# Plural of 'torus'. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 2, 2018, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-torus/817198 "2018-07-02T22:28:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-torus/817198/21 "2018-07-03T15:11:22Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > “Gimme a torus. And while you’re at it, give me another one!” > Agree with _tori_ > > [tori plural of torus - Google Search](https://www.google.com/search?q=tori+plural+of+torus&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj8suS_54LcAhUKvlkKHaoEBBsQ_AUICigB&biw=1440&bih=680#imgrc=g2KjfF2JpLzYKM:&spf=1530616690234) > Not to be confused with this, which is what googling “tori” brings up: > [http://toriamos.com/](http://toriamos.com/) > or with _torii_: > > [The Official Guide to Hiroshima - Travel and Tour Information](https://www.hiroshima-navi.or.jp/en/post/026534.html) > > Fortunately, to channel Ogden Nash, there is no “three-I tori” > And the plural of _torii_ is just _torii_. [I dunno. Last spring, I saw _The Hunchback of Notre Dame_ and _Guys and Dolls_ in two different threeatori.](http://wonderingminstrels.blogspot.com/2002/08/lama-ogden-nash.html) ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-torus/817198/22 "2018-07-03T17:44:49Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > In this context, a paper cup from Dunkin’ Donuts counts as a [portable] hole. Topologically, no. If you had a DunDo cup made out of silly putty, there’s no way you could stretch and mold it into a donut without poking a hole through it at some point. ---
**Author:** ![Topologist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/topologist/32/3208_2.png) [@Topologist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Topologist)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-torus/817198/23 "2018-07-03T17:45:43Z")
For some reason, I always feel obliged to say something in threads like this. “Tori” is what I see most often as the plural used by mathematicians. > [@kaylasdad99](#): > > So does the thing you dig to set a fence post into (if you’re building a fence), but I don’t ear about a lot of fence posts falling through the planet. In this context, a paper cup from Dunkin’ Donuts counts as a [portable] hole. No, in the mathematical context, that’s not a hole, it’s quite different than the hole in a torus/donut. To a topologist, a paper cup might as well be a sphere. (Did I mention that I spill my coffee a lot?) ---
**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:** [July 3, 2018, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-torus/817198/24 "2018-07-03T21:00:09Z")
A paper cup is topologically equivalent to a jelly donut, though. ---
**Author:** ![Topologist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/topologist/32/3208_2.png) [@Topologist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Topologist)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-torus/817198/25 "2018-07-03T22:32:17Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > A paper cup is topologically equivalent to a jelly donut, though. But did you ever try to drink coffee out of a jelly donut? ---
**Author:** ![rat\_avatar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rat_avatar/32/255_2.png) [@rat\_avatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rat_avatar)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-torus/817198/26 "2018-07-03T23:29:29Z")
> [@Topologist](#): > > But did you ever try to drink coffee out of a jelly donut? If it leaked from the bottom would that be torifaction? ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2018, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-torus/817198/27 "2018-07-03T23:53:03Z")
We need an actor to help us with this. Someone who has lots of TV experience. Alex Trebek? Naaaah. Tori Spelling! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Topologist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/topologist/32/3208_2.png) [@Topologist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Topologist)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-torus/817198/28 "2018-07-04T00:00:24Z")
> [@rat\_avatar](#): > > If it leaked from the bottom would that be torifaction? In my world that would be called surgery. (Anecdote: When I was a grad student I roomed with some Med School students who were amused that I had a book on my shelf called _Surgery on Simply-Connected Manifolds_.) Possibly also a tragedy: \*A mathematician is a machine for turning coffee into theorems. --\*Alfréd Rényi ---
**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:** [July 4, 2018, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-torus/817198/29 "2018-07-04T01:35:28Z")
> [@Topologist](#): > > In my world that would be called surgery. (Anecdote: When I was a grad student I roomed with some Med School students who were amused that I had a book on my shelf called _Surgery on Simply-Connected Manifolds_.) > Possibly also a tragedy: > \*A mathematician is a machine for turning coffee into theorems. --\*Alfréd Rényi I always thought that was attributed to Erdos. I will always say toruses. I once read in a style book that an -s or -es plural was never wrong. If we borrow a word from any language but Latin or Greek, we use an English plural. And if we use the Latin plural, why don’t we properly inflect it case. I consider tori an affectation, to be honest. Anyway, it is not a matter of prescription, but of description. Use whichever you like. Invariable plurals like deer (I would always say walruses) and irregular ones like children and historical vestiges, which cannot be the case with a loan word like torus. ---
**Author:** ![Topologist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/topologist/32/3208_2.png) [@Topologist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Topologist)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-torus/817198/30 "2018-07-04T02:06:23Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > I always thought that was attributed to Erdos. Attributed to, but incorrectly, it seems. (See Wikipedia or [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Paul_Erd%C5%91s).) > [@](#): > > If we borrow a word from any language but Latin or Greek, we use an English plural. It may also be an affectation, but I use “tableaux” as the plural of tableau. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-torus/817198/31 "2018-07-04T03:04:21Z")
I had to use this at work: “_toroids_”. One toroid is a ‘torus.’ Two toroids are . . . well, ‘toroids.’ Tripler I am an engin[del]ear[/del] . . . an engin[del]ere[/del] . . . an engin[del]ier[/del] . . . I am good at math. ---
**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:** [July 4, 2018, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-torus/817198/32 "2018-07-04T13:55:38Z")
But a toroid is not necessarily a torus. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-torus/817198/33 "2018-07-04T15:35:19Z")
“Toroid”, as in “an object having the shape of a torus; a toroidal object” is an OK word, with plural “toroids” (what else would it be?) Cf. “asteroid.” Don’t confuse “toroidal” and “toric” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-torus/817198/34 "2018-07-04T18:05:27Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Though, personally, I would go with “toruses.” Toruses is correct. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-torus/817198/35 "2018-07-04T18:06:50Z")
> [@Casparlatete](#): > > Thanks, I’ll use tori which sounds most elegant. See, that’s the problem and it leads to false plurals, like octopi and hippopotami. ---
**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:** [July 4, 2018, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-torus/817198/36 "2018-07-04T18:13:22Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > See, that’s the problem and it leads to false plurals, like octopi and hippopotami. Only dufi make those mistakes. But many people do consider “tori” to be a gateway plural. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-torus/817198/37 "2018-07-04T22:01:37Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Toruses is correct. Not according to the _Oxford English Dictionary_, whereas the _Oxford Dictionary of English_ allows it. People in this thread are correct in that the only thing to do is just pick one, according to your own internal logic as to whether borrowed words invite borrowed plurals. “Tori” is currently more common in the mathematical literature. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-torus/817198/38 "2018-07-04T22:06:41Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Not according to the _Oxford English Dictionary_, whereas the _Oxford Dictionary of English_ allows it. People in this thread are correct in that the only thing to do is just pick one, according to your own internal logic as to whether borrowed words invite borrowed plurals. “Tori” is currently more common in the mathematical literature. Oxford is descriptive, not prescriptive. In other words, if enough people use it wrongly, Oxford lists it. Too many people think adding a “i” as a plural on words that sound like classical Latin sounds 'elegant". ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-torus/817198/39 "2018-07-04T23:19:09Z")
> [@Topologist](#): > > For some reason, I always feel obliged to say something in threads like this. “Tori” is what I see most often as the plural used by mathematicians. In noting that since 2001, you have 354 posts, I feel compelled to congratulate the SDMB as a group for exercising so much restraint wrt creating threads like this. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2018, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-torus/817198/40 "2018-07-04T23:24:35Z")
> [@Topologist](#): > > Attributed to, but incorrectly, it seems. (See Wikipedia or [Wikiquote](https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Paul_Erd%C5%91s).) > > It may also be an affectation, but I use “tableaux” as the plural of tableau. ISTM that using “tableau” is itself a minor affectation in the first place, so, yeah, “tableaux” definitely qualifies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-torus/817198.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plural-of-torus/817198.md?page=3)