Proper Plural for Prius

[Plain_jim]

Mods, feel free to move this post if you feel it's misplaced; I didn't see a better place for it.

OK, all, here's the deal. I own a Prius, and my wife does, too. So the issue has arisen about the proper plural form of the word "Prius". If "Prius" is an English word, there are two likely possibilities: either the regular for "Priuses", or the use of the singular-for-the-plural (i.e., the same word "Prius" is used for the singular and the plural). I confess I hate the word "Priuses"; it looks both unfinished and unnecessarily gaudy at the same time.

Now, I've also seen the word "Prii" used for the plural. This suggests that the word "Prius" is a second-declension Latin noun (it's clear from the contexts that users are simply using the nominative case form without regard to placement in the sentence in their English-language posts, a habit that has a long and respectable academic history). However, if "Prius" is a fourth-declension Latin noun, then it's masculine in gender (regular users of Latin know that there is neither rhyme nor reason to the assignment of gender among nouns in that august tongue), and the plural form is the same as the singular: "Prius". (Of course if the plural is "Prius", we may never know of the word is a fourth-declension Latin noun, or simply an English word with an irregular plural form.)

What is the sense of the meeting on this burning issue? In the words of the young John Milton, author of Paradise Lost, "My ear is open like a hungry shark/To catch the tunings of a voice divine" (a wonderfully wretched couplet to come from such a great poet).

===

The "goose/moose/mongoose" reference in the subtitle refers to the way these three words, with the same ending, make plurals differently: goose/geese, moose/moose, mongoose/mongooses. My second-year classical languages teacher regaled us one day with the story of the movie producer who needed two mongooses for a scene, but knew he didn't know the proper plural form. He called the wranglers and said, "Send me over a handler and a mongoose. In fact, while you're at it, send along another mongoose." As you can probably guess, you'll not be seeing that classical languages prof on Comedy Central any time soon.

[hycamguy07]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Plain_jim @ Sep 7 2006, 05:44 AM) [snapback]315621[/snapback]</div>

Mods, feel free to move this post if you feel it's misplaced; I didn't see a better place for it.

OK, all, here's the deal. I own a Prius, and my wife does, too. So the issue has arisen about the proper plural form of the word "Prius". If "Prius" is an English word, there are two likely possibilities: either the regular for "Priuses", or the use of the singular-for-the-plural (i.e., the same word "Prius" is used for the singular and the plural). I confess I hate the word "Priuses"; it looks both unfinished and unnecessarily gaudy at the same time.

Now, I've also seen the word "Prii" used for the plural. This suggests that the word "Prius" is a second-declension Latin noun (it's clear from the contexts that users are simply using the nominative case form without regard to placement in the sentence in their English-language posts, a habit that has a long and respectable academic history). However, if "Prius" is a fourth-declension Latin noun, then it's masculine in gender (regular users of Latin know that there is neither rhyme nor reason to the assignment of gender among nouns in that august tongue), and the plural form is the same as the singular: "Prius". (Of course if the plural is "Prius", we may never know of the word is a fourth-declension Latin noun, or simply an English word with an irregular plural form.)

What is the sense of the meeting on this burning issue? In the words of the young John Milton, author of Paradise Lost, "My ear is open like a hungry shark/To catch the tunings of a voice divine" (a wonderfully wretched couplet to come from such a great poet).

===

The "goose/moose/mongoose" reference in the subtitle refers to the way these three words, with the same ending, make plurals differently: goose/geese, moose/moose, mongoose/mongooses. My second-year classical languages teacher regaled us one day with the story of the movie producer who needed two mongooses for a scene, but knew he didn't know the proper plural form. He called the wranglers and said, "Send me over a handler and a mongoose. In fact, while you're at it, send along another mongoose." As you can probably guess, you'll not be seeing that classical languages prof on Comedy Central any time soon.
[/b]

I would think it's Prius's would do... I wonder how the English would pronounce the word Prius..

[KMO]

Hi Jim.

Actually, in Latin, prius is mainly a comparative adverb (in which case it's invariant) or a third-declension comparative adjective, meaning "earlier" or indeed "prior".

The adjective can be used as a noun, in which case it means something like "forefather" or "predecessor". Being third declension, "prior" is the common nominative singular, "prius" is the neuter nominative singular, and "priora" is the neuter nominative plural.

So if you want to be Latin (which I personally don't), it's Prius/Priora. "Prii" is nonsense .

For me, it's "Priuses", anyway, in speech. It's a bit of an affectation to use Latin plurals in English. If writing, it looks ugly, so I'd try to avoid using the plural (this is Toyota's usual approach).

[Oxo]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(priusguy04 @ Sep 7 2006, 04:59 AM) [snapback]315626[/snapback]</div>

I would think it's Prius's..
[/b]

No! This is known as "the greengrocer's apostrophe" and is generally regarded as a solecism. Why not use 'Prius' as both a singular and plural? Many English words come from foreign languages but that doesn't mean we have to adopt the plural conventions of those languages. If you don't like Prius as a plural, just say "I have two Prius cars on the drive".

[KMO]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Oxo @ Sep 7 2006, 11:27 AM) [snapback]315632[/snapback]</div>

No!
[/b]

I was assuming he was joking, so didn't dignify it with a response. :P

While we're on the Latin lesson, I'd like to point out that not only is "prius" part of the Latin word "prior" that went straight into English, it also has the superlative form "primus", meaning "first", which of course gives us "primary", "primordial", etc. Fascinating, eh?

[prius2go]

Since we're talking English rather than Latin the plural will be Priuses
similar to buses
However in some countries it's busses so Priusses

Or you could avoid the plural altogether as in a shoal of fish, or a herd of sheep (hence sheep herd) now flock of sheep....

A pair of Prius

[dragonfly]

You guys are all too smart for your own good! :P
Prius is a name, like Jones. We're going driving with the Joneses in our Priuses.

[Plain_jim]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(KMO @ Sep 7 2006, 06:17 AM) [snapback]315630[/snapback]</div>

Hi Jim.

Actually, in Latin, prius is mainly a comparative adverb (in which case it's invariant) or a third-declension comparative adjective, meaning "earlier" or indeed "prior".

The adjective can be used as a noun, in which case it means something like "forefather" or "predecessor". Being third declension, "prior" is the common nominative singular, "prius" is the neuter nominative singular, and "priora" is the neuter nominative plural.

So if you want to be Latin (which I personally don't), it's Prius/Priora. "Prii" is nonsense .

For me, it's "Priuses", anyway, in speech. It's a bit of an affectation to use Latin plurals in English. If writing, it looks ugly, so I'd try to avoid using the plural (this is Toyota's usual approach).
[/b]

I REALLY like "Priora"; it suits my taste for pedantry and unnecessary complication. But 1) I doubt anyone else would ever go for it, and 2) I doubt anyone, anywhere, would know what I was talking about without a bunch of longwinded explanation and patronizing glances. As for eyerolls, this would be just the thing to cause more of them, and I get at least two a day from my wife as it is.

[KMO]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Plain_jim @ Sep 7 2006, 12:59 PM) [snapback]315642[/snapback]</div>

I REALLY like "Priora"; it suits my taste for pedantry and unnecessary complication.
[/b]

Thought you'd like it. Don't think I could actually use it with a straight face. I just keep mentioning it in various fora () because whenever people start talking about the Latin, they get it wrong, and I just can't stand leaving misinformation uncorrected...

[daniel]

I wholly agree with those posters above who point out that we are speaking English, and therefore it makes no sense to try to use foreign plural forms. Also that "Prii" looks bad in writing and sounds wrong in speaking.

I am gratified by the OP's explanation that "Prii" is wrong even in Latin (I deeply regret that my generation was not taught latin in school.)

Since we are speaking English, I use "Priuses" or sometimes "Prius" as the plural. Since Prius is not even a word in English, but rather a proper noun foisted upon us by the Japanese, there is no "correct" answer. But the fact that these same Japanese have chosen to avoid the plural entirely suggests that there is not a separate plural form, and that the convention to follow, in their opinion, is that of "moose."

Nobody would ever dream of saying, "Look sweetheart: there's a moose in the garden. No, wait! There are two mii."

It is quite acceptable in English, and it sounds best, to say, "Today I saw three Prius on the road, all in a row."