Talk:post scriptum

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post scriptum

Shouldn't this be postscriptum?

Not sure. The OED citations that I've found suggest that it should, but Smith's translation of Freund inserts a hyphen, which is weird. --EncycloPetey 09:36, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

I was always taught it was one word too. Widsith 09:41, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

The verb postscribo, postscribere, is one word. According to Random House, postscriptum is as well. Now checking my Latin dictionary, it says postscriptum is one word. —Stephen 21:22, 2 May 2006 (UTC)

The situation is actually more complex: Latin post (adverb [and preposition] = after, afterwards, behind) and scrībere (verb = to write with past participle scriptus) were very common Latin words. Like many Latin PPs, the neuter came into common use as a noun, meaning writings or scripts. Also, as with many Latin verbs, composite forms including prefices sprang up with the same meaning as the adverb-verb phrase. So to append [something] to the end of a document, originally described only as post scrībere, could also be described as postscrībere.

From this, a note after the main part of a document became a postscriptum, from which comes English postscriptum.

However, it is also valid for other languages to borrow the individual words post and scriptus to describe writings added to the bottom of a sheet (or later in time), even if Latin itself used a different formulation. My Latin is certainly not good enough to say whether there was a slight difference in meaning between the two constructions, but they are both valid.

books.google has many cites for both forms from the early 18th cent, with the earliest postscriptum being published in 1827, purporting to come from James VI of Scotland in the late 16th century, and the earliest post scriptum being in the collected works of Lord Byron, published in 1839. (Based on books.google, in the 19th century, post-scriptum was also common in French writing, but rather less in English.)

So, for post scriptum I have changed Latin to English since it was naturalised even before 1839 and I think Latin would probably have used postscriptum only. I added 3 quotes, changed the etymology, etc. I have also added the English sense of postscriptum (+ 3 quotes, etc) and amended the Latin entry to suit. I have not bothered with post-scriptum, which was relatively rare in English, and now appears obsolete. --Enginear 03:51, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

moved from rfv. Please post further comments here. Andrew massyn 17:08, 3 June 2006 (UTC)

rfvpassed Andrew massyn 11:22, 18 June 2006 (UTC)