# Are there any plural words that don't have a singular? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 17, 2000, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666 "2000-08-17T03:14:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Asmodeus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@Asmodeus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asmodeus)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/1 "2000-08-17T03:14:00Z")
I can only think of one… clothes… are there more? ---
**Author:** ![mipsman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e99b99/32.png) [@mipsman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mipsman)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/2 "2000-08-17T03:23:04Z")
pants ---
**Author:** ![BrothaTJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d07c76/32.png) [@BrothaTJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrothaTJ)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/3 "2000-08-17T03:25:58Z")
Start going into clothing, pants, jeans…how about trousers? Can you have A trouser? Clothes are weird, cuz then you’ve got underwear which has no plural. ---
**Author:** ![Asmodeus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@Asmodeus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asmodeus)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/4 "2000-08-17T03:31:45Z")
Jeans and trousers are things…clothes is generic. ---
**Author:** ![Teach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/47e85d/32.png) [@Teach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teach)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/5 "2000-08-17T03:33:45Z")
How about **groceries**? Sure, you can go to a grocery store, but grocery doesn’t really have a singular meaning here. They don’t have just one grocery in the shop. ---
**Author:** ![Asmodeus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@Asmodeus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asmodeus)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/6 "2000-08-17T03:40:15Z")
Teach… I think groceries is a misuse of the word. Sort of a slang term. ---
**Author:** ![aseymayo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e57/32.png) [@aseymayo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aseymayo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/7 "2000-08-17T04:48:32Z")
May I just say that “underwear which has no plural” would make a great band name? ---
**Author:** ![Alphagene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Alphagene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alphagene)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/8 "2000-08-17T04:48:54Z")
From [A Collection of Word Oddities and Trivia](http://members.aol.com/gulfhigh2/words1.html): ALMS is a word with no singular form. Other such words are: AGENDA, IDES, BRACES, CATTLE, CLOTHES, MARGINALIA, PANTS, PLIERS, SCISSORS, SHORTS, and TROUSERS (although there is “trouser leg”) ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/9 "2000-08-17T06:19:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Alphagene \* > \*\*From [A Collection of Word Oddities and Trivia](http://members.aol.com/gulfhigh2/words1.html): > > ALMS is a word with no singular form. Other such words are: AGENDA, IDES, … Agenda may have been a plural in Latin, but it’s most definitely a singular in English (I’ll have to write Jeff about that). There’s a number of words that are plural in the original language, but are either singular or a collective or mass noun (and thus used with a singular verb) in English: bacteria candelabra confetti criteria data graffiti spaghetti (and other forms of pasta) stamina trivia This is not a complete list. And yes, I know that some of those have singulars in English, but that doesn’t change the way these are used. ---
**Author:** ![psycat90](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7ea924/32.png) [@psycat90](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psycat90)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 6:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/10 "2000-08-17T06:26:33Z")
Tweezers ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/11 "2000-08-17T06:28:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dtilque \* > There’s a number of words that are plural in the original language, but are either singular or a collective or mass noun (and thus used with a singular verb) in English: Yes, there are people that use singular verb forms with “data” and “criteria”. That doesn’t make it right. ---
**Author:** ![Teach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/47e85d/32.png) [@Teach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teach)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 7:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/12 "2000-08-17T07:51:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Asmodeus \* > \*\*I think groceries is a misuse of the word. Sort of a slang term. \*\* I’m certain that **groceries** , meaning the goods sold by a grocer, is not a slang expression. I admit, however, that it’s not a perfect example of a word that is only used in the plural. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/13 "2000-08-17T09:23:06Z")
**eaves** ---
**Author:** ![Phobos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Phobos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phobos)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/14 "2000-08-17T12:36:51Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by dtilque \* \*\* > [@](#): > > bacteria > criteria > data > \*\* bacterium criterion datum ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/15 "2000-08-17T13:20:02Z")
“pea” was not originally a word. “pease” was one of these plural words without a singular, and “pea” was “backformed” from the plural “pease”. Then the plural of “pea” ecame “peas” without the final “e”, and left us with “pease porridge” as a conundrum. In the same vein, there are words with rarely used singulars, such as “dice”. Ambrose Bierce had a wonderful bit about this in his “Devil’s Dictionary”. I quote, to the best of my recollection: “…there is a singular form, “die”, which is rarely used, because there is an admonitory proverb, “never say ‘die’”.” He then provides his own poem (with a hack name as nominal author): “A cube of cheese no bigger than a die May bait a trap to catch a nibbling mie.” ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/16 "2000-08-17T13:32:28Z")
doldrums But I imagine the singular of “confetti” is “confettus”. The thought of it makes me laugh. I’m picturing the Harlem Globetrotters pouring (?) a bucket of a singular confettus on some poor unsuspecting schmoe. ---
**Author:** ![Shaky\_Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@Shaky\_Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shaky_Jake)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/17 "2000-08-17T13:45:40Z")
Now I’m wondering about the difference between “plural words that have no singular form”, and words are the same in both singular and plural/collective forms - “deer” comes readily to mind? Or a word like “meat”, which to me has a collective…essence? One may have a piece of meat, but never “a meat”. And I hesitate to pick a nit (though I will), but “graffiti” has a singular in “graffito”, although as [dictionary.com](http://www.dictionary.com/cgi-bin/dict.pl?term=graffito)points out, > [@](#): > > When the reference is to a particular inscription (as in There was a bold graffiti on the wall), the form graffito would be etymologically correct but might strike some readers as pedantic outside an archaeological context. and “candelabra” has “candelabrum” as the singular form. Shaky Jake ---
**Author:** ![lee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lee/32/7455_2.png) [@lee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lee)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/18 "2000-08-17T13:48:16Z")
debris ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/19 "2000-08-17T13:48:52Z")
Another of those “singular and plural” words is “Mongoose”. Yes, the plural of “mongoose” really is “mongoose”. Look it up. “Give me to mongooses…uhhh… Give me two Mongeese…uhh…Give me a mongoose. And while you’re at it, give me another one.” ---
**Author:** ![zwaldd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a9adbd/32.png) [@zwaldd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zwaldd)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/20 "2000-08-17T14:45:58Z")
crayons has no singular. i don’t think you can have one crayon. if you find yourself with only one crayon you need to buy a new box. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666.md?page=2)