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What is the grammatically correct plural of octopus?
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 Greek plural of octopus?
However, the word octopus comes from Greek, and the Greek plural form is octopodes ( |äk’täp?? Modern usage of octopodes is so infrequent that many people mistakenly create the erroneous plural form octopi, formed according to rules for Latin plurals. Interesting.
What do you call a group of octopuses?
But there is no technically correct term for a group of octopuses. That’s because all of those animals hang out in groups, whereas the octopus is a solitary animal. A shoal is sometimes suggested because that’s the term for a group of squid (cephalopods & close relatives of the octopus).
What’s the full name of Rhino?
Rhinocerotidae
Rhinoceros/Scientific names
rhinoceros, (family Rhinocerotidae), plural rhinoceroses, rhinoceros, or rhinoceri, any of five or six species of giant horn-bearing herbivores that include some of the largest living land mammals.
Which is the correct plural of the word 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 as its been adopted as an English word. Lastly, octopodes stems from the belief that because “octopus” is originally Greek, it should have a Greek ending.
Which is the best example of an octopus?
Examples. Octopuses use tools; they play; they can solve problems and puzzles; and they may even engage in warfare with improvised weapons. Sealy also said that drainage pipes combine two things octopi love, which is a cramped dark space and fish. The plural of octopus is almost as fascinating as the animal.
Is there such a thing as an octopi?
Many people don’t like octopi, and you will rarely see it in edited works, but it does occasionally appear. The clever octopuses snuck out of their tank at night.
Which is the correct plural of octopi or hippopotami?
Like octopi, the plural hippopotami is now generally taken to be either funny or absurdly pedantic, and the usual plural is hippopotamuses. Common usage appears to indicate a slight preference for termini rather than terminuses, but syllabuses rather than syllabi.