Talk:List of motu proprios

Latest comment: 5 years ago by Steepleman in topic Plural of motu proprio

Plural of motu proprio

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The plural of motu proprio is motu proprios. Faux declined forms such as 'motibus propriis' ignore the fact that 'motu proprio' is in the ablative case, not the nominative. Effectively, it is in Latin an adverb meaning 'by his own motion' or thereabouts. As such, 'motibus propriis' would mean 'by their own motions', which, though may seem reasonable, is not correct. It is clear that adverbs which have become nominalised in English gain English plurals since properly, there is an implied noun whereto 'motu proprio' is attached to. Steepleman (t) 13:53, 3 September 2019 (UTC)Reply