mon, 6 Mar, Deborah Kluge <kluge -at- CLARK -dot- NET> wrote:

<snip>

> . . . there is always a lot of confusion as to which is the
> singular and which is the plural (curricula vita or curriculum vitae).
> Some people use the singular, some use the plural, and others use a bit
> of both.

The proper singular form is "curriculum vitae," which means "the course of
[a] life." The plural is "curricula vitarum," or "the courses of
[several] lives." (If you can read this, thank your Latin teacher.
Thanks, Mr. Van Nortwick!)

Here's how this phrase works:

Word Declension Meaning
Curriculum Neuter nominative singular Course
Curricula Neuter nominative plural Courses
Vitae Feminine genitive singular Of life
Vitarum Feminine genitive plural Of lives

I get the list in digest form, so I can't tell if I'm the first to point
this out, but it looked as if this issue went at least several hours
without being addressed. Come on, guys, aren't there any other closet
Latinists out there? :)

(Yes, this does too have to do with tech. writing. You never know when
you'll have to spell out the plural form of c.v.)

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