Math is the correct abbreviation of mathematics not maths, amirite?

The word soccer was invented by the brits. Not our fault they called their sport that.

by Ekuphal 4 months ago

Careful thems fighting words to some people ;)

by Anonymous 4 months ago

The etymology for Physics is of the same Greek background as Mathematics - Physika (Natural or Nature's Things). It is uses the same Volume plural 'a'. This got imported in Latin as Physica.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

This is an interesting contribution to the conversation. Google has useful tools to see the prevalence of words, and I would be curious to see which gets used more.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

I'm not gonna lie. When the Brit's call fries Chips…. We too also got it right… chips are chips, not fries. /😂

by kirlinivy 4 months ago

This opens but the biscuit/cookie conversation

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Totally, and the British get this one woefully wrong as well.

by alisharunolfsso 4 months ago

No. A cookie is a form of biscuit, not the name for all forms of biscuit.

by Business-Fuel2909 4 months ago

I mean American biscuits are goated so I don't see what conversation

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Well cookie implies it's sweet, while actual biscuits can have a variety of flavors. Sweet, salty, in between (like Marie biscuit).

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Fries and chips are 2 different things in the UK. Fries are thin, like McDonalds chips are generally chunky although we use the terms interchangeabley. Crisps are crispy

by Anonymous 4 months ago

So why are they shaped like fries? Shouldn't a chip be shaped like something that's been... I don't know... chipped off the side of a potato?

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Chips are still chips of potato my guy

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Are they though? Aren't they actually slices ? I'd be interested to hear the etymology of the word chip as it relates to what's actually basically pomme frites.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

They're more like noodles

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Except British pub chips, when done right, are heavenly. They're different from American fries (which also exist in a lot of places in the UK).

by Tiny-Confusion-8554 4 months ago

This is like the thing where British people think that Americans only eat thin cut bacon based on dated stereotypes even though thick cut bacon is abundant in the US, and by now you can probably find many varieties of bacon not available in the UK. All different types of fries are available in the US as well, and no one type is considered "American fries"

by Anonymous 4 months ago

and by now you can probably find many varieties of bacon not available in the UK. Any type of bacon you can find in the US you can find in the UK

by Business-Fuel2909 4 months ago

How many bacon varieties do you think you would see in the average UK grocery store?

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Zero as we don't have grocery stores. And there are more than just supermarkets in the UK, we have this thing called a butchers.

by Business-Fuel2909 4 months ago

I've never actually counted, but theres normally back, middle, streaky in smoked and unsmoked at the very least. Butchers likely have more cuts. How many are there in the US though? I cant imagine there being a whole range of varieties of bacon (which is on me) I just see bacon as bacon, like how many varieties of chicken is there kind of thing

by Dachyasmeen 4 months ago

I'm not gonna lie. When the Brit's call fries Chips…. We too also got it right… chips are chips, not fries. I disagree. Fries are Chips, Crisps are Chips. They are all chips.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Chips are only triangles from a tortilla. Slices from a potato are not chips of anything. They can be crisps.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Yes those are tortilla chips or more commonly corn chips. But then there is also hot chips, potato chips etc. Everything is chips.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

No need to get chippy!

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Going for the double unpopular opinion kudos to you

by Agreeable-Cold3808 4 months ago

Do what I can

by Anonymous 4 months ago

As a person from the land of the potato(ireland), the country that invented flavoured crisps(potato chips), we get to name them. Crisps are the correct name for potato chips.

by Potential_Sea_372 4 months ago

'Flavored' potato crisps were invented in ireland, By Joseph 'spud' Murphy.

by Potential_Sea_372 4 months ago

Weren't potato chips invented in America

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Everything was invented in America even British people were created by Americans

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Belgium calls them fries, so therefore they are

by dedrickrice 4 months ago

Chips aren't french fries are not the same and crisps are the correct name not potato chips, seeing as we invented them.

by Business-Fuel2909 4 months ago

Anecdotal, but a lot of opinions I see on this forum are just incorrect information. I'm sure you can come up with other examples of abbreviations that are pluralized same as the words they are abbreviating.

by jerdemina 4 months ago

Mathematics is not plural. Mathematics is singular like politics. Singular words can end in s. Do you ever have one "mathematic"? How about one "politic"?

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Merriam Webster dictionary lists it as plural It lists it as. plural in form but usually singular in construction Which is not the same thing as saying it's outright plural. What is actually said is that it's written plural. For all intensive purposes, it's a singular word.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

You just said "it" "describes" "a" "field." You didn't say they describe fields. You're not even treating it as a plural yourself in your own writing.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Just because it can be grammatical utilized in the same way a singular noun is used. Doesn't mean it isn't plural. You're not arguing with me, you're arguing with Merriam Webster. And you're wrong. The English language is littered with grammatical inconsistencies, this is just one of many. That doesn't make it untrue

by Brockmosciski 4 months ago

"It" is "a" "word"

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Calculus is a mathematic. Trigonometry is a mathematic. Together, they are two mathematics.

by Noemie38 4 months ago

Depending on the context mathematic can be a word. Like a mathematic formula

by Dallinquigley 4 months ago

That would be using it as an adjective though, and that ought to be "mathematical formula" besides

by Anonymous 4 months ago

That's an adjective though, not a noun

by Anonymous 4 months ago

I think you're looking for mathematical

by Anonymous 4 months ago

MathematicS bc it encompasses/studies varying forms of mathematic formulae. PoliticS bc it encompasses policies, the plural of policy.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

It's almost like there are different dialects of a language

by SkyTop3749 4 months ago

There are lots of plural words that we abbreviate that keep the "s". Do you think those are wrong too? Mathematics > maths Statistics > stats Advertisements > ads Rhinoceroses> rhinos Examinations > exams Gymnasiums > gyms Applications > apps

by TouchMedium9216 4 months ago

Maths is also referring to more than one. Algebra, Geometry, Calculus etc.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

The Brits don't use it like this. They don't refer to geometry as math, they refer to it as maths.

by Greedy-Factor 4 months ago

They do though. When they're referring to geometry they say geometry. Maths is a broad term

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Many problems require more than just one type of math. In which case you might say something like "I did the maths and this is what I came up with" for example

by Anonymous 4 months ago

British people do? We have one other class which is statistics, but other than that all of maths is taught in one lesson. So we would learn algebra, statistics etc

by SweetFar 4 months ago

And just like that, I'm sold.

by FabulousBenefit 4 months ago

Statistic > Stat Advertisement > Ad Rhinoceros > Rhino Mathematics is not plural, the word just ends with an s.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

There are multiple fields of mathematics. Also do you put on a pair of pant before work?

by Ozboncak 4 months ago

You've exclusively included examples of plural words, which mathematics is not.

by Greedy-Factor 4 months ago

Mathematics is a singular noun that ends in s

by Anonymous 4 months ago

To quote Merrien-Webster at you: Mathematics, noun Plural in form but usually singular in construction. The reason it is functionally singular is simple; Please tell me the singular form of mathematics.

by Zander98 4 months ago

What is a mathematic?

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Not in America

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Yes, in America.

by Brockmosciski 4 months ago

All of those have singular forms, I've never heard someone refer to a mathematic

by Anonymous 4 months ago

You've convinced me!

by Anonymous 4 months ago

I could just be really tired, but could Americans be using the adjective "mathematic" to describe the class and Brits describing the class by the field of study? Math = mathematic class and maths = mathematics class? Does this work? Did I just solve a problem?

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Well technically they did invent the english language so it seems the Americans are wrong

by Anonymous 4 months ago

The Brits play it fast and loose with the language way more than Americans (Brits just might be an acceptable abbreviation for Britians... don't at me)

by Anonymous 4 months ago

American English is a lot closer to original English than UK English in pronunciation and dialect. The UK bastardized their own language.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

You do understand that languages evolve, right. There's a reason we speak Italian and not Latin.

by Old-Detective 4 months ago

I get what you mean but I think that's a sign of how well versed they are. If you can throw together random words with a fitting cadence and have it make sense to your audience that's wild. Slang plays a big role and I don't think Americans are that good at it compared to Brits and Aussies.

by Tellysatterfiel 4 months ago

Right* not write. Don't wanna be a jerk, but we're discussing language.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

True unpopular opinion, good job

by Anonymous 4 months ago

It's not an opinion at all, it's just incorrect

by Brockmosciski 4 months ago

:)

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Math is is short for mathematic, maths is short for mathematics. Do you often say "I love mathematic"?

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Nah, I'm not a nerd 🤓

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Lmao this kind of thing is silly. When someone calls it a ‘lorrey' do you argue and call it a ‘truck'? It's just a dialect issue

by Anonymous 4 months ago

When someone says "Lorry" I always picture the small open sided milk delivery vans.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Oh you clearly have an issue with it.

by garnett90 4 months ago

Clearly haha

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Good bit

by Anonymous 4 months ago

I agree mostly because "ths" is so stupid to pronounce.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

It is what you are used too. To Brits saying it without the s sounds weird. When it comes down to it just let people prenounce it how they like. It does not matter.

by Spirited-Evidence 4 months ago

UK English is my first language. I grew up saying "maths". It still feels stupid.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

nah, you are just an American/Canadian. The rest of the world uses the English pronounciation.

by Accomplished_Fix7590 4 months ago

How many types of mathematics are there? if its more than one, you are wrong

by Anonymous 4 months ago

You know what, good point If referring to multiple types of maths, we use plural, but one type of math is math

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Do we? I genuinely don't think so. I think ‘types of math' sounds way better than ‘types of maths.'

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Well, it is called mathematicS, not mathematic…

by Strong-Jackfruit 4 months ago

We don't call it sciences though

by Okeypaucek 4 months ago

Depends on the context, sometimes we absolutely do

by Anonymous 4 months ago

The sciences? Yes we absolutely do. You've got the hard sciences, the social sciences, the medical sciences etc etc....

by Anonymous 4 months ago

But "Science" singular is still accepted generally. If there's a Science Class, shouldn't it be Math Class for consistency?

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Seems like a science class refers to a specific sort of science. So it makes sense that it would be singular. I'm not aware of a singular form of mathematics. Mathematics is plural by default....

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Math class can refer to specific maths as well, geometry, algebra etc. I think in this context calling out a single class implies an associated type of

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Well sure, but I think there's a broader difference between biology and physics than there is between geometry and algebra...

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Sure, but that doesn't impact the plurality of the abbreviations and words

by Anonymous 4 months ago

We're talking common parlance though. I mean when you study mathematics it's kind of implied that you're learning division as well as multiplication. Thus the plurality of it. When you're studying astronomy, there's not really any implication that you're also studying biology...

by Anonymous 4 months ago

When you have general science class instead of specific fields like in high school, it's just called science.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Not where I'm from. We definitely use plural

by Anonymous 4 months ago

I'm going to my historys class before my musics class and after my home ecs class

by Obvious-Part 4 months ago

Actually, yeah, that's a good example: home ec. Short for home economics — with that "s" on the end. Since we don't say "mathematic" (as a noun) nor economic as a noun, then why keep the "s"' on "maths" but not "ec" (economics)?

by Raucassandre 4 months ago

So you do mathematic in America do you?

by blairquigley 4 months ago

No they do math - the abbreviate the s with the "ematic" part... As in they drop the whole ematics.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Hearing "maths" just sounds wrong

by Anonymous 4 months ago

For a lot of us, "math" just sounds wrong too I think this is based on personal exposure

by CriticismMental 4 months ago

... Mathematics is plural... But the shortened version should be singular? Though now that I think about it. Gymnastics gets shortened to gym not gyms.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Gymnasium gets shortened to gym

by Due_Communication273 4 months ago

Gym is short for gymnasium

by Anonymous 4 months ago

So a gym team isn't short for gymnastics? It's short for gymnasium?

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Mathematics is not plural

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Then why is there an S on the end?

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Because non-plural words can end in "s". See: Politics and Economics. There is no singular "economic" or "politic", the words refer to the singular.

by Zander98 4 months ago

There are many different type of maths. There's algebra, there's geometry, there's number theory, there's statistics and so much more. If you refer to just...math, what kind?

by ashleetorp 4 months ago

Deltoids - delts, pectorals - pecs, abdominals - abs, etc.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

You could have a singular one of those. Maybe you could have a singular mathematic?

by Anonymous 4 months ago

I see what you mean. If I get it correctly, the noun itself only comes in the plural form. The other way around, for example, is the word "information", which can only be used in the singular form.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

"I'm good at maths" is like saying "I see deers."

by WearyEnd27 4 months ago

Deers are not readily available in my country

by Excellent-Prompt-863 4 months ago

That must be why you didn't get it. It's just "Deer." It's already plural. You wouldn't say Chinese's

by WearyEnd27 4 months ago

Then I guess you're not allowed to be good at maths

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Okay, then why is "stats" the abbreviation of "statistics"?

by fayeric 4 months ago

Because statistics is a plural word. "That statistic doesn't support your argument", "My statistics say you're wrong". Compare to math, wherein "mathematic" isn't a word, because mathematics is the singular.

by Zander98 4 months ago

I'm talking about the "statistics" curriculum in university, not actual statistics.

by fayeric 4 months ago

See the problem is Americans are stupid and reductive so we don't realize there isn't one common definition or agreement of what mathematics constitutes as a discipline. We do the same with Science like it's one big agreed upon thing.

by garnett90 4 months ago

Science is as science does.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

There is multiple disciplines of mathematics, statistics, calculus, trigonometry etc Ergo, Maths

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Theres different types of sciences but we dont call it sciences class, so why should it be called maths class

by Yostnyah 4 months ago

Well at my school we studied the different ones individually, we had the entry level science class, then you could branch out into the different fields they offered So we went Science, then to Chemistry and/or Physics for example

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Yep. Slapping the s on math is just plain wrong. No one - NOT A SINGLE PERSON - says "econs" for economics. Which would be same thing.

by alisharunolfsso 4 months ago

there are many kinds of maths.

by Fun-Replacement 4 months ago

The Brits made up the term soccer, not the US. It's still used in some parts of the UK. Also, soccer is used as the term for the sport in nearly every former British colony: Canada, the US, Australia, South Africa all refer to the sport as soccer. The sport was also formalized and "created" in England and referred to as soccer in the beginnings of the sport as a short name for "Association football" to differentiate it from rugby.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

This is NOT an unpopular opinion. There's an entire country that agrees with you on this one

by Economy-Lychee9588 4 months ago

How do you even get your mouth to contort and say maths? It's more than just awkward, it's damn near impossible!

by Anonymous 4 months ago

There is no "correct abbreviation." It's just a colloquial saying. Just like any other word that we say different

by Anonymous 4 months ago

I say "math" myself but I think "maths" sounds cooler.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Anyone who is arguing about the abbreviation of mathematics is a nerd who probably got bullied in highschool.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

High school nerd, but my 20s have been good to me. Fair point.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

you're right. Maths sounds dumb. Brits only like it because they grew up on it. Yes, I know the irony.

by Jealous-Ferret314 4 months ago

Certain phrasing automatically signals English as a second language. Maths is one of them. "Advise" instead of "advice" is another (e.g., "I need some advise with…")

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Incorrect as an entire country says maths... And I don't think you'd argue the brits don't speak English. I find the word kindly immediately gives away the presence of a scam and/or someone who is not a native English speaker, though

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Many countries say 'maths.'

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Many countries say things incorrectly.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

'It's all the other countries that are wrong!'

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Some would say they invented english so the Americans are wrong

by Anonymous 4 months ago

I'd say the Brits do not speak proper English.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

The S is annoying and unnecessary. Like Europe.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

I still just don't understand why English speaking people made math plural

by Budget_Charity5026 4 months ago

Lapsed mathematician here - we don't care because we always talk about the specific type.

by Excellent-Prompt-863 4 months ago

singular examination = "exam" plural examinations = "exams" mathematics is plural, hence "maths".

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Thank you

by Anonymous 4 months ago

"Maths" is the one word I just cannot say, as in I physically can't put the sounds together right. It just comes out as "maz"...hate the word.

by Repulsive-Hour 4 months ago

But there's more than one.

by emmie59 4 months ago

You're right. Buggered if I'm going to change though.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Fishes

by rodger67 4 months ago

Over there, they call sports sport. And technically, there's one more type of math just like there's more than one sport. I dunno. I'm American so I just say math and sports regardless of which one's right.

by Rennermarques 4 months ago

It sounds so damned dumb each time I hear a Brit say "maths". Like a baby.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

I feel like maths makes more sense. Mathematic ->Math, MathematicS -> MathS. Why would you abbreviate and make it singular when it is plural?

by Anonymous 4 months ago

If it's the abbreviation for mathematicS then mathS makes sense to me.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Well there are many maths. I guess if you mean that Math should just mean everything numbers, then it makes sense.  If you mean to say "some maths deal with geometry, and other maths deal exclusively with discrete units" then I think maths is alright, compared to "Some math deals with..." which is also alright.  Just don't say something like "Most maths deals with" or "some math have shapes" or someone might think you're an actual mathematician.

by Tremblaymarcell 4 months ago

Math is the preferred abbreviation in American English, while 'maths' is commonly used in British English. Language evolves, but equations remain constant!

by Reillydevon 4 months ago

Because it's not mathematic. It's mathematics. And math sounds stupid. Maths is way better.

by Anonymous 4 months ago

Because mathematics is plural. Therefore, maths is plural as well.

by Character-Coffee 4 months ago

The language is called English. Therefore the English standard is always correct.

by gerholdkyleigh 4 months ago