By Matthew Cobb
We get our fair share of corrections here when we make a grammatical misteak, so here’s a handy cut-out-and-keep guide to how and when to pluralize ‘octopus’:
from Darwineatscake.com
h/t @TheAtavism on Twitter
Octopus, octopi? Or octopuses? Or octopussies?
March 29, 2012 • 12:57 am
It’s not really all that difficult is it?
Example:
Oh look, an octopus….
Oh no, sorry, there’s two!
😉
Cheers,
Norm.
Octopodes.
Or… Eight legs.
Oh good, Kingsford’s already got this covered.
Just remember that if you’re writing in Indonesian, it’s “octopus2”.
Octopes.
What do you call 8.314 octopuses? Octo-pi.
I kind of doubt that the “octo” prefix divides pi by 10, and then adds eight. Wouldn’t it be more straightforward to set octopi = 8*pi = (approximately) 25.13?
Given that the ‘pus’ part is from the classical Greek ‘pous’ the plural should be ‘octopodes’ but I’ve never heard anyone using that. ‘Octopi’ is total fake Latin.
Octopuses is the most straightforward for English. And to add to the rotation possibilities; ‘octopussen’, having an ‘s’ more than the German.
Actually the german plural is Oktopoden. And how is it that this is posted here and not on pharyngula anyway ??
That was my first thought, too. I hope someone has alerted the eminent Dr. Myers.
“‘Octopi’ is total fake Latin.”
Except the Romans themselves used the word polypus (with the same -pus element from Greek) in the second declension, so its plural is polypi. The inflection octopus/octopi thus has Classical precedent, so it is neither fake nor wrong.
And as Iustinus says:
“Furthermore, it turns out that even in Greek it was sometimes treated as second declension. I mean, if it only happened in latin we could attribute it to dumb Romans making up “pseudo-Greek plurals,” but if even the Greeks got it wrong then… well I guess it isn’t wrong”
Never mind the plural – I have just noticed that the octopods in the cartoon are in fact hexatentacled…
Except for the three that are pentatentacled.
Satan worshippers, perhaps?
Have you heard or do you already know that Octopodes (!) have 6 arms and two legs now. I’ll see if I can find the link.
Ok, Google it – there are lots of links, choose one you prefer!
This article http://articles.cnn.com/2008-03-04/tech/octopus.uk_1_octopus-legs-limbs?_s=PM:TECH uses the term “octopodes” as the plural and discusses a hexapus!
Cheers,
Norm.
There are two (or three) legs in the back that can’t be seen in front view.
Sophisticated cephapodology, that.
I’m thinking you put that ‘misteak’ in their on purpose, but I can’t be sure.
Just another case of a Poe, I suppose.
“I’m thinking you put that ‘misteak’ in their on purpose, but I can’t be sure.”
In their what?
‘Octopussy’ is, of course, (c) Ian Fleming. 😉
Oops, you beat me to it …
Don’t you hate it when that happens? I do. (And yes, it happens to me quite often…)
My dorky friends and I would ponder whether it’s 2nd or 4th declension, then try to find the root in a dictionary, get distracted by some other pu- words, then bust out laughing and forget all about it.
Third.
“Misteak” is a spelling error. It has nothing to do with grammar, as you seem to be implying. I am appalled, and shall be writing to the newspapers.
Don’t bother. Newspapers follow style guides that do not always agree with dictionaries.
I love ‘octopodes’ – could I maybe also have ‘octopodea’?
James Bond would say “Octopussy” …
Merriam-Webster was moved venture a ruling (opinion?) on this issue:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFyY2mK8pxk
😉
“We get our fair share of corrections here when we make a grammatical misteak”
Well done, sir, well done.
The plural for octopus in Finnish is mustekalat, not octopust. Not a huge mistake, both words end with same letter after all.
Hah! 😀
The plural for octopus in Finnish is mustekalat, not octopust. That’s not a huge mistake, both words end with the same letter after all.
octbeing, of course, the abbreviation for octal, the correct numeral representation is10. Remains opus, the plural of which is opera. So the correct plural ofoctopus is simplyn 10opera,where
ndenotes integer multiples. (For fractional n, see calamari fritti.)Unless the
octopus happens to be mimic. In that case,xkcdrules apply:http://xkcd.com/928/
Sweet Happy Cat, you all forgot the octopie™, best served after dinner.
Thanks for my daily dose of humour. All o’ yous guys had me cracking up! So wonderfully witty and clever!
My menu offering is Octopussy Galore. Final answer.