this post was submitted on 22 Apr 2026
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This is true for the scientific sense that it's order Octopoda (e.g. the plural for members of Hexapoda is "hexapods" and likewise "decapods" for Decapoda), but then it's kind of like saying the plural for "lobster" is "nephropids". The names are close for Octopoda and octopus, but it's still taking the colloquial name and pluralizing it into its scientific name. It's not specifically "to bring it in line with cephalopod"; that's just how generic names of members of taxa ending in 'poda' work generally.
Strictly speaking, "octopods" is the plural of "octopod".
Once I learned that βoctopodesβ is pronounced oct-TOP-o-dees not OCT-uh-pohds it became my pluralization of choice.
I hadn't even thought about that, it makes total since being derived from Greek. I am now fully on team octopodes.