• Jankatarch@lemmy.world
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    14 hours ago

    If it was possible to start fire under water octopi would have tribal civilizations already.

    • thespcicifcocean@lemmy.world
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      12 hours ago

      Did you know that the correct pluralization is octopuses or octopoda, not octopi? This is because the -pus ending in octopus to es from the Greek word for foot, not prom latin.

      • Bysmuth@lemmy.zip
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        2 hours ago

        After a little research it seems that “octopi” and “octopuses” have been so widely used and for so long, that dictionaries include all of them as correct. An article from merriam webster even pragmatically suggests referring to them as “octopodes” is less likely to be understood so stick with “octopi” or “octopuses”. Also, it seems “octopodes” is the more widely accepted “correct” plural and “octopoda” refers to the genus.

        But it’s an interesting topic, i wish to subscribe to octopus etymology facts(or any interesting reads)

      • ADTJ@feddit.uk
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        11 hours ago

        Did you know that octopi has long been included in many dictionaries also?

        Language is only half etymology and half vibes