Shrimp(s) and prawns

[Dave Wilton]

Re: plural of octopus. I'm fairly certain that the most common plural is
"octopuses"--at least all the dictionaries give that as the preferred term.
In the long run, this is the form that will probably win out as it uses the
standard English plural inflection.

I would call "octopi" acceptable since so many people use it, but it's an
etymologically unsound hypercorrection. "Octopus" is Greek and we shouldn't
be slapping a Latin inflection on a Greek word after it has been borrowed
into English.

The OED also lists "octopodes" as a rare plural form. I've never seen this
in the wild.


-----Original Message-----
From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of
Jocelyn Limpert
Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2009 9:13 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Re: Shrimp(s) and prawns

Oh, I just had to comment, because my mother, who in addition to saying "But
I was Phi Beta Kappa" all my life, as to indicate how smart she was, was an
English major with a French minor, very aware of proper usage. However, she
used to insist on calling shrimp "shrimps" -- and I would argue with her
about this. She would insist that it was "shrimps," never giving an inch.
Now, her other speech was fine and she was very well read -- but "shrimps"?
I did look it up in various dictionaries and found that it was a second
choice for the plural of shrimp, but I never believed that anyone said
"shrimps" except my mother, even if it was technically correct. And to me,
the plural of shrimp is shrimp -- and when my mother died, I left her Phi
Beta Kappa key with her -- I didn't want to be further reminded of that or
"shrimps."

And further, what does this group think should be the proper plural if
discussing more than one octopus? Someone told me that there are several
acceptable plurals, ranging from "octopi" to "octopussys."

Being a vegetarian would allow one to avoid discussing such food choices!


On 3/10/09, Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Shrimp(s) and prawns
>
>
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---
>
> I've just heard the character, "di Noso"(sp?), of NCIS say that
> "prawns" is the Australian word for "shrimps." I've long been under
> the impression that "shrimp" is the standard word for _shrimp_ and
> that "prawn" is the standard word for _prawn_ throughout the
> English-speaking world. And there exists an Australian movie whose
> title is The *Shrimp* On The Barbie and *not* The *Prawn* On The
> Barbie.
>
> I seem to remember a time when the plural of "shrimp" was *shrimp*,
> like unto "sheep, sheep." But maybe it was just a BE thing. Or maybe
> the problem is with my memory. I won't bet money on this.
>
> -Wilson
> ---
> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die"---a strange complaint to
> come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> -----
> -Mark Twain
>
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