4

What's the English plural of Anted? The name appears on coins issued by Antedios (or Anted), an ancient king of the Iceni. I need to know the plural for making an equivalent of this category for Anteds at Wikimedia Commons.

Anteds? Antii?

Later edit: It looks like Anted is the name on both currency coins and units (challenge coins)

Fructibus
  • 183
  • 3
    Since we don't even know the king's full name (we just know the coins say ANTED) I would pluralize it as anteds. – Draconis Oct 09 '17 at 03:40
  • Whoops!! I was thinking about the English plural of the word, I didn't realize that it can be interpreted as asking for the Latin plural, sorry :D - then I flagged the question for moving, to the English or to the Latin SE, as appropriate. I just need to know the plural for making an equivalent of this category for Anteds at Wikimedia Commons. I guess I should flag the question again now for moving at the English SE? – Fructibus Oct 09 '17 at 06:23
  • Thanks and sorry for the inter-SE bouncing mess made by my not-clear-enough question. – Fructibus Oct 09 '17 at 11:38
  • Anteds in modern English would be fine. –  Oct 09 '17 at 12:42
  • @Fructibus Out of curiosity: where did you first ask the question? The migration note only notes Latin.SE and the edit trail only notes migration to English.SE. By the way, I agree with Sam and Draconis that the English plural would likely be Anteds, following the usual formation of plurals from names. – Lawrence Oct 09 '17 at 14:43
  • I'd say that you could use either the English "Anteds" or the Latin "Antii" (or whatever it is), really. Since you're coming up with a pluralised version of a proper noun, ie a name, the usual rules don't apply: names can be anything, in other words. – Max Williams Oct 09 '17 at 15:27
  • If the coin is actually called an anted (just as other coins are called a florin or a crown) then it's pluralised as a normal English word. As such, this question should be closed: the answer is obvious. If the word is used attributively to mean "a coin of Anted" then it will either be pluralised normally or as "coins of Anted" explicitly. The question isn't really a good question for ELU as it's written. – Andrew Leach Oct 09 '17 at 16:48
  • 1
    @AndrewLeach: Why is it obvious that "anted" is pluralized "as a normal English word", and what does that mean? Fructibus brings up the coin name "nummus", which pluralizes as "nummi". At least some people say that the currency of Equatorial Guinea, the "ekwele", ha the plural "bikwele". The Japanse currency "yen" is not pluralized as "yens". It seems to me that the plural forms of words for currency are not always obvious in English – herisson Oct 09 '17 at 18:49
  • 2
    @Lawrence first I asked at History SE but I haven't mentioned that I want the English plural so I got the suggestion to move it to the English or Latin SE. Then I flagged the admins to do that and they moved it to Latin. After that I realized I have to mention the language so it became clear it should be moved here. My bad for the ping-pong – Fructibus Oct 09 '17 at 20:45
  • @sumelic You are positing that ansted is a unit of currency (which can be pluralised in a number of ways, including remaining the same like euro). I have asked what anted actually represents. Nowhere in this question is that made clear, and that's why this is a bad question for ELU as it's written. It may be on-topic, but it's not a good fit in its present form: there is not nearly enough information. And even Laurel's answer doesn't really clarify. – Andrew Leach Oct 09 '17 at 22:39

1 Answers1

5

I found one source (only one!) that uses "Anteds":

But by the time the silver Anteds were issued (in huge numbers), for example, many of the dies are virtually the same, with relatively few die varieties.
Chadburn, Amanda Dorothy Barras (2006) Aspects of the Iron Age coinages of northern East Anglia with especial reference to hoards. PhD thesis, University of Nottingham

That same source also uses "Anted coins":

This is in direct contrast to the Anted coins, some of which do have an inscription reading ANTEDI (this legend is found on both the gold and silver coins).

I think that "Anted coins" is your best bet. It's a very uncontroversial pluralization and it's also used in other sources:

As in the case of the Anted coins, the number of dots in the rosette over the horse's back declines.
The Coins of the Iceni

...all unquestionably rulers of western origin, and all issuing coins of the larger module, in the same style as the larger ANTED coins from the same area.
Celtic Ornament in the British Isles Down to A.D. 700

I then noticed the distribution of Dobunni ANTED coins seemed to stretch toward Norfolk and that there was, apparently, another ANTED at the other end of that route.
The Iceni hypothesis — part fourteen

This appears in the series of ANTED coins.
Inscriptions on British Celtic Coins

Nearly all the Ed(n) and Symbols coins appear to be struck from worn dies, whereas the Anted and Ecen coins are fresher, although they too suffer from both circulation wear and die wear to a lesser degree.
A Hoard of Iron Age silver coins from Fring, Norfolk, and some observations on the Icenian coin series

Laurel
  • 66,382
  • 1
    Indeed, "Anted coins" sounds really nice. Thanks. It is also good for the fact that some of the Anted coins were currency and others were challenge coins (units). Unlike Nummus, this is named for a leader who issued non-currency coins too. – Fructibus Oct 09 '17 at 20:51