# What man-made objects are referred to by the material they are made of? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 5, 2005, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881 "2005-04-05T18:25:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/61 "2005-04-06T16:22:43Z")
Remember, object names of the form {material}{object} don’t count, I’m looking for object names where the material itself is the name of the object. So things like “iron horse”, “alligator shoes”, or “silicon chip” don’t count, unless the bare word “iron” could refer to a locomotive, “alligator” could mean a shoe, or “silicons” could mean the guts of a computer. Also bare material names themselves don’t count, like opium or other chemical or pharmaceutical names even if the material is man-made, since those refer to the material, not objects made of the material. Likewise, I don’t think things like fishsticks or rye (meaning rye bread) count. Things like “the soap” and “the chalk” are edge cases, since chalk is literally just a lump of chalk. I’d go so far as to include chalk but I’m not convinced by rye. I’d say all food names are suspect, since foods are often refered to by the name of one prominent ingredient, even if they contain other things. So dills on rye don’t make the list. Or “spaghetti”, meaning spaghetti pasta with tomato-meat sauce. Also things like “tape” or “film” don’t count, since they are refering to the configuration of the material, not the material itself. “Tape” could mean any substance that is linear and flat, be it paper, plastic, metal, or whatever. Camera “film” isn’t really an example either, since it is a material that is named after how it is shaped, the reverse of what we want, an object named after a material. ---
**Author:** ![Scarface\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Scarface\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarface_Z)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/62 "2005-04-06T16:30:53Z")
Irons: Handcuffs, shackles. “Clap him in irons!” ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/63 "2005-04-06T16:34:46Z")
I would dispute the idea that bricks are made of brick. The material that bricks are made of is called terra cotta or clay in other contexts. If you called a brick building a brick, on the other hand… ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/64 "2005-04-06T16:38:29Z")
Seems like iron, glass, and lead are the big winners in the competition. ---
**Author:** ![Chimpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@Chimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimpy)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2005, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/65 "2005-04-06T16:53:42Z")
Fighting irons? ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2005, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/66 "2005-04-07T18:28:49Z")
Silicon chip is a chip of silicon, as in a small chipped off piece of silicon. They aren’t chips made out of silicon (the term chip for such things came after the term silicon chip afak). Remember woods was mentioned for gollf club drivers, that is a very common term in UK usage for such a club. A set of woods would contain a 7 wood, 5 wood, and 3 wood. Food is often packaged in tins. A woman might put on her chiffon and lace, whilst many people wear woolies in winter. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/67 "2005-04-08T12:37:15Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > “Pen” itself is from the Latin for “feather.” > > As has been noted in a recent thread about saxophones, “woodwinds” are often made from metal or plastic, particularly saxophones, flutes, and clarinets. > > Miniatures used for table-top wargaming or role-playing games are “leads,” even if they’re made from something other than lead. Woodwinds get the name from the wood “reed” that the player blows to vibrate. The material the body of the instrument is made from is… well… immaterial. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/68 "2005-04-08T16:14:44Z")
> [@Bippy the Beardless](#): > > Silicon chip is a chip of silicon, as in a small chipped off piece of silicon. They aren’t chips made out of silicon (the term chip for such things came after the term silicon chip afak). > > Remember woods was mentioned for gollf club drivers, that is a very common term in UK usage for such a club. A set of woods would contain a 7 wood, 5 wood, and 3 wood. > Food is often packaged in tins. A woman might put on her chiffon and lace, whilst many people wear woolies in winter. Yes, but it still doesn’t fit. A wood chip or a corn chip might be wood or corn smooshed into a chip, or it might be bits of wood or corn chipped off a bigger block, but it still isn’t an artifact named exclusively by the material it is made of. I don’t think silicon chip fits any more than cotton balls or wooden beams or iron bars or glass beads. Without the modifier explaining how the material is put together the name wouldn’t be understandable. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2005, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/69 "2005-04-08T16:37:31Z")
> [@Chimpy](#): > > Fighting irons? Shootin’ arns I draw a distinction between material names used as a qualifier - silcone chip, potato cihp - versus material names which themselves denote a particular object such as an iron , glasses, woods. …and **Lemur866** just posted the same thing. Never mind. How about object names where the typical modern example is not made out of that material? My newest iron is made of enameled aluminum and plastic, golf woods are typically made from metal, Filmm doesn’t describe a substance. Camera film is made from a clear base of polyester or some similar material or cellulose for antique stock with an emulsion coating of photosensitive materiaials and sometimes dyes. Photographic film is distinct from plates which use a rigid glass base. ---
**Author:** ![Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac8455/32.png) [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/70 "2005-04-11T16:18:16Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > Yes, but it still doesn’t fit. A wood chip or a corn chip might be wood or corn smooshed into a chip, or it might be bits of wood or corn chipped off a bigger block, but it still isn’t an artifact named exclusively by the material it is made of. I don’t think silicon chip fits any more than cotton balls or wooden beams or iron bars or glass beads. Without the modifier explaining how the material is put together the name wouldn’t be understandable. Fairy nuff. ---
**Author:** ![monkeyfist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9c0ed/32.png) [@monkeyfist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monkeyfist)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/71 "2005-04-12T05:05:31Z")
In theatre, we have weights used for the counter wieght fly systems, they are commonly referred to as pig irons, because they are made from the crude iron called pig iron. ---
**Author:** ![monkeyfist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9c0ed/32.png) [@monkeyfist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monkeyfist)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/72 "2005-04-12T05:11:18Z")
what about plastic sheets being called acetates? ---
**Author:** ![monkeyfist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9c0ed/32.png) [@monkeyfist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monkeyfist)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/73 "2005-04-12T05:14:49Z")
Apparently, some old records were made from acetate, and they too are called acetates ---
**Author:** ![monkeyfist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9c0ed/32.png) [@monkeyfist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monkeyfist)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/74 "2005-04-12T05:21:21Z")
drum heads called “skins” ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/75 "2005-04-12T05:27:18Z")
> [@](#): > > andiron: a fireplace log support Perhaps I’m showing my ignorance, but exactly how are andirons made from andirons? Or andirtonium, for that matter. Andironium? Andirotanium? ---
**Author:** ![monkeyfist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9c0ed/32.png) [@monkeyfist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monkeyfist)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/76 "2005-04-12T05:27:21Z")
PVC piping, made from poly-vinyl chloride, but commonly called PVC, as in, “I’m gonna run all the plumbing using PVC.” or, “Pick up that PVC and take it over there.” ---
**Author:** ![monkeyfist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9c0ed/32.png) [@monkeyfist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monkeyfist)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/77 "2005-04-12T05:36:34Z")
another theatre term, but the colored plastic sheets used in theatre lighting are still called gels, even thought they stopped using gelatin to make them many years ago (polyester is used now, doesn’t burn after long term usage) ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/78 "2005-04-12T12:17:34Z")
> [@monkeyfist](#): > > PVC piping, made from poly-vinyl chloride, but commonly called PVC, as in, “I’m gonna run all the plumbing using PVC.” or, “Pick up that PVC and take it over there.” Has the term actually transferred to the object? In other words, would you call a piece of pipe “that PVC” even if it was made from copper? ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/79 "2005-04-12T12:27:26Z")
A small variation you left out in the OP, the looking glass. (mirror) How about cotton balls? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2005, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881/80 "2005-04-12T13:49:22Z")
In the U.S., where we say “cotton balls,” I don’t think it counts, but in the U.K., where it is simply called “cotton,” I think that counts. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-man-made-objects-are-referred-to-by-the-material-they-are-made-of/297881.md?page=5)