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Nit, but it isn't virii (doesn't make sense given etymology) It's viruses :)
by whateveracct 7y ago
Nit, but it isn't virii (doesn't make sense given etymology) It's viruses :)
- pbhjpbhj 7y agoIt makes sense, but it's "wrong" if you're a prescriptivist ... https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plural_form_of_words_ending_in_-us https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plural_form_of_words_ending_... is pretty thorough on the topic I'd say.
- whateveracct 7y ago> However, in computer enthusiast circles in the late 20th century and early 21st, the non-standard viri form (sometimes even virii) was well attested, generally in the context of computer viruses. I think it's pretty funny that the incorrect usage is in computer circles. I have seen many engineer coworkers use the wrong -ii suffix (e.g. virii, statii) in order to sound "fancy" :eyeroll:
- pbhjpbhj 7y agoI'm not sure it's to sound fancy, just done by naive analogy. And perhaps because viruseseseses sounds bad to English language natives. Here's a not unrelated question: 1 computer mouse, several computer ...?
- benibela 7y agoComputer engineers should start using a regexp like syntax: 1 virus 2 virus+ 3 virus+ ... Then the engineer+ can also distinguish between multiple virus+ and no virus*.
- Geee 7y agoActually, correct word in this case would have been 'virions'. Virion is a single virus particle. 'Virus' and 'viruses' refer to strains or species.