What's the plural of Dookus?

[Dookus]

Not a subject that comes up often, since I'm a member of a very elite group of one, but just in case....

[Wonk]

1. Robb

:+

[corporatewhore]

2. the plural nominative is dooki

[Rabrrrrrr]

4. ah, do not be so quick with that assessment: could be Dookuses or Dookera

or Dooki. We don't know what case it is. Nor do we know if it's latin or greek. Check this out:

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mplurals.html

It's really long, but amazingly in depth. I especially love when it gets to hippopotamus and rhinoceros and some other weird words at the end.

This showed me a bunch of stuff I did not know.

I would suggest that, most likely, the plural of Dookus, especially since we're in an English speaking country, would just be Dookuses. Or possibly Dookera.

One other group of Latin nouns in -us is different. These are fourth-declension masculine nouns. The plural in Latin is spelled the same as the singular, but the u is pronounced long rather than short. When these words are borrowed into English, the English-style plural is almost always preferred over the Latin. We have censuses, hiatuses, sinuses, and fetuses (or foetuses). The second-declension style endings are never correct, so no cenci, hiati, sini, or feti please. Apparatus is rarely pluralized in English. When a plural is needed, either apparatus or apparatuses is acceptable, but never apparati. It so happens that penus, the near homophone of penis that I mentioned above, is a real word in Latin but of the fourth declension, so the plural is penus, not peni. It means "household stock," something you would presumably want to stow along with the family jewels.

Yet another group of Latin nouns in -us follow different rules. If you're still taking notes, these form another subset of the third declension. Typically in these cases the singular does not include the full root. The plural of genus is genera (not genuses and certainly not geni). In English the plural of opus (meaning a creative work) is opera (or opuses). In Latin, opera was originally the plural of opus, but in both Latin and English, opera can correctly be treated as a singular. In English the plural of opera (the thing that ain't over till the fat lady sings) is operas. When opera is used as a singular in Latin (where it meant more of less the same thing as opus), the correct plural is operae, but this is rarely if ever used in English.

So the plural could even be Dookera.

[corporatewhore]

5. I miss latin class am i weird?

[Rabrrrrrr]

6. I wish I had studied it

I';ve picked some up over the years dealing with biblical and theological texts and science and also singing in church choirs, but familiarity with individual words is nothing compared to what it would be like if I understood its construction, and a lot more words. :-)

[corporatewhore]

24. Very easy to learn

far more simple than english just pick up a used high school text book the structure is pretty straight forward.

[Rabrrrrrr]

26. Aye, some day...

other languages to learn first, though...

[burrowowl]

30. Ah!

but learning Latin helps to learn other languages (e.g. German), gives one a perspective on language, etc.
American Sign Language also gives one an interesting perspective on language.

[Rabrrrrrr]

39. Already have German - next up is Japanese, and more Hebrew

For which Latin isn't so helpful...

So I'll slowly keep picking up some Latin. Nice to know it's not that hard to teach oneself, though.

I always assumed it was a real bastard of a language.

[moof]

3. Drat, a poll by Dookus, & moof has to Recuse

retreat, well anyway since the answer is known here at the moof hut,
ethics restrain participation in this poll.

[Dookus]

7. You can vote...

naturally WE know the answer, but this is a test for the others.

[WealthAndDemocracy]

8. Dooki

[Dookus]

9. ah, but is it pronounced

dook-eye or dook-ee?

[WealthAndDemocracy]

11. Yes

[Rabrrrrrr]

13. You don't know that - see post 4

Dookus has to tell us what kind of noun he is first.

[Dookus]

18. I don't know what kind of noun I am...

I read the word "penis" in post 4 and got sidetracked.

I'm pretty sure I'm a proper noun, cuz I often capitalize myself. Other than that, I'm not too sure.

[Rabrrrrrr]

23. Well, you have the options, pick one

It's your noun, you decide. But we can't give you a plural until you tell us what you are. Or else you can arbitrarily decide on your own plural.

But as a very irregular noun - that is, unique - and since you invented the word, it really comes down to your choice.

I think it would be cool if the plural of Dookus were Dookii.

Hell, you could be a Hebrew word, and then you'd likely be Dookusim.

Or if you were German, you'd be Dookusen.

If your name is Sichuanese, then I think you'd be Dookus Dookus in the plural, though I'm sure I would be pronouncing it with the wrong pitch and I wouldn't be swallowing the correct consonant.

But, you have to decide.

[Dookus]

29. hrmm...

i'm sorta fond of "Dookus Dookus"

And I like Chinese food.

[OldEurope]

32. Sorry, but in German it would be:

Dookusse.

Oh, and perhaps it´s ancient Greek, so I propose:
Dookoi

:hi:

[Sinistrous]

10. If there were more than one Dookus, there would be

chaos. So I guess the plural of Dookus is chaos.

[jpgray]

14. Second that answer--there is Dookus and there is anti-Dookus (nt)

[Rabrrrrrr]

17. What's the energy release of a Dookus/anti-Dookus annihilation?

I bet it's a lot! Maybe this could be a new power-source.

[Sinistrous]

20. I believe the formula is

e = Dc^3

[Dookus]

15. heheh...

What you call Chaos I call Beauty.

[Sinistrous]

19. Yeah, verily.

Just playing with words. No hard feelings, I hope. Hell, you could have a field day with that stupid nick I saddled myself with.

[Pithlet]

12. I like Dookeaux the best

but the correct one is probably Dooki.

[anti-bush]

16. The correct plural is Dookakis

It's complicated, but that's the correct plural.

[Sinistrous]

21. Kudos! Yours gave me the best laugh of the bunch.

.

[OldEurope]

35. Interesting proposal. But if Kudos is the plural of Dookus, then

what are you going to do with the left over o ?

:evilgrin:

[bubblesby2002]

22. Dookeaux...

Appeals to me because of my Canadianess you know French and all that.

[necso]

25. It is Dookus.

As in: dominatus -us m. mastery , absolute power.

[Dookus]

28. ooh...

I like that part about Absolute Power!

[Dr.Phool]

27. Dukakis?

[dmr]

33. You beat me to it!

:)

[wickerwoman]

31. Deekus

as in goose, geese.

Dookus sounds much more like an Anglo-Saxon extraction than a Latin one (does Latin even have that "oo" phoneme?) so it should decline following Old English rules for weak nouns.

Bez (only halfway talking out of her dookus)

[Rhiannon12866]

34. You are all very amusing, LOL!

:D

[Nihil]

36. Diikus?

(Just don't go to Virginia in case they misunderstand and charge you
with a felony ...)

[Maeve]

37. It depends--is it Latin?

Because there is a great article on the declension of Latin nouns over on Straight Dope--

What is the plural of penis?

(short answer--assuming a second declension latin noun--"dooki")

DAmn! should have looked...Rabrrrrrr already posted that link

[Rabrrrrrr]

40. yeah, I was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay ahead of ya

:-) :hi: Maeve!!

[SOteric]

38. Dookae?