Apostrophes in plurals of nouns ending in s.
While looking in Google Books for early use of the spelling fetus (as opposed to foetus) in British books, I came across this, from the Transactions of the Royal Society, London, with its double use of apostrophes in plurals ending in s - species's and fetus's:
I had known that one of the early uses of the apostrophe was in plurals of certain words ending in vowels (see next section), but this one was new to me.
Genius's
Merriam Webster Dictionary of English Usage cite Joseph Addison as using the apostrophe in Genius's in the Spectator of 1711, but say that 'it is far from certain what Addison meant by his apostrophe.'
One thing is clear though, that he is using it as a standard plural. In the third volume of The Works of Joseph Addison, published in 1721, there are at least ten instances of genius's spelt like this:
Among great Genius's, those few draw the admiration of all the world upon them
Our countryman Shakespear was a remarkable instance of this first kind of great Genius's
There is another kind of Genius's, which I shall p;ace in a second class
This second class of Genius's are those that have formed themselves by rules
The great danger in these latter kind of Genius's is ...
It is odd to consider what great Genius's are sometimes thrown away upon trifles
as it turned many of the greatest genius's of that age to the disquisitions of natural knowledge
so different are the Genius's which are formed under Turkish slavery, and Grecian liberty
There is another rule likewise ... which these modern Genius's have no regard to
I have heard onr of the greatest Genius's this Age has produced
The Works of Joseph Addison, Vol , London 1721 GB
I think we can assume the apostrophe was probably replacing a missing e. There are certainly a few examples of geniuses from before this time
And a case of belt and braces?
I'm not quite sure what the apostrophe is replacing here:
A few more for species's, and a couple of genus's.
Apostrophes in plurals of words ending in vowels
In his entry for comma, Samuel Johnson includes this quote from Alexander Pope - Comma's and Points they set exactly right. Here it is in context:
This use of the apostrophe in plurals of nouns ending in a vowel was used quite a lot for words of foreign origin, and was not unknown in the works of Shekaespeare.
Shakespeare - The First Folio
Come wee to full Points here, and are et cetera's nothing?
Henry IV Part 2, 2:4
And I may say to you, wee knew where the Bona-Roba's were
Henry IV Part 2, 3:2
They bid vs to the English Dancing-Schooles,
And teach Lavolta's high, and swift Carranto's,
And teach Lavolta's high, and swift Carranto's,
Henry V, 3:5
Notes
- Bona-roba - literally 'good stuff', here apparently 'A showy wanton; a courtesan'.
- The Lavolta (La volta) and carranto were dances.
Banana's and potato's etc
This use of the apostrophe was particularly popular when talking of foreign fruit and vegetables, etc. This is possibly the origin of today's totally harmless Greengrocer's apostrophe that some people get so worked up about.
Of virago's, opera's, virtuoso's and idea's
And it wasn't only used for foodstuffs:
Robert Baker
Eighteenth century grammarian, Robert Baker was perhaps the first to complain about this usage:
Joseph Addison and apostrophes in past participles
In the example from Alexander Pope we can see the final e in past participles being replaced by an apostrophe - smil'd and kiss'd. Although this was mainly used in poetry, it was apparently slipping in to prose as well, which Addison complained about in 1711:
Which didn't apparently stop him using it himself:
The Gothick Governments in Europe, tho' they were of Military Institution, yet observ'd almost the same Method
The Examiner, Joseph Addison, London 1710 GB
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