Plural of the word "status"

Hi

My colleagues and I are debating the plural form of the word "STATUS". I'm convinced that it is "STATES", but others insist that it is "STATUSES", which to me sounds incorrect.

Checking a number of online dictionaries, produces different results: some say it is a valid word, whilst others do not.

Any comments or clarifications greatly accepted.

Chris.

[Tdol]

Merriam-Webster give it as 'statuses':
http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionar...&va=status

Wouldn't the other form be 'stati'?
http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en...UK%7CcountryGB

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by Chris Hudson

Hi

My colleagues and I are debating the plural form of the word "STATUS". I'm convinced that it is "STATES", but others insist that it is "STATUSES", which to me sounds incorrect.

Checking a number of online dictionaries, produces different results: some say it is a valid word, whilst others do not.

Any comments or clarifications greatly accepted.

Chris.

State and status can be synonyms, but both have their own plural forms. I would go with "statuses". Even my unabridged dictionary does not list "stati". :wink:

[Tdol]

I could only find it through Google; I'd never heard it.

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by tdol

I could only find it through Google; I'd never heard it.

Sometimes, when people do that, they choose nouns from the wrong Latin declension. I don't know where "status" falls in that. 8)

[Tdol]

I think the 'status\states' idea comes from a confusion with 'analysis\analyses'.

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by tdol

I think the 'status\states' idea comes from a confusion with 'analysis\analyses'.

That's possible. Good point. :wink:

[zb42]

Note that the plural of status is not statuses or even stati. Like salmon and
sheep, the plural of status is simply status. However, according to the Oxford
English Dictionary these are pronounced differently: the ‘u’ in the singular is as the ‘u’ in datum, whereas the plural has an ‘u’ as in tune.

[BobK]

Originally Posted by MikeNewYork

Sometimes, when people do that, they choose nouns from the wrong Latin declension. I don't know where "status" falls in that. 8)

The Fourth Declension; the Latin plural is status (with a long U). I wish people wouldn't fool around with Latin endings when they don't know what they're doing.

The only admissible English plural for "status" is "statuses". If people aren't happy with that, they need to paraphrase.

b

[MikeNewYork]

Originally Posted by zb42

Note that the plural of status is not statuses or even stati. Like salmon and
sheep, the plural of status is simply status. However, according to the Oxford
English Dictionary these are pronounced differently: the ‘u’ in the singular is as the ‘u’ in datum, whereas the plural has an ‘u’ as in tune.

I have to disagree with that. Webster's Dictionary lists only one plural for "status" and that is statuses.

Main Entry:status
Pronunciation:*st*]d.*s, *sta], ]t*s sometimes *st*] or *st*]
Function:noun
Inflected Form:-es
Usage:often attributive
Etymology:Latin * more at STATE