Style points for pointless but amusing crowdsourcing

[jducoeur]

Just got an email from Toyota that they are expanding the Prius family of cars. (To include a plug-in hybrid and a station wagon, both of which are intriguing.)

The byline is "Prius Goes Plural", and the cute hook is that they are taking a vote on what the plural of Prius should *be*. I voted for "prii", which may or may not be good latin (I don't remember whether "prium" is more correct), but sounds right to my ear.

Totally pointless, and we'll see whether they do anything with the result, but as viral marketing goes (especially to geeks), it's quite clever...

Comments

[corwyn-ap.livejournal.com]

Accoding to my dictionary, it is a comparative adverb, so doesn't really have a plural.

Perhaps what they want is Priimus?

[liamstliam.livejournal.com]

But in this case, it's a proper noun, unsure of gender. What's the gender of the word for wagon?

I think you are right, Justin.

[etherial.livejournal.com]

Depends on the wagon, Volvos are all male.

[rootedinsong.livejournal.com]

It's also the neuter form of an adjective.

[tomspisak.livejournal.com]

therefore shouldn't the plural be pria?

[rootedinsong.livejournal.com]

Did you read the table?

[doubleplus.livejournal.com]

I definitely like 'priora' better than most other options I've heard.

[rootedinsong.livejournal.com]

There was a linguaphiles discussion about it here. :)

Plural of Prius

[lwaks633.livejournal.com]

Priaie?

[metageek.livejournal.com]

If it's viral, then maybe the plural should be pries, by analogy with vires, the correct Latin plural of virus.

[rootedinsong.livejournal.com]

That's not true. Vires is the plural of vis, which means force or power.

[metageek.livejournal.com]

<looks at other sources>...how odd. I wonder where I picked that up?

[baron-steffan.livejournal.com]

Several options:
(a) It has no plural, because it's not a noun (or an adjective or verb). It's an adverb, meaning "formerly, previously". So, incidentally, if the marketing wonks were shooting for something "forward" or "first" or "preeminent" they blew it.
(b) If you decide that, in this case, it's a 2nd declension noun, then the plural is indeed "prii".
(c) On the other hand, it could be 4th declension, in which case the plural is prius, but with a long "u": PREE-ooss.
(d) Or you could decide this is silly, it's English, and the plural is "priuses".

And by the way, it's "one Volvo, two or more Volvimus" %^).