1050
top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] prenatal_confusion@feddit.org 1 points 8 hours ago

They have more than 7 reproductive organs?

[-] AdolfSchmitler@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago

Just like meese is the plural of moose

[-] fibojoly@sh.itjust.works 3 points 9 hours ago

Plurals in English are always a bit of a roll of the dice...

[-] JackbyDev@programming.dev 3 points 22 hours ago

No cheeses for us meeces :(

[-] captain_oni@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Or: Mouse - mice; house - hice

[-] theacharnian@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

As a native greek speaker, I find anything other than "octopuses" to be silly. In greek we don't say (any more) octopodes, we say "chtapodia" (the "ch" is the canonical (ELOT) transliteration of the letter ฯ‡).

[-] fibojoly@sh.itjust.works 1 points 9 hours ago

Could you just clarify one thing? I was told that the plural wouldn't be octopodes, but octopoda, similarly to what you used for modern Greek.

[-] MithranArkanere@lemmy.world 5 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Level 10: all forms are valid as long as enough people use them. The currently most used forms are octopuses and octopi, both valid, but octopi is malformed, so octopuses is preferred. Octopussses and octopii and rare variants of those. Also correct, but rarely used.
Octopodes is also correct, but considered pedantic.

Level 11: Just use what you are used to.

[-] Chakravanti@monero.town 1 points 23 hours ago

Level ATF&C: Glob

[-] dharmacurious@slrpnk.net 76 points 1 day ago

One of my favorite things in life is using Latin or Greek plurals on words that it makes absolutely no sense to use them on, and do not follow the rules of any language naturally involved.

I had steak and potati for dinner last night. Just one steak, though, I cannot eat multiple steakices

[-] dropcase@lemmy.world 43 points 1 day ago

Reminds me of a joke:

A Roman soldier walks into a bar and says, "I'll have a martinus"

Bartender says, "don't you mean a martini?"

The Roman says. "if I wanted more than one I would've asked for it!"

[-] lemmyartistforhire@lemmy.world 29 points 1 day ago

I also do this! My personal top 3 are:

Jesus - Jesi

Bus - Bi

Penis - Penorum

[-] lvxferre@mander.xyz 13 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Penis - Penorum

WROOOOONG! Now write the full declension table on that wall. And make sure to draw some pictures with it, so you never forget the word! :-p

[-] lemmyartistforhire@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

It's the genitive! Genitive! Which makes the plural.. um! Penum! Penum! Romanorum penum amplitudines non magni sunt!

c===3, c===3, c===3.

Poetry was made today.

[-] fartographer@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

People called Romanes, they go, the house?!

load more comments (3 replies)
[-] Chakravanti@monero.town 1 points 23 hours ago

I can eat all the steak ices.

load more comments (5 replies)
[-] carotte@lemmy.blahaj.zone 36 points 1 day ago

2ฯ€: two pi

ฯ€: one pus

[-] Ceruleum@lemmy.wtf 2 points 1 day ago

Confused Squidward noises.

[-] JackbyDev@programming.dev 1 points 22 hours ago

I actually love octopods. Somehow sounds the least weird of them all.

[-] Lushed_Lungfish@lemmy.ca 2 points 1 day ago
[-] Derpenheim@lemmy.zip 43 points 2 days ago

Its whatever your heart is telling you.

[-] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 32 points 1 day ago
[-] zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 day ago

Four Loko was the start and eventual downfall of many wild and ultimately regrettable times.

[-] bitjunkie@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

I tried it before they banned caffeinated alcohol here and holy fuck that shit was chaos in a can

[-] zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 day ago

Yeah, that is an accurate description. A couple four loko could make your evening into a Fear and Loathing style event worthy of legend.

load more comments (4 replies)

Octopodes nuts

[-] aeronmelon@lemmy.world 34 points 2 days ago

American English: "All of the above are valid."

"Even 'octopussies?'"

American English: "...sure."

[-] trolololol@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago

Aham, there's some precedent

[-] Bluewing@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago

There is a difference in Octopussys here. One is slippery, the other is not.

[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago

"even 'octopussies'?"
american english:

load more comments (3 replies)
[-] thenextguy@lemmy.world 34 points 2 days ago
load more comments (1 replies)
[-] myotheraccount@lemmy.world 18 points 1 day ago
load more comments (1 replies)
[-] tiredofsametab@fedia.io 5 points 1 day ago

I thought it was octopuxen?

[-] drunkpostdisaster@lemmy.world 1 points 1 day ago

I always say 'I saw some octopus'

Also, moose is plural for moose.

[-] TheTechnician27@lemmy.world 24 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

It's technically octopods

This is true for the scientific sense that it's order Octopoda (e.g. the plural for members of Hexapoda is "hexapods" and likewise "decapods" for Decapoda), but then it's kind of like saying the plural for "lobster" is "nephropids". The names are close for Octopoda and octopus, but it's still taking the colloquial name and pluralizing it into its scientific name. It's not specifically "to bring it in line with cephalopod"; that's just how generic names of members of taxa ending in 'poda' work generally.

Strictly speaking, "octopods" is the plural of "octopod".

[-] I_Fart_Glitter@lemmy.world 21 points 1 day ago

Once I learned that โ€œoctopodesโ€ is pronounced oct-TOP-o-dees not OCT-uh-pohds it became my pluralization of choice.

[-] zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I hadn't even thought about that, it makes total since being derived from Greek. I am now fully on team octopodes.

[-] pooberbee@lemmy.ml 23 points 1 day ago

Octopodes nuts

[-] SaharaMaleikuhm@feddit.org 4 points 1 day ago

I do like octopods. I will use that from now on and you can't stop me.

load more comments (1 replies)
[-] megopie@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Octopodes, pronounced oc-top-o-dees, not oc-to-po-des. Like Hercules.

Also, using the I ending to pluralize us endings comes out of an attempted prescriptive reform of English in the late 1800s to make it more like Latin. We still use es endings to pluralize us singulars most of the time, the places where we use I are ether direct usages of Latin words or remnants of that prescriptive push.

load more comments
view more: next โ€บ
this post was submitted on 22 Apr 2026
1050 points (99.2% liked)

Science Memes

19974 readers
3818 users here now

Welcome to c/science_memes @ Mander.xyz!

A place for majestic STEMLORD peacocking, as well as memes about the realities of working in a lab.



Rules

  1. Don't throw mud. Behave like an intellectual and remember the human.
  2. Keep it rooted (on topic).
  3. No spam.
  4. Infographics welcome, get schooled.

This is a science community. We use the Dawkins definition of meme.



Research Committee

Other Mander Communities

Science and Research

Biology and Life Sciences

Physical Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Practical and Applied Sciences

Memes

Miscellaneous

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS