Muskoka Posted 3 May , 2007 Share Posted 3 May , 2007 Just finished Y. M. Yeates's "Winged Victory". Is the plural of Albatross really Albatri? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dolphin Posted 3 May , 2007 Share Posted 3 May , 2007 The men in the British air services commonly used the slang word "Albatri" as the plural form of Albatros [only one 's' in German] aeroplanes. In formal documents it was more likely to be "Albatroses" or "Albatros scouts". Regards Gareth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmad Posted 3 May , 2007 Share Posted 3 May , 2007 Hi Doesn't answer your question but handy to have in the favourites list http://www.rinkworks.com/words/collective.shtml Enjoy ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kebabking Posted 3 May , 2007 Share Posted 3 May , 2007 Hi Doesn't answer your question but handy to have in the favourites list http://www.rinkworks.com/words/collective.shtml Enjoy ken Nice link Cheers Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muskoka Posted 3 May , 2007 Author Share Posted 3 May , 2007 Thank you both! Gabriele Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 3 May , 2007 Share Posted 3 May , 2007 The men in the British air services commonly used the slang word "Albatri" as the plural form of Albatros [only one 's' in German] aeroplanes. In formal documents it was more likely to be "Albatroses" or "Albatros scouts". Regards Gareth And presumably also 'Albatros two seaters' Fokker DrIs were sometims refered to as "Tripe hounds" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squirrel Posted 3 May , 2007 Share Posted 3 May , 2007 As were the Sopwith Triplanes IIRC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanA Posted 3 May , 2007 Share Posted 3 May , 2007 Victor Yeates recieved a very good classical education (he went to Colfe's School) and 'albatri' would have been a joke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Bennitt Posted 3 May , 2007 Share Posted 3 May , 2007 Victor Yeates recieved a very good classical education (he went to Colfe's School) and 'albatri' would have been a joke. But Albatros is more like a Greek than a Latin ending, so if I remember my own classical education correctly the plural should have been Albatroi. cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 3 May , 2007 Share Posted 3 May , 2007 Victor Yeates recieved a very good classical education (he went to Colfe's School) and 'albatri' would have been a joke. A lot of officers in WW1 had good classical educations! I've seen the term used in accounts by other officers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen Barker Posted 3 May , 2007 Share Posted 3 May , 2007 The current vogue is against the i plural ending: stadiums not stadii albatrosses not albatri Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanA Posted 3 May , 2007 Share Posted 3 May , 2007 Martin - it's a joke! Centurion - it was a joke to lots of other officers! Stephen - what has 'current vogue' to do with Yeates? It was a joke! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanA Posted 3 May , 2007 Share Posted 3 May , 2007 Gabriele, if you enjoyed 'Winged Victory' you will enjoy Victor's biography 'Winged Victor' by Gordon E. Atkin. (Springwater Books, 2004.) Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 3 May , 2007 Share Posted 3 May , 2007 Martin - it's a joke! Centurion - it was a joke to lots of other officers! Stephen - what has 'current vogue' to do with Yeates? It was a joke! I know, I know - the term actually eminates from the work of the little known Roman historian Tactiless the younger who relates how Quintus Various Vacuous led the XXXCI Legion against the Albertri in upper Gaul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IanA Posted 3 May , 2007 Share Posted 3 May , 2007 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muskoka Posted 3 May , 2007 Author Share Posted 3 May , 2007 Gabriele, if you enjoyed 'Winged Victory' you will enjoy Victor's biography 'Winged Victor' by Gordon E. Atkin. (Springwater Books, 2004.) Ian Thanks for the tip, Ian! I'll look for it. Gabriele Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex revell Posted 4 May , 2007 Share Posted 4 May , 2007 Thanks for the tip, Ian! I'll look for it. Gabriele Beery Bowman of 56 Sqdn told me that it was Arthur Rhys Davids of the squadron, who was a classical scholar at Eton, who first insisted that the plural of albatros was Albatri. Bowman said that they much prefered it to 'the verbal atrocity of Albatrosess' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PMHart Posted 4 May , 2007 Share Posted 4 May , 2007 I always prefer to use the singular of Albatros as the plural as well! Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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