# Another question for Linguists-- "Install" v. "Installation" **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 21, 2025, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-linguists-install-v-installation/1019938 "2025-06-21T16:26:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-linguists-install-v-installation/1019938/21 "2025-06-22T00:49:41Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > A method of word formation by dropping the end off another word. Cite? (that’s a joke) ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-linguists-install-v-installation/1019938/22 "2025-06-22T01:19:07Z")
It looks like the two of you are arguing about which specialized field of linguistics is the real linguistics. It’s like arguing that the elephant is a rope—no, the elephant is a wall! ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-linguists-install-v-installation/1019938/23 "2025-06-22T01:32:57Z")
No, it’s like a tree ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-linguists-install-v-installation/1019938/24 "2025-06-22T01:52:14Z")
Or asking a zoologist what the best animal is! ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-linguists-install-v-installation/1019938/25 "2025-06-22T02:04:31Z")
That was a joke. Installation gets shortened to install invitation gets shortened to invite Moderators gets shortened to mods (If I’d actually thought there was a moderation issue, I’d have reported it.) ---
**Author:** ![DaveUnknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@DaveUnknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveUnknown)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-linguists-install-v-installation/1019938/26 "2025-06-22T03:50:53Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > Installation gets shortened to install I don’t like it shortened. Change it back. ---
**Author:** ![CairoCarol](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cairocarol/32/3825_2.png) [@CairoCarol](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CairoCarol)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-linguists-install-v-installation/1019938/27 "2025-06-22T04:18:50Z")
One of my all time favorite SNL skits featured [a take off on an American Express advert](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0w2R2JvZ7U) (if you aren’t old enough to have seen the original ad, it isn’t that funny - but if you remember the original advertisement in which an American Express customer loses his card and calls a kind, reassuring AE agent who solves everything for him on the spot, it’s hysterical.) Anyway, the Roseanne character says, “If I’ve got that kind of power over time and space, what am I doing talking to a loser like you at 3 in the morning?” Similarly - _if I have that kind of power over time and space, what am I doing talking to strangers on the internet?_ But if somehow get that power, I promise to change it back for you 😀 ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-linguists-install-v-installation/1019938/28 "2025-06-22T04:23:21Z")
> [@CairoCarol](#): > > That was a joke. > > Installation gets shortened to install > invitation gets shortened to invite > Moderators gets shortened to mods > > (If I’d actually thought there was a moderation issue, I’d have reported it.) Ah, sorry, I’m just slow today. But that does give me a lot of insight into why people say “install” for “installation”. My guess is that any word that’s long and clunky and that gets used a lot has a lot of pressure to be shortened. And English allows that kind of shortening. So… Can you do the install for me? ---
**Author:** ![DaveUnknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@DaveUnknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveUnknown)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-linguists-install-v-installation/1019938/29 "2025-06-22T04:33:55Z")
It began because I had to do a preemptive repair on my air conditioner. Youtube videos were about “a/c installs” which annoyed me. So I cursorily looked up “install v installation” and saw this: “Unfortunately, many use “install” when they should use “installer” or “installation”. I believe that the use of “install” instead of “installer” or “installation” when one of the latter is appropriate represents a laziness that favors easier-to-pronounce words. The word “install”, at two syllables, is simpler to say and write than are “installer” and “installation”, at three or four syllables, respectively. This use of a verb as a noun (e.g., _The install went well._ or _Download the install from our website._) when there are perfectly good “-er” and “-tion” nouns is not only lazy but also confusing. For example, \*Do you have a copy of the install?\*could mean: - _Do you have a copy of the installer? –_or- - _Do you have a copy of the installation?_ Other examples abound these days. **Solution:** Use “install” when you want to refer placing in position; use “installer” when you want to refer to the thing or person who installs something; use “installation” when you want to refer to the act of installing or to that which has been installed.” That prompted me to ask the question here, not entirely seriously noting the “linguists considered… prescriptive” thread. So for those who spent their “important” time answering, I can paypal you some money ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2025, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-linguists-install-v-installation/1019938/30 "2025-06-22T23:01:16Z")
Of course linguists study language as a human endeavor. One of Chomsky’s main preoccupations was the extent that humans are hard wired to learn languages, by which he meant primarily syntax. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-linguists-install-v-installation/1019938/31 "2025-06-23T01:07:54Z")
“Principle of least effort,” maybe? Somewhat akin to Occam’s Razor. If it’s shorter, but still conveys the same meaning, why not? Althought it might not be appropriate for technical or formal writing. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-linguists-install-v-installation/1019938/32 "2025-06-23T01:14:36Z")
If you’re in the business of installing things, it would probably get tedious saying “installment” over and over again, and there would be little chance of confusion among those workers. They just need to remember that the general public won’t be familiar with their jargon. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-linguists-install-v-installation/1019938/33 "2025-06-23T02:51:49Z")
I feel “install” as a noun has been mainstreamed. At least I don’t find it the least bit jarring, and I’m not in any industry where the word would be used a lot. It’s kind of like “cite” for me. I forget that “citation” is apparently the proper term. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-linguists-install-v-installation/1019938/34 "2025-06-23T03:38:20Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > It’s kind of like “cite” for me. I forget that “citation” is apparently the proper term. Hence my joke in post #21. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-linguists-install-v-installation/1019938/35 "2025-06-23T10:55:19Z")
I suppose another example would be “That’s a big ask”, where an older generation would have said “You’re asking a lot” or (sarcastically) “You don’t want much, do you?”. But there’s more than just clipping there, perhaps - something about trying to detach the asked-for task from interpersonal dynamics? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-linguists-install-v-installation/1019938/36 "2025-06-23T11:19:19Z")
I recognized the joke, yes. ---
**Author:** ![DaveUnknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@DaveUnknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveUnknown)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-linguists-install-v-installation/1019938/37 "2025-06-23T12:35:24Z")
What about something like, “I agreed to 18 monthly installs for my car loan” instead of “installments?” ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-linguists-install-v-installation/1019938/38 "2025-06-23T12:36:41Z")
One generally says “payments” instead of either of those terms. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-linguists-install-v-installation/1019938/39 "2025-06-23T12:38:28Z")
If enough people use it, sure. I just don’t hear that one around in that usage. I only really hear “install” for “installation,” and it doesn’t seem to be for all types of installations, just a subset of them. Like I wouldn’t say “a military install” for “a military installation.” So you can argue it’s an even more precise word than “installation.” ---
**Author:** ![DaveUnknown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/94ad74/32.png) [@DaveUnknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DaveUnknown)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2025, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-linguists-install-v-installation/1019938/40 "2025-06-23T12:51:11Z")
I’d like to clarify— of course I accept install as a noun, but for whatever reason it’s only that word being “clipped” that annoys me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-linguists-install-v-installation/1019938.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-question-for-linguists-install-v-installation/1019938.md?page=3)