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What is the plural of octopus?
Where does the word octopus come from?
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What is the plural of 'octopus'? It is most often spelled 'octopi' or 'octopuses,' but 'octopodes' is also a less-common option. The three plurals for octopus come from the different ways the English language adopts plurals.
Mar 18, 2022 · Quick summary. Both octopuses and octopi are acceptable plurals for octopus. Of the two, octopuses is the simpler and more commonly used. The proposed plural octopodes is based on the plural of the Ancient Greek word from which octopus ultimately derives. But it’s rarely used outside of the octopuses vs. octopi debate.
Jun 28, 2022 · Octopuses is a perfectly valid plural form of octopus, and for some people, it’s the preferred plural form. Both the AP Stylebook and Guardian style guide prefer octopuses. However, other people insist on octopi as the plural form. Here’s why.
- Alvin Park
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Etymology
From Latin octōpūs, from Ancient Greek ὀκτώπους (oktṓpous), from ὀκτώ (oktṓ, “eight”) + πούς (poús, “foot”).
Pronunciation
1. (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈɒktəpʊs/, /ˈɒktəpəs/ 2. (General American) IPA(key): /ˈɑktəpʊs/, /ˈɑktəpəs/
Noun
octopus (countable and uncountable, plural octopuses or octopusses or octopi or octopodes or octopii) (see usage notes) 1. (countable) Any of several marine molluscs of the family Octopodidae, having no internal or external protective shell or bone (unlike the nautilus, squid and cuttlefish) and eight arms each covered with suckers. 2. (uncountable) The fleshof these marine molluscs eaten as food. 3. (countable) An organizationthat has many powerful branches controlled from the centre.
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ὀκτώπους (oktṓpous), from ὀκτώ (oktṓ, “eight”) + πούς (poús, “foot”).
Pronunciation
1. IPA(key): /ˈɔktoːpʏs/ 2. Hyphenation: oc‧to‧pus
Noun
octopus m (plural octopussen, diminutive octopusje n) 1. octopus
Etymology
From Ancient Greek ὀκτώπους (oktṓpous, “eight feet”).
Pronunciation
1. (Classical) IPA(key): /okˈtoː.puːs/, [ɔkˈt̪oːpuːs̠] 2. (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /okˈto.pus/, [okˈt̪ɔːpus]
Noun
octōpūs m (genitive octōpodis); third declension 1. (New Latin) octopus 1.1. 1825, Willem de Haan, Monographiæ ammoniteorum et goniatiteorum specimen, page 10: 1.1.1. Jam vero testa in hac familia sola universalis pars est, Octopodis tantum exceptis. 1.1.1.1. Now truly a shell is a part universal in this single family, octopusthe notable exception.
Nov 5, 2018 · Octopi? Octopuses? Perhaps octopodes ? People have been quibbling over the correct plural form of octopus for well over a century, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, and it’s...
us / ˈɑk·tə·pəs, -ˌpʊs / plural octopuses or octopi us / ˈɑk·təˌpɑɪ / Add to word list. a sea creature with a soft oval body and eight tentacles (= arms) (Definition of octopus from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press) Examples of octopus. octopus.
