this post was submitted on 09 Nov 2025
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Did you know that the correct pluralization is octopuses or octopoda, not octopi? This is because the -pus ending in octopus to es from the Greek word for foot, not prom latin.
The correct GREEK plural, which would be used because the root of octopus is Greek, could be octopodes. However, in ENGLISH, people have started intuiting that words ending in “~us” pluralize to ~i, akin to cacti. So this isn’t about being a Latin rule, it’s actually an emergent English rule.
After a little research it seems that "octopi" and "octopuses" have been so widely used and for so long, that dictionaries include all of them as correct. An article from merriam webster even pragmatically suggests referring to them as "octopodes" is less likely to be understood so stick with "octopi" or "octopuses". Also, it seems "octopodes" is the more widely accepted "correct" plural and "octopoda" refers to the genus.
But it's an interesting topic, i wish to subscribe to octopus etymology facts(or any interesting reads)
Octopussen.
Did you know that octopi has long been included in many dictionaries also?
Language is only half etymology and half vibes
And half of etymology is also vibes
Ya, but it sounds annoying because it's incorrect.
It is not incorrect when the change happens in a living language. That is why they are still living.
the correct pluralization is octopedophiles
Oh, shit, there's 7 more Epstiens?