The plural of “hypothesis”
- Hypothesis is singular (sounds like hi-paw-thuh-sis).
- ”Hypotheses‘ is the plural of hypothesis.
What’s the meaning of hypothesis?
Hypothesis comes from the Greek word, meaning “base, groundwork, foundation”. Hypothesis is made up of the Greek root words, hypo + thesis: “hypo” meaning “under” or “placing under”; “thesis“, meaning “a placing, proposition” (from Etymonline).
So, based on the noun’s construction, hypothesis means to put or set forward a thesis or proposal to be subject to further investigation. According to Wikipedia, hypotheses are:
Tentative conjectures explaining an observation, phenomenon or scientific problem that can be tested by further observation, investigation and/or experimentation.
Why is “hypotheses” plural for “hypothesis”?
Many people confuse the plural of hypothesis, and it’s not tough to see why: hypothesis is an irregular plural noun form that omits the -s/-es of regular plural nouns. Apart from this, the way hypothesis modifies from singular to plural effectively changes the spelling and pronunciation of the word by substituting the -sis as a singular with –ses as a plural.
Most nouns add an -s/-es to denote plural. Hypothesis, and similar sounding nouns such as crisis, thesis, oasis, nemesis, diagnosis, analysis and so on, all change to -ses in their plural forms.
Nouns that end in “sis”
The plural of ‘hypothesis’ by linking it to other -sis words (like thesis, analysis) that change to -ses.| Noun: hypothesis | Example sentences |
|---|---|
| hypothesis (singular) |
Other chemists rejected his hypothesis. What we need is a general hypothesis to explain merger waves. The results of the experiment did not support his hypothesis. Her hypothesis was later validated by independent trials. |
| hypotheses (plural) |
Various hypotheses have been put forward to explain this increase. Such hypotheses attend to Aristotle's philosophy at the neglect of his life. The hypotheses that carried it back to the early years of the Christian era have been wholly abandoned. Several competing hypotheses emerged during the review. |
Synonyms for prognosis
Origin of “hypothesis”
1590s, “a particular statement;” 1650s, “a proposition, assumed and taken for granted, used as a premise,” from French hypothese and directly from Late Latin hypothesis, from Greek hypothesis.
Worksheet: Irregular plurals
According to the blog post, what is the correct plural form of “hypothesis”?
Which of these is a common INCORRECT plural form of “hypothesis” mentioned in the post?
The blog post explains that the plural of “hypothesis” is formed by changing the ending -sis to what?
Based on the post, which of the following words forms its plural in a similar way to “hypothesis”?
According to the blog post, “Hypothesis” (singular) comes from Greek words meaning “under” and “a placing, proposition”. It refers to a tentative conjecture. What is the singular form of this word?
The scientist proposed one to explain the observed phenomenon.
The research team developed several testable before starting the experiment.
The students formulated three for their project.
The blog post notes that many nouns ending in “-sis” in the singular, like hypothesis, change to “-” in their plural forms.
The results of the experiment did not support his .
FAQs
What is the plural of hypothesis?
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How do you spell hypothesis plural?
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Is hypothesis singular or plural?
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Why is hypothesis plural irregular?
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What is a common hypothesis mistake?
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Sources
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OED hypothesis.
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