Subject: Re: [HM] "maths" in lieu of "math"
From: William C Waterhouse (wcw@math.psu.edu)
Date: Thu Mar 30 2000 - 14:53:49 EST
On Tue, 28 Mar 2000, Dr. Brendan Larvor <B.P.Larvor@herts.ac.uk>
wrote:
"The proper question is why anyone would abbreviate 'mathematics' (plural)
with 'math' (singular)..."
It is true that "mathematics" was treated as a plural noun in English
several centuries ago, especially in the phrase "the mathematics."
But it soon began changing; the Oxford English Dictionary lists
"Mathematics is ... usually divided into pure and mixed" from Wilkins
(1641) and "Mathematics was brought to that height" from Bentley
(1720). The OED entry itself (dating from about 1905) says that
"In recent use, the substantive is almost always construed as a
singular."
Just to be sure, I checked both Hardy and Littlewood, and both
write "mathematics is..." or "mathematics has..." (e.g., _Apology_
sect. 4, _Miscellany_. "The Dilemma of Probability Theory").
William C. Waterhouse
Penn State
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