this post was submitted on 22 Apr 2026
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[–] veniasilente@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 12 hours ago (1 children)

Well, Latin really is weird but it allows for quite some fun stuff then!

So really anything could work as long as it ends on -ēs in plural and starts with kleen-.

Let's try this:

Kleenussies is valid, then?

[–] Tortellinius@lemmy.world 1 points 9 hours ago* (last edited 9 hours ago)

Haha! It would be unconventional to use a double s in any form aside from the s-perfect, which is the time form of a verb, the superlative forms of adjective, or beyond the first two syllables. After a bit of research an accurate word would be either a g, k, or a c (all formed in approx. the same area of the mouth as x) instead of the x followed by the -ēs. Trying to pronounce Kleenex with an i before the g, k or c sounds less like Kleenex than index sounds similar to indices. The transition from a vibrating sound like the n to an i also feels unnatural at that part of a word, normally it comes after a t or a d sound. Also the name itself stems from the verb "to clean" and the latin suffix -ex. If it suggests something like a "cleaning king" the resulting word could therefore be Kleenegēs, but Kleenecēs is not off the table.

However, my initial suggestion is inaccurate. The senex-style plural (Kleenēs) is a special case of which it ism't resolved why senex drops its -x entirely on flexation.