this post was submitted on 27 Jul 2024
199 points (87.8% liked)

Memes

45537 readers
197 users here now

Rules:

  1. Be civil and nice.
  2. Try not to excessively repost, as a rule of thumb, wait at least 2 months to do it if you have to.

founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
 
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 100 points 3 months ago (2 children)
[–] bhamlin@lemmy.world 31 points 3 months ago

Octopodeez nuts

[–] theunknownmuncher@lemmy.world 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)
[–] Meron35@lemmy.world 8 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Please don't beat your meat to octopodes

[–] theunknownmuncher@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago

Hey, we're not hurting anyone!!!

[–] Leviathan@lemmy.world 40 points 3 months ago (2 children)

It is octopodes. It's Greek and it follows the Greek pluralisation convention.

[–] Verito@lemm.ee 13 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Words brought into English can use English pluralisations, so you're not wrong if you say octopuses. I think Grammar Girl had a take on this maybe 7 or even 8 years ago by now. These days, I can't see myself getting worked up about it for the sheer fun of being pedantic like I used to.

[–] chatokun@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 3 months ago

It's not octopuses that octopodes corrects, it's octopi. Octopi is a Latin pluralization, and since the word is Greek and us to i isn't specifically American, I agree with you that octopuses is fine but not that octopi is fine.

[–] SaltyIceteaMaker@lemmy.ml 6 points 3 months ago

Octopussy. Thank you very much.

[–] BuboScandiacus@mander.xyz 39 points 3 months ago (1 children)
[–] Im_old@lemmy.world 14 points 3 months ago

I knew there was going to be someone as ~~childish~~ funny as me in here!

[–] Jolteon@lemmy.zip 18 points 3 months ago (1 children)
[–] ImplyingImplications@lemmy.ca 12 points 3 months ago

When a Roman family has their 16th child.

[–] Drusas@kbin.run 17 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Octopus, octopuses, and octopodes are correct. Octopi incorrect.

[–] Xavienth@lemmygrad.ml 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Octopi is also correct. If anything, more correct than octopodes by virtue of popularity. Mismatching the language to the suffix does not a fake word make!

The downvoters are silly prescriptivists ;)

[–] FiskFisk33@startrek.website 3 points 3 months ago

In greek it would be incorrect, in english it's not worse than the others.

[–] SatansMaggotyCumFart@lemmy.world 12 points 3 months ago (1 children)

As long as they’re penetrating a lady I don’t care what they are called.

[–] ReplicantBatty@lemmy.one 9 points 3 months ago

Ah, i see you are a man of culture as well.

[–] matrixrunner@lemmy.world 11 points 3 months ago (1 children)
[–] Zagorath@aussie.zone 4 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

If you say ok-top-o-dees, you'd better be prepared to deliver this spiel at a moment's notice

HA! That video was really good. Extremely quick and to the point, great linguistics content, and funny to boot!

[–] lugal@sopuli.xyz 10 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Octopi is a hypercorrectism which doesn't make it wrong

[–] preussischblau@lemmy.ca 9 points 3 months ago

A hypercorrection based on a misunderstanding of the Latin declension for the word, at that.

[–] Gemini24601@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Neither are incorrect, that’s the point

[–] lugal@sopuli.xyz 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I just wanted to namedrop the technical term. Both are fine

[–] qjkxbmwvz@startrek.website 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

My favorite hypercorrection (a hyperforeignism, if you like) is "habañero," and really stressing the "ñ" when you say it.

Except it's just "habanero," plain ol' "n." The confusion is presumably due to "jalapeño" having an accent.

[–] lugal@sopuli.xyz 2 points 3 months ago

If you want a hyper anglizism: I'm German and after an interview, a colleague of mine talked about the candidates' "vibes". My boss didn't get it's English and once she did, she pronounced it like "wipes". b>p at the end of words is what German always does and v>w to make it sound English since German has the /v/ sound but not /w/. I don't think it's a common thing tho.

[–] maniel@sopuli.xyz 9 points 3 months ago

Octopussies

[–] NorthWestWind@lemmy.world 6 points 3 months ago (2 children)
[–] Naz@sh.itjust.works 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)
[–] tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 2 points 3 months ago
[–] Krauerking@lemy.lol 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

Wait is seriously everyone in here wrong?

Guys it's:
OCTOPEOPLE

Inclusion, let's keep it up.

[–] Nachorella@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I am the guy in the middle, except I'm telling people it's octopuses.

[–] Mostly_Gristle@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago (1 children)

You do have the benefit of being right though.

The word octopus is a classical Greek word that comes to English via Latin. The Greek plural is octopodes, the Latin plural is octopi. But we don't speak Latin or classical Greek. We speak English. Because octopus is the English word for octopus it follows the English rules for pluralization, which is to add "s" or "es" to the end of the word. Cases can be made why octopi and octopodes could be technically correct, but for English speakers octopuses is the most correct.

[–] Nachorella@lemmy.sdf.org 2 points 3 months ago

Yeah, I did something for work where I had to study up about it and instead of being angry it's just kind of a fun fact. I don't actually mind what people say, I think everyone understands what you mean regardless.

[–] kindenough@kbin.earth 4 points 3 months ago

Roger Moore would disagree.

[–] Sidhean@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago

Several of Octopus

[–] PeriodicallyPedantic@lemmy.ca 4 points 3 months ago
[–] null@slrpnk.net 3 points 3 months ago (6 children)

Why is octopi correct? Based on what?

[–] marcos@lemmy.world 7 points 3 months ago (5 children)

Because people use it, and if you say it everybody will understand without any ambiguity.

load more comments (5 replies)
load more comments (5 replies)
[–] Zenjal@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

Octopipuses?

[–] Cysioland@lemmygrad.ml 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

octopus - octopi
amogus - amogi
chungus - chungi

[–] msgraves@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 months ago

Imagine speaking correct English

[–] AI_toothbrush@lemmy.zip 2 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Btw is there a difference between people.and persons? I hear both being used but i grew up with people.

[–] lseif@sopuli.xyz 4 points 3 months ago

people = a group

persons = a group of individuals

[–] RedditRefugee69@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago

Great question. When I hear people I think that’s used to draw attention to common relevant traits “people of England” for example. Persons is more a group of less related individuals or at least with less relevant similarities “persons of interest” for example

[–] ShortFuse@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago (2 children)

When I document code I have this problem with indices vs indexes.

load more comments (2 replies)
load more comments
view more: next ›