Editing Referendum (section)

==Etymology==

'Referendum' is the [[gerundive]] form of the [[Latin language|Latin]] verb {{wikt-lang|la|referre}}, literally "to carry back" (from the verb {{wikt-lang|la|ferre}}, "to bear, bring, carry" plus the inseparable [[prefix]] {{lang|la|re-}}, here meaning "back"<ref name=":0">Marchant & Charles, Cassell's Latin Dictionary, 1928, p. 469.</ref>). As a gerundive is an [[adjective]],<ref name=":1">A gerundive is a verbal adjective (Kennedy's Shorter Latin Primer, 1962 edition, p. 91.)</ref> not a [[noun]],<ref>A [[gerund]]  is a verbal noun (Kennedy's Shorter Latin Primer, 1962 edition, p. 91.) but has no nominative case, for which an infinitive ({{lang|la|referre}}) serves the purpose</ref> it cannot be used alone in Latin, and must be contained within a context attached to a noun such as {{lang|la|Propositum quod referendum est populo}}, "A proposal which must be carried back to the people". The addition of the verb {{wikt-lang|la|sum}} (3rd person singular, {{lang|la|est}}) to a gerundive, denotes the idea of necessity or compulsion, that which "must" be done, rather than that which is "fit for" doing. Its use as a noun in English is not considered a strictly grammatical usage of a foreign word but is rather a newly coined English noun, which follows English grammatical usage, not Latin grammatical usage. This determines the form of the plural in English, which according to English grammar should be "referendums". The use of "referenda" as a plural form in English (treating it as a Latin word and attempting to apply to it the rules of Latin grammar) is unsupportable according to the rules of both Latin and English grammar. The use of "referenda" as a plural form is posited hypothetically as either a gerund or a gerundive by the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', which rules out such usage in both cases as follows:<ref name=":2">Oxford English Dictionary:  'Referendum'</ref>

<blockquote>''Referendums'' is logically preferable as a plural form meaning 'ballots on one issue' (as a Latin gerund,<ref name=":3">a [[gerund]] is a verbal noun (Kennedy's Shorter Latin Primer, 1962 edition, p. 91.) but has no nominative case, for which an infinitive (''referre'') serves the purpose. It has only accusative, genitive, dative and ablative cases (Kennedy's Shorter Latin Primer, 1962 edition, pp. 91–92.)</ref> referendum has no plural). The Latin plural gerundive 'referenda', meaning 'things to be referred', necessarily connotes a plurality of issues.<ref name=":4">i.e. ''Proposita quae referenda sunt popolo'', "Proposals which must be carried back to the people"</ref></blockquote>

It is closely related to [[political agenda|agenda]], "those matters which must be driven forward", from {{wikt-lang|la|ago}}, to impel or drive forwards; and [[memorandum]], "that matter which must be remembered", from {{wikt-lang|la|memoro}}, to call to mind, [[corrigenda]], from {{wikt-lang|la|rego}}, to rule, make straight, those things which must be made straight (corrected), etc.

The term 'plebiscite' has a generally similar meaning in modern usage and comes from the Latin ''plebiscita'', which originally meant a decree of the ''[[Plebeian Council|Concilium Plebis]]'' (Plebeian Council), the popular assembly of the [[Roman Republic]]. Today, a referendum can also often be referred to as a plebiscite, but in some countries the two terms are used differently to refer to votes with differing types of legal consequences.<ref name="Green" />

In Australia, a 'referendum' is often said to be a vote to change the federal constitution and 'plebiscite' a vote which does not affect the federal constitution.<ref name="Green">{{cite web | url=http://blogs.abc.net.au/antonygreen/2015/08/plebiscite-or-referendum-whats-the-difference.html | title=Plebiscite or Referendum – What's the Difference | publisher=ABC | date=12 August 2015 | access-date=23 August 2015 | author=Green, Antony | archive-date=13 August 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150813234421/http://blogs.abc.net.au/antonygreen/2015/08/plebiscite-or-referendum-whats-the-difference.html | url-status=live }}</ref> However, this is erroneous as not all federal referendums have been on constitutional matters (such as the [[1916 Australian conscription referendum]]), and state votes that likewise do not affect either the federal or state constitution are frequently said to be referendums (such as the [[2009 Western Australian daylight saving referendum]]). Historically, they are used by Australians interchangeably and a plebiscite was considered another name for a referendum.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article108757304 |title=The Referendum  |newspaper=[[The Evening News (Sydney)|Evening News]] |issue=9452 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=21 September 1897 |access-date=26 August 2020 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article163803818 |title=Government by Plebiscite. |newspaper=[[The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser]] |volume=LXV |issue=1960 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=29 January 1898 |access-date=26 August 2020 |page=217 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article227144727 |title=The Plebiscite or Referendum. |newspaper=[[The Bendigo Independent]] |issue=12,464 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=3 December 1910 |access-date=26 August 2020 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>

In Ireland, 'plebiscite' referred to the vote to adopt its constitution,  but a subsequent vote to amend the constitution is called a 'referendum', as is a poll of the electorate on a non-constitutional bill.