Plurals Used for One
A plural noun in verse may name one thing.
How It Works
| Plural | Plain meaning |
|---|---|
| tecta, tectis (roofs) | one house, a palace |
| pectora (breasts) | one heart |
| ora (mouths) | one face |
| caeli, caelis (skies) | one heaven |
Church Latin has a plural of this kind that comes from Hebrew: caelis in the opening of the Pater Noster means heaven. The prayer also says in caelo in the singular.
When you meet a plural that does not fit the sense, try the singular first. Compare a true plural, tecta for the roofs of a whole city, with tectis nostris for one house. The sentence tells you which.
Examples (4)
- Quare agite, o tectis, iuvenes, succedite nostris.
Come then, young men, enter my house.
Aeneid 1.627. Dido says tectis nostris (to our roofs) and means her one house.
- Instaurati animi regis succurrere tectis
our spirits roused to help the king's house
Aeneid 2.451. Tectis here is one palace.
- Pater noster, qui es in caelis.
Our Father, who are in heaven.
The plural caelis means one heaven.
- Pleni sunt caeli et terra gloria tua.
Heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The Sanctus. Caeli is again one heaven.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Poets use the plural for one thing.
Related Patterns
Practice Plurals Used for One in Bubblegum
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