Make Your Editor Cry: Hypothesis (Awkward Plural)
BLUF: (Bottom Line Up Front)
The plural of hypothesis is hypotheses.
The definition of hypothesis: an assumption or concession made for the sake of argument.
The singular of hypothesis is hypothesis. The plural of hypothesis is hypotheses. There is no alternative English plural form that conforms to the standard rules for forming the plurals of nouns in English.
The words “hypothesi” or “hypothesises” are not things, or words.
The noun hypothesis has a Greek root—hypotithenai to put under or to suppose, from hypo- + tithenai to put—which is the derivation of the plural hypotheses. It does not have a Latin root. The noun hypothesis does not conform to the standard rules for forming the plurals of nouns in English.
Examples:
Scientists base scientific hypotheses on previous observations that cannot be explained with the available scientific theories or laws.
Experimenters may test and reject several hypotheses before solving a problem.
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.
