We know, we know, this debate has been put to bed. But here at BARE, we just don’t think that the word octopuses sounds very good.
Just because it’s “correct” doesn’t make it any less awkward to speak. With that said, we’re resurrecting this grammatical cold case and taking up the great octo debate!
By now, it’s widely known that the technical correct plural usage for the word octopus is octopuses.
But if we’re being honest, we’ve all indulged in the random octopi usage before. It’s shorter, fewer syllables, feels better to speak and sounds better to hear.
Of course, that’s just one opinion. Diving into the debate, we’ve gotta understand this as a tug-of-war between the root languages of latin and greek with contemporary English.
As Merriam Webster points out, “The three main plurals for octopus come from the different ways the English language adopts plurals. Octopi is the oldest plural of octopus, coming from the belief that Latin origins should have Latin endings. Octopuses is the next plural, which gives the word an English ending to match its adoption as an English word. Lastly, octopodes stems from the belief that because octopus is originally Greek, it should have a Greek ending.”
We at BARE are with the Romans on this one. Octopi sounds better!
With its linguistic lineage stemming from so many directions, it’s no surprise certain words in English have an ongoing identity crisis. It’s like not knowing who your parents are.
What’s the history?
And far from being a strictly modern convo, according to Merriam Webster, the great octo debate has been raging in public for nearly 150 years. English speakers have been struggling to pluralize the word octopus for a very long time.
In 1873, the debate publicly raged in England’s The Bradford Observer.
“‘Octopus Philology’ [titled in the clickbait of that era] offers three possibilities, admittedly sneering at two of them,” Merriam Webster says.
“But as the Octopus grew and multiplied,” stated the Observer, “it became necessary to speak of him in the plural; and here a whole host of difficulties arose. Some daring spirits with little Latin and less Greek, rushed upon octopi; as for octopuses, a man would as soon think of swallowing one of the animals thus described as pronouncing such a word at a respectable tea-table. In this condition of affairs, we are glad to know that a few resolute people have begun to talk about Octopods, which is, of course, the nearest English approach to the proper plural.”
So, by the standards of the 1870s, BARE takes its tea with the lowest of the low. But we’re okay with that! As long as we get to enjoy these creatures in singular or (super rarely) a plural form, we’re always gonna be stoked to see some octopi!
What about you? What camp do you fall under? Do you like to swim with octopuses or dive with octopi? Or, are you keeping it extra old-school and a big fan of octopods? Sound off in the comments below!
