2021-04-14 ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด – A – agendum & agenda

Revision A

 2021-04-14

ศัพท์ น่าสับสน ชุด – A – agendum & agenda

แนะนำการใช้ ตามที่ส่วนใหญ่ใช้ แต่ละท้องถิ่น

ความหมาย อาจผันแปร ตาม ตำแหน่ง/หน้าที่ ในประโยค

Dictionary.com

ออกเสียง agendum = ‘uh-JEN-duhm’

ออกเสียง agenda = ‘uh-JEN-duh’

Abused, Confused, & Misused Words by Mary Embree

Agenda =  list of things to do; \

items to cover in a meeting:

All of the proposals are on the agenda.

Not to be confused with:

addenda = something added:

Please check the addenda to the agenda.

Dictionary.com

agenda

USAGE NOTE FOR AGENDA

Agenda, “things to be done,” is the plural of the Latin gerund agendum

and is used today in the sense “a plan or list of matters to be acted upon.”

In that sense it is treated as a singular noun;

its plural is usually agendas:

= The agenda is ready for distribution.

= The agendas of last year's meetings are printed in the official minutes.

The singular agendum, meaning “an item on an agenda,” is rare.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language,

Usage Note:

The term agendum has largely been supplanted

by its Latin plural agenda,

which is treated as a singular noun

and denotes a list or program of numerous things,

as in; The agenda for the meeting has not yet been set.

In this use, the plural of agenda is agendas.

Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary

usage: agenda, “things to be done,”

originally the plural of the Latin gerund agendum,

is now treated as a singular noun;

the plural is usu. agendas:

The agenda is being printed.

The agendas of last year's meetings are missing.

The singular agendum, while standard, is infrequent.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

Usage Notes

All About Latin Plurals

Latin has a few plural forms, so check our dictionary.

What to Know

There are a few ways to pluralize words from Latin.

Some words that end in -us

are pluralized withan -i (like alumnus to alumni).

Some words don't change form in Latin,

So, their plurals have been Anglicized

with an additional -es (status to statuses).

Finally, many scientific words come from New Latin,

which has numerous possible endings,

such as -ae (antennae), -a (data), -es (crises), and more.

One common misconception floating around the English language

is the notion that all Latin-derived nouns

that end in the suffix -us in the singular should end in -i

when they are plural.

And there is, in fact, a plethoraof such -i Latin plurals in English:

witness oculus

(a word for an oval windowor for a circular opening at the top of a dome)

and its plural oculi,

or the more common alumnus/alumni and stimulus/stimuli.

Words from Latin Without '-i' Plurals

However,

there are quite a few Latin nounsthat

do not have an -i plural

even in their original language that

have become naturalized in the English language.

In Latin, these nouns belong to a group

in which the singular and plural were spelled alike.

A sampling of such words is prospectus, status, and apparatus.

None of those words have an -i plural.

In English,

the plural of prospectus is Anglicized to prospectuses

and that of status to statuses.

Apparatus, though, has the regular English plural apparatuses

but also retains in some use the Latin plural apparatus.

New Latin Plurals

In addition (and to make things even more complicated),

many words originating in science

are derived from something called New Latin

(e.g., octopus and phobia),

a type of Latin that has been used since the end of the Middle Ages

specifically for scientific classification and descriptions.

Some of these New Latin words

are inflected like Medieval Latin words were;

however, a good number acquired fully English inflected forms as well.

Abscissa, which refers to the horizontal coordinate of a point in a plane

Cartesian coordinate systemthat is

obtained by measuring parallel to the x-axis

(see illustration at definition link), is a good example.

The New Latin word has both the Latinate plural abscissae

and the Anglicized plural abscissas,

which brings up other plural forms

that include the suffix -ae and -a,

along with inflections ending in -s and -es,

which can orthographically transform a word.

For example,  

We have

addendum/addenda,

antenna/antennae, medium/media,

crisis/crises, crux/cruces, and index/indices.

In sum: some Latin-derived words

have both a native plural and an English form.

There is also the acceptable, grammatically challenging use

of the Latin plural as a singular form in English,

as in agenda, data, and trivia.

When considering a Latin plural or singular form,

consult our dictionary—that is our recommendation.

Dictionary of Problem Words in English

agendum & agenda

These terms (from a Latin word meaning “to act,” “to do”)

refer to something to be done.

The former is singular; the latter plural.

Agendum is rarely used but occasionally is employed

to refer to one item in a list or a program of action,

to a single act or topic for discussion.

Agenda applies to a list of  items,

such as a program for a meeting or discussion group.

Although plural in form,

agendais a collective noun and is commonly used with a singular verb:

“The agenda for this meeting has been set.”

A less-usedform, agendums, requires a plural verb.

“The agendums are lengthy and involved.”

Preferablyuse agenda(with a singular verb)

or agendum if you wish to single out a particular item.