plural of modesty

English

Etymology

Calque of New Latin pluralis modestiae.

Noun

Examples
“We believe that this should change” instead of “I believe that […]”. (sense 1) “We are thus led also to a definition of time in physics.” – Albert Einstein (sense 2)

plural of modesty (uncountable)

1. The use of the first-person plural instead of the first-person singular to refer to oneself more modestly.
2. 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).

   Synonym: author's we

See also

• editorial we
• nosism
• royal we