On Tue, Apr 12, 2011 at 5:54 PM, Roberto Halais <roberto.hal...@gmail.com> wrote: > What????????????? > > Did you get the license plates? >
John has been edumacating us for quite some time now. > > On Tue, Apr 12, 2011 at 7:53 PM, john gilmore <john_w_gilm...@msn.com>wrote: > >> We have been around this way before. The latin word 'virus' is an uncommon >> 2nd-declension neuter noun. (Most 2nd-declension neuter nouns end in 'um' >> in the nominative singular.) Thus 'virus' has no latin plural. If one is >> needed in English 'viruses' is available. >> >> The very common latin word 'vir', man, has the nominative plural 'viri', >> men. Moreover, 'ii' is impossible qua suffix: it can occur only when a stem >> ends in 'i', as in radius==>radii. >> >> Latin dropouts would indeed be well advised to avoid attempting to form the >> plural of -us words. They are too problematic: the singular 'opus' has the >> plural 'opera'; the singular 'octopus' has the plural 'octopodes', etc., >> etc. It is far better, albeit subliterate, to speak of octopuses than of >> octopi. >> >> John Gilmore Ashland, MA 01721-1817 USA >> >> >> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------- >> For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, >> send email to lists...@bama.ua.edu with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO >> Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html >> > > > > -- > "Those who can make you believe religious absurdities, can make you commit > atrocities." Voltaire > > The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has > killed a great many philosophers. Denis Diderot > > "Men will never be free until the last king is strangled with the entrails > of the last priest." Denis Diderot > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, > send email to lists...@bama.ua.edu with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO > Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For IBM-MAIN subscribe / signoff / archive access instructions, send email to lists...@bama.ua.edu with the message: GET IBM-MAIN INFO Search the archives at http://bama.ua.edu/archives/ibm-main.html
