Talk:Genius loci

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could somehow genii loci be linked to this. Which term is more commonly known as to link it better?

Genii loci is the plural. The singular is about 300 times more common than the plural on Google, so it's safe to say that the singular is more common, plus Wikipedia prefers using the singular form of a word whenever possible. -Silence 02:34, 11 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Capitalization

What's the proper capitalization of the term? The article uses Genius Loci, Genius loci, and genius loci. Surely only one should be used consistently. :) -Phoenixrod 22:01, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Genius? Loci

Isn't the phrase actually Genus Loci? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 206.17.130.184 (talk) 16:31, August 23, 2007 (UTC)

Every version I've personally seen before now has always been "genius loci," and a quick Google search of both phrases has genius far outnumbering genus. The Online Etymology Dictionary says "genius" originally referred to a spirit of some kind, particularly a guardian spirit present from birth. It's the same root that was used when the Arabic term "jinni" was turned into "genie" by Europeans (the resemblance is accidental). "Loci" is a plural of "locus," which means place, location. Thus, "genius loci" means "spirit of a place," while "genus loci" would mean something like "kind of a place" (if it even made any kind of sense put together like that). Myself, I've always wondered why it's not genius locus considering it's supposed to be a spirit of a single place, not a multitude of places, and loci is the plural form. Nerrin 04:37, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

Genius is in the Latin nominative case, loci is in the genitive case ("of the place"), similar to modus operandi or corpus delicti. What I'd like to know is what is the accepted pronunciation, since the accurate Latin pronunciation (GAY-nee-us LO-kee) sounds stilted in conversation. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Hfitz (talk • contribs) 16:27, 11 March 2008 (UTC)