Q. I am a graduate of the University of Chicago and working in an environment surrounded by colleagues with Oxon and Cantab after their degrees (Oxon and Cantab being abbreviations for the Latinized forms for Oxford and Cambridge; see CMOS 10.42). Here is my stupid question: Is there a Latinized form for “Chicago” that I could use similarly? Although the word Chicago is certainly not of Indo-European origin, that certainly would not deter someone from its Latinization.
A. I consulted one of my colleagues, a sort of manuscript editor emerita at the press with a good knowledge of Latin. She pointed out the word “Chicagoensis,” “a rather low-tech Latin genitive form.” Based on this I did some looking around, finding out that the inscription on the seal of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago (adopted in 1904) is “Sigillum Diocesis Chicagoensis AD 1835—fide parta, fide aucta” (conceived in faith, by faith achieved). My colleague in any case went on to point out that “Chicago” would be a proper form of abbreviation but “rather a disappointment, as its connection with Latin does not at once appear.” Another option is “Chicagiensis,” with an i, the form apparently preferred by the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago. The abbreviation “Chicagi,” however, especially given the proximity of the i to the o on a QWERTY keyboard, will probably just look like a typo. That’s what you get for attending the Universitas Chicagoensis