# Plural form of avocado **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 16, 2015, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-form-of-avocado/731450 "2015-09-16T06:43:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![brovolone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e4f/32.png) [@brovolone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brovolone)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-form-of-avocado/731450/1 "2015-09-16T06:43:31Z")
Tomatoes Potatoes Mangoes Avocados-- not avocadoes Why? ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-form-of-avocado/731450/2 "2015-09-16T07:08:46Z")
> [@](#): > > On May 15, 1915, in the posh new Hotel Alexandria in Los Angeles, a cadre of California farmers gathered to decide the fate of a new crop. The ahuacate, a pebbly-skinned, pear-shaped fruit, had been a staple food in Mexico, and Central and South America since 500 B.C. In the 16th century, Spanish conquistadors fell in love with the fruit after observing its prized status among the Aztecs… > > The farmers came up with a new name: avocado. They informed dictionary publishers of the change — and that the plural was spelled “avocados,” not “avocadoes” — and named their own group the California Avocado Association. > **[What's in a Name? The Avocado Story](https://www.npr.org/2006/07/19/5563805/whats-in-a-name-the-avocado-story)** > > In 1915, a group of California farmers reinvented the humble ahuacate. The fruit now known as avocado has a buttery, nutty flesh unlike any other and presents a mouthwatering array of serving options. ---
**Author:** ![PSXer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/48db29/32.png) [@PSXer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PSXer)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-form-of-avocado/731450/3 "2015-09-16T07:26:15Z")
I always use avocadi ---
**Author:** ![brovolone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e4f/32.png) [@brovolone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brovolone)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-form-of-avocado/731450/4 "2015-09-16T07:35:25Z")
I wonder what prompted them to ensure it wasn’t spelled as ‘avocadoes.’ I kind of like the _e_. Good link, btw… I didn’t know that avocados have more potassium than bananas either, nor that it is highest in proteins of all fruits. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-form-of-avocado/731450/5 "2015-09-16T09:45:03Z")
Perhaps they wanted the plural to be as it would in Spanish, where nouns ending in a vowel just get an -s. Tornados, for example. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-form-of-avocado/731450/6 "2015-09-16T10:55:24Z")
Give proper thanks to _buffalo_, who don’t cause trouble: according to Merriam-Webster you can pluralize them by adding -s, -es, or nothing at all. … Then again, maybe Merriam & Webster are just overly tolerant; they allow either -s or -es for _avocado_. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-form-of-avocado/731450/7 "2015-09-16T11:14:31Z")
[Old Joke]“Bring me an avocado. And while you’re at it, bring me another one.” [/Old Joke] ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-form-of-avocado/731450/8 "2015-09-16T14:19:48Z")
Asking why something is spelled one way or another way in English is about as useful as asking why some people prefer chocolate and some vanilla. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-form-of-avocado/731450/9 "2015-09-16T14:35:23Z")
Think of how many 'e’s we’ve saved over the years. An ‘e’ is a terrible thing to waste… ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2015, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-form-of-avocado/731450/10 "2015-09-16T16:29:01Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Think of how many 'e’s we’ve saved over the years. An ‘e’ is a terrible thing to waste… The e’s have been silent for too long. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-form-of-avocado/731450/11 "2015-09-17T03:15:49Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Think of how many 'e’s we’ve saved over the years. An ‘e’ is a terrible thing to waste… Don’t you mean “An ‘e’ is a terribl thing to wast…”? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-form-of-avocado/731450/12 "2015-09-17T07:08:41Z")
I, for one, am going to start using “advocadae” just to be contrary. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-form-of-avocado/731450/13 "2015-09-17T16:21:40Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Perhaps they wanted the plural to be as it would in Spanish, where nouns ending in a vowel just get an -s. Tornados, for example. Nachos Tacos Burritos etc… ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-form-of-avocado/731450/14 "2015-09-17T17:13:25Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > Perhaps they wanted the plural to be as it would in Spanish, where nouns ending in a vowel just get an -s. Tornados, for example. Yep, that makes the most sense. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-form-of-avocado/731450/15 "2015-09-17T17:28:11Z")
But did the word actually make it into Spanish before it did in English? ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-form-of-avocado/731450/16 "2015-09-17T21:36:13Z")
> [@Shakester](#): > > Nachos > Tacos > Burritos > etc… Habaneros Taquitos Carlos ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2015, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-form-of-avocado/731450/17 "2015-09-17T23:26:46Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But did the word actually make it into Spanish before it did in English? Ahuacate or aguacate has been the Spanish word from the git-go. IOW, “avocado” is an English coinage in the style of Spanish. Same as many made up terms for US-Mexican food items. AFAIK they haven’t re-imported “avocado” into actual Spanish, as opposed to the Spanglish patois common near both sides of the border. Or I just been whooshed?? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-form-of-avocado/731450/18 "2015-09-18T01:45:20Z")
I suppose it’s time to look at the etymology of the word. From [the Online Etymology Dictionary](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=avocado&searchmode=none) > [@](#): > > ``` > 1763, from Spanish *avocado*, altered (by folk etymology influence of earlier Spanish *avocado* "lawyer," from same Latin source as *advocate* (n.)) from earlier *aguacate*, from Nahuatl (Aztecan) *ahuakatl* "avocado" (with a secondary meaning "testicle" probably based on resemblance), from proto-Nahuan *pawa "avocado." > > ``` So it was a word in Spanish, although probably not that common. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-form-of-avocado/731450/19 "2015-09-18T01:57:24Z")
> [@PSXer](#): > > I always use avocadi > [@Smapti](#): > > I, for one, am going to start using “advocadae” just to be contrary. You’re both wrong. It’s “avocadodes”. ---
**Author:** ![jasg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f0a364/32.png) [@jasg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasg)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2015, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-form-of-avocado/731450/20 "2015-09-18T02:03:24Z")
Has anyone checked with Dan Quayle? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-form-of-avocado/731450.md?page=2)