Finding out the plural form of the word octopus thoughis going to require a little linguistic detective work. OCTOPUSES An anglicised grammatical progression of a latin-sounding word to a logical plural.
Octopi Or Octopuses What Is The Correct Plural Form Of Octopus Csmonitor Com
What is the proper plural of octopus.
The plural of octopus. However the word octopus comes from Greek and the Greek plural form octopodes is still occasionally used. These may be acceptable in some dictionaries but octopuses is. The plural form octopi formed according to rules for some Latin plurals is incorrect.
This pluralization follows a rule for forming plurals of Latin words. Octopus is not a simple Latin word of the second declension but a Latinized form of the Greek word oktopous and its correct plural would logically be octopodes. Octopi follows Latin rules for making words plural but octopodes follows Greek pluralization rules.
You know this is actually a great question one that I think a lot of people will be interested in learning the answer to. While the plural is irregular its hardly out of bounds. So you see if octopus were an English word the plural form would obviously just be octopuses.
The Plural of Octopus Octopuses have a relatively short life expectancy with some species living for as little as six months. The plural form of octopus is octopuses or octopi hypercorrect. Octopus is a loanword which means it is a word borrowed from another language.
Large octopuses have been known to catch and kill some species of sharks. However the word octopus comes from Greek and the Greek plural form octopodes is still occasionally used. The word was latinized as Octopus then eventually became an English word.
Not even an octopus would care. Jonathan does a little Latin lesson. The plural form of octopus is the animal version of there their theyre.
Some writers use octopi to refer to more than one octopus. In this case the word octopus is a loanword from Greek. Main Octopus Plural Takeaways.
Octopuses is the standard plural form of octopus. Octopuses The standard plural in English of octopus is octopuses. Why do some dictionaries also list octopi as a possibility.
And from the Online Etymology Dictionary. The standard plural in English of octopus is octopuses. Irregular octopus plurals include octopi and octopodes.
In Latin some plurals end with an i. The viable candidates are. However the word octopus comes from Greek and the Greek plural form is octopodes.
USAGE The standard English plural of octopus is octopuses. The plural is octopuses. The correct plural of octopus is octopuses.
The problem is octopus derives from Greek. THE CORRECT PLURAL OF OCTOPUS Theres much debate about this comparatively unimportant question. Since all are in common usage none is wrong though some are more correct than others 1.
The plural form octopi is mistakenly formed according to rules for Latin plurals. Modern usage of octopodes is so infrequent that many people mistakenly create the erroneous plural form octopi formed according to. Whats the Right Plural for Octopus.
Other words ending in. People are up in arms about it. Whether you write octopi on Reddit say octopodes on a podcast or text octopuses to your friends someone is going to correct you.
Grammarians who dont like octopi sometimes suggest that the correct plural is octopodes or octopods The pous in octopus is a. Octopi is a common mistake.