If it feels right, Prius !

BurrmondRay@nospam.noemail wrote:
IMNVHO the plural of Prius is Priuses.

Paul

Paul Russell <prussell@sonic.net> wrote:

Yes, seriously. A Latin word ending in -ius is properly pluralized as
-ii. For example, the plural of radius is radii.* Prius is a made-up
name, not a Latin word, so standard pluralization applies, hence the
plural is Priuses. It does sound odd, though.

*Many dictionaries accept "radiuses" as an alternative plural form.

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<BurrmondRay@nospam.noemail> wrote in message
news:p9pl73tjgnqh091mp817gp1vbofrk24b6c@4ax.com...
I like the solution somebody else came up with: Prius cars.

On Thu, 21 Jun 2007 20:56:47 -0700, "Michael Pardee"
<michaeltnull@cybertrails.com> wrote:

Prius cars are the Priust !

Mike Rosenberg wrote:
Since we're both right about this I guess it makes us a pair of geniuses.

Paul

On Jun 21, 4:59 pm, Burrmond...@nospam.noemail wrote:
<sigh> My original response seems to have been eaten by gremlins...
I hope I find all of my source material again...

Toyota officials have said that Prius is used singular or plural,
similar to the like of sheep or fish or deer.
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/...s/message/3576
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/...us/message/753

The Latin root of "prius" is "prior," which is a 3rd declension
comparitive adjective. "Prius" is the 3rd declension neuter nomitive/
accusitive form, so the plural of "prius" is either "priora" (neuter)
or "priores" (m/f). Latin 3rd declension adjectives in the nominative/
accusitive form (such as "prius") can also be a comparitive adverb,
which have no plural.
http://www.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/l...=prior&ending=
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_declension

However, many people are much more used to the usual pluralization of
2nd declension nouns, where -us is changed to -i. See: cactus ->
cacti, fungus -> fungi. Hence, the common usage of the plural of
Prius to be "Prii." But, not every word follows in that fashion...
For example, the correct plural of octopus is octopuses, although some
still like to use octopi. (Same goes for hippopotamus ->
hippopotamuses (and not hippopotami).)
http://www.askoxford.com/asktheexper...lurals?view=uk
(BTW: for Latin 4th declension nouns ending in -us, their plual is
also -us (long u)...)

Do note that "prius" is not a verb, as Toyota claims ("to go before"),
and actually translates to before, formerly...
(http://toyota.custhelp.com/ (Toyota FAQ site) and search for "model
names")

Following regular English pluralization rules, the plural of "Prius"
would be "Priuses."

Some also believe that "Prius" is a proper name/trademark, and so
should be used as an adjective. One Prius car, two Prius cars, one
Prius tire, four Prius tires. Like SPAM luncheon meat or LEGO blocks
or Scotch cellophane tape.

Whatever plural form you choose, we can usually figure out what you
mean. Everyone seems to have their favorite version...

Mike Rosenberg wrote:
Were you there when I got flamed by the pompous ignoramuses* who seem
to think that "Unix" is Latin and that the plural ought to be
"Unices!?"

You know these folks are pompous asses because they choose Latin
(though they know nothing of it,) thinking it makes them appear
learned. One wonders why they don't choose one of the other languages
in which Prius is not a word (that could be any language.) Why not
Hebrew? Is it masculine "priusim" or feminine "priusot?" (Sorry, no
majuscules in Hebrew.) But forget about Thai and a bunch of other Asian
languages that have /no/ plurals.

Davoud

Owner of a Prius, fan of Prius automobiles.

* That's not "ignorami" because "ignoramus" is not a Latin noun; it's a
Latin verb.

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Davoud <see@below.net> wrote:

It sounds familiar. I always thought the plural was "flavors of Unix".
;-)

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"Davoud" <see@below.net> wrote in message
news:230620070004433606%see@below.net...
A friend of mine pointed out why our legal and medical professions (at least
in the USA) rely on Latin. It's precisely because it *is* a dead language;
the meanings don't change. When we say somebody was "in a funk" it means a
very different thing today (unhappy) than it did a few centuries ago
(terrified.) I'm old enough to remember when it was clear that something
marked "inflammable" should be kept from sources of ignition, when something
that was "gnarly" had a specific appearance and when "gay" meant something
else altogether. (Actually, I remember when it was transitioning and for a
year or so meant pan-sexual.)

I suspect if we could bring an ancient Roman here in a time machine and ask
him (in Latin, of course!) what the plural of Prius is, he would have a
puzzled look.

Mike

Prius, which is Latin for "to go before", is Masculine.
If Prius is used as a proper noun, which I assume it is for the car, then
Prii is the correct plural form.

But, I suspect, Priuses is going to be the popular plural, however
incorrect.

John

<BurrmondRay@nospam.noemail> wrote in message
news:p9pl73tjgnqh091mp817gp1vbofrk24b6c@4ax.com...

"Mike Rosenberg" <mikePOST@TOGROUPmacconsult.com> wrote in message
news:1i02kkq.vht47s1qhsi7xN%mikePOST@TOGROUPmaccon sult.com...
Is it just my imagination, or is the battle over made-up words often more
intense than the one over actual, real words of legitimate origin? Maybe we
should be glad we aren't trying to determine the plural of Leganza, Xterra
or Vue.

pakman wrote:
If Prius meant "to go before" then it would be a verb, and verbs don't
have a gender. As it is, Latin verbs don't end in -us or -ius, so I
doubt that it means this (actually I doubt that Prius is even a Latin word).

Nope - look in your dictionary - what is the correct plural for genius
(when used in its most common sense) ?

Paul

Paul Russell wrote:
OK - curiosity got the better of me so I looked it up - /prius/ is a
Latin adjective/adverb meaning "before" or "formerly". The plural would
be /priora/ but it would be nonsensical to use this as the plural of
Prius when Prius is used as an English noun. There is a mention of this
on Wikipedia: <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius>.

Paul

Michelle Steiner <michelle@michelle.org> wrote:

In case anyone's wondering, Michelle is referring to
comp.sys.mac.system.

Say, Michelle, Mark Conrad once claimed to drive a Prius, but knowing
him, he's probably found an alternate way to use it that makes sense
only to him while severely reducing his mileage.

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On Jun 21, 6:03 pm, mikeP...@TOGROUPmacconsult.com (Mike Rosenberg)
wrote:

"Prius" is a Latin word. However, the definition that Toyota supplies
is not correct.

On Jun 23, 10:26 am, "Michael Pardee" <michaeltn...@cybertrails.com>
wrote:
Yes, because the plural would depend on what the gender of the noun
that the adjective "prius" is modifying.

<mrv@kluge.net> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:1182708913.654881.126300@c77g2000hse.googlegr oups.com...
Maybe this may help: in Italian nobody would dream of using the plural of
Prius so the subject of this thread: "Wife & I have 2 Prius" in Italian is
"Io e mia moglie abbiamo 2 Prius" and, you know, Italian comes from
Latin...
Prius is perceived as Latin adverb (earlier, before, ahead) or, most
probably, a proper name with no plural usage.
I have 2 Apples or 2 Apple or 2 Apple computers?

Diako

"Michelle Steiner" <michelle@michelle.org> ha scritto nel messaggio
news:michelle-036181.13191125062007@news.east.cox.net...
If they're cars, you have two Prius cars... right?

Diako

Michael Pardee:
mrv@kluge.net:
No, he would have a puzzled look because "Prius" in the sense it is
used here -- the name of an automobile -- is not a Latin word and he
would have no knowledge of automobiles, no knowledge of Japan, and no
insight into how Japanese automobile manufacturers name their cars.
Might as well ask him the Latin plural of Camry.

Davoud

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