In:
English Today, Cambridge University Press (CUP), Vol. 31, No. 1 ( 2015-03), p. 3-4
Abstract:
The octopus is an animal which has served the BBC well as a topic for news reports, the main ingredient of exotic recipes, and as a worthy subject for usage advice: The octopuses use the coconuts as a shelter. Octopi live longer than squid, making them tougher and therefore a bit more tricky to prepare. The plural of octopus is not, as recorded in last week's 10 Things , octopi , which would suggest the word was rooted in Latin. In fact the word comes from the Greek, so the correct plural is octopuses or even octopodes . Besides showing that the BBC at times seems to give self-contradictory advice, the quotations suggest that the word octopus has three possible plurals in English: octopuses , octopi , and octopodes . To descriptivists, using any of the three forms is equally correct – to prescriptivists, at least some of the plurals are better than others.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0266-0784
,
1474-0567
DOI:
10.1017/S0266078414000479
Language:
English
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press (CUP)
Publication Date:
2015
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2062759-2
SSG:
7,24
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