Plural form of word "mutex"

Question

What is the correct plural form of the portmanteau mutex. Is it mutexes or mutices?

Answer 1

As mutex is short for "mutual exclusion", I would only imagine that "mutual exclusions" would become mutexes. Mutices would be confusing. Better to be unambiguous.

As a side note: it's not a portmanteau, or it would be a mutsion.

Answer 2

It doesn't matter. That said, almost every time I've heard/seen the plural form it has been "mutexes."

Answer 3

Either/or. I've seen both (though mutexes is considerably more common).

Mutex is not in any real dictionary I know of, so there's no "official answer."

Index can be pluralized to indexes or indices, though, so it makes sense that mutex could follow suit.

Answer 4

Mutexes. It's correct in a de facto manner--- the vast majority of people (in my experience, certainly) call them mutexes, not mutices, and English is a language that's defined by use. :)

Answer 5

Let their common usage decide...

GoogleFight

Answer 6

Since the word apex can be pluralized as either apexes or apices, I'd say you can pronounce it either mutexes or mutices. Whatever suits you.

Answer 7

I think that the hysterical raisins (in this case the fact that "mutex" is a portmanteau) should not be given too much weight in resolving such issues. Perhaps it would be more useful to consider similar words and their usage; reflex -> reflexes for example.

Or, use the simplest choice: most pluralizations in english use -s/-es (depending on whether last letter is a perceived vowel); in this case -es.

I guess I can't see any reason to use the alternative, except as some sort of tribute to Latin, once thought to be the noblest of all languages. :)

Answer 8

Everyone knows that the correct answer is Mutii.

Answer 9

There's no official correct form because 'mutex' hasn't gained wide enough circulation to enter any of the major English dictionaries. Thus, the most correct term is whatever is used most by people. And I think that Google hits are a pretty good indicator of (relative) usage frequency, as great_lama has pointed out.

Other English nouns that end in -ex or -ix:

• Affix
• Annex
• Apex
• Appendix
• Cervix
• Circumflex
• Complex
• Cortex
• Crucifix
• Duplex
• Helix
• Ibex
• Index
• Infix
• Latex
• Matrix
• Phoenix
• Prefix
• Postfix
• Reflex
• Remix
• Suffix
• Vertex
• Vortex

And lots more less common words. If you look up these in the dictionary, you'll find that most of them have both plurals shown as acceptable. Several have only the -exes/-ixes form, but few or none (depending on the dictionary you use) have only the -ices form.

In conclusion, I believe mutexes to be the correct plural form of mutex.

Answer 10

From a purely linguistics point of view, the correct usage is mutexes because the word mutex is not Latin in origin. Prescriptivists would wail in anguish if mutices were to enter regular usage.

The -ices usage (e.g., the plurals of index and vertex) is falling out of favor. Indexes and vertexes are both correct usage, for example.

Answer 11

Maybe it is like sheep? Singular and plural?