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It is my understanding that 'octopuses' is the strictly correct option because it matches a greek root word with an English suffix and we are speaking English a
by arcticbull 3y ago
It is my understanding that 'octopuses' is the strictly correct option because it matches a greek root word with an English suffix and we are speaking English after all. Dictionaries seem to agree.
Octopodes is acceptable in some contexts because it matches a greek root word with a greek suffix. Octopi is just wrong because it applies a latin suffix to a greek root.
This came up notably a few years ago as the winning answer to a high-stakes HQ Trivia game. [1]
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/05/arts/hq-trivia-app-appointment-viewing.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/05/arts/hq-trivia-app-appoin...
- remarkEon 3y agoI’m not sure I agree. If we were speaking Latin, would “Octopi” still be wrong? Given the logic used to claim that Octopuses is the correct pluralization, I don’t see how it could be. Thus, I’m left to conclude that Octopodes is the only correct form since it lacks this spoken language dependency.
- suzakus 3y agoYes, octopi is wrong in latin. Octopus is conjugated as Octopodi in the plural. See: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/octopus#Latin https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/octopus#Latin
- fishtockos 3y agoSee my sibling comment - where does the insistence that octopus is third declension come from? The reality is that while most Greek loanwords are third declension, many are not, and Latin authors tended to not be consistent.
- remarkEon 3y agoTotally, it would still be wrong for the reason you cited. Wasn't my point, however. I'm really just being stubborn on the plural actually being Octopodes :)