# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Colzee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@Colzee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colzee)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/21 "2000-08-17T14:53:59Z")
What about: Sheep or Fish ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/22 "2000-08-17T14:56:02Z")
Hemmoroids. Nobody ever says “I have a hemmoroid.” ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/23 "2000-08-17T14:58:00Z")
[obligatory Gallagher joke] Why do women have a pair of panties, but just one bra? [/obligatory Gallagher joke] ---
**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, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/24 "2000-08-17T15:33:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by zwaldd \* > \*\*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. \*\* What about the single crayon in the easter egg kit? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/25 "2000-08-17T15:38:23Z")
_I think Isaac Asimov wrote this:_ There’s only one Criterion Folks inferior Say, “One criteria.” ---
**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, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/26 "2000-08-17T15:58:01Z")
> [@](#): > > What about the single crayon in the easter egg kit? that’s consistent with the logic of easter. when you have a resurrected diety and a bunny with eggs, the next logical step is a single crayon. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/27 "2000-08-17T16:10:05Z")
(They found the body.) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/28 "2000-08-17T16:17:56Z")
Quoth Shaky Jake: > [@](#): > > Or a word like “meat”, which to me has a collective…essence? One may have a piece of meat, but never “a meat”. The term for such words is “substantive noun”, because they refer to substances. Other examples include metal, water, wood, dirt, and plastic. Words that can go either way include stone and rock (you can say “I have a rock”, or “I have a lot of rock”, and either could be correct). Collective nouns are something else entirely. They’re usually singular in form, but plural in meaning, such as “flock” or “herd”. Some language gurus are now saying that it’s acceptable to use plural forms with collectives, such as “The flock of geese are flying south”, but personally, that just grates on my nerves-- What if you want to refer to two flocks? ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/29 "2000-08-17T17:49:27Z")
tongs and eyeglasses ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/30 "2000-08-17T18:21:19Z")
Dregs, and their synonym, lees. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/31 "2000-08-17T18:21:34Z")
Martini, maybe. I remember a Brittish comedy-variety show (though I don’t remember the show’s name) skit done in ancient Rome. A guy goes up to the bar and asks for a martinus. The bartender says, “Don’t you mean a ‘martini’?” The first guy yells, “If I’d wanted a double, I’d have asked for it!” Gotta love Latin jokes. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/32 "2000-08-17T18:37:49Z")
I’ve always called one of a set of crayons “a crayon”. I am certain that is proper usage. Incidentally it’s French for “pencil”. A house has eaves, but one side of a house has an eave. ---
**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, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/33 "2000-08-17T19:41:26Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ve always called one of a set of crayons “a crayon”. I am certain that is proper usage. of course. my original post was a joke, but upon re-reading it, i don’t get it. bread, then. that’s my serious contribution to the op. ---
**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, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/34 "2000-08-17T20:43:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by E d’Mann \* > \*\*I’ve always called one of a set of crayons “a crayon”. I am certain that is proper usage. Incidentally it’s French for “pencil”. > > A house has eaves, but one side of a house has an eave. \*\* Whoosh. Welcome to the board, ed. ---
**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, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/35 "2000-08-17T21:28:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Phobos \* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*Originally posted by dtilque \* > > bacteria > > criteria > > data > > bacterium > criterion > datum > [@](#): > > _Originally posted by Shaky Jake_ > And I hesitate to pick a nit (though I will), but “graffiti” has a singular in “graffito”, … > > and “candelabra” has “candelabrum” as the singular form. Yes, yes, and I also said > [@](#): > > And yes, I know that some of those have singulars in English, but that doesn’t change the way these are used. In the case of **data** , though, while it has an English singular, it’s so rarely used as to be almost a nonword. I first encountered the word **data** over 25 years ago (when I studied data processing in school) and in that time I don’t believe I’ve ever heard the word **datum** used as its singular or heard **data** used with a plural verb. I’ve seen it written with a plural verb many times, but this is the result of the house rules of various publishers. **Datum** , by the way, is also a technical word used in surveying and mechanical engineering. It’s plural is **datums**. And to contribute to the words without a singluar: **folks**. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/36 "2000-08-17T21:36:15Z")
And to contribute to the words without a singluar: **folks**. \*\* [/QUOTE] There’s the Irish folk. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/37 "2000-08-17T22:02:34Z")
> [@](#): > > Clothes are weird, cuz then you’ve got underwear which has no plural. How about “drawers”? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/38 "2000-08-17T22:09:54Z")
Since Alphagene flagged “cattle” which was my first thought when I saw the thread title, I must pick on his choices… While the list of things to be acted upon is the most common use for “agenda” the word still maintains a precarious usage as the collective “things to be acted upon” that are on the list, and as such is a plural with the singular _agendum_…“item on the agenda” in the more common meaning of the word. ---
**Author:** ![Wood\_Thrush](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b38774/32.png) [@Wood\_Thrush](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wood_Thrush)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/39 "2000-08-17T22:27:14Z")
_Species_ is the same in both sngular and plural. Group it in the same category as _fish_. A specie is a coin! ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666/40 "2000-08-18T04:03:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Annie-Xmas \* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*\*And to contribute to the words without a singluar: **folks**. > > \*\* > > There’s the Irish folk. \*\* Isn’t that also plural? I dunno. The dictionary says it’s singular, but I’m having a hard time thinking of a usage where **folk** refers to a single person. (And please, no one bring up “folk singer”, that’s an adjective.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-there-any-plural-words-that-dont-have-a-singular/29666.md?page=3)