Veterans Day, Possessives and Attributive Nouns

As we honor our veterans today, I got to thinking about the name of the day itself.

Which is correct: Veterans’ Day, Veteran’s Day, Veterans Day?

To figure it out, we need to examine each term.

• Veterans’ Day is a plural noun in the possessive case
• Veteran’s Day is a singular noun in the possessive case
• Veterans Day is a plural noun, not possessive case (that is called an attributive, meaning it serves as a modifier and does not need to be possessive).

In deciding what is the correct term, we need to decide if the term “Veteran” should be possessive or if it is a modifier. To make things more complicated (ah, the complexity of the English language), there is no one rule here. So the best way to determine what term to use is to consult a dictionary or a style guide. Webster’s goes with “Veterans Day” as does the AP Stylebook. A quick look at today’s newspapers confirms the widespread use of “Veterans Day.”