Etymology and Spellings
Curriculum vitae is a Latin expression which can be loosely translated as course of life. In current usage, curriculum is less marked as a foreign loanword.
The plural of curriculum vitae, in Latin, is formed following Latin rules of grammar as curricula vitae (meaning "courses of life") — not curriculum vita (which is grammatically incorrect) and not curricula vitarum. The form vitae is the singular genitive of vita and is translated as "of life".
Nevertheless, in English, the plural of the full expression curriculum vitae is seldom used; the plural of curriculum on its own is usually written as "curricula", rather than the traditional curriculums.
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“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)