# Is "maths" a Britishism? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 31, 2006, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-maths-a-britishism/342313 "2006-01-31T04:10:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-maths-a-britishism/342313/1 "2006-01-31T04:10:04Z")
Having lived my entire life in the U.S. (except for vacations), I’ve never heard “maths,” only “math.” It kind of makes sense to me, since it’s short for “mathematics.” So I’m wondering whether any Americans have started adding the “s.” ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-maths-a-britishism/342313/2 "2006-01-31T04:13:03Z")
We say maths (plural) here too. The American math (singular) always sounds strange to my ears. How do Americans abbreviate statistics: stats or stat? ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-maths-a-britishism/342313/3 "2006-01-31T04:13:48Z")
“Math” is certainly an Americanism: “maths” is used not only in Britain but also NZ, Australia, and for all I know the rest of the Commonwealth. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-maths-a-britishism/342313/4 "2006-01-31T04:32:43Z")
> [@Case Sensitive](#): > > “Math” is certainly an Americanism: “maths” is used not only in Britain but also NZ, Australia, and for all I know the rest of the Commonwealth. It’s “Math” in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-maths-a-britishism/342313/5 "2006-01-31T04:35:39Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > How do Americans abbreviate statistics: stats or stat? Stats. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-maths-a-britishism/342313/6 "2006-01-31T04:38:33Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Is “maths” a Britishism? No, “math” is a North Americanism. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-maths-a-britishism/342313/7 "2006-01-31T04:40:44Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > How do Americans abbreviate statistics: stats or stat? Point taken, but while you can have a statistic, but you can’t have a mathematic. So is it really a plural at all? ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-maths-a-britishism/342313/8 "2006-01-31T04:50:04Z")
My parents call it “maths” (they’re Indian) My sister and I call it “math”-we were raised mostly in Canada (Quebec), later the US. ---
**Author:** ![hawthorne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@hawthorne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hawthorne)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-maths-a-britishism/342313/9 "2006-01-31T05:50:14Z")
This applies to sport, too - although it’s not an abbrev. ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-maths-a-britishism/342313/10 "2006-01-31T05:59:29Z")
Quote: Originally Posted by Cunctator How do Americans abbreviate statistics: stats or stat? > [@Kyla](#): > > Stats. Hmmm. If you’re referring to a statistics course, it’s “stat”. If you’re referring to the statistics about something, then it’s “stats”. But it’s always just “math”. “Maths” hurts my ears. ---
**Author:** ![sandra\_nz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eada6e/32.png) [@sandra\_nz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sandra_nz)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-maths-a-britishism/342313/11 "2006-01-31T05:59:51Z")
It’s definately called ‘maths’ here in New Zealand. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-maths-a-britishism/342313/12 "2006-01-31T06:31:17Z")
I say maths, he says math (he’s Irish) ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-maths-a-britishism/342313/13 "2006-01-31T06:49:53Z")
> [@hawthorne](#): > > This applies to sport, too - although it’s not an abbrev. And that’s where the world gets it backwards from the US. Here, kids are into sports - not just one of them. ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-maths-a-britishism/342313/14 "2006-01-31T09:24:24Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > We say maths (plural) here too. Nitpick: both “mathematics” and “maths” are usually treated as singular, not plural. Do you say: Maths/mathematics was my favourite subject. or: Maths/mathematics were my favourite subjects. ? ---
**Author:** ![Zerc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/82dd89/32.png) [@Zerc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zerc)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-maths-a-britishism/342313/15 "2006-01-31T09:44:21Z")
We say maths in South Africa. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-maths-a-britishism/342313/16 "2006-01-31T09:49:04Z")
> [@Cat Jones](#): > > I say maths, he says math (he’s Irish) I say “maths”, she says “maths” (she’s Irish). ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-maths-a-britishism/342313/17 "2006-01-31T09:56:05Z")
> [@SmackFu](#): > > Point taken, but while you can have a statistic, but you can’t have a mathematic. So is it really a plural at all? It depends: as a school subject, it would be singular, as in, “Statistics is really hard.” As numerical data, it would be plural, as in “These statistics are driving me crazy.” As far as I know you can’t have a mathematic, at least as a noun. As an adjective, now, hmmm… a mathematic equation? That to me would suggest that it refers to the entire field of study, and would be different from a “mathematics equation”, which would be a problem set in a school maths class. Any mathematicians here want to chime in? ---
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-maths-a-britishism/342313/18 "2006-01-31T12:57:47Z")
Wouldn’t it be a mathematical equation? ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-maths-a-britishism/342313/19 "2006-01-31T13:13:23Z")
> [@gotpasswords](#): > > And that’s where the world gets it backwards from the US. Here, kids are into sports - not just one of them. Then there’s _inning_ (baseball) and _innings_ (cricket) - both singular. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2006, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-maths-a-britishism/342313/20 "2006-01-31T13:24:24Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > So I’m wondering whether any Americans have started adding the “s.” I’ve never seen/heard it from any American. So when I see a thread named something like “Maths Question” I can be pretty sure it was not started by an American Doper. As for why Americans say “math” instead of “maths,” I guess it’s because (1) it’s singular, so why put the “s” on the end? and (2) that “ths” sound is hard to say. But I would be interested in seeing a cite as to which came first, “math” or “maths.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-maths-a-britishism/342313.md?page=2)