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For Latin words in the second declension, in the nominative singular, most masculine nouns consist of the stem and the affix -us.

History

Virus

The English plural of "virus" is "viruses"^[1], not "viri".

Biology

In life sciences, "viruses" generally refers to several distinct strains or species of virus. "Virus" is used in the original way as an uncountable mass noun, e.g. "a vial of virus". Individual, physical particles are called "virions" or simply "virus particles".

Mass noun in Latin

Virus comes to English from Latin. The Latin word vīrus (the ī indicates a long i) means "poison; venom", denoting the venom of a snake. This Latin word is probably related to the Greek ἰός (ios) meaning "venom" or "rust" and the Sanskrit word visham meaning "toxic, poison".^[2]

Since vīrus in antiquity denoted something uncountable, it was a mass noun. Mass nouns — such as air, rice, and helpfulness in English — pluralize only under special circumstances, hence the non-existence of plural forms in the texts.^[3]

It is unclear how a plural might have been formed under Latin grammar if the word had acquired a meaning requiring a plural form. In Latin vīrus is generally regarded as a neuter of the second declension, but neuter second declension nouns ending in -us (rather than -um) are so rare that there are no recorded plurals. Plural neuter nouns of other declensions always end in -a (in the nominative, accusative and vocative), but even if we were to apply this rule to vīrus, it would be conjecture to guess whether this should give us vīra, vīrua, or something else. There simply is no known plural for this word in Classical Latin.

In Neo-Latin, a plural form is necessary, in order to express the modern concept of ‘viruses’. Dictionaries such as Whitaker's Words therefore treat it as a second-declension noun with the following fairly ordinary forms:

	singular	plural
nominative	vīrus	vīra
vocative	vīrus/vīre	vīra
accusative	vīrus	vīra
genitive	vīrī	vīrōrum
dative	vīrō	vīrīs
ablative	vīrō	vīrīs

Treating vīrus as 2nd declension masculine

If vīrus were a masculine second declension term like alumnus, it would be correct to use vīrī as its plural. However, it is not a masculine second declension term, as was explained.

There does exist a Latin word virī, meaning "men" (the plural of vir, a second declension masculine noun), but it has a short i in the first syllable. The difference in vowel quantity is reflected in the different pronunciations of the (Latin-derived) English words virile and viral.

The form vīriī is impossible as a plural of vīrus since we only find the ending -iī in the plural form of masculine and feminine words ending in -ius. For instance, radius is pluralized by removing -us, to isolate the stem radi, and then adding the plural suffix -ī. Thus the -iī ending of the resulting word radiī is not a suffix: it is simply the consequence of adding the actual suffix ī to a stem that has an i as its last letter. An example of this in English is adding the suffix ing to the word ski, resulting in skiing. Vīriī would be the plural form of the putative, nonexistent word vīrius.

Latin nouns in English

Even if the Latin plural were known, English speakers would not be obliged to use it. Examples of Latin loanwords into English which have regular English plurals in -(e)s include campus, bonus, anus and cancer. These stand beside counterexamples such as radius (radii) and alumnus (alumni). Still other words are commonly used with either one: corpus (corpora, or sometimes corpuses), formula (formulae in technical contexts, formulas in more everyday ones).

As an indication of usage, viruses appears in the official Scrabble words list^[4], but neither viri nor virii does. Similarly, the spellchecker built into the Mozilla Firefox browser^[5] accepts viruses but neither viri nor virii.

Use of the form virii

Usage of virii within Internet communities has met with some resistance, most notably by Tom Christiansen, a figure in the Perl community, who researched the issue and wrote what eventually became referred to in various online discussions as the authoritative essay on the subject,^[6] favoring viruses instead of virii. The impetus of this discussion was the potential irony that the use of virii could be construed as a claim of superior knowledge of language when in fact more detailed research finds the naive viruses is actually more appropriate. (See hypercorrection.)

Octopus

There are three plural forms of octopus: octopuses [ˈɒktəpəsɪz], octopi [ˈɒktəpaɪ], and octopodes [ˌɒkˈtəʊpədiːz]. Currently, octopuses is the most common form in the UK as well as the US; octopodes is rare, and octopi is often objectionable.^[7]

The Oxford English Dictionary^[8] lists octopuses, octopi and octopodes (in that order); it labels octopodes "rare", and notes that octopi derives from the mistaken assumption that octōpūs is a second declension Latin noun, which it is not. Rather, it is (Latinized) Ancient Greek, from oktṓpous (ὀκτώπους), gender masculine, whose plural is oktṓpodes (ὀκτώποδες). If the word were native to Latin, it would be octōpēs ('eight-foot') and the plural octōpedes, analogous to centipedes and mīllipedes, as the plural form of pēs ('foot') is pedes. In modern Greek, it is called khtapódi (χταπόδι), gender neutral, with plural form khtapódia (χταπόδια).

Chambers 21st Century Dictionary^[9] and the Compact Oxford Dictionary^[10] list only octopuses, although the latter notes that octopodes is "still occasionally used"; the British National Corpus has 29 instances of octopuses, 11 of octopi and 4 of octopodes. Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Dictionary lists octopuses and octopi, in that order; Webster's New World College Dictionary lists octopuses, octopi and octopodes (in that order).

Fowler's Modern English Usage states that "the only acceptable plural in English is octopuses," and that octopi is misconceived and octopodes pedantic.

The term octopod (plural octopods or octopodes) is taken from the taxonomic order Octopoda but has no classical equivalent. The collective form octopus is usually reserved for animals consumed for food.

Botanical Latin

As a word in Botanical Latin (as distinct from Classical Latin), cactus follows standard Latin rules for pluralization and becomes cacti, which has become the prevalent usage in English. Regardless, cactus is popularly used as both singular and plural, and is cited as both singular and plural.^[11] Cactuses is also an acceptable plural in English.

References

^ A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (1950) H. W. Fowler, Oxford University Press
^ Chambers's Etymological Dictionary Enlarged Edition 1931
^ June 1999 issue of ASM News by the American Society for Microbiology
^ OSW Official Scrabble Words (1989) Chambers
^ Mozilla Firefox web browser v3.5.7, 2009, with the standard US-English dictionary
^ Tom Christiansen (17 December 1999). "What's the Plural of 'Virus'?". Rick Moen. Retrieved 29 December 2010.
^ Peters, Pam (2004). The Cambridge Guide to English Usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-62181-X, p. 388.
^ Oxford English Dictionary 2004 update (subscription required). Retrieved October 22, 2007.
^ Chambers 21st Century Dictionary. Retrieved October 19, 2007.
^ Compact Oxford Dictionary Retrieved October 19, 2007.
^ Random House Unabridged Dictionary (2006)

"What is the plural of virus?". reference.com FAQ. Retrieved 2 January 2005.

[1] A Dictionary of Modern English Usage (1950) H. W. Fowler, Oxford University Press

[2] Chambers's Etymological Dictionary Enlarged Edition 1931

[3] June 1999 issue of ASM News by the American Society for Microbiology

[4] OSW Official Scrabble Words (1989) Chambers

[5] Mozilla Firefox web browser v3.5.7, 2009, with the standard US-English dictionary

[Christiansen-6] Tom Christiansen (17 December 1999). "What's the Plural of 'Virus'?". Rick Moen. Retrieved 29 December 2010.

[7] Peters, Pam (2004). The Cambridge Guide to English Usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-62181-X, p. 388.

[8] Oxford English Dictionary 2004 update (subscription required). Retrieved October 22, 2007.

[9] Chambers 21st Century Dictionary. Retrieved October 19, 2007.

[10] Compact Oxford Dictionary Retrieved October 19, 2007.

[11] Random House Unabridged Dictionary (2006)

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@@ Line 55: / Line 55: @@
 There are three plural forms of ''[[octopus]]'': ''octopuses'' {{IPA|[ˈɒktəpəsɪz]}}, ''octopi'' {{IPA|[ˈɒktəpaɪ]}}, and ''octopodes'' {{IPA|[ˌɒkˈtəʊpədiːz]}}.  Currently, ''octopuses'' is the most common form in the UK as well as the US; ''octopodes'' is rare, and ''octopi'' is often objectionable.<ref>Peters, Pam (2004). ''The Cambridge Guide to English Usage''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-62181-X, p. 388.</ref>
-The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]''<ref>[http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/00330051?single=1&query_type=word&queryword=octopus&first=1&max_to_show=10 Oxford English Dictionary] 2004 update (subscription required).  Retrieved October 22, 2007.</ref> lists ''octopuses'', ''octopi'' and ''octopodes'' (in that order); it labels ''octopodes'' "rare", and notes that ''octopi'' derives from the mistaken assumption that ''{{unicode|octōpūs}}'' is a [[Latin declension#Second declension .28o.29|second declension Latin noun]], which it is not. Rather, it is (Latinized) [[Ancient Greek]], from ''{{unicode|oktṓpous}}'' ({{polytonic|ὀκτώπους}}), [[grammatical gender|gender]] masculine, whose plural is ''{{unicode|oktṓpodes}}'' ({{polytonic|ὀκτώποδες}}). If the word were native to Latin, it would be ''{{unicode|octōpēs}}'' ('eight-foot') and the plural ''{{unicode|octōpedes}}'', analogous to ''{{unicode|centipedes}}'' and ''{{unicode|mīllipedes}}'', as the plural form of ''{{unicode|pēs}}'' ('foot') is ''{{unicode|pedes}}''. In [[modern Greek]], it is called ''{{unicode|khtapódi}}'' ({{Polytonic|χταπόδι}}), gender neuter, with plural form ''{{unicode|khtapódia}}'' ({{Polytonic|χταπόδια}}).
+The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]''<ref>[http://dictionary.oed.com/cgi/entry/00330051?single=1&query_type=word&queryword=octopus&first=1&max_to_show=10 Oxford English Dictionary] 2004 update (subscription required).  Retrieved October 22, 2007.</ref> lists ''octopuses'', ''octopi'' and ''octopodes'' (in that order); it labels ''octopodes'' "rare", and notes that ''octopi'' derives from the mistaken assumption that ''{{unicode|octōpūs}}'' is a [[Latin declension#Second declension .28o.29|second declension Latin noun]], which it is not. Rather, it is (Latinized) [[Ancient Greek]], from ''{{unicode|oktṓpous}}'' ({{polytonic|ὀκτώπους}}), [[grammatical gender|gender]] masculine, whose plural is ''{{unicode|oktṓpodes}}'' ({{polytonic|ὀκτώποδες}}). If the word were native to Latin, it would be ''{{unicode|octōpēs}}'' ('eight-foot') and the plural ''{{unicode|octōpedes}}'', analogous to ''{{unicode|centipedes}}'' and ''{{unicode|mīllipedes}}'', as the plural form of ''{{unicode|pēs}}'' ('foot') is ''{{unicode|pedes}}''. In [[modern Greek]], it is called ''{{unicode|khtapódi}}'' ({{Polytonic|χταπόδι}}), gender neutral, with plural form ''{{unicode|khtapódia}}'' ({{Polytonic|χταπόδια}}).
 ''Chambers 21st Century Dictionary''<ref>[http://www.chambersharrap.co.uk/chambers/features/chref/chref.py/main?title=21st&query=octopus Chambers 21st Century Dictionary]. Retrieved October 19, 2007.</ref> and the ''Compact Oxford Dictionary''<ref>[http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/octopus Compact Oxford Dictionary] Retrieved October 19, 2007.</ref> list only ''octopuses'', although the latter notes that ''octopodes'' is "still occasionally used"; the [[British National Corpus]] has 29 instances of ''octopuses'', 11 of ''octopi'' and 4 of ''octopodes''.  ''Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Dictionary'' lists ''octopuses'' and ''octopi'', in that order; ''Webster's New World College Dictionary'' lists ''octopuses'', ''octopi'' and ''octopodes'' (in that order).