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Anonymous
>>284536 From Wikipedia:
Fowler's Modern English Usage states that "the only acceptable plural in English is octopuses", and that octopi is misconceived and octopodes pedantic. Octopi derives from the mistaken notion that oct?p?s is a second declension Latin noun, which it is not. Rather, it is (Latinized) Greek, from okt?pous (????????), gender masculine, whose plural is okt?podes (?????????). If the word were native to Latin, it would be oct?p?s ('eight-foot') and the plural oct?pedes, analogous to centipedes and m?llipedes, as the plural form of p?s ('foot') is pedes. In modern, informal Greek, it is called chtapódi (???????), gender neuter, with plural form chtapódia (????????).
Merriam-Webster and other dictionaries accept octopi as a plural form. The Oxford English Dictionary lists octopuses, octopi, and octopodes in order of descending frequency of use. The term octopod (either plural octopods and octopodes can be found) is taken from the taxonomic order octopoda but has no classical equivalent. The collective form octopus is usually reserved for animals consumed for food.
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