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Octopuses seen hunting together with fish

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Re: Octopuses seen hunting together with fish

#71

Post by declan_roberts »

gpderetta wrote: post #55
neerajk wrote: post #22

aside: me after reading the headline: Shouldn't that be Octopii? But no! "The plural form octopii is doubly incorrect. Firstly, octopus derives from Greek, not Latin; its etymologically-consistent plural form is octopodes. Secondly, even if octopus were a second-declension Latin noun, the plural form would be octopi; in the correct plurals radii and gladii, with which octopii is analogous, the first ‘i’s are part of…

Incidentally, if, as per etymology, we consider the tentacles as feet, then the headline is wrong as the Octopodes are technically kicking the fishes.

This whole thing is built on lies!

Re: Octopuses seen hunting together with fish

#72

Post by dougfulop »

cyberpunk wrote: post #65
neerajk wrote: post #22

aside: me after reading the headline: Shouldn't that be Octopii? But no! "The plural form octopii is doubly incorrect. Firstly, octopus derives from Greek, not Latin; its etymologically-consistent plural form is octopodes. Secondly, even if octopus were a second-declension Latin noun, the plural form would be octopi; in the correct plurals radii and gladii, with which octopii is analogous, the first ‘i’s are part of…

I’m sure I read a sci-fi novel some years back where one of the main characters selectively breeds octopuses for intelligence before dropping them on a terraformed planet and there was a small bit about how he didn’t like octopuses either and so called them octopii. I’m in his boat ;) fun book, forgot the name.

Children of Time!

Re: Octopuses seen hunting together with fish

#73

Post by [deleted] »

cyberpunk wrote: post #65
neerajk wrote: post #22

aside: me after reading the headline: Shouldn't that be Octopii? But no! "The plural form octopii is doubly incorrect. Firstly, octopus derives from Greek, not Latin; its etymologically-consistent plural form is octopodes. Secondly, even if octopus were a second-declension Latin noun, the plural form would be octopi; in the correct plurals radii and gladii, with which octopii is analogous, the first ‘i’s are part of…

I’m sure I read a sci-fi novel some years back where one of the main characters selectively breeds octopuses for intelligence before dropping them on a terraformed planet and there was a small bit about how he didn’t like octopuses either and so called them octopii. I’m in his boat ;) fun book, forgot the name.

[deleted]

Re: Octopuses seen hunting together with fish

#74

Post by seabass-labrax »

ravenstine wrote: post #12
satvikpendem wrote: post #4

Octopuses are much more intelligent than many give them credit for, but sadly I also love takoyaki (but then again, eating horse and whale is also culturally acceptable in Japan, one of the few countries that allow it; I've tried both as well, they're pretty good).

Horse meat is really good. Not sure why we still forbid it in the United States considering how we eat plenty of cows and horseback riding is more or less a hobby now.

I'm intrigued by your statement "horseback riding is more or less a hobby now". Are you implying that a ban on horse meat in the USA was originally intended to ensure an adequate supply of riding horses during the time when they were still widely used? All of the breeds that Wikipedia lists as bred for consumption are related to draught horses rather than riding horses, although for that matter the list doesn't include any American breeds at all.

Re: Octopuses seen hunting together with fish

#75

Post by shmeeed »

carlmr wrote: post #63
kibwen wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

But more generally, enough generations have passed that "octopus" is no longer a foreign word, it's now just part of the English lexicon, and so you're free to pluralize it in the standard English manner. "Octopuses" is correct by that reasoning. Note that this is the same process that we eventually apply to every other loanword; next time you talk to a German, watch them cringe at "delicatessens" as the plural to "d…

Delicatessen itself is a French loanword (délicatesse) in German that's wrongly pluralized, it should be délicatesses not delicatessen. So it's like doubly wrong.

I'm waiting for myself to one day muster the courage to order "dos expressis" at a restaurant in Italy. But I fear the repercussions.

Re: Octopuses seen hunting together with fish

#76

Post by nerdponx »

Aardwolf wrote: post #57
neerajk wrote: post #22

aside: me after reading the headline: Shouldn't that be Octopii? But no! "The plural form octopii is doubly incorrect. Firstly, octopus derives from Greek, not Latin; its etymologically-consistent plural form is octopodes. Secondly, even if octopus were a second-declension Latin noun, the plural form would be octopi; in the correct plurals radii and gladii, with which octopii is analogous, the first ‘i’s are part of…

So the plural of virus, if it wouldn't have been viruses, would be viri, not virii? I think for octopus I'd have intuitively thought octopi, but for virus I'd have thought virii.

It is in fact "viri".

Re: Octopuses seen hunting together with fish

#77

Post by nerdponx »

ChrisMarshallNY wrote: post #13

I used to love eating octopus, but since I've learned so much about their intelligence, I have not been able to bring myself to do so, anymore. I have the luxury of choice. There are many, in this world, that do not.

Consider the intelligence of pigs as well. Even if cows, sheep, deer, rabbits, chickens, turkeys, et al. all sit below the "I don't want to eat you" cutoff point, pigs should probably be above it.

Re: Octopuses seen hunting together with fish

#78

Post by yayitswei »

cyberpunk wrote: post #65
neerajk wrote: post #22

aside: me after reading the headline: Shouldn't that be Octopii? But no! "The plural form octopii is doubly incorrect. Firstly, octopus derives from Greek, not Latin; its etymologically-consistent plural form is octopodes. Secondly, even if octopus were a second-declension Latin noun, the plural form would be octopi; in the correct plurals radii and gladii, with which octopii is analogous, the first ‘i’s are part of…

I’m sure I read a sci-fi novel some years back where one of the main characters selectively breeds octopuses for intelligence before dropping them on a terraformed planet and there was a small bit about how he didn’t like octopuses either and so called them octopii. I’m in his boat ;) fun book, forgot the name.

Could it be "Children of Time" by Adrian Tchaikovsky?

(ht Claude)

Re: Octopuses seen hunting together with fish

#79

Post by [deleted] »

gpderetta wrote: post #55
neerajk wrote: post #22

aside: me after reading the headline: Shouldn't that be Octopii? But no! "The plural form octopii is doubly incorrect. Firstly, octopus derives from Greek, not Latin; its etymologically-consistent plural form is octopodes. Secondly, even if octopus were a second-declension Latin noun, the plural form would be octopi; in the correct plurals radii and gladii, with which octopii is analogous, the first ‘i’s are part of…

Incidentally, if, as per etymology, we consider the tentacles as feet, then the headline is wrong as the Octopodes are technically kicking the fishes.

[deleted]

Re: Octopuses seen hunting together with fish

#80

Post by drcongo »

pjmlp wrote: post #19
satvikpendem wrote: post #4

Octopuses are much more intelligent than many give them credit for, but sadly I also love takoyaki (but then again, eating horse and whale is also culturally acceptable in Japan, one of the few countries that allow it; I've tried both as well, they're pretty good).

Most European countries do have horse meat.

I've had horse in France and Belgium, it's not bad, though not as good as reindeer which I had in Finland (of course).
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