The Roman Forum Was a Marketplace First
A forum is a place for public discussion. It began as the open marketplace at the centre of a Roman town.
A forum is a place or medium for public discussion. The Roman original was physical: the *forum* was the open square at the centre of a town, used first as a marketplace and then for law courts, elections and speeches. Public debate happened where trade did, which is why the word covers both. The plural is *forums* or the Latin *fora*, and online message boards took the name in the 1990s.
- A place for discussion. *A public forum.*
- A Roman marketplace. *The Roman Forum.*
- An online board. *A gardening forum.*
- Forensic — from the same root. *Forensic evidence.*
- Latin — *forum*, an open space. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | forum | An open forum. |
| Plural | forums | Online forums. |
| Latin plural | fora | The imperial fora. |
| Related | forensic | Forensic science. |
| Latin | forum | A marketplace. |
- The meeting is a forum for debate.Discussion.
- The Roman Forum is still visible.Archaeology.
- Forensic means of the forum.Etymology.
Why forensic means of the forum
- Roman law courts met in the forum
- Forensic originally meant relating to the courts
- Forensic science is science used as court evidence
- Forensic medicine and forensic accounting follow the same logic
- The word says nothing about crime itself, only about legal proceedings
Latin *forum*, an open space or marketplace, related to *foris*, out of doors.
Is it forums or fora?
Both are correct. Forums is far more common in English; fora appears in classical and academic contexts.
Why is forensic science called that?
Because forensic means relating to courts of law, which in Rome met in the forum. It refers to evidence, not to crime.