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| Adult Killdeer with two chicks |
Yesterday I found an adult Killdeer with two young ones. When preparing to write about these birds, I was faced with the question: What is the plural of Killdeer? Is it Killdeer or is it Killdeers? The question is similar to the problem of the plural for computer mouse. I think most people resolved this problem by saying, "computer mouses," leaving the word mice dedicated solely to rodents. I decided not to look up what the experts might have to say about the plural of Killdeer. I think I am just going to decide for myself. And I say the plural should be Killdeers. There you go. Do you agree or disagree?
Great question. I was actually busy asking the experts when I found your site . . . it seems to be a somewhat open question. The experts are largely split on this, although there is a little more weight on the side of "killdeers.' I like your reference to computer mouses, to which I would add a reference to mongooses. A mongoose is not a type of goose, hence the plural is not "mongeese." A killdeer is not a type of deer, hence the plural is not "killdeer." While an argument could be made that the name killdeer is a derivative of the name for deer, this argument relies on an anthropomorphic translation which, in my something less than humble opinion, is its doom. It would be like saying that the Chinese city Beijing was somehow a reference to the color beige. ~ Matthew
ReplyDeleteI agree with Matthew! He must be a linguist. We know one...our daughter-in-law! This is the way she would think and write on this subject. It is always handy to have a linguist in the family. :) DB
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