What is the etymology of the "pus" part of the word "octopus?
Question #142063. Asked by Creedy.
Last updated Jan 04 2016.
Originally posted Jan 03 2016 11:41 PM.
looney_tunes
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looney_tunes Moderator 19 year member
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"1758, genus name of a type of eight-armed cephalopod mollusks, from Greek oktopous, literally "eight-foot," from okto "eight" (see eight) + pous "foot," from PIE root *ped- (1) "a foot" (see foot (n.)). Proper plural is octopodes, though octopuses probably works better in English. Octopi (1817) is from mistaken assumption that -us in this word is the Latin noun ending that takes -i in plural."
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=octopus