nouns - When a word has both English and 'Latin' plurals, which style should I use?


Many 'Latin' words in English have both Latin-style plurals and English-style plurals:




  • referendum – referendums, referenda.

  • minimum – minimums, minima.

  • gymnasium – gymnasiums, gymnasia.

  • aquarium – aquariums, aquaria.

  • amoeba – amoebas, amoebae.

  • antenna – antennas, antennae.

  • formula – formulas, formulae.

  • index – indexes, indices.

  • appendix – appendixes, appendices.



In technical language, generally, Latin-style is the only proper form of Latin plurals.


In all other contexts where both Latin-style and English-style are proper, which style of plural should I use?




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