# Plural Of 'Mouse' ( Computer)? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 2, 2022, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101 "2022-01-02T22:27:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/41 "2022-01-03T23:27:48Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Oh and by the way - it is “octopuses” not “Octopi”. Octopodes. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/42 "2022-01-03T23:30:12Z")
Actually, it’s the other way around. Normally in English a new use for a word that has an irregular plural is given a regular plural. The natural way to extend computer mouse would be computer mouses. It didn’t happen here, probably because slang trumps normality. ---
**Author:** ![Dandan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@Dandan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dandan)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2022, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/43 "2022-01-03T23:53:21Z")
HIDs. Dan ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/44 "2022-01-04T00:00:06Z")
Yes, if we followed the Greek Plurals, but we don’t. Better than Octopi, but Octopuses is correct. > [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Actually, it’s the other way around. Normally in English a new use for a word that has an irregular plural is given a regular plural. The natural way to extend computer mouse would be computer mouses. Yep. ---
**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:** [January 4, 2022, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/45 "2022-01-04T00:16:26Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > Izzat German-ish? English-ish, by analogy with “children”, “brethren”, “oxen”, and “Vaxen”. Though of course English originally got the -en plural ending from its Germanic roots. > [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > I’d prefer mouses, and would hope that the usage would percolate backwards to furry kind. In the same way that “octopuses” is now acceptable. So far as I know, “octopus” has never had any other standard, accepted English plural. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > Too complicated to change the plural depending on the use of the word. There’s precedent. Old, burned-out stars are “white dwarfs”, but short, bearded miners are “dwarves”. And multiple walking sticks are “staves”, but multiple administrative groups are “staffs”. Insects have antennae, but TVs have antennas. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/46 "2022-01-04T00:20:07Z")
In Hebrew, there is even a special plural form for things that come in pairs, roughly equivalent to saying in English “a pair of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_”. ---
**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:** [January 4, 2022, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/47 "2022-01-04T00:31:56Z")
I’ve been a computer/network/server support professional for more than 20 years, and also worked as a salesman and manager for a computer store prior to my professional IT career. I also grew up with computers, used to help my dad when he was a computer consultant in my teen years, volunteered to run my school’s computer tech lab in high school. I was even a Computer Explorer Scout (the nerdiest branch of Boy Scouts ever). I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone call them “computer mouses”. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/48 "2022-01-04T00:50:16Z")
Just looked it up. Google gives 266,000 results for “computer mouses” but 7,810,000 for “computer mice.” ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/49 "2022-01-04T05:04:50Z")
> [@Wallaby](#): > > The original still lives on in a few isolated outposts (eg: my mother’s house) and there have been some ‘failed’ branches of the evolutionary tree (remember trackballs? - they were cool, but never caught on). I’m using a trackball right now, and have for decades. They are still quite popular, especially if you have limited desktop space or want to reduce RSIs. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/50 "2022-01-04T05:33:36Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > There is an item called a “tailor’s goose”. One day the president of a large retail tailor supplier wrote to his wholesaler and ordered “100 tailor’s gooses”. The president looked at that order for a while, tore it up and wrote out a new one - ordering “100 tailor’s geese”. He looked at that one, tore it up, sat and throught for a while and wrote out a new order for “ONE tailor’s goose – Oh what the hell, make it 100.” I remember a similar joke about the word “mongoose.” It ended with the guy writing a letter: “Please send me one mongoose – and, while you’re at it, send me another one.” ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 9:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/51 "2022-01-04T09:57:30Z")
> [@Max\_S](#): > > missed opportunity for a poll There’s a poll in the poll thread. > [@Polls only: No discussion](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polls-only-no-discussion/953642/405): > > What do you use as the plural of (computer) mouse: [poll](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/polls-only-no-discussion/953642/405) ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/52 "2022-01-04T18:11:13Z")
> [@Morgyn](#): > > I’m using a trackball right now, and have for decades. They are still quite popular, especially if you have limited desktop space or want to reduce RSIs. Absolutely. They’re the best solution for me. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/53 "2022-01-04T19:36:25Z")
How about some old issues of PC Magazine? > **[PC Mag](https://books.google.com/books?id=CbsaONN5y1IC&pg=PP48&dq=%22logitech%2Bmice%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiA6N6465j1AhXUSjABHcMkBMM4ChDoAXoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22logitech%20mice%22&f=false)** > > PCMag.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering Labs-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services. Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology. > **[PC Mag](https://books.google.com/books?id=FC-L2faxEVkC&pg=PA150&dq=%22logitech%2Bmice%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiA6N6465j1AhXUSjABHcMkBMM4ChDoAXoECAQQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22logitech%20mice%22&f=false)** > > PCMag.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering Labs-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services. Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology. > **[PC Mag](https://books.google.com/books?id=LeosrkjnlM8C&pg=PA206&dq=%22logitech%2Bmice%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjH3rSm65j1AhUUVTABHcCVCAAQ6AF6BAgHEAE#v=onepage&q=%22logitech%20mice%22&f=false)** > > PCMag.com is a leading authority on technology, delivering Labs-based, independent reviews of the latest products and services. Our expert industry analysis and practical solutions help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2022, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/54 "2022-01-04T23:50:33Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > …short, bearded miners are “dwarves”. Not according to [Walt Disney](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0029583/) or [Terry Pratchett](https://wiki.lspace.org/Dwarfs). ---
**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:** [January 5, 2022, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/55 "2022-01-05T00:12:58Z")
I order trackball devices often when employees request them or an ergonomist recommends one. They’re still very much in use, they just haven’t “taken over”. (Nor should they, mostly they address specific ergonomic issues some people experience.) Much less common, what I’ve only dealt with once, is a foot mouse. > **[Footmouse](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Footmouse)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > A footmouse (or foot mouse) is a type of computer mouse that gives the users the ability to move the cursor and click the mouse buttons with their feet. > It is primarily used by users with disabilities or with high-back or neck problems. It is also promoted as a way to prevent such problems in the future and as a means to increase productivity by not having to move one's hand between the keyboard and mouse. > There are about ten types of footmice. N... It’s as weird as it sounds. It was vaguely reminiscent of a sewing machine foot pedal, except there were a couple of them. You slid a pedal around one with your foot and clicked by pushing down on it; another pedal could be tilted to act like a scroll wheel. When I first saw it I thought it was a joke. The lady who had it never used it though, it was too hard for her. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/56 "2022-01-05T00:22:54Z")
Question for the “Mice” side- why do you want to cling to a outmoded irregular plural? Most have gone out of usage, why not let mice and geese go bye bye also? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/57 "2022-01-05T00:28:14Z")
Same reason, I’m guessing, as you prefer using “a” where the rest of us use “an”: “mouses” just feels _wrong_. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/58 "2022-01-05T02:02:01Z")
Do you trust Walt Disney over JRR Tolkien? ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/59 "2022-01-05T02:06:24Z")
I vote for one being “mouse” but plural being “computer rodents”. 😲 ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2022, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101/60 "2022-01-05T02:07:52Z")
The simple answer is because that’s the plural already in use for “mouse.” Why create a new one, when there’s a perfectly usable alternative that sounds natural and not jarring to English speakers like “mouses” does. Mind you, I preferred the “mouses” plural myself when talking about computer peripherals, but it seems intuitive to me why most people wouldn’t like the sound of it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-mouse-computer/957101.md?page=4)