Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Why not just put an "s" (or in this case an "es") on the end of the word, as you would with any other English word?
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Sometimes things just feel right, and that's what people do despite what guidelines might indicate.
Once someone came up with octopi as a plural, enough people must have liked it for it to catch on. I doubt many people are concerned with its origins.
For people who are knowledgeable about etymology, 'octopi' probably seems wrong - but often ignorance is bliss; the more you know, the more irritating becomes the discourse of the great unwashed. It's your own fault for knowing too much.
