# Why SPQR and not SPR? It's only three words right?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-spqr-and-not-spr-its-only-three-words-right/234538>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 15, 2004, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-spqr-and-not-spr-its-only-three-words-right/234538 "2004-03-15T23:57:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\
**Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-spqr-and-not-spr-its-only-three-words-right/234538/1 "2004-03-15T23:57:18Z")

</div>

I obviously don’t speak Latin, is it a grammatical thing? AFAIK it stands for “Senatus Populusque Romanus” meaning “The Senate and People of Rome”. I obviously see the q in there, but it seems to not merit it’s own letter in the acronymn. Apparently it does, but why?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-spqr-and-not-spr-its-only-three-words-right/234538/2 "2004-03-16T00:07:55Z")

</div>

There were no spaces in the original Latin. The inscription would’ve been something like “SENATUSPOPULUSQUEROMANUS”. Why not call it four words?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-spqr-and-not-spr-its-only-three-words-right/234538/3 "2004-03-16T00:11:48Z")

</div>

So que means of? I kinda thought that, but everywhere I’ve seen it it looked like a suffix. Maybe the definitions blurred with time. Like you said.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-spqr-and-not-spr-its-only-three-words-right/234538/4 "2004-03-16T00:15:13Z")

</div>

‘que’ means and, and may have been a separate word at one point, but by the time period whose language I studied, it was only a suffix.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-spqr-and-not-spr-its-only-three-words-right/234538/5 "2004-03-16T00:18:07Z")

</div>

The _-que_, while not physically separated from _populus_, has a meaning unto itself. It is sometimes called an enclitic conjunction and is translated “and”. It is generally appended to the second of two words to be connected. It’s as if we said “The Senate People-and of Rome” instead of “The Senate and People of Rome” except that it makes sense in Latin.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\
**Post date:** [March 16, 2004, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-spqr-and-not-spr-its-only-three-words-right/234538/6 "2004-03-16T00:24:36Z")

</div>

Thanks!

I guess applying English acronymn stadards to a different language doesn’t always make sense in English. Succinct explanation though.