The Plural of Platypus

MRJ

MRJ

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MRJ said:
Sorry was just wondering what a platypode is?
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"Platypodes" is a made-up word used on the internet as a plural for Platypus. Most internet "dictionaries" will say it is "rarely-used"...
 
TinoPup said:
It's not made-up. This dictionary.com article about a similar term, octopode, explains it: The Many Plurals of 'Octopus'
Platypus is also a Greek derived word.
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Neither -pode nor -pi are used in Australia, ever. it is either "platypuses" or more often just "platypus" as in "I saw several platypus in the river".
 
TinoPup said:
It's not made-up. This dictionary.com article about a similar term, octopode, explains it: The Many Plurals of 'Octopus'
Platypus is also a Greek derived word.
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I just did a quick Google search:
'octopuses' returns 237,000,000
'octopi' returns 2,430,000 results
'octopodes' returns 385,000 results

I am deeply descriptivist rather than prescriptivist when it comes to language, so I would just say that in common usage 'octopuses' is overwhelmingly popular.

Funnily, when you search for 'octopodes' the above link is the first hit, but that may just be the algorithm.
 
FunkyGibbon said:
I just did a quick Google search:
'octopuses' returns 237,000,000
'octopi' returns 2,430,000 results
'octopodes' returns 385,000 results
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What's funny about that result is that it shows how common the incorrect usage of English is. "Octopi" is not correct in any sense - it comes from people somehow assuming that, whatever the word, -us in plural becomes -i (which is also why the ridiculous "platypi" is so common).
 
MRJ said:
Neither -pode nor -pi are used in Australia, ever. it is either "platypuses" or more often just "platypus" as in "I saw several platypus in the river".
Click to expand...

Chlidonias said:
What's funny about that result is that it shows how common the incorrect usage of English is. "Octopi" is not correct in any sense - it comes from people somehow assuming that, whatever the word, -us in plural becomes -i (which is also why the ridiculous "platypi" is so common).
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From a linguistic perspective, a usage that is so common (if you google platypi you get a similar number of results to platypuses) is basically by definition an acceptable variant and therefore correct.
 
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FunkyGibbon said:
From a linguistic perspective, a usage that is so common (if you google platypi you get a similar number of results to platypuses) is basically by definition an acceptable variant and therefore correct.
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So, to take a random example of incorrect English, "I should of bought that with me" is correct?
 
Just for more discussion:

Platypi 1,320,000 results
Platypuses 592,000 results
Platypodes 15,000 results
 
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