![octopus plural octopus plural](https://listverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/10-octopi.jpg)
The Grecian grammar rules determine that the plural of. If the word octopus were derived from Latin, octopi would be correct. Unfortunately, that is wrong, and we are all having to retrain our brains. ( Omnibi is simply a joke, and quite ungrammatical in Latin!)Īmong words ending in -um it seems worth drawing attention to the word curricula, plural of curriculum, and warning against confusion with the adjective curricular (as in extra-curricular). For years, many of us were taught in school that the plural of octopus was octopi. Other usual forms include cacti and gladioli, and our files at the dictionary department show scarcely any examples of nucleuses or funguses.
![octopus plural octopus plural](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o30-eWTO1mI/V-KUNqgcPdI/AAAAAAAAFeE/TOTRCcB3N8IRxfTUqtPAQiZ8h45_H7LJwCK4B/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-09-21%2Bat%2B9.50.27%2BAM.png)
Common usage appears to indicate a slight preference for termini rather than terminuses, but syllabuses rather than syllabi. Like octopi, the plural hippopotami is now generally taken to be either funny or absurdly pedantic, and the usual plural is hippopotamuses. Other words ending in -us show a very varied pattern. The form was created by English speakers.
![octopus plural octopus plural](https://blog.inkforall.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/octopus-plural.jpg)
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, the supposed plural of octopus, is a favorite among fans of quirky words, but it has no etymological basis. Ill make the explanation as brief as I can. It may also depend on whether the Latin or Greek form of the plural is either easily recognizable or pleasant to the speaker of English.Īlthough it is often supposed that octopi is the ‘correct’ plural of octopus, and it has been in use for longer than the usual Anglicized plural octopuses, it in fact originates as an error. The correct plural is octopuses or (if youre extremely pedantic) octopodes or even oktopodes. What Are The Plurals Of "Octopus," "Hippopotamus," and "Syllabus"?Įnglish words of Latin or Greek origin have rather unpredictable plurals, and each one usually depends on how well established that particular word is.