E PLURIBUS UNUM – Origin and Meaning
of the Motto Carried by the American Eagle
"E Pluribus Unum" was suggested by the committee Congress appointed on July 4, 1776 to design "a seal for the United States of America." The below sketch of their design accompanied a detailed description of their idea for the new nation's official emblem.
The center section of their shield has six symbols for "the Countries from which these States have been peopled:" the rose (England), thistle (Scotland), harp (Ireland), fleur-de-lis (France), lion (Holland), and an imperial two-headed eagle (Germany).
Linked together around the shield are 13 smaller shields, each with the initials for one of the "thirteen independent States of America."Translating E PLURIBUS UNUM
The general meaning of each Latin word is clear:
Pluribus is related to the English word: "plural."
Unum is related to the English word: "unit."
E Pluribus Unum describes an action: Many uniting into one. An accurate translation of the motto is "Out of many, one" – a phrase that elegantly captures the symbolism on the shield.
I wish more American's would take the hypen out of being an American. You know-- Italian-American, African-American, Polish-American, Mexican-American........... and just be an AMERICAN without the damn hyphen.
Yes.... That's the AMERICAN WAY.... "out of many, ONE".
1 comment:
Thanks for the follow. I'm following you back. Love the dog and cat pics. I hope all those hyphenated folks consider themselves American, at least. I do kind of like know where one's roots were though. It's interesting. Nice to meet you.
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