- spoonful, spoonfuls;
- bathhouse, bathhouses;
- forget-me-not, forget-me-nots;
- editor-in-chief, editors-in-chief;
- maid-of-honor, maids-of-honor;
- gentleman usher, gentlemen ushers;
- Knight Templar, Knights Templars;
- Lord Justice, Lords Justices;
- manservant, menservants.
79. Letters of the alphabet, figures, signs used in writing, and words regarded merely as words take ’s in the plural.
- “Embarrassed” is spelled with two r’s and two s’s.
- Your 3’s look like 8’s.
- Tell the printer to change the §’s to ¶’s.
- Don’t interrupt me with your but’s!
80. Foreign nouns in English sometimes retain their foreign plurals; but many have an English plural also.
Some of the commonest are included in the following list:[12]
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| alumna (feminine) | alumnæ |
| alumnus (masculine) | alumni |
| amanuensis | amanuenses |
| analysis | analyses |
| animalculum | animalcula[13] |
| antithesis | antitheses |
| appendix | appendices |
| appendixes | |
| axis | axes |
| bacillus | bacilli |
| bacterium | bacteria |
| bandit | banditti |
| bandits | |
| basis | bases |
| beau | beaux |
| beaus | |
| candelabrum | candelabra |
| cumulus | cumuli |
| cherub | cherubim |
| cherubs | |
| crisis | crises |
| curriculum | curricula |
| datum | data |
| ellipsis | ellipses |
| erratum | errata |
| formula | formulæ |
| formulas | |
| genius | genii |
| geniuses | |
| genus | genera |
| gymnasium | gymnasia |
| gymnasiums | |
| hippopotamus | hippopotami |
| hypothesis | hypotheses |
| larva | larvæ |
| memorandum | memoranda |
| memorandums | |
| nebula | nebulæ |
| oasis | oases |
| parenthesis | parentheses |
| phenomenon | phenomena |
| radius | radii |
| seraph | seraphim |
| seraphs | |
| species | species |
| stratum | strata |
| synopsis | synopses |
| tableau | tableaux |
| tempo | tempi |
| terminus | termini |
| thesis | theses |
| trousseau | trousseaux |
| vertebra | vertebræ |
The two plurals sometimes differ in meaning: as,—
- Michael Angelo and Raphael were geniuses.
- Spirits are sometimes called genii.
- This book has two indices.
- The printer uses signs called indexes.
81. When a proper name with the title Mr., Mrs., Miss, or Master, is put into the plural, the rules are as follows:—
1. The plural of Mr. is Messrs. (pronounced Messers[14]). The name remains in the singular. Thus,—