The phrase axis mundi is used frequently in archaeology and art history to describe certain places as a "world center" or "center of the universe" in Indigenous or ancient/historical thought. How would this phrase be correctly pluralized? For instance, "By the early first millennium BCE, new urban centers developed across the region and were conceptualized as axes(?) mundi(?)." Any insight would be useful!
-
1Is the axis mundi the center of the world, or is it that which everything else revolves around?– RonJohnJul 24, 2021 at 13:00
-
@RonJohn That'd make a nice separate question! The exact meaning of the phrase and also axis in itself is worth exploring properly.– Joonas Ilmavirta ♦Jul 25, 2021 at 15:24
Add a comment
|
1 Answer
Yes, the nominative plural of axis is axes.
Mundi 'of the world' is the genitive singular of mundus 'world', and you probably wouldn't pluralize it in most contexts (presumably there's still only one world), but should it become necessary to do so, the genitive plural is mundorum 'of the worlds'.
Axes mundi reads correctly to me, for your purposes.
answered Jul 23, 2021 at 14:52
-
Axis mundi, "centre of [a/the/one] world"; axes mundi, "centres of the world"; axes mundorum "centres of [some/the/multiple] worlds"; and for completeness, axis mundorum "centre of the worlds". Is that correct? Jul 24, 2021 at 6:42
-
@TimPederick Axis means axis/axle, not centre, but otherwise yes. Jul 24, 2021 at 12:52
-
-
-
@RonJohn The nose is in the centre of the face and you'd still be wrong to translate nasus as centre. Jul 24, 2021 at 15:07