Editing Motto

{{Short description|Short sentence expressing a motivation}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2022}}
[[File:Logo - République française.svg|thumb|Logo of the French Republic "{{Lang|fr|[[Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité]]}}", French for "liberty, equality, fraternity"]]
A '''motto''' (derived from the [[Latin language|Latin]] {{Lang|la|muttum}}, 'mutter', by way of [[Italian language|Italian]] {{Lang|it|motto}}, 'word' or 'sentence')<ref name=Cambridge>{{Cite encyclopedia|title=motto – Cambridge Dictionary|url=https://Dictionary.Cambridge.org/dictionary/english/motto|website=Dictionary.Cambridge.org|location=[[Cambridge]], England|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|date=2022|access-date=1 November 2022}}</ref><ref name=Oxford>{{Cite web|url=http://www.OxfordDictionaries.com/definition/english/motto|title=motto – Oxford Dictionaries|website=OxfordDictionaries.com|location=[[Oxford]], England|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|access-date=31 January 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818130350/http://www.OxfordDictionaries.com/definition/english/motto|archive-date=18 August 2016}}</ref><ref>{{Cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/motto|title=motto – Merriam-Webster|website=Merriam-Webster.com|publisher=[[Merriam-Webster|Merriam-Webster, Incorporated]]|date=2022|access-date=1 November 2022}}</ref><ref name=artfl>{{Cite web|title=Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)|url=http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?resource=Webster%27s&word=motto&use1913=on&use1828=on|work=The ARTFL Project|publisher=[[University of Chicago|The University of Chicago]]|access-date=20 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206194436/http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?resource=Webster's|archive-date=6 December 2013|url-status=dead}} {{Failed verification|date=November 2022}}</ref> is a [[Sentence (linguistics)|sentence]] or [[phrase]] expressing a belief or purpose,<ref name=Cambridge/> or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, [[social group]], or organization.<ref name=Oxford/><ref name=artfl/> Mottos (or mottoes)<ref name=Cambridge/> are usually found predominantly in written form (unlike [[slogan]]s, which may also be expressed orally), and may stem from long traditions of social foundations, or from significant events, such as a civil war or a revolution. One's motto may be in any language, but [[Latin language|Latin]] has been widely used, especially in the [[Western world]].

==Language==
[[Latin language|Latin]] has been very common for mottos in the Western World, but for [[nation state]]s, their official [[national language]] is generally chosen. Examples of using other historical languages in motto language include:
*[[Counties of England|County]] of [[Somerset]] in England: {{Lang|ang|Sumorsǣte ealle}} (All the men of Somerset), [[Old English language|Old English]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www1.Somerset.gov.uk/archives/ASH/Danishinvs.htm|title=The Danish Invasions|website=Somerset.gov.uk|publisher=[[Somerset County Council]] archives|access-date=26 June 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224100314/http://www1.Somerset.gov.uk/archives/ASH/Danishinvs.htm|archive-date=24 December 2013}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://Heraldry-Wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Somerset|title=Somerset - Coat of arms (crest) of Somerset|website=Heraldry-Wiki.com|publisher=Heraldry of the World|date=19 March 2019|access-date=1 November 2022}}</ref>
*[[South Cambridgeshire]] in the English [[The Fens|Fens]]: {{Lang|nl|Niet Zonder Arbyt}} (Nothing without work), [[Dutch language|Dutch]], originally the motto of Dutchman Cornelius Vermuyden, who drained The Fens in the 17th century.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.CivicHeraldry.co.uk/east_anglia_essex.html|title=Civic Heraldry of England and Wales &ndash; East Anglia and Essex area|website=CivicHeraldry.co.uk|access-date=8 November 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090828061517/http://www.CivicHeraldry.co.uk/east_anglia_essex.html|archive-date=28 August 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rsnonline.org.uk/performance-profiling/south-cambridgeshire|title=South Cambridgeshire|website=rsnonline.org.uk|publisher=Rural Services Network|access-date=21 December 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224114644/http://www.rsnonline.org.uk/performance-profiling/south-cambridgeshire|archive-date=24 December 2013}}</ref>
*[[South Africa]]: ''ǃke e: ǀxarra ǁke'' (Unity in diversity), [[ǀXam language|ǀXam]].
*[[Shires of Scotland|Shire]] of [[Shetland]]: ''Með lögum skal land byggja'' (By law shall the land be built up), [[Old Norse]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://Heraldry-Wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Shetland_Islands|title=Shetland Islands - Coat of arms (crest) of Shetland Islands|website=Heraldry-Wiki.com|publisher=Heraldry of the World|date=13 October 2020|access-date=1 November 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210526101947/https://Heraldry-Wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Shetland_Islands|archive-date=26 May 2021}}</ref>

A [[Canting arms|canting]] motto is one that contains [[word play]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=<!--No byline-->|title=The Manual of Heraldry : being a concise description of the several terms used, and containing a dictionary of every designation in the science. Illustrated by four hundred engravings on wood.|url=https://archive.org/details/manualofheraldry00adam|edition=5th|location=[[London]], England|publisher=Arthur Hall, Virtue & Co.|year=1800|page=[https://archive.org/details/manualofheraldry00adam/page/132 132]|oclc=1049649069|ol=OL24349702M|access-date=1 November 2022}}</ref> For example, the motto of the [[Earl of Onslow]] is ''Festina lente'' (literally 'make haste slowly'), punningly interpreting 'on slow'.<ref>{{Cite book|author=Mark Antony Lower|date=October 1860|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=00cBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA249|title=Patronymica Britannica: A Dictionary of the Family Names of the United Kingdom|chapter=Onslow|location=[[London]], England|publisher=John Russell Smith|isbn=9780788404566}}</ref> Similarly, the motto of the Burgh of [[Tayport]], ''Te oportet alte ferri'' (It is incumbent on you to carry yourself high), is a cant on 'Tayport at auld Tay Ferry', also alluding to the local lighthouse.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://Heraldry-Wiki.com/heraldrywiki/index.php?title=Tayport|title=Tayport - Coat of arms (crest) of Tayport|website=Heraldry-Wiki.com|publisher=Heraldry of the World|date=13 October 2020|access-date=1 November 2022}}</ref> The motto of the U.S. [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]], ''Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity'', is a [[backronym]] of the letters F.B.I.

==List of examples==
[[File:Map of State Mottos.svg|thumb|Map of the states that have a national motto]]
*''[[Motto of the European Union|United in diversity]]'', the motto of the [[European Union]] (EU)
*''[[In God We Trust]]'', the motto of the [[United States]] (US)
*''Je Maintiendrai [[Chalon-sur-Saône|Châlons]] (French for "I will maintain Châlons"), often abbreviated as [[Je maintiendrai]]'' (French for "I will maintain"), the motto of the [[Netherlands]]
*''[[Dieu et mon droit]]'' (French for "God and my right"), is the motto of the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|monarch of the United Kingdom]]. It appears on a scroll beneath the shield of the version of the [[coat of arms of the United Kingdom]].
*''[[Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno]]'' (Latin for "One for all, all for one"), unofficial motto of [[Switzerland]]
*''[[Post tenebras lux]]'' (Latin for "Light After Darkness"), motto of [[University of Geneva]]
*''[[United we stand, divided we fall]]''{{Clarify|date=November 2022}}

==Mottos in heraldry==
{{Heraldic achievement}}
In [[heraldry]], a motto is often found ''below'' the shield in a [[Speech scroll|banderole]] in the [[Compartment (heraldry)|compartment]]. This placement stems from the [[Middle Ages]], in which the vast majority of [[Nobility|nobles]] possessed a [[coat of arms]] complete with a motto. In the case of [[Scottish heraldry]], it is mandated to appear ''above'' the crest<ref>{{Cite book|last=von Volborth|first=Carl Alexander|date=March 1980|title=Heraldry of the World|url=https://archive.org/details/heraldryworld00volb|url-access=limited|publisher=Blandford Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/heraldryworld00volb/page/n191 192]|isbn=9780806999609|ol=OL7944413M}}</ref> and is called slogan (see: [[Slogan (heraldry)]]). The word 'slogan' is an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic ''sluagh-ghairm'' (''sluagh'' "army, host" + ''gairm'' "cry").<ref name="Merriam-Webster-p1174">{{cite encyclopedia |title=slogan |dictionary=Merriam-Webster |date=2003 |page=1174}}</ref> There are several notable slogans which are thought to originate from a [[battle cry|battle or war cries]]. In heraldic literature, the terms 'rallying cry' respectively 'battle banner' are also common.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}} [[Spanish heraldry|Spanish coats of arms]] may display a motto in the [[bordure]] of the shield.<ref>{{Cite book|last=von Volborth|first=Carl Alexander|date=March 1980|title=Heraldry of the World|url=https://archive.org/details/heraldryworld00volb|url-access=limited|publisher=Blandford Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/heraldryworld00volb/page/n210 211]|isbn=9780806999609|ol=OL7944413M}}</ref>

In [[English heraldry]], mottos are not granted with armorial bearings, and may be adopted and changed at will. In Scottish heraldry, mottos can only be changed by re-matriculation, with the [[Lord Lyon King of Arms]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=Innes-Smith|first=Robert|date=1990|url=https://archive.org/details/outlineofheraldr00inne|title=An Outline of Heraldry in England and Scotland|url-access=registration|location=[[Derby]], England|publisher=[[Pilgrim Press]]|page=[https://archive.org/details/outlineofheraldr00inne/page/n15 14, col 1]|isbn=0-900594-82-9|oclc=1036776100|quote=Mottos are not necessarily hereditary, and can be adopted and changed at will.|access-date=1 November 2022}}</ref> Although unusual in England, and perhaps outside [[English heraldry|English heraldic practice]], there are some examples, such as in [[Belgian heraldry|Belgium]], of the particular appearance of the motto scroll and letters thereon being [[Blazon|blazoned]];<ref>{{Cite web |title=USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81) |url=https://tioh.army.mil/Catalog/Heraldry.aspx?HeraldryId=4988&CategoryId=2842&grp=5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240221085833/https://tioh.army.mil/Catalog/Heraldry.aspx?HeraldryId=4988&CategoryId=2842&grp=5 |url-status=dead |archive-date=21 February 2024|access-date=21 Feb 2024 |website=The Institute of Heraldry}}</ref> a prominent example is the [[Obverse and reverse|obverse]] of the [[Great Seal of the United States]] (which is a coat of arms and follows heraldic conventions), the blazon for which specifies that the motto scroll is held in the beak of the [[bald eagle]] serving as the escutcheon's [[supporter]].

<gallery>
File:Coat of Arms of The City of London.svg|Motto "Domine dirige nos" ([[Latin language|Latin]] for 'Lord, guide us') ''below'' the [[Coat of arms of the City of London]]
File:Porin vaakuna.svg|Motto ''Deus protector noster'' ([[Latin language|Latin]] for 'God is our protector') ''below'' the arms of [[Pori]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Juhana Herttuan patsas - Pori, Finland – Statues of historic figures|url=https://Waymarking.com/waymarks/WMBMC0_Juhana_Herttuan_patsas_Pori_Finland|website=Waymarking.com|publisher=Groundspeak, Inc.|date=2022|access-date=1 November 2022}}</ref>
File:Coa Scotland Brim-DeForest of Balvaird Castle, Baron of Balvaird big.svg|''Above'' the crest is the slogan (see: [[Slogan (heraldry)]], most traditional in [[Scottish heraldry]]) or the [[war cry]], Arms of [[Brady Brim-DeForest]], [[Lordship and Barony of Balvaird|Baron of Balvaird]]
</gallery>

[[Ship]]s and [[submarine]]s in the [[Royal Navy]] (RN) each have a [[Badge (heraldry)|badge]] and motto, as do units of the [[Royal Air Force]] (RAF).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Cassells|first=Vic|year=2000|title=The capital ships: Their battles and their badges|publisher=Kangaroo Press|page=190}}</ref>{{ISBN missing|date=November 2022}}

==Mottos in literature==
In [[literature]], a motto is a sentence, phrase, poem, or word; prefixed to an essay, chapter, novel, or the like, suggestive of its subject matter. It is a short, suggestive expression of a guiding principle for the written material that follows.<ref name=artfl/>

For example, [[Robert Louis Stevenson]]'s ''[[Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes]]'' uses mottos at the start of each section.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Stevenson|first=Robert Louis|author-link=Robert Louis Stevenson|date=1907|title=Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes|url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/535/535-h/535-h.htm|location=[[London]], England|publisher=[[Chatto & Windus]]}}</ref>

==See also==
{{Commons category|Mottos}}
{{Wiktionary|motto}}
*[[Epigram]]
*[[Epitaph]]
*''[[Hendiatris]]''
*[[List of Latin phrases]]
*[[List of mottos]]
*[[List of national mottos]]
*[[Mission statement]]
*[[Slogan]]
*[[Tagline]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Heraldry}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Mottos| ]]
[[Category:Ethical principles]]
[[Category:Motivation]]
[[Category:Intention]]
[[Category:External devices in achievements]]
[[category:Phaleristics]]