On Saturday, 16 January 2016 20:40:13 UTC, Nick Gardner wrote:
On 16/01/2016 09:12, Graham Easterling wrote:
OK I'm in Penzance but since 1992 I have recorded 523 lower maximums (maxima?) To put it another way over the last 24 years 1 day in 27 has been colder!
January 1997 saw 6 days fail to reach 2C.

Maximums is 'correct'. The English language is not owned and if enough
people use it then it eventually becomes the accepted
version/spelling/grammar.

Maxima is for the language snobs.

And while we're here, why do some people say 'stadia' instead of
stadiums? I thought a stadia was an ancient unit of measurement?

--
Nick Gardner
Otter Valley, Devon
20 m amsl
http://www.ottervalley.co.uk

There are a number of English words where the plural is that of the original language, usually Latin or Greek, e.g phenomena, perihelia, radii. I have always taken maxima and minima to be members of that class and if that makes me a snob, well, so be it; we need more of them.
The unit of measurement is a stadium and stadia is simply the plural. Like Kornfläken.

Tudor Hughes.