Make Your Editor Cry: Axis (Awkward Plural)
BLUF: (Bottom Line Up Front)
The plural of axis is axes.
axis: one of the reference lines of a coordinate system
The singular of axis is axis. The plural of axis is axes. Note the -e that replaces the -i.
The noun axis has a Greek root, which is the derivation of the plural axes. There is no alternative English plural form. Words like axises or making it a possessive axis’ or axis’s doesn’t work regardless of what style guide you may wish to consult. It’s axes.
Examples:
The point where the axes meet is called
the origin.
The axes of a two-dimensional Cartesian system
divide the plane into four infinite regions, called quadrants.
One final note. The plural of ax is also axes. No relation.
Gregg Bridgeman is the Editor-in-Chief at Olivia Kimbrell Press. He is husband to best-selling Christian author Hallee Bridgeman and parent to three. He continues to proudly serve in the US Armed Forces and has done so in either an active or reserve capacity for more than twenty years as an airborne and air assault qualified paratrooper, earning a Bronze Star for his service. Most importantly, he was ordained in October of 2001 after surrendering his life to Christ decades earlier.
