What phrase appears on the Great Seal of the United States and means “out of many, one”?

The phrase E pluribus unum appears on the Great Seal of the United States and means “out of many, one.”

The Latin motto was proposed in 1776 by a committee working on a design for the new nation’s seal. It expresses unity formed from separate parts, a fitting idea for states joining in a federal union after breaking with Britain.

E pluribus unum appears on the scroll held in the eagle’s beak on the reverse side of the Great Seal’s obverse design. The eagle holds thirteen arrows and an olive branch, while thirteen stars appear above its head, continuing the symbolism of the original states.

The motto is sometimes confused with Novus ordo seclorum, another Latin phrase on the Great Seal. Novus ordo seclorum appears on the reverse, beneath the unfinished pyramid, and means “a new order of the ages.”