The plural of "octopus" should really be "eight-tentacled cephalopods"

[chrishansenhome]

Every once in a while an flurry of posts on your choice of Internet fora (used to be USENET, now in blogs and on Facebook or Twitter) concerned the proper plural form of the word "octopus". So is it "two octopuses", "two octopi", or "two octopodes"?

This video provides the answer: all three. Enjoy.

Comments

[thoburn.livejournal.com]

what abt platypus?

[chrishansenhome.livejournal.com]

From the Wikipedia article on "platypus":

There is no universally agreed plural of "platypus" in the English language. Scientists generally use "platypuses" or simply "platypus". Colloquially the term "platypi" is also used for the plural, although this is technically incorrect and a form of pseudo-Latin;[6] the correct Greek plural would be "platypodes". Early British settlers called it by many names, such as watermole, duckbill, and duckmole.[6] The name "platypus" is often prefixed with the adjective "duck-billed" to form Duck-billed Platypus, despite there being only one species of Platypus.[10]

So you have four possibilities: platypuses, platypi, platipodes, and platypus. Take your pick.