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Nit pick: The name "octocopter" does not make sense. "Helicopter" is a compound word made of "helico-" and "pter", which means "screw-wings". "Octo-" means eig

Nit pick: The name "octocopter" does not make sense. "Helicopter" is a compound word made of "helico-" and "pter", which means "screw-wings". "Octo-" means eight, "-co-" means nothing. "Octopter" would be a correct compound word meaning "8-wings", but that would be ambiguous, so the object discussed in TFA is better named just "8-propeller drone".

maciuz 4mo ago
The -copter suffix is very common in the drone community.eg quadcopter is widely accepted https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadcopter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadcopter
- cyclopeanutopia 4mo ago
  Hence a nit.
  - deleted 4mo ago
    [deleted]
  - KPGv2 4mo ago
    Nit pick: "nit pick" means to remove tiny bugs from hair, which this is not. Oh, language changes and now "nit pick" means "to make trivial criticisms" even though neither "nit" nor "pick" etymologically has anything to do with criticisms? How very self-serving of you ;)
    - cyclopeanutopia 4mo ago
      Unrelated.
    - ShinyLeftPad 4mo ago
      It's a metaphor:)
- ButlerianJihad 4mo ago
  Are you trying to say that it’s been co-opted? Did anyone consult the Egyptian Christian community about this?
- Munksgaard 4mo ago
  Similarly, "heli" is a commonly recognized clipping of helicopter: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/heli#English https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/heli#English See e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helipad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helipad
  - deleted 4mo ago
    [deleted]
KPGv2 4mo ago
Counterpoint: -copter is a perfectly cromulent suffix. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/-copter https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/-copter gyrocopter, helicopter, quadcopter, hexacopter, octocopter, parcelcopter, and—most famously— roflcopter, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/roflcopter#/media/File:Roflcopter.gif https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/roflcopter#/media/File:Roflco... They all have their own dictionary entries. Octocopter makes perfect sense. Everyone understands immediately what it means, and that's the only purpose of language: to convey ideas. It should be clear, which this is, and concise, which this is. Fidelity to ancient Greek is not, and should not, be a goal for English.
- _kb 4mo ago
  Great examples. The English lexicon is continuously embiggened by the adoption and expansion of terms.
  - protocolture 4mo ago
    9/10, missed opportunity for "cromulent terms" at the end there.
    - _kb 4mo ago
      The reference in the parent comment was already suitably frabjous.
Closi 4mo ago
Blame language evolving over time rather than OP, octocopter is a widely-used term for '8 propellor drones'. A nit pick with your post - you use the word 'ambiguous' but really this is from the latin root 'ambiguus' so we don't need the supurflous 'o' in between the two u's.
- afandian 4mo ago
  Well I was confused by it! I was expecting an article on amateur semiconductor fabrication. Granted, that was due to my misreading it as 'optocoupler'.
cryptopian 4mo ago
This is quite a common linguistic phonomenon, where a word is rebracketed to form a new suffix, even if it doesn't make sense with the original etymology. See also -holic (alcoholic -> workaholic), -thon (marathon -> danceathon) or -gate (Watergate -> partygate). Termed a "libfix" from liberated affix
- ajot 4mo ago
  >phonomenon I guess this was a typo, but fits perfectly. Kudos!
Mtinie 4mo ago
That ship has long sailed. You’re correct, but the author isn’t the one who “named the thing” in this case, they are just using the name commonly used to describe it. Multi-rotor drones have been called tricopters, quadcopters, hexacopters, octocopters based on their propeller counts conversationally for as long as I can remember. There are plenty of commercial vendors who use the exact term for their expensive industrial drones. Update: I see that in the four minutes it took for me to validate my initial inclination and post that plenty of others also had the same thought :) No need to me to belabor the point!
HPsquared 4mo ago
"Copter" is a known word, short for helicopter. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/copter https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/copter
- mapt 4mo ago
  On a related note, pronunciation variance in "Helicopter" -> "Helacopter" -> "Helocopter" leads to a confusing abbreviation - "Helee" vs "Heelo"
GordonS 4mo ago
I guess it's a play on the popular word "quadcopter", rather than "helicopter".
ChrisKnott 4mo ago
McDonald’s getting a strongly worded letter from the Mayor of Hamburg over their use of “cheeseburger”.
mwue 4mo ago
In this fundamental paper, the authors argue for multirotor instead of -copter. In academia, this term seems to have stuck. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6289431 https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6289431

maciuz 4mo ago

The -copter suffix is very common in the drone community.eg quadcopter is widely accepted https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadcopter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quadcopter

cyclopeanutopia 4mo ago
Hence a nit.
- deleted 4mo ago
  [deleted]
- KPGv2 4mo ago
  Nit pick: "nit pick" means to remove tiny bugs from hair, which this is not. Oh, language changes and now "nit pick" means "to make trivial criticisms" even though neither "nit" nor "pick" etymologically has anything to do with criticisms? How very self-serving of you ;)
  - cyclopeanutopia 4mo ago
    Unrelated.
  - ShinyLeftPad 4mo ago
    It's a metaphor:)
ButlerianJihad 4mo ago
Are you trying to say that it’s been co-opted? Did anyone consult the Egyptian Christian community about this?
Munksgaard 4mo ago
Similarly, "heli" is a commonly recognized clipping of helicopter: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/heli#English https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/heli#English See e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helipad https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helipad
- deleted 4mo ago
  [deleted]

KPGv2 4mo ago

Counterpoint: -copter is a perfectly cromulent suffix. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/-copter https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/-copter gyrocopter, helicopter, quadcopter, hexacopter, octocopter, parcelcopter, and—most famously— roflcopter, https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/roflcopter#/media/File:Roflcopter.gif https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/roflcopter#/media/File:Roflco... They all have their own dictionary entries. Octocopter makes perfect sense. Everyone understands immediately what it means, and that's the only purpose of language: to convey ideas. It should be clear, which this is, and concise, which this is. Fidelity to ancient Greek is not, and should not, be a goal for English.

_kb 4mo ago
Great examples. The English lexicon is continuously embiggened by the adoption and expansion of terms.
- protocolture 4mo ago
  9/10, missed opportunity for "cromulent terms" at the end there.
  - _kb 4mo ago
    The reference in the parent comment was already suitably frabjous.

Closi 4mo ago

Blame language evolving over time rather than OP, octocopter is a widely-used term for '8 propellor drones'. A nit pick with your post - you use the word 'ambiguous' but really this is from the latin root 'ambiguus' so we don't need the supurflous 'o' in between the two u's.

afandian 4mo ago
Well I was confused by it! I was expecting an article on amateur semiconductor fabrication. Granted, that was due to my misreading it as 'optocoupler'.

cryptopian 4mo ago

This is quite a common linguistic phonomenon, where a word is rebracketed to form a new suffix, even if it doesn't make sense with the original etymology. See also -holic (alcoholic -> workaholic), -thon (marathon -> danceathon) or -gate (Watergate -> partygate). Termed a "libfix" from liberated affix

ajot 4mo ago
>phonomenon I guess this was a typo, but fits perfectly. Kudos!

Mtinie 4mo ago

That ship has long sailed. You’re correct, but the author isn’t the one who “named the thing” in this case, they are just using the name commonly used to describe it. Multi-rotor drones have been called tricopters, quadcopters, hexacopters, octocopters based on their propeller counts conversationally for as long as I can remember. There are plenty of commercial vendors who use the exact term for their expensive industrial drones. Update: I see that in the four minutes it took for me to validate my initial inclination and post that plenty of others also had the same thought :) No need to me to belabor the point!

HPsquared 4mo ago

"Copter" is a known word, short for helicopter. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/copter https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/copter

mapt 4mo ago
On a related note, pronunciation variance in "Helicopter" -> "Helacopter" -> "Helocopter" leads to a confusing abbreviation - "Helee" vs "Heelo"

GordonS 4mo ago

I guess it's a play on the popular word "quadcopter", rather than "helicopter".

ChrisKnott 4mo ago

McDonald’s getting a strongly worded letter from the Mayor of Hamburg over their use of “cheeseburger”.

mwue 4mo ago

In this fundamental paper, the authors argue for multirotor instead of -copter. In academia, this term seems to have stuck. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6289431 https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6289431