-ae

Forming plurals.

From a Latin plural suffix, or representing the Greek plural ending ‑ai.

The ‑ae suffix is used for the plural of many non-naturalized, specialist, or unfamiliar nouns ending in ‑a (see ‑a¹) derived from Latin or Greek: antennae is the plural of antenna; larvae of larva; scapulae of scapula, a shoulder-blade; pupae of pupa, a chrysalis. It is increasingly common for such words to have plurals in ‑as instead. See also ‑acea, ‑aceous, ‑idae, and ‑inae.