Mumsnet Talk

formulae is the correct plural of formula.

i get <stabby> when I see formulas

but yes, formular would also make me <stabby>

I'm reading a breast feeding polemic at the moment and she uses 'formulas', suggesting in one footnote that using 'formulae' is an insidious way evil formula companies imply their product is scientifically superior to breast milk.

This is me screaming into a pillow.

Being of the maths persuasion, I'm inclined towards formulae for the plural of formula.

I breastfed my kid, so I never had the chance to discuss formula in any non-maths sense.

The only time I've seen 'formular' is on this thread!
Saying formulae when referring to baby milks does sound wrong despite it being correct, I'd have used formulas and possibly been responsible for a dog being attacked by a flying iPhone

You should come and sit in our house for a bit, with ds watching the formulina one

Hide the breast and bottle feeding topic and leave your dogs in safety.

I guess I think about how it would sound in speech. If someone said 'I'm trying different formulae at the moment', I'd probably think, 'Oo-er! Hark on you!' despite knowing it is actually correct.

Should I quietly leave the forum?

Why would 'formulae' not be acceptable? It sounds fine to me, although 'formulas' is probably more common now.

If I see 'formula' spelt this way just one more time on this website, I shall hurl my iPhone through the nearest sleeping dog.

On the other hand, I saw someone write that she'd been trying out different 'formulae' (as in infant breastmilk substitute, not in the interests of science). Is this high-pedantry or just wrong?