this post was submitted on 11 Jun 2024
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Mildly Interesting

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[–] [email protected] 98 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (10 children)

"Matt" paste? Isn't it "matte" or am I taking crazy pills again?

Edit: What the fuck... It's spelled differently in the UK, the US, and Canada (where I'm from). It's matte in Canada, mat in US, and matt in the UK.

From the Government of Canada website: https://www.noslangues-ourlanguages.gc.ca/en/writing-tips-plus/matte-mat-matt

[–] [email protected] 149 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Pretty sure it's matte in the US, too

[–] MeaanBeaan 85 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Seconded. Literally have never seen it spelled mat.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

"Mat" is a small rug usually for wiping shoes on. "Matt" is a boy's name, short for Matthew. "Matte" means the opposite of glossy.

[–] avogadro 2 points 2 weeks ago

Mat is a man with no arms and no legs on the floor

[–] [email protected] 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

In Swedish, mat is food

[–] Moneo 5 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Colour me surprised, at least you greybeards have honour enough to spell some words correct.

[–] Serinus 9 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

'u' died with the Queen. Have yo no respect?

[–] [email protected] 11 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Shooldn't it be Qeen, or did "U" get berried with her?

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 weeks ago

I appreciate your cheekiness, sir

[–] Anticorp 64 points 2 weeks ago

It's definitely matte in the USA.

[–] papalonian 45 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Thirding the notion that it's definitely not "mat" in the US. A mat is something you put on the ground, Matt is my cousin's ex-fiance, and matte is a surface finish with little to no shine.

Really don't know what people say English is hard to learn, we use the same word for so many things that there's fewer words to learn /s

[–] Zerlyna 11 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Why waste time say lots words when few words do trick?

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 weeks ago

USA here- matte

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 weeks ago

It’s matte in the US. I think the manufacturer is just being silly

[–] [email protected] 16 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago) (1 children)

From the UK. I've never seen matte spelled as matt. CA, UK and AU are generally pretty close with spelling, whereas the US is usually off doing its own thing. It's a similar thing to blonde and blond.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 2 weeks ago (4 children)

Blonde = female; blond = male

[–] [email protected] 10 points 2 weeks ago

But that's the french's fault.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 2 weeks ago

I thought it was blond = hair colour and blonde = person with blond hair.

[–] samus12345 3 points 2 weeks ago (3 children)
[–] PrinceWith999Enemies 12 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] samus12345 11 points 2 weeks ago
[–] [email protected] 8 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

Blond because French defaults to the masculine form if the gender of the noun is indeterminate.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 2 weeks ago

I shit you not, that is the etymological distinction between the two.

How strictly that distinction is observed is an open question.

[–] wreckedcarzz 8 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Now I'm not saying anything, but I dated a Matt, and he did produce a lot of paste... I'd have to run the numbers to see if it's viable for mass-production though.

[–] SkyezOpen 5 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Hmm, did you try it in your hair though?

[–] wreckedcarzz 4 points 2 weeks ago

... no comment

[–] Soku 2 points 2 weeks ago
[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 weeks ago (1 children)

Yep all 3 are valid, matte is the new variant. https://www.etymonline.com/word/matte#etymonline_v_9722

And I’ve seen all 3 in use in the USA. It’s not matte = Canada. I’ve seen matte more than mat which is historically the spelling. The oed doesn’t list matt as the proper spelling but who knows with the brits.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

Chamber's dictionary has it as "Mat, or Matt, or matte" stating that it comes from the French "mat" or the German "matt", so fuck knows where matte comes from!

[–] force 1 points 2 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

The American spelling "matte" probably comes from the spelling "mate" derived from French "mate", and doubling the "t" to differentiate it from "mate". The British spelling "matt" was probably primarily influenced by the German word "Matt" considering the UK tended to have more German influence.

Alternatively, either (or both) may be an etymological spelling from Latin "mattus" (which means "drunk" but likely became a word for "pale" in French).

While I am a linguist, I only deduced this from a bit of Googling and a lot of speculating, so don't take my word for it...

[–] P1nkman 1 points 2 weeks ago

Probably my Stavanger-dialect in Norway. It's matt in Norwegian, but matte in my dialect.

[–] MaxSebastian 3 points 2 weeks ago

I'm like 90% sure it's matte in the UK.