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[-] dharmacurious@slrpnk.net 83 points 1 month ago

One of my favorite things in life is using Latin or Greek plurals on words that it makes absolutely no sense to use them on, and do not follow the rules of any language naturally involved.

I had steak and potati for dinner last night. Just one steak, though, I cannot eat multiple steakices

[-] dropcase@lemmy.world 47 points 1 month ago

Reminds me of a joke:

A Roman soldier walks into a bar and says, "I'll have a martinus"

Bartender says, "don't you mean a martini?"

The Roman says. "if I wanted more than one I would've asked for it!"

[-] lemmyartistforhire@lemmy.world 31 points 1 month ago

I also do this! My personal top 3 are:

Jesus - Jesi

Bus - Bi

Penis - Penorum

[-] lvxferre@mander.xyz 16 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Penis - Penorum

WROOOOONG! Now write the full declension table on that wall. And make sure to draw some pictures with it, so you never forget the word! :-p

[-] fartographer@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago

People called Romanes, they go, the house?!

[-] lemmyartistforhire@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

It's the genitive! Genitive! Which makes the plural.. um! Penum! Penum! Romanorum penum amplitudines non magni sunt!

c===3, c===3, c===3.

Poetry was made today.

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[-] HamsterRage@lemmy.ca 14 points 1 month ago

For decades now, my wife and I have used "Kleeni" as the plural of "Kleenex".

[-] Tortellinius@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Kleenex is Kneenes according to the rules of Latin, actually

[-] veniasilente@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 month ago

But the plural of index is indices in Latin, so shouldn't the plural of Kleenex under those rules be Kleenices?

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[-] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

Looks like you beat us to level 7

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[-] Derpenheim@lemmy.zip 44 points 1 month ago

Its whatever your heart is telling you.

[-] tempest@lemmy.ca 14 points 1 month ago

Any mistake I make is actually just my dialect

[-] Derpenheim@lemmy.zip 14 points 1 month ago

Don't bother correcting my English grammar, as I have no respect for this language <3

[-] P1k1e@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago

And if folks knew what you meant, it's fine

[-] Zwiebel@feddit.org 5 points 1 month ago

That is what 'descriptive' in level 4 means

[-] carotte@lemmy.blahaj.zone 38 points 1 month ago

2π: two pi

π: one pus

[-] thenextguy@lemmy.world 35 points 1 month ago
[-] ArcaneGadget@nord.pub 12 points 1 month ago

There were manny of them! Manny much octopoden!

[-] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 34 points 1 month ago

American English: "All of the above are valid."

"Even 'octopussies?'"

American English: "...sure."

[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 15 points 1 month ago

"even 'octopussies'?"
american english:

[-] nightofmichelinstars@sopuli.xyz 11 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Search engines: Sir, this is a work computer

[-] davidgro@lemmy.world 8 points 1 month ago
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[-] trolololol@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

Aham, there's some precedent

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[-] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 25 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

It's technically octopods

This is true for the scientific sense that it's order Octopoda (e.g. the plural for members of Hexapoda is "hexapods" and likewise "decapods" for Decapoda), but then it's kind of like saying the plural for "lobster" is "nephropids". The names are close for Octopoda and octopus, but it's still taking the colloquial name and pluralizing it into its scientific name. It's not specifically "to bring it in line with cephalopod"; that's just how generic names of members of taxa ending in 'poda' work generally.

Strictly speaking, "octopods" is the plural of "octopod".

[-] I_Fart_Glitter@lemmy.world 21 points 1 month ago

Once I learned that “octopodes” is pronounced oct-TOP-o-dees not OCT-uh-pohds it became my pluralization of choice.

[-] pooberbee@lemmy.ml 24 points 1 month ago

Octopodes nuts

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[-] PintOShenanigans@sh.itjust.works 22 points 1 month ago

Octopodes nuts

[-] myotheraccount@lemmy.world 19 points 1 month ago
[-] fakeman_pretendname@feddit.uk 10 points 1 month ago

4 Quadropus = 8 bipus

[-] ol_capt_joe@piefed.ee 18 points 1 month ago

Now I'm afraid to but too curious not to ask where might I find the octogoose?

[-] Wild_Mastic@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

In hell, next to cerberus probably.

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[-] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 15 points 1 month ago

Student: "language is prescriptive not descriptive"

Teacher: "you fail 3rd grade spelling"

And I absolutely support keeping people back who believe English should be guided and evolved through "Likes".

[-] antonim@lemmy.world 10 points 1 month ago

Putting aside the technicalities (it is not language that is prescriptive or descriptive, but linguistics), that's a widespread position among perfectly literate people, including professional linguists. Nothing to do with the number of "likes".

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[-] makeshiftreaper@lemmy.world 12 points 1 month ago

Octopussies is actually the name for a harem of Maud Adams clones

[-] matelt@feddit.uk 7 points 1 month ago

my my my, what a cunning linguist!

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[-] AdolfSchmitler@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

Just like meese is the plural of moose

[-] JackbyDev@programming.dev 6 points 1 month ago

No cheeses for us meeces :(

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[-] lobut@lemmy.ca 6 points 1 month ago
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[-] DarrinBrunner@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago

It should just refer to the number of tentacles. So, for two of them, it would be sēdecimpus

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[-] tiredofsametab@fedia.io 5 points 1 month ago

I thought it was octopuxen?

[-] orbituary@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 1 month ago
[-] Hadriscus@jlai.lu 5 points 1 month ago

So... 2 cephalopods, 1 cephalopus ?

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[-] MithranArkanere@lemmy.world 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Level 10: all forms are valid as long as enough people use them. The currently most used forms are octopuses and octopi, both valid, but octopi is malformed, so octopuses is preferred. Octopussses and octopii and rare variants of those. Also correct, but rarely used.
Octopodes is also correct, but considered pedantic.

Level 11: Just use what you are used to.

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[-] YoiksAndAway@piefed.zip 5 points 1 month ago

Next, we pronounce "apoptosis".

[-] theacharnian@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

As a native greek speaker, I find anything other than "octopuses" to be silly. In greek we don't say (any more) octopodes, we say "chtapodia" (the "ch" is the canonical (ELOT) transliteration of the letter χ).

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[-] BoosBeau@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

Call 'em whatever you like, they're all octobussies to me.

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this post was submitted on 22 Apr 2026
1088 points (99.2% liked)

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