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As a native greek speaker, I find anything other than “octopuses” to be silly. In greek we don’t say (any more) octopodes, we say “chtapodia” (the “ch” is the canonical (ELOT) transliteration of the letter χ).
Could you just clarify one thing? I was told that the plural wouldn’t be octopodes, but octopoda, similarly to what you used for modern Greek.
In modern Greek, singular: χταπόδι, plural: χταπόδια.
Transliterated using standard ELOT (that maps χ to ch) singular: chtapodi, plural: chtapodia.
The word is composite and contracted. First part originally is οχτώ (8) (transliteration: ochto) but has been uncommonly shortened to χτα (chta). Second part is the word for foot (singular: πόδι/podi, plural: πόδια/podia).
So without the uncommon shortening in more archaic Greek it would be: οχταπόδι (ochtapodi) and οχταπόδια (ochtapodia).
If ELOT is ignored and οχτώ is transliterated as octo, then you can get to octapodi, octapodia.
Merriam Webster’s response: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s166nC_hiZ0
I spent the entire 2nd half of that video in fear that it was actually an elaborate “octopodeez nuts” joke
Cephalopus
Next, we pronounce “apoptosis”.
It should just refer to the number of tentacles. So, for two of them, it would be sēdecimpus
Octopuses have limbs known as “arms.”
Tentacles are a different thing, like the two that squid have (the rest are also arms.)
It’s technically octopods
This is true for the scientific sense that it’s order Octopoda (e.g. the plural for members of Hexapoda is “hexapods” and likewise “decapods” for Decapoda), but then it’s kind of like saying the plural for “lobster” is “nephropids”. The names are close for Octopoda and octopus, but it’s still taking the colloquial name and pluralizing it into its scientific name. I think it’s a reasonable alternative since it’s so close, but it’s not specifically “to bring it in line with cephalopod”; that’s just how pluralization of taxa ending in ‘poda’ works generally.
Strictly speaking, “octopods” is the plural of “octopod”.
Once I learned that “octopodes” is pronounced oct-TOP-o-dees not OCT-uh-pohds it became my pluralization of choice.
I hadn’t even thought about that, it makes total since being derived from Greek. I am now fully on team octopodes.
Octopodes nuts
One of my favorite things in life is using Latin or Greek plurals on words that it makes absolutely no sense to use them on, and do not follow the rules of any language naturally involved.
I had steak and potati for dinner last night. Just one steak, though, I cannot eat multiple steakices
Looks like you beat us to level 7
I also do this! My personal top 3 are:
Jesus - Jesi
Bus - Bi
Penis - Penorum
Penis - Penorum
WROOOOONG! Now write the full declension table on that wall. And make sure to draw some pictures with it, so you never forget the word! :-p
People called Romanes, they go, the house?!
It’s the genitive! Genitive! Which makes the plural… um! Penum! Penum! Romanorum penum amplitudines non magni sunt!
c===3, c===3, c===3.
Poetry was made today.
I have a wealthy friend who has a penorium in their house.
Do you happen to have a picture? Asking for a friend.
Unfortunately the last time I was invited I got kicked out. Got a little too excited.
Also they don’t allow phones, so I couldn’t take a picture.
For decades now, my wife and I have used “Kleeni” as the plural of “Kleenex”.
Kleenex is Kneenes according to the rules of Latin, actually
But the plural of index is indices in Latin, so shouldn’t the plural of Kleenex under those rules be Kleenices?
It’s hard to tell because the deviating form in Latin is actually the nominative singular, which is why vocab lists include the genitive singular as well. All other forms have the same stem aside from Nom. Sg. A few examples are:
senex - senēs (elder)
rēx - rēgēs (king)
index - indīcēs (index)
So really anything could work as long as it ends on -ēs in plural and starts with kleen-.
Well, Latin really is weird but it allows for quite some fun stuff then!
So really anything could work as long as it ends on -ēs in plural and starts with kleen-.
Let’s try this:
Kleenussies is valid, then?
Reminds me of a joke:
A Roman soldier walks into a bar and says, “I’ll have a martinus”
Bartender says, “don’t you mean a martini?”
The Roman says. “if I wanted more than one I would’ve asked for it!”
I can eat all the steak ices.
Octopiss
Call 'em whatever you like, they’re all octobussies to me.
I cannot NOT read the title as Polysics singing “Coelakanth is Android”
2π: two pi
π: one pus
Level 3 is the most correct.
Not really. Depending on the noun, the plural may be -us (called u-declination) instead of -i (called o-declination)
Example: modus is also modus in plural.
Octopus is a word of Greek origin. Nothing to do with Latin rules.
Yeah that part is correct but the first part of the sentence of level 3 is not :)
Octopus is an English word so it is perfectly correct to pluralise it as octopuses. To use octopi is definitely wrong (it’s the wrong foreign pluralisation), octopodes is using an uncommon foreign pluralisation so it’s not wrong, just non standard
You think we’re using a Greek word not an English word?
Nah, level 1 is actually correct. Regardless of its etymology, octopus is an english word and should be pluralised accordingly.
Level 3 includes level 1 in it, with the addition of a plural using the original language’s rules.
It would only work the other way around. If english grammar dictates that a loan word’s original language grammar be used. Aka level 1 includes level 3. You cannot just throw some other languages grammar at english however you please
Of course you can, that’s why oxen, fungi, etc. exist.
Oxen is historically a 100% English plural, just like child-children, it wasn’t loaned. (I should check, but I’m pretty sure it’s the same -en as in German plurals: das Auge, die Augen.)
Some of these Latin plurals can survive for technical terminology. But it’s pretty much only Latin ones, due to the historical prestige. Nobody talks of Soviet apparatchiki, it’s apparatchiks.
You cannot just throw some other languages grammar at english however you please
… because English would steal said grammar by itself!
They have more than 7 reproductive organs?
So… 2 cephalopods, 1 cephalopus ?
Cephalussy
Your prof is Roger Moore?
