gam@amdahl.UUCP (Gordon A. Moffett) (11/12/84)
> Neither "museum" nor "coliseum" are latin words. "museum" is > a word of Greek origin and "coliseum" derives from the Latin > word "colosseus," which means huge, but it is not a Latin word. > On the other hand, "datum" *is* a Latin word, so it makes > sense to use it the way it is used in Latin. > > Marco Valtorta Uh, I know no one cares, but the etymology of `museum' is Latin (from the Greek `mouseion', a place for the Muses or for study). `Coliseum' is indicated to be a Modern Latin word, from the Latin `colosseum'. The etymology for these words is confirmed in the Webster's New World Dictionary and the Funk & Wagnall's Standard American Dictionary. But that's not the point. Over time we have referred to these Latin or neo-Latin words as though they were English, and pluralized them in the English fashion of adding an `s' at the end. So I don't accept the "datum is the singular of data because that's how it is in Latin" argument. In English we bend that rule frequently. It is becoming more common for people to use `data' as the singular AND plural form, and while that may sound wrong to some of you, many `standard' usages in English begin as things that `sound wrong,' but are later so widely accepted that the wrongness is forgotten. Of course, time will tell. -- Gordon A. Moffett ...!{ihnp4,hplabs,amd,nsc}!amdahl!gam 37 22'50" N / 122 59'12" W [ This is just me talking. ]