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curriculum vitae

English translation: See below

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Latin term or phrase:curriculum vitae
English translation:See below
Entered by: Egmont

21:03 Sep 7, 2000
Latin to English translations [PRO]
Tech/Engineering
Latin term or phrase: curriculum vitae
Hi,

I'm wondering what is the correct plural of Curriculum Vitae? (As in a resume).

I've been told it might be Curricula Vitarum, but cannot find anything to confirm this.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Barry Watkins
Barry Watkins
See below
Explanation:
Let's try to get all this cleared up.

I understand you question to be, primarily, what is the correct form of curriculum vitae.

Well, it depends on the situation! But let's begin with the beginning:

The singular form you have - curriculum vitae - is correct (vitae being the singluar genitive form of vita).

curriculum: course (development, progress)
vitae: of life (genitive)

A curriculum vitae - often called a CV - is most commonly a chronological list of your career, including your education and training, up to the present. You are usually required to enclose it with job applications.

Americans call this a resumé.

So you wouldn't need the plural form for yourself alone - unless, of course, in the situation where you have several versions of your CV. Many people have a long and a short version. But you still wouldn't have more than one life to describe, so it would still be vitae. You could then say, "Do you want to see my curricula vitae? (meaning both the short and the long version - rather an artificial setup).

It's true that a search for curricula vitarum (vitarum beling the plural genitive of vita) would yield many results. I tried a couple of them and they turned out to be collections of CVs. Universities have them for their staffs - and then, of course, several lives are involved. If you want to see an example, try this address:
http://www.uni-marburg.de/pharmacology/curic.html

I hope this helps.
Selected response from:

Randi Stenstrop
Local time: 16:04
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
na +1See below
Randi Stenstrop
nasee below
Elisabeth Moser
naCurricula vitae, Curricula vitarum
Jesús Paredes
naCurricula vitae
Roomy Naqvy
naCurricula vitae
Márcio Badra


  

Answers


9 mins
see below


Explanation:
vita=singular for life in Latin
vitae=plural and genitiv


    Langenscheidt
Elisabeth Moser
United States
Local time: 10:04
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman
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14 mins
Curricula vitae, Curricula vitarum


Explanation:
According to Webster's Dictionary: Plural is "curricula vitae" but I found hundreds of websites with "curricula vitarum"....the Curricula Vitarum of both that person and the best qualified Canadian candidate shall be forwarded with the recommendation of the search committee.


    Reference: http://www.umanitoba.ca/admin/senate/pnp/703.htm
Jesús Paredes
Local time: 10:04
PRO pts in pair: 8
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20 mins
Curricula vitae


Explanation:
Please go to the Merriam Webster's dictionary website and you would realize that the only correct alternative is 'curricula vitae' and no other. It gives the pronunciation and also the date of the word's entry into the English language.


    Reference: http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary
    Reference: http://www.m-w.com/netdict.htm
Roomy Naqvy
India
Local time: 19:34
Native speaker of: Native in HindiHindi
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40 mins
Curricula vitae


Explanation:
The last time I used my latin was in high school, a couple of decades ago (well .. in fact a lot more than a couple). But as long as I can remember, vita, vitae (life) is from the first declination. So, the genitive case is vitae for the singular and vitarum for the plural. But, imho, vitae should not be used in the plural, as long as you have only one life for each curriculum. For example, what would be the plural for "life's history" ? "lives' histories", "lives' history" or "life's histories" ?

Well ... let's hope that someone who really knows latin could be so kind as clarifying us.

REgards,

Márcio

Márcio Badra
Brazil
Local time: 11:04
Native speaker of: Native in PortuguesePortuguese
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

3 hrs peer agreement (net): +1
See below


Explanation:
Let's try to get all this cleared up.

I understand you question to be, primarily, what is the correct form of curriculum vitae.

Well, it depends on the situation! But let's begin with the beginning:

The singular form you have - curriculum vitae - is correct (vitae being the singluar genitive form of vita).

curriculum: course (development, progress)
vitae: of life (genitive)

A curriculum vitae - often called a CV - is most commonly a chronological list of your career, including your education and training, up to the present. You are usually required to enclose it with job applications.

Americans call this a resumé.

So you wouldn't need the plural form for yourself alone - unless, of course, in the situation where you have several versions of your CV. Many people have a long and a short version. But you still wouldn't have more than one life to describe, so it would still be vitae. You could then say, "Do you want to see my curricula vitae? (meaning both the short and the long version - rather an artificial setup).

It's true that a search for curricula vitarum (vitarum beling the plural genitive of vita) would yield many results. I tried a couple of them and they turned out to be collections of CVs. Universities have them for their staffs - and then, of course, several lives are involved. If you want to see an example, try this address:
http://www.uni-marburg.de/pharmacology/curic.html

I hope this helps.


Randi Stenstrop
Local time: 16:04
Native speaker of: Danish
PRO pts in pair: 24

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
Márcio Badra
agree  Egmont
743 days
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