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Page 2 of 5 < 1 2 3 4 5 > Topic Options #5624 - 08/25/00 06:15 AM Re: Virii - why not? wsieber old hand Registered: 03/15/00 Posts: 1027 Loc: Switzerland >the plural is viri in latin... yes, but that is the plural of vir (=man), whereas virus is of neuter gender, and therefore has the plural vira, see http://lysy2.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/WORDS.EXE?vira I must admit I never saw this plural in contemporary use. To me, it sounds vastly more elegant than viruses, not to speak of virii, which we should rather not put into circulation. Top #5625 - 08/25/00 09:37 AM Re: Virii - why not? Jazzoctopus old hand Registered: 07/03/00 Posts: 1094 Loc: Cincinnati & Loveland, Ohio, U... well, maybe we should compromise with octopodes then... I'd have to say that I prefer octopi. Top #5626 - 08/25/00 11:06 AM Re: Virii - why not? william enthusiast Registered: 07/12/00 Posts: 200 what's archaic about octopuses? i've never heard octopodes in my life. was it meant to be a joke? Top #5627 - 08/25/00 09:01 PM Re: Virii - why not? Jackie Carpal Tunnel Registered: 03/15/00 Posts: 11613 Loc: Louisville, Kentucky Goodness me! william, you're right--take a day off and who knows what you'll find when you return. Such agonizings, over what was plainly stated as a made-up-in-total-subjectivity word, though it did lead, as these things so often seem to do here, to other interesting items. Max, have you ever considered moving to Hawaii? Just think of how often you'd get to see and use that lovely ii. Top #5628 - 08/25/00 09:26 PM Re: Virii - why not? tsuwm Carpal Tunnel Registered: 04/03/00 Posts: 10538 Loc: this too shall pass >i've never heard octopodes in my life. was it meant to be a joke? not at all. YCLIU Top #5629 - 08/25/00 10:05 PM Max Quordlepleen Carpal Tunnel Registered: 08/12/00 Posts: 3409 Top #5630 - 08/25/00 11:23 PM Re: Virii - why not? Jackie Carpal Tunnel Registered: 03/15/00 Posts: 11613 Loc: Louisville, Kentucky Max, my NZ connection told me that the two languages originated in the same area. (What he based this on, I don't know.) Interestingly, he said he gets Maori words by studying the vowel structure. I don't speak or read Hawaiian, but I know it is a language brimming with vowels. He taught me how to pronounce Aotearoa. One of the Hawaiian islands is Oahu: three syllables! Top #5631 - 08/26/00 12:16 AM Re: Virii - why not? tsuwm Carpal Tunnel Registered: 04/03/00 Posts: 10538 Loc: this too shall pass humuhumunukunukuapuaa - a *small* Hawaiian fish Top #5632 - 08/26/00 03:05 AM Max Quordlepleen Carpal Tunnel Registered: 08/12/00 Posts: 3409 Top #5633 - 08/26/00 03:11 AM Max Quordlepleen Carpal Tunnel Registered: 08/12/00 Posts: 3409 Top Page 2 of 5 < 1 2 3 4 5 > Previous Topic Index Next Topic Preview Hop to: General Topics ------   Information and announcements   Q&A about words   Wordplay and fun   Words and languages in schools   Miscellany   Weekly Themes   Looking for (writers, speakers, ...) (Old) Weekly themes. (have been consolidated into a single forum above) ------   Words from medicine   Beheading words   Meta-words   Words from classical mythology   Animal Safari   Words with unusual etymologies   Eponyms or words derived from people's names.   Loanwords from German   English as a global language Moderator:  Jackie  Print Topic Switch to Threaded Mode View profile Send a PM Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM View homepage Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM View homepage Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM View homepage Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM Add to your Watched Users View posts View profile Send a PM Add to your Watched Users View posts Forum Stats 8946 Members 16 Forums 13866 Topics 222188 Posts Max Online: 3341 @ 12/09/11 02:15 PM Newest Members Daksh1, geoffhargreaves, Guadalupe, may2point0, Lonnie 8946 Registered Users Who's Online 0 registered (), 35 Guests and 6 Spiders online. Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod Top Posters (30 Days) wofahulicodoc 63 LukeJavan8 53 may2point0 16 May 3 Tromboniator 3 geoffhargreaves 1 Top Posters wwh 13858 Faldage 13803 Jackie 11613 tsuwm 10538 LukeJavan8 8429 Buffalo Shrdlu 7210 wofahulicodoc 6786 AnnaStrophic 6511 Wordwind 6296 of troy 5400

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