Octopus, octopi, octoporum

[Jim Flanagan]

Following the logic of the second thread cited below, a sports team 
called "The Octopus" would be plural:  "The Octopus score!"

The plural possessive of octopus in Latin would be octoporum, as 
in:  "Here comes Potter, The Octoporum great new seeker."

My *American* dictionary gives both octopuses and octopi as plurals 
for octopus.  Further, it says that octopus is a late coinage based 
on the *Greek* oktopous, through the Neo-Latin octopod-.  Maybe 
someone on the list can tell us what the the Greek plural for 
oktopous would be.

-Jim
(who thinks all this is extremely silly)


--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., Amanda Lewanski <editor at t...> wrote:
> Slytherin_Daughter at y... wrote:
> 
> > People! It's *octopi*! *Octopi*! The multiple of "octopus"
> > is "octopi", not "octopuses". Just like "cacti", not "cactuses",
> > "hippopotomi", not "hippopotomuses", etc, etc, etc. Why is this so
> > hard to grasp?



--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at y..., "Amy Z" <aiz24 at h...> wrote:
> British usage treats the team, whatever its name, as a plural.  
> In US usage, we vary it depending on the feel of the noun itself.  
> This is done in a highly irregular manner.  For example:
> 
> The Celtics score!  but
> 
> Boston scores!

> But when you come to team names that are singular--which are a
> fairly new phenomenon in the US, but on the rise, particularly in 
> soccer--things get weird.
> 
> Miami scores!  BUT
> 
> The Heat score!
> 
> The name is singular, but you'll often hear the plural verb anyway.
>