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<P><A name=50111583-m1></A><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Don’t be in too much of a rush to follow the advice of Tinacriagoddess, whose fluency in Latin is debatable, despite his or her Princess-and-the-Pea sensibilities.<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">The word “ignoramus,” as the OED attests, derives not from a Latinized Greek noun like hippopotamus, but from the first person plural (present tense) of the verb *ignorare,* meaning “we don’t know.” <SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Once upon a time, according to the Renaissance sources, that’s what the Grand Jury would write on a bill of indictment when there was insufficient evidence to prosecute<A name=50111583def3></A>.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>By 1616 it was being used to mean an ignorant person.<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Its plural is in fact ignoramuses (as can be seen in the Harleian Miscellany IV:<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>“So many of their commanders are ignoramusses in the very vocables of art”).</SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Hurrah for the tireless efforts of the compilers of the OED to bring light to our linguistic darkness, and pleasure to crabby pedants like me!</SPAN></P>
<P><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 11pt; FONT-FAMILY: Georgia">Melynda Huskey<o:p></o:p></SPAN></P><BR><BR><BR>-----Original Message----- <BR>From: Dan Carscallen <PREDATOR75@MOSCOW.COM><BR>Sent: Jul 5, 2005 6:59 AM <BR>To: vision2020@moscow.com <BR>Subject: RE: [Vision2020] Ignorami, not ignoramuses <BR><BR><ZZZHTML><ZZZHEAD><ZZZMETA CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii" HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type"><ZZZMETA name="GENERATOR" content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2668"></ZZZHEAD><ZZZBODY>
<DIV><SPAN class=593105813-05072005><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#800000 size=2>I bow to your Shakespearean creativity.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV><SPAN class=593105813-05072005><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#800000 size=2>Ignorami . . . there's a fun word. I think I'll use it at work today. </FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV><SPAN class=593105813-05072005><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#800000 size=2>DC</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
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<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> vision2020-bounces@moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces@moscow.com] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Trinacria Goddess<BR><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, July 02, 2005 11:45 AM<BR><B>To:</B> vision2020@moscow.com<BR><B>Subject:</B> [Vision2020] Ignorami, not ignoramuses<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV>I may not be a master of the English language (since I have already been made fun of by Dan C. for using the word ignorancy--but didn't Shakespear make up words that are now used in common day speech?), but you don't know who I am or where I'm from. What I have noticed on many postings is the word "ignoramuses" as an insult. The "es" is a Greek plural ending. "Ignoramus" is Latin. Therefore, the correct plural usage of the word would be "ignorami." I only say this because I am fluent in Latin, and it is annoying to see the word butchered.</DIV>
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