Bonus Is Grammatically Wrong Latin
A bonus is an extra payment. The Latin word is masculine and means a good man, where the neuter bonum, a good thing, would have been correct.
A bonus is an extra payment or benefit. The Latin is a joke that hardened into a word: *bonus* is the masculine form and means a good man, when the correct neuter *bonum*, a good thing, was what the sense required. It appears in London Stock Exchange slang in the 1770s, apparently as ignorant or humorous Latin, and it stuck. English kept the mistake for two and a half centuries.
- An extra payment. *An annual bonus.*
- An added advantage. *A nice bonus.*
- Bonus point — an extra point. *A bonus point for effort.*
- Signing bonus — paid on joining. *A large signing bonus.*
- Latin — *bonum*, a good thing. *The correct form.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | bonus | A cash bonus. |
| Plural | bonuses | Executive bonuses. |
| Latin masculine | bonus | A good man. |
| Latin neuter | bonum | A good thing. |
| Related | bounty | A hunter's bounty. |
- The bonus is paid in March.Employment.
- Free parking is a bonus.An added advantage.
- Bonum would have been the correct Latin.Etymology.
Words English built from shaky Latin
- Bonus — masculine where neuter was needed
- Omnibus — a dative plural meaning for all, taken as a noun
- Referendum — a gerundive used as a noun, with a contested plural
- Agenda — a plural now treated as singular
- Latin purists have objected to all of them, and lost every time
Latin *bonus*, good, in the masculine. Recorded in English from the 1770s in stock exchange use, apparently as a jocular or mistaken form of *bonum*.
Is bonus incorrect Latin?
As used in English, yes. The sense of a good thing calls for the neuter bonum. The masculine form was adopted anyway.
What is the plural of bonus?
Bonuses. The Latin plural boni is never used in English.