FORMATION OF PLURALS IN WORDS OF FOREIGN ORIGIN
Plurals of nouns taken into English from other languages sometimes follow the laws of inflexion of those languages. But often, in non-technical works, additional forms are used, constructed after the English manner. Print as below, in cases where the author does not object. In scientific works the scientific method must of course prevail:
| SING. | addendum | PL. | addenda[26] |
| alkali | alkalis | ||
| alumnus | alumni | ||
| amanuensis | amanuenses | ||
| analysis | analyses | ||
| animalculum | animalcula | ||
| antithesis | antitheses | ||
| apex | apices | ||
| appendix | appendices | ||
| arcanum | arcana | ||
| automaton | automata | ||
| axis | axes | ||
| bandit | banditti | ||
| basis | bases | ||
| beau | beaux | ||
| bronchus | bronchi | ||
| calculus | calculi | ||
| calix | calices | ||
| chrysalis | chrysalises | ||
| coagulum | coagula | ||
| corrigendum | corrigenda[{26}] | ||
| cortex | cortices | ||
| crisis | crises | ||
| criterion | criteria | ||
| datum | data | ||
| desideratum | desiderata | ||
| dilettante | dilettanti | ||
| effluvium | effluvia | ||
| elenchus | elenchi | ||
| ellipsis | ellipses | ||
| ephemera | ephemerae | ||
| epithalamium | epithalamia | ||
| equinox | equinoxes | ||
| erratum | errata | ||
| focus | focuses (fam.) | ||
| formula | formulae | ||
| fungus | fungi | ||
| genius | geniuses[27] | ||
| (meaning a person or persons of genius) | |||
| genus | genera | ||
| helix | helices | ||
| hypothesis | hypotheses | ||
| ignis fatuus | ignes fatui | ||
| index | indexes[28] | ||
| iris | irises | ||
| lamina | laminae | ||
| larva | larvae | ||
| lemma | lemmas[29] | ||
| libretto | libretti | ||
| matrix | matrices | ||
| maximum | maxima | ||
| medium | mediums (fam.) | ||
| memorandum | memorandums[30] | ||
| (meaning a written note or notes) | |||
| metamorphosis | metamorphoses | ||
| miasma | miasmata | ||
| minimum | minima | ||
| nebula | nebulae | ||
| nucleus | nuclei | ||
| oasis | oases | ||
| papilla | papillae | ||
| parenthesis | parentheses | ||
| parhelion | parhelia | ||
| phenomenon | phenomena | ||
| radius | radii | ||
| radix | radices | ||
| sanatorium | sanatoria | ||
| scholium | scholia | ||
| spectrum | spectra | ||
| speculum | specula | ||
| stamen | stamens | ||
| stimulus | stimuli | ||
| stratum | strata | ||
| synopsis | synopses | ||
| terminus | termini | ||
| thesis | theses | ||
| virtuoso | virtuosi | ||
| volsella | volsellae | ||
| vortex | vortexes (fam.) | ||
FOOTNOTES:
[26] See reference to these words for another purpose on [p. 33].—H. H.
[27] Genius, in the sense of a tutelary spirit, must of course have the plural genii.—H. H.
[28] In scholarly works, indices is often preferred, and in the mathematical sense must always be used.—H. H.
[29] But lemmata in botany or embryology.—H. H.
[30] But in a collective or special sense we must print memoranda.—H. H.