Nosism (from Latin 'we') is the practice of using the plural pronoun '' we'' to refer to a singular subject, particularly when expressing one's personal opinion. Depending on the person using the nosism different uses can be distinguished:

The royal ''we'' or ''pluralis majestatis''

The royal ''we'' () refers to a single person holding a high office, such as a

monarch A monarch () is a head of stateWebster's II New College Dictionary. "Monarch". Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. Life tenure, for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

, or

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

The editorial ''we''

The editorial ''we'' is a similar phenomenon, in which an

editorial An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK), is an article or any other written document, often unsigned, written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper or magazine, that expresses the publication's opinion about ...

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...

in a newspaper or a similar commentator in another medium uses ''we'' when giving their opinion. Here, the writer is self-cast in the role of a

spokesperson A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

: either for the media institution that employs them, or more generally on behalf of the party or body of citizens who agree with the commentary.

The author's ''we'' or ''pluralis modestiae''

Similar to the editorial ''we'', is the practice common in mathematical and scientific literature of referring to a generic third person by ''we'' (instead of the more common ''one'' or the informal ''you''): * "By adding four and five, we obtain nine." * "We are thus led also to a definition of ''time'' in physics."—

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

''We'' in this sense often refers to "the reader and the author", since the author often assumes that the reader knows and agrees with certain principles or previous theorems for the sake of brevity (or, if not, the reader is prompted to look them up). This practice is discouraged in the natural and formal sciences, social sciences, humanities, and technical writing because it fails to distinguish between sole authorship and co-authorship.

The patronizing ''we''

The patronizing ''we'' (also known as the kindergarten or preschool ''we'') is sometimes used in addressing instead of ''you'', suggesting that the addressee is not alone in their situation such as "We won't lose our mittens today." This usage can carry condescending, ironic, praising, or other connotations, depending on intonation.

The hospital ''we''

This is sometimes employed by healthcare workers when addressing their patients; for example, "How are we feeling today?"

The non-confrontative ''we''

The non-confrontative ''we'' is used in T–V languages such as

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

where the phrase (literally, 'How are we?') is sometimes used to avoid both over-familiarity and under-formality among near-peer acquaintances. In Spanish, the indicative ''we'' form is also often used instead of the imperative for giving instructions, such as in recipes: ('we beat the egg whites until stiff').

References

{{Reflist Personal pronouns Sociolinguistics Grammatical number Etiquette