As it’s used in England today, does the term “maths” come from the word “mathematics?” Most written references to arithmetic also uses the term. It’s one of those quirks that seems to be disjointed - sort of like the way they say, “In hospital,” where we would say, “In THE hospital.” It seems to have a different meaning, not just a different useage. Any help dopers?
Mathematics => Maths.
What I want to know is, where did the S go in the States…!
I have no idea about differing usage re. hospital - seems the same to me.
Yes, maths comes from mathematics. Why do you think it only means arithmetic?
Yes, it’s short for mathematics and, as far as I know, has precisely the same meaning and connotations as the American ‘math’.
Of course “maths” comes from “mathematics”, you see there is a strong similarity what with both words starting with “math”. Maybe its not as obvious as it looks?
More than once I’ve been told that it’s incorrect, in the US, to say “math” instead of “maths”. Is this technically true? “Maths” is just … well, kinda hard to say, to be honest. I never really got the “ths” thing down.
We don’t say “maths” in the U.S. We say “math.” [bJjimm**, the “s” went the same place that the “ematic” did. Often it seems easier to make an abbreviation or a contraction by cutting from the end instead of from the middle.
It’s not incorrect in the US. Some teachers, etc., might feel curmudgeonly about it, but get real. NO ONE in the US says “Maths”. If 99-100% of the usage agrees it’s “math”, then “math” it is.
Why no “s”? Why not? I often hear of people taking “Econ” (Economics), but I’ve never once heard of them taking “Econs”. Here, we just seem to truncate.
Oh, on “hospital.”
A U.S. newscaster would say “He was taken to the hospital and he is in the hospital now.” (even if it wasn’t known which hospital he was taken to.)
A U.K. newsreader would say (I believe) “He was taken to hospital and he is in hospital now.”
Ah, but isn’t “mathematics” a plural? When a long plural is contracted, it normally retains its plural form. E.g. “Who will the Dems elect?” not “Who will the Dem elect?”
In American English, “mathematics” (like “economics,” as toadspittle meantioned) is not a plural. It’s a collective noun and is treated as a singular. In fact, I can’t think of any situation in which “mathematics” would indicate a plural thing. It’s one thing, the science of mathematics. There’s no such thing as “a mathematic.”
If mathematics is plural, then what is one mathematic?
It’s probably just a sacred chao (singular of chaos).
There is a subtle difference between the two. In America, both doctor and patient are in the hospital. In Britain and Australia, only the doctor is in the hospital, and the patient is in hospital.
You can only be in hospital if you have been admitted as a patient. Everybody else in the building, for whatever reason, is in the hospital.
It’s a similar situation with words like “church” and “school”. In the middle of the day, my son is at school, but his teacher is *at the school. Then again, as far as I know, Americans use it this way too - just not “hospital”. Go figure.
Well usualy it seems when shorting a pluralised word the pluralisation is kept.
automobiles -> autos
parambultaors -> prams
omnibuses -> buses
For some strange reason though in America we have
mathematics -> math
maybe this is because the plurality of mathematics is not so obvious
since it is a grouping of (arithmetic, geometry, calculus, algebra, etc.) that is often thought of as just one thing.
… So calculus is a mathematic.
Good answer TheLoadedDog never thought about it, but your quite correct about English use for in hospital, and in the hospital. Another example ‘in theater’ = an actor, ‘in the theater’ = in a theater building.
Another strange one is the way Americans , when talking about a place to stay , say “accommodations” even if they are just talking about one hotel. We use it over here without the s .
Not to get too far off the original point, but I’ve also noticed that the British news has a “Sport” section, rather than “Sports”. Did Americans add the “s” or did the British drop it? (Or do they just have the one sport over there…?)
TheLoadedDogp is correct; there’s a difference in emphasis; ‘In hospital’ is referring primarily to a function, rather than a place, or rather the functionality of the place, rather than it’s locality or existence - “He’s in hospital, so he will get better”, as opposed to “He’s at the hospital, which is the big white building over there”.
Likewise:
“He’s at school, learning to read”
vs
“He’s at the school, mowing the grass”
or
“He’s at church, praying”
vs
“He’s at the church, painting the window frames”