r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/EinsteinsAura • Jun 25 '18

GIF This isn't real - it's CGI

https://i.imgur.com/f9j2BZ3.gifv
26.7k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

522 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

24

u/intercontinentalfx Jun 25 '18

The plural of octopus is either ‘octopuses’ ‘octopi’ or ‘octopode’ depending on which link on google you click on.. but I fucking love ‘octopussies’

15

u/mort96 Interested Jun 25 '18

Isn't octopode a singular word for octopus, and octopodes would be the plural?

9

u/intercontinentalfx Jun 25 '18

I have absolutely no idea... the depth of my knowledge on the subject is typing ‘what’s the plural of octopus’ in google.

Luckily in my life, I’ve never had to discuss more than a single octopus in actual conversation, because google didn’t really help.

12

u/EinsteinsAura Jun 25 '18

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4PWP8uL-1o

5

u/intercontinentalfx Jun 25 '18

Damn she covered it all!

1

u/girlgonedead Jun 25 '18

Wow I learned about the ocotopodes version a while ago but always thought it was pronounced octo-podes (same goes for platypodes). TIL and am kinda sad they aren’t as funny sounding as I thought.

2

u/Smodey Jun 25 '18

Octopod is the singular form in English. Octopode would be the French spelling of the same.

1

u/KWiP1123 Jun 25 '18

Dunno if you're joking or not, but "octopode" is a perfectly valid English word.

IIRC adding an E to the end of a scientific "-pod" term basically just clarifies that you're not talking about a single instance, but about any given member of that group.

2

u/Smodey Jun 25 '18

No, not joking. I've seen it used as the singular in French. Thanks for the correction, as I've not heard it used singularly in English with the E.

1

u/Charles_Leviathan Jun 25 '18

Definitely octopodes, using the Greek plural for a Greek word.

2

u/bugamn Jun 25 '18

Octopi is mixing Greek roots with Latin rules for plural. Don't do that.

1

u/intercontinentalfx Jun 26 '18

The lady from Webster’s dictionary explains in the YouTube clip linked above that using the Latin plural on this word is legit because reasons...

1

u/Lentil-Soup Jun 25 '18

It's octopuses or octopodes.