Spaghetto Is a Single Spaghetti (And 13 Other Uncommon Singular Words)

Spaghetto, paparazzo, and confetto may sound unnatural and strange to our ears, but they’re real singular words! The same goes for die, magum, and a bunch of other uncommon singular forms of plural words that we use all the time.

spaghetto (plural: spaghetti)

Spago is the Italian word for “string,” and spaghetto is the diminutive form of the word. This ett ending means “little,” so spaghetto means “little string.” One spaghetto is one little string of pasta, but usually you’ll need many spaghetti to make a meal.

die (plural: dice)

To play Yahtzee, you’ll need five dice, but the game Pig only requires a single die.

We may not use die as a singular for dice very often in the literal sense, but the common expression “the die was cast” (meaning an irrevocable choice has been made) utilizes this singular form.

candelabrum (plural: candelabra)

A single branched candlestick is a candelabrum, but the plural candelabra has been used so often as a singular that it’s not even listed as a plural form in Merriam-Webster anymore.

confetto (plural: confetti)

We threw handfuls of colored paper—confetti—into the air at my friend’s wedding. However, if we’d thrown only one bit of paper, we’d have thrown confetto (and likely been very disappointed when the pictures came back).

magus (plural: magi)

We know about magi because of Christmastime stories when we learn about the three magi who visited baby Jesus. But did you know that if two of them had gotten lost along the way, there would only be one magus in each nativity scene?

(In case you never asked what the magi are and at this point feel that it’s too late to go back and admit that you never knew in the first place, here’s a definition: a magus is a member of a hereditary priestly class among the ancient Medes and Persians; magi is the plural form of this word.)

alumnus (plural: alumni)

Alumni Night is when people who have attended and graduated from a university all go back and relive the glory days while being politely accosted for donations. If only one person showed up, however, it would be Alumnus Night.

Technically, alumnus means one male, alumni means multiple males or a mix of males and females, alumna means one female, and alumnae means multiple females. But that’s way too much to keep track of, so let’s just decide that alumnus and alumni are actually gender-neutral, shall we? Another gender-neutral option is the shortened alum (plural alums).

medium (plural: media)

Medium is more than just the middle size of fries at McDonald’s—it also means a system of communication or entertainment, like a newspaper, social network site, or book. Since we have so many sources of communication and entertainment these days, you rarely hear the singular medium: Instead, you’ll hear the plural media.

Fun fact: Another definition of medium is someone who communicates with the world of spirits; the plural for this sense of the word is mediums (not media).

graffito (plural: graffiti)

When a graffitist paints a single piece of artwork on a public surface, they have produced graffito. But when they keep going and create an entire gallery, they have created graffiti. So next time someone complains that “graffiti is ruining our beautiful city,” please correct them to “graffiti ARE ruining our beautiful city.”

datum (plural: data)

If you show up to an important business meeting with a proposal that’s only backed with one datum, you’ll probably be laughed out of the room. Be sure to bring lots of data next time!

kudo (plural: kudos)

Giving kudos means expressing praise or compliments. The singular form kudo is actually a bit of a misunderstanding!

Kudos is a Greek word and is not plural at all. But when this word was introduced to English, people who didn’t speak Greek saw that -s ending and assumed it must be plural, so therefore the singular kudo must exist. That’s why kudo exists in English but not in Greek.

paparazzo (plural: paparazzi)

Let’s be honest: When there’s one person following around a celebrity, snapping photos and shouting questions at them, there’s hardly ever only ONE of them. More often, they travel in camera-wielding packs. Maybe that’s why we almost always hear the plural paparazzi and never the singular paparazzo.

alga (plural: algae)

A singular aquatic plant-like organism is an alga. When there’s a bunch of them, you’ve got algae. But the real question is, Did I not know this because it’s a rare singular word or because I rarely talk about aquatic plant-like organisms at all?

criterion (plural: criteria)

The only criterion I have for a car is that it doesn’t break down very often. However, my husband made a list of several criteria before we decided on our next vehicle.

I would love it if we could keep criterion singular and criteria plural, but the reality is that people have been using criteria as a singular word for about 50 years. Oh well.

bacterium (plural: bacteria)

You’ll need a microscope to tell whether you’re dealing with just one bacterium or a whole bunch of bacteria.

Keep following Strictly Speaking for more language and grammar content!

Check out a bunch of words from Taylor Swift songs that will have you reaching for a dictionary here!

Sources:

• Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of English Usage. 14th ed. Taunton, MA: QuadGraphics, 2016.