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Should I, in an scientific book, use the word 'leitmotifs', the plural of leitmotif? Some dictionaries seem to know it in the plural form, but does it sound very weird or massively pretentious to the native ear?

Using 'themes' may be an alternative, but is sounds a bit generic to me.

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    Dictionaries don't normally list regular plurals unless there's there's some significant usage difference other than that implied by "more than one". So it's not that only some dictionaries "seem to know" the plural - it's just that most see no reason to list a perfectly ordinary plural form that has no special extra meaning that doesn't naturally follow from the singular as defined. If you like the word leitmotif and you're confident your readers will understand what you mean, there's no reason to avoid it just because your context requires a plural form (but it's "arty", not scientific).
    – FumbleFingers
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 20:22
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    Merriam-Webster gives two forms for the word in question: leitmotif (the more common) and leitmotiv (the less). By neither identifying the term as a collective noun nor including plural forms in the entry, MW signals that the plural spellings are leitmotifs and leitmotivs. It seems to me that the plural leitmotifs is appropriate in any literary setting where the singular leitmotif would be.
    – Sven Yargs
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 20:24
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    "Leitmotifs" is only one letter more pretentious than "leitmotif".
    – Hot Licks
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 20:25
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    Don't use leitmotivs. It looks strange to me, and nobody will know how to pronounce it (leitmotiv spelled with a "v" should still end with an /f/ sound). Also, it might confuse people who know German, where the plural of Leitmotiv (with an /f/ sound) is Leitmotive (with a /v/ sound). But leitmotif is the anglicized form, and the English plural leitmotifs works fine.
    – Peter Shor
    Commented Jan 21, 2016 at 22:53
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    Actually, I was wrong ... Leitmotive is pronounced with an /f/ sound. I must not understand the rules for when German fricatives get voiced.
    – Peter Shor
    Commented Jan 22, 2016 at 0:44

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The term leitmotif is almost exclusively used in the context of music, but sometimes literature as well. Whether you use the singular form or plural form is irrelevant as long as you use it correctly.

An alternate spelling is leitmotiv, plural leitmotivs.

The two spellings seem to be fairly equally popular until around 1960, when the spelling leitmotif started becoming much more common. (Source: Google Ngram)

So the larger question is this: Who is your audience? And will they understand your use of this term in the context of your discussion?

I question this because of your opening statement, "in an [sic] scientific book". (By the way, "an" there should be "a".) I'm fairly certain this term is not used much in the scientific community, but rather the Arts. That's not to say you shouldn't use it; but keep in mind, you may need to couch it in such a way that it's clear what you mean.

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