It?s been a burning question for years, one of the greatest unresolved debates in automotive history. Okay, not so much, but what to call the plural of Prius has been bandied about for some time, and with multiple new Prius models on tap soon, Toyota felt it was a good time to figure out what the plural of Prius should be. 1
The answer is Prii, which is pronounced Pri-EYE.
The Asian automaker put the grammatically-perplexing question to the public, when it launched its ?Prius goes plural" ad campaign earlier at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
According to Toyota, which is spinning Prius off into its own brand, ?Prii? snared 25% of the more than 1.8 million votes cast with ?Prius? a close second with 24%. ?Priuses? got 20%, ?Prien? 18% and ?Prium? 13%.
?Prius? actually means ?beforehand" in Latin, a word not intended to be pluralized. According to classics scholars, though, the technically correct answer is ?Priora" or "Priores? 2
Helping to add an air of legitimacy to the process was the announcement by Dictonary.com that it will officially add Prii to its Prius entry as the car?s plural name. 1
?Community has always been a big part of the Prius brand, so it was only fitting that we invite the online communities to participate in the plural discussion,? said Colin Morisako, advertising manager for Toyota. ?The people have spoken ? Prii will be the accepted term used to describe multiple Prius vehicles going forward.? 3
Toyota?s Prius line-up ? this is how you can avoid the whole plural problem -- now includes a Prius V crossover hybrid (on sale this summer), a Prius plug-in hybrid and a small Prius C concept. 2
1. http://wot.motortrend.com/plural-pri...ign-33643.html
2. http://www.freep.com/article/2011022...ii-Toyota-says
3. http://www.earthtechling.com/2011/02...shall-be-prii/
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