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Path: ...!2.eu.feeder.erje.net!feeder.erje.net!eternal-september.org!feeder3.eternal-september.org!news.eternal-september.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Ruud Harmsen <rh@rudhar.com> Newsgroups: sci.lang Subject: Re: "a Pair of Panties" ????? Date: Sat, 06 Jul 2024 12:30:47 +0200 Organization: A noiseless patient Spider Lines: 51 Message-ID: <t57i8jdepogdm62a9v0rigeqfthtm402te@4ax.com> References: <v5t8mv$tk1f$1@dont-email.me> <v5tgf1$ukmm$1@dont-email.me> <v66kl9$2rfe4$1@dont-email.me> <leo39rFkfe4U1@mid.individual.net> <v68vqp$3alvr$1@dont-email.me> <mn.2b9d7e876d2bccb9.127094@snitoo> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Injection-Date: Sat, 06 Jul 2024 12:30:47 +0200 (CEST) Injection-Info: dont-email.me; posting-host="79957e92c5bc4aa74eb10c7689664ed6"; logging-data="3972602"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@eternal-september.org"; posting-account="U2FsdGVkX18xDpiW+3COQXMCX2vLmzlM" Cancel-Lock: sha1://2JeXOEh/FP3Rb769j2iC/0SQE= X-Newsreader: Forte Agent 1.93/32.576 English (American) Bytes: 2855 Fri, 05 Jul 2024 15:25:52 -0700: Snidely <snidely.too@gmail.com> scribeva: >On Friday or thereabouts, wugi asked ... >> Op 4/07/2024 om 19:09 schreef Athel Cornish-Bowden: >>> On 2024-07-04 17:03:35 +0000, wugi said: >>> >>>> Op 1/07/2024 om 7:56 schreef Hibou: >>>>> Le 01/07/2024 à 04:44, HenHanna a écrit : >>>>>> >>>>>> A pair of pants, or A pair of trousers >>>>>> >>>>>> ... ok because each Pair kinda looks like [2 pipes]. >>>>>> >>>>>> ...but... >>>>>> "a Pair of Panties" ????? >>>>> >>>>> There appears to be a class of things that exist only in the plural - a >>>>> pair of tweezers, scissors, pliers, sunglasses... trousers, underpants, >>>>> knickers, tights... - things that bifurcate or are made up of two bits. I >>>>> suppose the briefer garments inherited the plural from longer ones >>>>> (though a few minutes' searching yields no support for this; briefs were >>>>> apparently in use in Ancient Egypt). >>>> >>>> [...] >>>> >>>> Why does English name all these things as pairs, being a single object? >>>> Others like French have a few (lunettes, ciseaux). >>> >>> But pantalon is singular, though the English word derived from it, >>> pantaloons,is plural. >> >> Not an explanation, but it seems like a demonstration of how English likes to >> see things in "double" ;-) >> >>>> Others like Dutch have none of it in plural or "dual". >> >> Even twins are just one "tweeling". > >What is term for each individual twin? Eén van een tweeling, one of the twins. >>>> Any historic reason? > >Nah, happened mostly in the quiet times. > >/dps -- Ruud Harmsen, https://rudhar.com