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Two By Two
Participating Frequently
April 8, 2009
Question

The plural of "forum" is...

  • April 8, 2009
  • 2 replies
  • 2534 views

FORA

since it's a Latin word.

Adobe, please note!

Sorry to be pedantic, but that's the English language for you.

By the way, I like these new fora. Clean, modern and easy to use.

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    2 replies

    Claudio González
    Legend
    April 8, 2009

    Please forgieve this non native English speaker for butting in this discussion, which isn't by far new in these forums/fora.

    English is a living language and, as such, always evolving. As John has already noted, there are quite reputable dictionaries that accept "forums" as the proper plural of "forum". To me, this indicates that normal usage has incorporated "forum" as a proper English word of Latin origin, and therefore the word follows the normal English rules for forming plurals.

    Incidentally, the cases of "data" (plural of "datum") and "media" (plural of "medium") show that things can be more complicated. I wonder how many people would say "This is the only datum I have" or "The Internet is the fastest growing medium of them all".

    April 8, 2009

    Your message is quaintly comical since you quote Latin and tell us "that's English".

    The Oxford English Dictionary give forums as the first plural and fora as secondary.

    C'est la vie!

    Known Participant
    April 8, 2009

    I'm normally a stickler for proper grammar and usage, especially concerning words with Latin roots. But using the word "fora" to refer to multiple online forums smacks of pretentiousness. "Forums" in the plural has become the accepted term throughout the industry. Whenever I see someone write "fora," the first thought that comes to mind is Egghead.

    Known Participant
    April 8, 2009

    Brutus_Maximus wrote:

    the first thought that comes to mind is Egghead.

    BM

    Do take a look at the shape of the head currently showing in your avatar. (Man, this will look like a really dumb message if you go change your avatar now.)

    Don