Originally Posted by
Aztec Reef
http:///forum/post/2740383
Quote:
Originally Posted by TexasMetal
whether, tonmo.com, and octopus is a greek word so no reason to pluralize in Latin. <
Actually, There are three plural forms of the word octopus.
They include octopi, optopuses, and octopodes.
All three have the word octo which is latin for eight-legged.. octo= ocho (8)
Octavo= eighth
ochopies= eight-legged..
beware of pasting misinformation..
Smarty pants. If you want to get technical about it...
There are three forms of the plural of octopus; namely, octopuses, octopi, and octopodes. Currently, octopuses is the most common form in the UK as well as the US; octopodes is rare, and octopi is often objected to.
The Oxford English Dictionary (2004 update) lists octopuses, octopi and octopodes (in that order); it labels octopodes "rare", and notes that octopi derives from the mistaken assumption that octōpūs is a second declension Latin noun, which it is not. Rather, it is (Latinized) Greek, from oktṓpous (ὀκτώπους
, gender masculine, whose plural is oktṓpodes (ὀκτώποδες
. If the word were native to Latin, it would be octōpēs ('eight-foot') and the plural octōpedes, analogous to centipedes and mīllipedes, as the plural form of pēs ('foot') is pedes. In modern, informal Greek, it is called khtapódi (χταπόδι
, gender neuter, with plural form khtapódia (χταπόδια
.
Chambers 21st Century Dictionary and the Compact Oxford Dictionary list only octopuses, although the latter notes that octopodes is "still occasionally used"; the British National Corpus has 29 instances of octopuses, 11 of octopi and 4 of octopodes. Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Dictionary lists octopuses and octopi, in that order; Webster's New World College Dictionary lists octopuses, octopi and octopodes (in that order).
Fowler's Modern English Usage states that "the only acceptable plural in English is octopuses," and that octopi is misconceived and octopodes pedantic.
The term octopod (plural octopods or octopodes) is taken from the taxonomic order Octopoda but has no classical equivalent. The collective form octopus is usually reserved for animals consumed for food.
I didn't post any misinformation. I posted
current information as pertaining to the English language. No sense in cluttering up the discussion with outdated dictionary facts.
