03.23.06

Two entries. One day. What an incredible word nerd. (See previous entry...if you wanna. I ain't the boss of you. Gee.)

The lovely Hiss sent a note in response to my previous entry. She asked if the plural of penis was peni. Well, this gal etymologist put on her stalking cap and went a-huntin'. (Hey Hiss, can my super secret, superhero identity be Gal Etymologist? Or should I go with Editrix with a Whip?) (Hmmmmmm.)

Did I get a fast brush up on Latin declensions or what? Damn.

Turns out that Latin nouns fall into five declensions (declension--I looked it up because I wasn't sure I actually remembered its meaning or just thought I did--in certain languages, the inflection of nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in categories such as case, number, and gender dictionary.com). Seems that some confusion arises from the second declension noun endings. (Is it just me or is declension starting to look totally weird?) Second declension nouns end in -us, and the plural is -i. In common speech -is and -us are often pronounced the same way. Aural confusion, and the rise of "dog-latin", gave rise to the incorrect application of the second declension plural noun ending.

*pant* *pant* *pant* Phew!

Penis is a third declension noun. The singular ending in a third declension noun is -is, and the plural ending is -es. So, if you're a smarty-pants (as I can be) the hyper-correct, baffle the squares, plural of penis is penes. This term is often used as a technical term amongst researchers and, I guess, urologists. However, the common plural, penises, is quite proper amongst (I am going to heck for this) laypeople.

As an interesting aside, the most proper, I'm a clever cunt, plural of clitoris is clitorides. Do not fret, clitorises is fine.

Go forth. Frighten the mundanes. Be fabulous.

Back one. ||||| Forward one.