We have been around this way before. The latin word 'virus' is an uncommon
2nd-declension neuter noun. (Most 2nd-declension neuter nouns end in 'um' in
the nominative singular.) Thus 'virus' has no latin plural. If one is needed
in English 'viruses' is available.
The very common latin word 'vir', man, has the nominative plural 'viri', men.
Moreover, 'ii' is impossible qua suffix: it can occur only when a stem ends in
'i', as in radius==>radii.
Latin dropouts would indeed be well advised to avoid attempting to form the
plural of -us words. They are too problematic: the singular 'opus' has the
plural 'opera'; the singular 'octopus' has the plural 'octopodes', etc., etc.
It is far better, albeit subliterate, to speak of octopuses than of octopi.
John Gilmore Ashland, MA 01721-1817 USA
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