Talk:Plus ultra

Latest comment: 2 years ago by Alatius in topic It is not Latin

Nec Plus Ultra edit

it's not non plus ultra, it's nec.

Actually it's n—at least in today's common usage, which appears in mainstream dictionaries, and not infrequently in literate writing. The Merriam-Webster etymology calls it New Latin and gives no indication that the "ne" is a corruption of "nec". If the original phrase mentioned in this article does in fact use "nec", it really needs to be cited. AdRock (talk) 16:21, 6 November 2008 (UTC)Reply

Origin of Motto edit

I heard a story that "Nec Plus Ultra" was the motto of the kings of Spain up until the time of Ferdinand and Isabella (based, of course, on the Pillars of Hercules), and that the motto was changed, dropping the "Nec", after the discovery of the new world by Columbus, because it was found that there was "something beyond" after all. Unfortunately I have no substantiation for this story. But it makes sense. 208.58.71.231 (talk) 23:12, 23 March 2008 (UTC)Reply

Correct Latin? edit

"Nec plus ultra" makes sense in Latin since "nec plus" = nothing more, "ultra" = beyond, but merely "plus ultra" is really a bit rare, I think. "Plus ultra" does not mean "more beyond", it would be simply "ulterior" (the positive comparative, "plus ultra" is as rare as "magis ultra"). I think so.83.32.114.227 (talk) 20:49, 18 May 2009 (UTC)Reply

Naming and focus of article edit

I was redirected here over "nec plus ultra" (being used to seeing "non plus ultra" and "ne plus ultra"), and am highly surprised over the contents of the page. I have never heard of the Spanish motto before; and, certainly, the "non plus ultra" version and its variations are far more wide-spread and well-know than "plus ultra" (in English, at least). Further, as the article notes, they pre-date even the country of Spain, let alone its motto.

I would strongly encourage a re-naming, -write, -priorisation of the article to focus on "non/ne/nec plus ultra" with the Spanish motto as the side-topic. Alternatively, obviously, a break-up into two inter-linked articles. 94.220.255.64 (talk) 19:03, 30 November 2009 (UTC)Reply

Mar-a-Lago tiles edit

I find it ironic that the only thing actually referenced on this particular wiki keeps being reverted. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 73.114.34.219 (talk) 00:18, 20 January 2017 (UTC)Reply

It is not Latin edit

The sentence it is not Latin, see Wiktionary https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/ultra#Latin

"Ultra" is either a preposition or an adverb. As preposition, it is not an adjective, so it cannot be put in comparativr degree (in fact, a true adjective is derived from it precisely because of this). You cannot say "plus ultra", you say "ulterior". It makes no sense the former. As an adverb, you cannot make a degree either. It's the same. The original sentence was French, not Latin, and was (mis)interpreted as Latin. Where are the Latinists?83.165.21.196 (talk) 15:35, 9 August 2019 (UTC)Reply

There is nothing wrong with the latinity of "plus ultra": "plus" does not modify "ultra" as you imply (thereby wrongly putting it in the comparative degree). Instead, "plus" should be understood substantively, so the phrase means "more (things) beyond". Alatius (talk) 22:11, 1 November 2021 (UTC)Reply

Requested move 2 February 2017 edit

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: moved. (non-admin closure) SkyWarrior 03:09, 10 February 2017 (UTC)Reply


– Per WP:PTOPIC. This article has received the most page views out of all topics named "Plus Ultra", even if we discount the recent spike. The Spanish national motto is also the primary topic by long term significance, as a motto adopted from Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Other topics include an individual aircraft, an airline founded in 2011 with only two aircraft, and a military contingent lasting for less than a year. None of them have comparable significance. feminist 15:30, 2 February 2017 (UTC)Reply

  • Support. This clearly appears to be the primary topic, as it usually would be for a well-known Latin slogan that happens to have some modern things named after it. The things seem largely to be ephemeral and not well known.  — SMcCandlish ¢ ≽ʌⱷ҅ʌ≼  18:10, 2 February 2017 (UTC)Reply

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.