Learn English – the correct plural of “mantis”

grammatical-number

This question is related to the plural of "octopus" (yet another ancient Greek loanword animal):

What is the plural of "mantis"?

Oxford Dictionaries suggests "mantis" or "mantises".

Merriam Webster and Dictionary.com suggest "mantises" or "mantes".

This page from the Iowa State University Entomology Department suggests "mantids" (emphasis mine).

Praying mantids (preferred plural form of mantis) have never been
numerous in Iowa and historically they were only common in the far
southeastern corner of the state.

Personally, I use a mixture of "mantises" and "mantes" and find the usage of "mantids" strange, but what is the most etymologically correct / most recommended plural for the animal?

Best Answer

Mantids is not plural for mantis, but for mantid, which is another term for mantis:

mantis

man·tis (mănʹtĭs)

n. pl. man·tis·es or man·tes (-tēz) Any of various predatory insects of the family Mantidae, primarily tropical but including a few Temperate Zone species, usually pale green and having two pairs of walking legs and powerful grasping forelimbs. The mantis feeds on live insects, including others of its own kind. Also called mantid.

(American Heritage Dictionary)

Evidently, mantid can also have another, more specific meaning:

  1. See mantis.
  2. A mantis in the family Mantidae.

In summation: the correct plural for mantis is mantes or mantises, which is what you use. The correct plural for mantid is mantids.

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