LL-L "Grammar" 2007.09.12 (04) [E]

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L O W L A N D S - L  -  12 September 2007 - Volume 04
Song Contest: lowlands-l.net/contest/ (- 31 Dec. 2007)
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From: Danette & John Howland <dan_how at msn.com>
Subject: LL-L "Grammar" 2007.09.12 (03) [E]

Does anyone know when the word *battery* in the sense of electrical storage
devices became singular?

Thanks,
John

Hmm. Can't track the date down, but of course when Volta invented the
device, it was an electrical cell.  Lining them up in rows made for more
power, and by a fancied resemblance to a row of cannons, the array was
called a "battery".  When the term referred to a single cell I'm not sure -
but of course it hasn't completely replaced it anyway - we have D-cells, AAA
cells etc. And "Wordsworth's Dictionary of Science and Technology" still
defines "battery" as a collection, not one.
Paul Finlow-Bates

     Thanks for the info, Paul.
I recall reading that the multitalented Ben Franklin coined the term to
describe an array of Leyden jar storage devices, not the later Voltaic
piles. It seems noteworthy, though not surprising, that the term came to
refer to a single power cell.

     Another plural form for a single object I can think of is *tweezers*.
In my youth I only heard it spoken of as "a pair of tweezers." Recently I
have heard "a tweezer." This sounds a little odd to my ear but seems
perfectly logical.

     Be well.   John H.

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Grammar

Thanks a lot for the "tweezer," John.  That's another one I've heard.
Here's another couple: "tong" instead of "tongs," and "pincer" instead of
"pincers."

It's great to have you in the speakers' corner, John.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

•

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