# Whence the British term "maths" ? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 17, 2003, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-british-term-maths/213738 "2003-11-17T18:10:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-british-term-maths/213738/1 "2003-11-17T18:10:12Z")
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? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-british-term-maths/213738/2 "2003-11-17T18:14:22Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-british-term-maths/213738/3 "2003-11-17T18:14:30Z")
Yes, maths comes from mathematics. Why do you think it only means arithmetic? ---
**Author:** ![Jabba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b5e925/32.png) [@Jabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jabba)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-british-term-maths/213738/4 "2003-11-17T18:15:01Z")
Yes, it’s short for mathematics and, as far as I know, has precisely the same meaning and connotations as the American ‘math’. ---
**Author:** ![Herge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a183cd/32.png) [@Herge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Herge)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-british-term-maths/213738/5 "2003-11-17T18:25:40Z")
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? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Paranoid\_Randroid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paranoid_randroid/32/18_2.png) [@Paranoid\_Randroid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paranoid_Randroid)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-british-term-maths/213738/6 "2003-11-17T18:33:43Z")
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. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2003, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-british-term-maths/213738/7 "2003-11-17T18:37:48Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-british-term-maths/213738/8 "2003-11-17T18:44:59Z")
> [@](#): > > More than once I’ve been told that it’s incorrect, in the US, to say “math” instead of “maths”. 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. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2003, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-british-term-maths/213738/9 "2003-11-17T18:53:02Z")
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.” ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-british-term-maths/213738/10 "2003-11-17T18:57:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by acsenray \* > **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. \*\* 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?” ---
**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:** [November 17, 2003, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-british-term-maths/213738/11 "2003-11-17T19:26:13Z")
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.” ---
**Author:** ![SimonMoon5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@SimonMoon5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SimonMoon5)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-british-term-maths/213738/12 "2003-11-17T19:53:12Z")
If mathematics is plural, then what is one mathematic? It’s probably just a sacred chao (singular of chaos). ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-british-term-maths/213738/13 "2003-11-17T20:59:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CC \* > \*\* - 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? \*\* 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. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2003, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-british-term-maths/213738/14 "2003-11-17T21:07:26Z")
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. ---
**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:** [November 17, 2003, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-british-term-maths/213738/15 "2003-11-17T21:13:58Z")
… 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. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2003, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-british-term-maths/213738/16 "2003-11-17T21:51:08Z")
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 . ---
**Author:** ![Second\_Guest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/87869e/32.png) [@Second\_Guest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Second_Guest)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-british-term-maths/213738/17 "2003-11-18T00:07:21Z")
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…?) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2003, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whence-the-british-term-maths/213738/18 "2003-11-18T00:14:11Z")
**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”