What’s the plural of “locus”?
Loci (pronounced lowk-eye) and locuses are both correct to mean the plural of locus, which refers to “the place where it happens or the most important area or point with which it is associated”.
What’s the singular of locus?
Locus is singular for loci.
What does the word locus mean?
Collins Dictionary on locus: “The locus of something is the place where it happens or the most important area or point with which it is associated”.
Other Latin nouns in English
| singular | plural |
| locus | loci |
| octopus | octopi (or octopuses) |
| radius | radi (or radiuses) |
| fungus | fungi (or funguses) |
| alumnus | alumni (or almunuses) |
| syllabus | syllabi (or syllabuses) |
“Locus”, singular, used in sentences
1. The locus of points equidistant from a given point is a circle.
2. People with an external locus of control believe in fate; those with an internal locus believe they have full control over their future.
3. Barcelona is the locus of Spanish industry.
4. Thereafter, the military remained the locus of real power.
“Loci”, plural, used in sentences
1. Unlike composite interval mapping, the set of controlled loci will necessarily vary for each marker and interval.
2. We reordered approximately 32 loci on chromosome 15 to improve linkage statistics.
3. After her death, the house in Rathgar lost for him its genius loci.
4. We do this for all pairs of loci.
5. Mutations in microsatellite loci may be responsible for some heterozygosity.
Origin of the word locus
From etymology online on locus (n.) (plural loci):
1715, “place, spot, locality,” from Latin locus “a place, spot; appointed place, position; locality, region, country; degree, rank, order; topic, subject,” from Old Latin stlocus.
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