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Noun: Latin and Greek plurals |
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Some Dutch words of Latin or Greek origin take their original plural endings, others take Dutch endings, yet others may occur with either: Words in -us usually get Dutch plurals: | circus | circussen | circus(es) | | cursus | cursussen | course(s) |
| | kubus | kubussen | cube(s) |
| | virus | virussen | virus(es) |
| | dinosaurus | dinosaurussen | dinosaur(s) |
Words in -us that denote persons take Latin plural endings in -i. Note that the singular forms are pronounced with -k- ('medikus'), and the plurals with -s- ('medisi'), etc. | medicus | medici | medical specialist(s) | | politicus | politici | politician(s) |
| | historicus | historici | historian(s) |
| | cynicus | cynici | cynic(s) |
Some words occur with both endings: | catalogus | catalogussen/catalogi | catalogue(s) |
Words in -um usually take Latin/Greek plurals in -a: | museum | musea/museums | museum(s) | | aquarium | aquaria/aquariums | aquarium(s) |
| | criterium | criteria | criteria |
| | maximum | maxima | maximum(s) | | stadium | stadia | stage(s) |
Some Greek words in -is take Greek plurals in -es: | basis | bases | base(s) | | crisis | crises/crisissen | crisis/crises |
Words in -ma usually take Dutch plurals in -'s: | thema | thema's | theme(s) | | drama | drama's | drama(s) | | programma | programma's | programme(s) | | schema | schema's | schedule(s) | | dogma | dogma's | dogma(s) |
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