Mutatis mutandis

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Mutatis mutandis is a

italicized in writing. It is used in many countries to acknowledge that a comparison being made requires certain obvious alterations, which are left unstated. It is not to be confused with the similar ceteris paribus, which excludes any changes other than those explicitly mentioned. Mutatis mutandis is still used in law, economics, mathematics, linguistics and philosophy. In particular, in logic, it is encountered when discussing counterfactuals
, as a shorthand for all the initial and derived changes which have been previously discussed.

Latin

The phrase mutatis mutandis—now sometimes written mūtātīs mūtandīs to show vowel length—does not appear in surviving classical literature. It is Medieval Latin[4] in origin and the Feet of fines, kept at The National Archives (United Kingdom), contains its first use in England on January 20, 1270, at Pedes Finium, 54 Hen. III, Salop.[5]

Both words are

ablative absolute, using the ablative case
to show that the clause is grammatically independent ('absolute' literally meaning 'dissolved' or 'separated') from the rest of the sentence.

English

Mutatis mutandis was first

subordinating conjunctions and a dependent clause
("once the necessary adjustments are made").

The phrase has a technical meaning in mathematics where it is sometimes used to signal that a proof can be more generally applied to other certain cases after making some, presumably obvious, changes. It serves a similar purpose to the more common phrase, "without loss of generality"[6] (WLOG).

The

legal Latin
with English equivalents.

Examples

  • "I believe the soul in Paradise must enjoy something nearer to a perpetual vigorous adulthood than to any other state we know. At least that is my hope. Not that Paradise could disappoint, but I believe Boughton is right to enjoy the imagination of heaven as the best pleasure of this world. I don't see how he can be entirely wrong, approaching it that way. I certainly don't mind the thought of your mother finding me a strong young man. There is neither male nor female, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but, mutatis mutandis, it would be a fine thing. That mutandis! Such a burden on one word!"—Marilynne Robinson, Gilead.
  • "To illustrate the point with trivial stereotypical examples from British society: just as male heterosexuals are free to enjoy themselves playing rugby, drinking beer and talking about girls with their mates, so male homosexuals are to be free to enjoy themselves going to Kylie concerts, drinking exotically coloured cocktails and talking about boys with their straight female mates. Mutatis mutandis—and in many cases the adaptations would obviously be great—the same must apply to other societies. In other words, gay men are to be as free as their straight equivalents in the society concerned to live their lives in the way that is natural to them as gay men, without the fear of persecution."—Lord Rodger of Earlsferry, HJ and HT v Home Secretary, British Supreme Court, 2010

Other languages

The phrase appears in other European languages as well. A passage of

Civil Code now reads:[8]

"Section 27 (Appointment of and management by the board). ...(3) The management by the board is governed by the provisions on mandate in sections 664 to 670 with the necessary modifications."

In popular culture

The phrase is used as the motto of

Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters from the X-Men Marvel Comics.[9][10]

See also

References

  1. ^ Fennell, Charles Augustus Maude, Ed. (1891). The Stanford Dictionary of Anglicised Words and Phrases. University Press, Cambridge. p. 563. mutatis mutandis.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  2. ISBN 978-1590313800
    . mutatis mutandis.
  3. ISBN 978-1405170994
    .
  4. ^ a b Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed. 'mutatis mutandis, adv.' Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2003.
  5. ^ Eyton, Robert William (1855). Antiquities of Shropshire. J.R. Smith.
  6. ISBN 9781461239987
    .
  7. ^ In re McMahon, 235 B.R. 527, 536, footnote 7 (S.D.N.Y. 30 Nov 1998).
  8. ^ "German Civil Code BGB". www.gesetze-im-internet.de.
  9. ISBN 978-1-9821-5023-5
    .
  10. ^ Conley, Nicholas (1 July 2016). "15 Things You Need To Know About Charles Xavier's School For Gifted Youngsters". Screen Rant. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
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