I thought that the plural of "octopus" was "octopii".
Webster's II and III give octopuses, octopi (one i), and octopodes as plural.
You thought wrong.
The "-us" to "-i" rule that a lot of people go by should be "-ius" to "-ii".
As in "radius" to "radii"
It is Greek, not Latin.
'octo', meaning 8, plus 'pous' meaning foot.
The plural of 'pous' would be 'podes', because it is third declension. However, in ancient Greek, I believe this word was usually treated as undeclinable, since it doesn't make sense to pluralize the second element.
It's 'Octopi' or 'Octopuses', according to dictionary.com
I thought it was 'Octopussy' Mr. Bond!
Merriam-Webster says octopuses is ok.
http://m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?book=Dictionary&va=octopus
Main Entry: oc·to·pus
Pronunciation: 'äk-t&-p&s, -"pus
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -pus·es or oc·to·pi /-"pI/
Etymology: New Latin Octopod-, Octopus, from Greek oktOpous
1 : any of a genus (Octopus) of cephalopod mollusks that have eight muscular arms equipped with two rows of suckers; broadly : any octopod excepting the paper nautilus
2 : something that resembles an octopus especially in having many centrally directed branches
[octopus illustration]
I thought that the plural of "octopus" was "octopii".