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Si Anglice non intellegis et hoc situ uti vis, vide hanc paginam Latine scriptam.
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Why is there a Q in SPQR?
The abbreviation SPQR stands for Senatus PopulusQue Romanus. Why is the Q included, as there are only three words? Why isn't it just SPR? Or does SPQR stand for something else?
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2 Answers
The enclitic -que was treated much like a word. This is most evident in the way Ovid handles quotes, where -que is outside a quote but the word it's attached to is inside. There are few other ancient abbreviations with -que, if any, so it's difficult to compare.
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We definitely know that SPQR refers to senatus populusque Romanus and not something else. This text is inscribed in full in the temple of Saturn and arch of Titus in Rome. It's hard to say whether the abbreviation is systematic or an arbitrary choice that happened to stick.
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Why is there a Q in SPQR?
The abbreviation SPQR stands for Senatus PopulusQue Romanus. Why is the Q included, as there are only three words? Why isn't it just SPR? Or does SPQR stand for something else?
11.3k4 gold badges38 silver badges117 bronze badges
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The enclitic -que was treated much like a word. This is most evident in the way Ovid handles quotes, where -que is outside a quote but the word it's attached to is inside. There are few other ancient abbreviations with -que, if any, so it's difficult to compare.
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