What is the grammatically correct plural of octopus?
Octopi is the oldest plural of octopus, coming from the belief that Latin origins should have Latin endings. Octopuses is the next plural, which gives the word an English ending to match its adoption as an English word.
What is the plural of octopus and why?
Eight tentacles, three plural forms, and only one right way to say it. Grammatically speaking, the plural for octopus is octopuses. As the Merriam-Webster dictionary points out, people use three different terms, however: octopi, octopuses, and octopodes. While “octopi” has become popular in modern usage, it’s wrong.
What is the plural of octopus in the Oxford dictionary?
[countable, uncountable] (plural octopuses)
What is the irregular plural for octopus?
The correct plural of octopus is octopuses, but irregular plural forms for octopus are octopi and octopodes.
Why is the plural of octopus octopi?
When “octopus” was first mentioned in the English language in the mid-1700s, it was pluralized as “octopuses.” That said, some grammarians wanted English to be like the less irregular Latin language, so they started putting Latin pluralizations on Latin-based English words, which led to “octopi.”
What is the plural of octopus UK?
There you have it: The most commonly accepted plural usage for octopus is octopuses. Correct: The clever octopuses snuck out of their tank at night.
Is octopus countable or uncountable?
The uncountable use of octopus is usually reserved for octopus flesh consumed for food (“He ate too much octopus last night.”).
What is plural form of fish?
The plural of fish is usually fish. When referring to more than one species of fish, especially in a scientific context, you can use fishes as the plural. The zodiac sign Pisces is also often referred to as fishes.
What is the correct plural of rhinoceros?
noun. rhi·noc·er·os | \ rī-ˈnäs-rəs , rə-, -ˈnä-sə- \ plural rhinoceroses also rhinoceros or rhinoceri\ rī-ˈnä-sə-ˌrī , rə- \
What’s the plural of hippo?
The plural hippopotamuses (which adheres to the standard rules for forming plurals) is more common than hippopotami. The shortened version hippos is often used in informal writing to avoid to making a decision on hippopotamuses and hippopotami.
What is the plural form of ox?
noun. \ ˈäks \ plural oxen\ ˈäk-sən \ also ox.