Klarinet Archive - Posting 000776.txt from 1999/09

From: Joe Fasel <jhf@-----.gov>
Subj: Re: [kl] Plural of Opus
Date: Thu, 23 Sep 1999 16:08:10 -0400

| so what's the plural of opera?
| why does it have a plural?

This is just like "agenda", which began life as the plural
of "agendum". Originally, the agenda _were_ the things to
be done, but now an agenda _is_ a list of things to be done.
The plural "agendas" was once controversial, but is now accepted
usage. An indication of the transformation that has taken
place is that the original singular has been lost: We speak
of an item in an agenda, not an agendum.

A similar thing is happening to "data", which is, strictly
speaking, the plural of "datum": "This data is misleading"
is more likely to be uttered these days than "these data are
misleading". In this case, "data" is not becoming a singular
in the same sense as "agenda" or "opera", but a mass noun
(as opposed to a count noun), like "air" or "honesty". Like
"agendum", "datum" is falling into disuse, in favor of "data
item", "data point", and the like.

Cheers,
--Joe

Joseph H. Fasel, Ph.D. email: jhf@-----.gov
Technology Modeling and Analysis phone: +1 505 667 7158
University of California fax: +1 505 667 2960
Los Alamos National Laboratory postal: TSA-7 MS F609
Los Alamos, NM 87545

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