h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Does anyone know what the plural of clitoris is.

Just something that's been annoying a friend and I for a while.

Hello, George and welcome.

Most dictionaries give no plural for clitoris. But Webster gives both 'clitorises' and 'clitorides'.

However, surely the plural of clitoris should be 'heaven'.

Lol, thanks a lot Eeyore that's eased my mind a little, not that I am ever likely to find myself in that situation. Still, it aids conversation.

Perhaps clitori, could be appropriate, like hippopotami or platypi. That would at least make sense.

For once, Chambers has let me down! No plural form given for 'clitoris'.

'Platypi', however, is not right. The plural is 'Platypuses', as in 'octopuses'. I have always thought 'hippopotami' was wrong as well, but Chambers does give it as an alternative plural form, after 'hippopotamuses'.

The reason these words don't form a plural in 'i' like 'radii' is that the 'us' ending is not the latin masculine singular form (like 'radius') but rather the greek masculine singular form, which does not produce a plural in 'i'.

I would think a plausible plural for 'clitoris' would be 'clitores' on the basis of 'analysis' - 'analyses' (or on the analysis of 'basis' - 'bases' )

Well I was always taught that the plural of Platypus is Platypi and I think that Australian school teachers should either get this right or be flogged for their substandard teaching practices or maybe they were just messing with our minds.

Clitoris - clitorides, obviously. As with some other Greek words it simply follows the original Greek plural: phenomenon - phenomena, criterion - criteria, crisis - crises, basis - bases. And while we're on the subjet of Greek words, I once offered a lot of people a lot of money if they could spell the word for waste matter emptied from the bowels in liquid form. Yes, the word that begins with 'd'. Nobody claimed the money. Test yourselves. If platypus (meaning 'flatfoot' in Greek) followed the Greek spelling it would be 'platypodes'. Fortunately it doesn't. What by the way, is the plural of 'mouse' as in computer? It sounds weird to say 'I've changed three mice in the last month'. Does it follow the 'Walkman - Walkmans' rule?

I believe the word in question is spelled "diarrhoea", though I may be wrong, of course. This was without checking a dictionary, it's the way I've always written it (and have of course been in many a situation where this was necessary).

on a tangent, do researchers here refer more comfortably to 'forums' or 'fora'.

personally, despite being generally pretty into 'getting it right' in language terms, i don't favour 'fora', or 'stadia' or 'referenda' for that matter.

and my style 'bible' actually groups these '-um' words into two camps: those that take '-a' and those that take '-ums'.

ahhhh, didda

cya
spiff

You mean "a friend and me" ?