# Sport, sports, math and maths **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 23, 2006, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sport-sports-math-and-maths/369841 "2006-08-23T01:59:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sport-sports-math-and-maths/369841/1 "2006-08-23T01:59:28Z")
I thought the following would be something like the hated “why do we drive on a parkway, and park on a driveway” question, but since I searched and couldn’t find a thread, here goes. Why do Brits play _sport_ and study _maths_, while Americans play _sports_ and study _math_? ---
**Author:** ![OldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/3bc359/32.png) [@OldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldGuy)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sport-sports-math-and-maths/369841/2 "2006-08-23T05:08:01Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > I thought the following would be something like the hated “why do we drive on a parkway, and park on a driveway” question, but since I searched and couldn’t find a thread, here goes. > > Why do Brits play _sport_ and study _maths_, while Americans play _sports_ and study _math_? I was aware of the latter British usage, but not the former. I really don’t see you you expect a precise answer to this. It’s just teh way the langauge developed. As for the sports issue, I’d say it’s generally used to indicate more than one sport. That is, “I play sports” indicates I participate in tennis and baseball. If there were only one, I’d say, “I play golf.” giving the specific sport. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sport-sports-math-and-maths/369841/3 "2006-08-23T09:25:54Z")
_Sport_ as the collective noun for the topic of sport rather than the sports themselves is analagous to _opera_ vs. _operas_, _cinema_ vs. _cinemas_ etc. Are those examples not American usage either? As for _maths_, it depends on whether you consider _mathematics_ to be plural. It’s one of those pseudo-plural words formed by adding an S to an adjective, like _electrics_ or _civics_ (_mathematic_ being an adjective according to my dictionary, albeit not one I’ve heard anyone use). ---
**Author:** ![Chew\_Barker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@Chew\_Barker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chew_Barker)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sport-sports-math-and-maths/369841/4 "2006-08-23T10:38:44Z")
Think back to my school timetable. Yes it read something like Monday 10 - 11 Maths and Wednesday 2 - 3 Sport. In this instance Sport is sport and not sports because when we did PE we only did one sport at a time. (Football or Rugby or Cricket) If for some strange reason we played all three at once or played all two or more in the hour we had I reckon we would have called it “sports”. Maths is just maths as short for mathamatics, you say “I have stats next period” and not stat for statistics, right ? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sport-sports-math-and-maths/369841/5 "2006-08-23T10:43:42Z")
> [@Chew Barker](#): > > Think back to my school timetable. Yes it read something like Monday 10 - 11 Maths and Wednesday 2 - 3 Sport. Huh, we always called it ‘sports’. > [@](#): > > Mathematics (pl.) originally denoted the mathematical sciences collectively, including geometry, astronomy, optics. Math is the Amer.Eng. shortening, attested from 1890; the British preference, maths is attested from 1911. > **[math | Search Online Etymology Dictionary](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=math)** > > The online etymology dictionary (etymonline) is the internet's go-to source for quick and reliable accounts of the origin and history of English words, phrases, and idioms. It is professional enough to satisfy academic standards, but accessible... ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sport-sports-math-and-maths/369841/6 "2006-08-23T10:47:05Z")
> [@Usram](#): > > _mathematic_ being an adjective according to my dictionary, albeit not one I’ve heard anyone use Which dictionary? It’s not in Cambridge or Chambers (_mathematical_ being the adjective listed), and only given as a variant in Merriam-Webster. ---
**Author:** ![Ximenean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/aca169/32.png) [@Ximenean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ximenean)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sport-sports-math-and-maths/369841/7 "2006-08-23T12:14:51Z")
American Heritage 2000, via [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.com). ---
**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:** [August 23, 2006, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sport-sports-math-and-maths/369841/8 "2006-08-23T13:00:23Z")
> [@Chew Barker](#): > > Maths is just maths as short for mathamatics, you say “I have stats next period” and not stat for statistics, right ? Yeah, in America “statistics” is commonly shortened to “stats,” but “economics” is shortened to “econ.” Maybe that’s because “statistics” can be plural, but you can’t have more than one economic; or maybe it’s just futile to hope for consistency. As an American, I definitely don’t think of mathematics as plural. Plus, “maths” is harder to say than “math”; it makes my mouth hurt just looking at it. As for why American _sports_ fans read the _sports_ page and watch _sports_ on TV (I suppose Brits would watch _sport_ on the telly), we think of “sports” as a collective noun, encompassing all the various sports: baseball, tennis, football, hockey, etc. I get the impression that, to the Brits, “sport” is a word analogous to “literature” or “art” or “business” (or as **Usram** mentioned, “opera” or “cinema,” though Americans don’t use the word “cinema” as much; we’re likely to talk about “the movies”). ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sport-sports-math-and-maths/369841/9 "2006-08-23T16:22:09Z")
I think it’s fascinating watching British and American English gradually diverge like this, especially with something like this, where both ways make equal sense, but one side goes one way and the other goes another. ---
**Author:** ![StinkyBurrito](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b9e5f3/32.png) [@StinkyBurrito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StinkyBurrito)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2006, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sport-sports-math-and-maths/369841/10 "2006-08-23T17:00:29Z")
I have been wondering for about a year now when the hell ‘math’ became plural! Apparently when I started reading things written in English english. I thought there was some kind of conspiracy I was not aware of.