Plural form of cactus; multiple plants of the cactus family with thick, fleshy stems and spines.
From Latin 'cactus' (itself from Greek 'kaktos'), forming the standard English plural with '-es' ending. The word traveled from Greek through Latin into European languages, describing a plant originally from the Americas.
There's a fun language battle over cactus plurals—pedants prefer 'cacti' (Latin plural) while everyday speakers use 'cactuses,' but many botanists actually accept both, making this one of English's rare grammatical compromises. Democracy in dictionaries!
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