244 language/english/plurals/drop.terminal.p
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This article is from the Puzzles FAQ, by Chris Cole chris@questrel.questrel.com and Matthew Daly mwdaly@pobox.com with numerous contributions by others.
244 language/english/plurals/drop.terminal.p
What words have their plurals formed by dropping the final letter?
language/english/plurals/drop.terminal.s
There are a number of words (e.g., "jinni") where there is a variant
spelling sans the terminal letter (e.g., "jinn") and where the plural
is the same as the singular. I don't think this is in keeping with the
spirit of the question.
There are a number of Italian words where the final "o" is dropped to
form a plural:
arpeggio
capriccio
carroccio
fascio
impresario
intarsio
latticinio
pasticcio
preludio
scenario
seraglio
solfeggio
Other words are:
hemiepes n pl hemiepe
:a dactylic tripody having a spondaic third foot or lacking the two
short syllables of the third foot
koruna n pl korun or koruny also korunas
:the basic monetary unit of Czechoslovakia
microstomia also microstomus n pl microstomias also microstomi
:an abnormally small mouth
necropolis n pl necropolises or necropoles also necropoleis or necropoli
:a large elaborate cemetery of an ancient city
samanid n pl samanids or samani
:a member of a 9th and 10th century Persian dynasty ruling from Bokhara
and encouraging literature and art
volksdeutscher n pl volksdeutsche
:a person of German ethnic origin long settled in a central or east
European country, repatriated for political reasons by the Nazi regime,
and expelled into West Germany after World II
****
Unless noted otherwise, all words occur in Webster's Third New International
Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Springfield, MA, 1961.
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