xiphias: (Default)
xiphias ([personal profile] xiphias) wrote2006-01-06 10:52 am
Entry tags:

The plural of "octopus"

An anonymous commenter in my LJ claimed that, when the word "octopus" was taken into Latin from Greek, it was made into a regular third declension word.

That would make its plural "octopera".

Now, I don't know if that'd true or not -- I'm sticking with the Greek-based "octopodes" and the English-based "octopuses". I thought that "octopus" remained irregular in Latin and kept its Greek form, but I don't know that for sure. I'm pretty certain that "octopi" is a mistake, though.

But my point is that, if "octopera" is the actual plural, then somebody HAS to write "Octopera: A Rock Opera". It's a moral imperative.

Re: Octopera

[identity profile] xiphias.livejournal.com 2007-07-26 01:51 pm (UTC)(link)
I just looked at your web page -- the stuff you write sounds so cool!

Now I'm sorry I missed you when you were in Massachusetts.