Fun Stuff > CHATTER
English is weird
mtmerrick:
But that's called a pants leg. :psyduck: not a pant. Let's say you get a gash across your pants leg. Do you say "there's a tear in my pant" or there's a tear in my pants leg"? The first one just sounds weird, almost forced.
ackblom12:
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pants
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pant
Papersatan:
There is a difference in the scope of meaning I think.
I would say 'pants' refers to a specific pair of or group of actual pants that are a concrete object for the speaker. "those pants over there" "I need new dress pants" "my favorite pair of pants" while 'a pant' would be used to refer to a general category of pants, usually in a fashion context. "that top would look good with a black pant" "this fabric would make a good work pant" "can we make the pant a little darker" In these cases, I would assume the speaker's meaning carries beyond a, specific, individual outfit with a specific pair of pants, and is referring to a group of hypothetical pants. Even if there is a specific outfit which seems to be referenced (say the test outfit on a mannequin, or the drawing of an outfit) the speaker intends their meaning to carry beyond that outfit and refer to an unknown group of pants as a category.
So
"I need another pair of black pants." -- the speaker needs an additional pair of black pants, possibly identical to the first pair.
"I need another black pant" -- The speaker needs an additional style of black pants.
Akima:
I'm not so sure. Many ladies fashion magazines and webshops use "pant" to refer to specific items. Like this, or this. Possibly this got started when the term "pant suit" entered use because "pants suit" required too much precision to avoid elision. :wink:
Come to think of it, I've even seen "jean" used as both a noun and adjective on fashion pages. But I suppose, descriptions referring to a "jean skirt" or "jean pants" just brings the term full-circle. After all "jeans" were originally named after the jean fabric from which they were made.
Loki:
<insert x men joke here>
<insert les miserables joke here>
good joke. everybody laugh. drum rolls. curtain.
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