1 Prius, 2 Prii???

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The Correct Plural Form Of Prius Is:
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'Prioris'
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This is because in Latin, the Noun form of Prius means:
earlier times,events, and/or actions. So if there's
multiple early times events and/or actions, thus the
singular form 'Prius', now becomes the plural form 'Prioris'.
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happy now, problem solved... now move on with life...
:angry: <_< :mellow: :huh: :lol: B)
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If you dont agree, then take Latin classes like i did.
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<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(bgdrewsif @ Mar 22 2006, 08:49 AM) [snapback]228398[/snapback]</div>

Could keep it simple and just say "I own three Prius hybrids." Or whatever number applies. Or "Prius cars."

Or "Prii-babies."

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(someone special @ Apr 19 2006, 01:40 PM) [snapback]242296[/snapback]</div>

No, that's not right. That Latin plural of prius is priora.

Prius is simply the neuter form of the Latin word prior, which is a third declension adjective. It's the same word that philosophers use in the phrase a priori. It follows the same paradigm as comparative adjectives such as melior, melius (better) or peior, peius (worse).

In the nominative case:

Masculine singular: prior
Feminine singular: prior
Neuter singular: prius

Masculine plural: priores
Feminine plural: priores
Neuter plural: priora

Prioris is genitive singular, same form for all three genders. It's certainly not plural.

For a word like this, no one should worry about Latin plurals, when speaking English, because it's too tricky to master Latin grammar correctly. Really, why should anyone care what the Latin plural is?

English-speaking people should use their own instincts to form English plurals, when speaking English, and in this case the plural should be "Priuses." Do we spend any time wondering about the German plural of Porsche, or BMW? Of course not. Who cares? Besides, Prius as a brand name isn't truly Latin in the first place. Romans never had several hybrid cars, in fact they never even had one of them, so they had no need of either a plural or singular word for them.

"Prii" is bad Latin, and "Prius" as a plural form is bad English, IMHO. I vote for "Priuses."

If we are going to be sticklers for Latin, at least let's get the Latin right. Otherwise, fuhgeddaboudit.

 

I tend to use "Prii" when I'm writing (because it's shorter) and "Priuses" when I'm speaking (because, to me, it sounds better.) I've never been mush for being concerned with rules.

"I was recently on a tour of Latin America, and the only regret I have was that I didn't study Latin harder in school so I could converse with those people." Dan Quayle

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(yauman @ Mar 22 2006, 03:57 PM) [snapback]228567[/snapback]</div>

Well, unlike languages such as French, English is defined by its common usage, not by committee. Therefore, if you look them up in the dictionary, you will find that focuses, foci, radiuses, radii, cactuses, cacti, octopuses, and octopi are all considered acceptable plural forms of the words.

It maybe that “focuses†was once an improper plural form of focus, but it no longer matters, because once it became common usage, it became part of the English language.

So, the moral of this story is that proper plural of Prius will be whatever becomes the common usage. It doesn’t matter what the Latin form would be, or how it compares to other English words. If the majority of English speakers use “Prii†as the plural of Prius, it will become the plural of Prius. Likewise, if the majority uses “Priuses†as the plural, then that will become the plural. The third alternative is that they will both become accepted plurals.

The English language is a democracy. You vote on changes every time you speak or write. So use whatever plural form of Prius you wish and cast your vote. Make up your own plural forms if you wish. If enough people use it, then it could become the accepted plural of Prius.

 

QUOTE: ...and I suspect Prius is neutral.

NOW, NOW, you've hurt Ernestine's feelings. She is DEFINITELY not NEUTRAL. She is named after Lili Tomlin's telephone operator character from Laugh In. When I pose a question or request, such as "Go Home" she sometimes responds with something like "Showing Post Office Icons" or "Showing Barber Shop Icons" or sometimes even "Setting Home as Destination." This reminded me of Lili's comments like: [Holding nose] "Have I reached the party to whom I'm speaking?" Rather than being irritated, I view this as entertainment.

As for the plural of Prius, I use both Prii and Prius.

 

I like the sound of Prii better.. Prii sounds more smug than Priuses

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(yauman @ Mar 22 2006, 11:57 AM) [snapback]228567[/snapback]</div>

The Latin word "virus" does not have a plural. The plural ending in -i is for second declension masculine nouns. "Virus" is an exception, because it is second declension ending in -us, but it is neuter. As it happens, the Latin word "virus" was never used in the plural. So there is no Latin model to follow, for this word. "Viri" is a totally different Latin word, and it's not the plural of "virus."

Many well-known borrowings from Latin ending in -us do not have a Latin plural in -i, for example: status/status, hiatus/hiatus, genus/genera, corpus/corpora, opus/opera.

Priora is not femine, it's neuter. The feminine singular is "prior" and the feminine plural is "priores."

If we are going to be sticklers about Latin, the we need to get the Latin correct. Otherwise, just forget about it. "Viruses" is a perfectly acceptable English plural form, which happens to be based on a Latin word. Just like the words "centurions" or "temples" or "miles." Even highly literate English speakers cannot tell you the original Latin plurals of these words -- but why should we expect them to? Who cares? It just doesn't matter.

In English, "stadiums" and "forums" are acceptable forms. For some reason, English preserves the Greek plural of "criterion," which is "criteria."

English is a perfectly good language, with a nice morphology. We can import words and apply our own morphology to them, just as other languages do. What's wrong with slapping a plural -es onto a word that ends in -us? There's no problem with it. It's the *correct* way to do things, in English.

I don't know what "Prii" is, but it certainly is not Latin.

 

The totally fun thing about English is that we all get to vote. Usage will determine the Plural of Prius. Not Latin, not English, not French, not German! Unlike some other Indo-European languages English tends to adopt new words from other languages and then makes them work! We have been doing this for a long time. The French hate it! You and I will use the word and it will become part of the "dictionary" and that will change. My 6th Grade Grammar and English teacher is spinning in her grave with some present usage of the English Language but it has always been this way. We do not stay with in our own language like German. Look at German technical vocabulary it is like antograms. God help you it you are not proficient in the language so you can parse the line long words into their parts! We take, adapt, and make our own words from many languages. We are gallic, Latin, french, Scandinavian, German, Hindu, Chinese, etc.... Etc. We invent new words. Name the properties of a Quark! So Prius, Prii, Priuses you vote by using our language. It is our beauty and our weakness. God help those learning this strange language!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hdrygas @ May 13 2006, 08:52 PM) [snapback]254950[/snapback]</div>

at

Of course, that's also what makes English such a hard language for non-English speakers to learn. In French, for instance, once you learn how to conjugate a few verbs, and learn a few basic pronunciation and pluralization rules, then it's just a matter of memorizing vocabulary. Not so with English!

 

I had a long discussion with my 13-year old daughter on this topic.

One suggestion is that Prius is like moose or sheep - the singular form and plural form are the same. In which case, you have "saw a Prius" and "we own two Prius."

I really cannot see using "Priuses" any more than I can see using "mooses" or "sheeps".

Prii is cute, and Priora is okay, but it is difficult to see either becoming mainstream English. Prii probably stands more of a chance than Priora.

Thoughts?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(idaten @ Mar 25 2006, 03:42 PM) [snapback]230112[/snapback]</div>

:lol: :lol: :lol:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jeneric @ Mar 26 2006, 10:48 PM) [snapback]230750[/snapback]</div>

Now if you came upon the situation of Jesus from Mexico and Jesus from Nazareth would it not sound correct to use the word "Jesii" as the plural? Just a thought B)
Perhaps I'm adding monkey wrenchii into the thread.
Gary

 

I asked my wife, who is a Latin teacher, about 1 Prius, 2 Prii, etc, and this is what she said:

Prius is a masculine noun; if it were neuter, it would be written as prium.
(Assuming we have made a new Latin noun, Prius, for the car thing)

The declension of Prius (singular and plural) is:

Nominative: Prius Priī (The prius, priī)
Genitive: Priī Priorum (Of the prius, priī)
Dative: Priō Priīs (To the prius, priī)
Accusitive: Prium Priōs (I see the prius, priī)
Ablative: Priō Priīs (In/on the prius, priī)

John

In meō priō laetissimus sum. (In my prius, most happy am I) - Yoda :lol:

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