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In the context of a table leaf, what is the correct plural term, "table leafs" or "table leaves"?

herisson
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Mike Goatly
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  • Some modern usages do pluralise regularly (eg computer mouses), but have you checked this one in a dictionary? Look at how AHDEL and RHK Webster's handle the plurals of mouse (though admittedly they disagree, and with Collins!) – Edwin Ashworth Feb 25 '14 at 20:05
  • I've seen both. – David M Feb 25 '14 at 20:05
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    @David M: I've seen 'Gerroff!", but I wouldn't advise using it very often. – Edwin Ashworth Feb 25 '14 at 20:08
  • @EdwinAshworth Why not? It might make you the most interesting person at a cocktail party! – David M Feb 25 '14 at 20:09
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    A pair of Google Ngrams seems to indicate that only one of the variants David has seen would not be considered non-standard. – Edwin Ashworth Feb 25 '14 at 20:22
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    I have never called them, nor would ever dream of calling them, anything other than 'table leaves'. – WS2 Feb 26 '14 at 00:03
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    Yes, I've been told to "put the leaves in the table" or some such on several occasions. Never has it been "leafs". – Hot Licks Apr 30 '15 at 12:18
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    As anyone who has spent time in Canada can tell you, the primary circumstance in which a North American might use "leafs" is in connection with the professional hockey team that represents Toronto in the NHL: the Maple Leafs. Or perhaps when referring to an urbane panda presented with an overrated book on punctuation usage: It eats shoots and leafs through the text. – Sven Yargs May 23 '15 at 05:52
  • When we're talking about Software Defined networking, with Spine and Leaf switches. My feeling is 'Leafs' sounds better but I can't explain why. –  Sep 02 '15 at 04:21

1 Answers1

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Per Merriam-Webster's online dictionary either is a correct plural for the word leaf. There is no differentiation between the usages.

The usage of the word for part of a table is that it is suggestive of a leaf. Hence, it follows the same usage.

Though, I must say that more and more sources I've looked at prefer leaves as the plural of leaf (in any usage). Example

David M
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  • No, the logic falls down, as 'the reason the word mouse is used for the computer controller is that it is suggestive of a mouse (of the small mammal variety) yet the plural mouses is in common use. More recent new senses tend to have more standard pluralisation or conjugation chosen for them. Though 'mice' is also used for the computer controllers. – Edwin Ashworth Feb 25 '14 at 20:17
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    @EdwinAshworth I've always taken exception to the usage of mouses as being a bit . . . contrived? I'm using the test case of the leaves of a book as an example. – David M Feb 25 '14 at 20:21
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    We've covered this before. Here is an article on ' "Systematic regularization" [which] is one of several different terms used to name a familiar phenomenon, long noted in English and some other languages as well. Sometimes, a morphologically-irregular word form becomes regularized when the word is used in a new way ...' Table leaves were given the name before this practice really began to gain momentum. – Edwin Ashworth Feb 25 '14 at 20:26
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    @EdwinAshworth I don't dispute that it is true. I've just always hated it for computer mice. It's a peeve, not a fact. – David M Feb 25 '14 at 20:27
  • Looks suspiciously like a rant to me. – Edwin Ashworth Feb 25 '14 at 20:28
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    @EdwinAshworth I don't believe I'm ranting. It's not that heated of a subject for me. For example, I've never slapped anyone over the usage. – David M Feb 25 '14 at 20:29
  • A rant is a peeve (your word) expressed on the site. – Edwin Ashworth Feb 25 '14 at 20:36
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    @EdwinAshworth Rant implies a tirade that goes on at length. I was just stating my personal distaste for the one usage. – David M Feb 25 '14 at 20:38
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    Could a dictionary reference ('the dictionary' is virtually meaningless and certainly unhelpful here) be given licensing the plural 'leafs'? – Edwin Ashworth Feb 25 '14 at 22:58
  • @EdwinAshworth The link (which has always been present) is a direct reference to said reference. And, I've changed the wording. – David M Feb 25 '14 at 23:07
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    Ah, the link was disguised; I didn't guess it was to a plural. This article mentions the M-W listing of the alternative 'leafs', but adds: "... the OED, which is considered by many to be the authority on correct English usage, lists only 'leaves' as the plural of 'leaf'. " The article I linked to on regularisation mentions that 'Factories churn out Barbies, Mickey Mouses (Mickey Mice) and Ninja Turtles.' And "Brian Pierce flied out (flew out) to center to end the inning." But these instances are (perhaps mercifully) rare. – Edwin Ashworth Feb 25 '14 at 23:17
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    @EdwinAshworth - I've never called a plurality of mouse-like Human Interface Devices anything other than "mice", and don't recall anyone else doing so, except in jest. – Hot Licks Apr 30 '15 at 12:22
  • @Hot Licks 'The online Oxford Dictionaries entry for mouse states the plural for the small rodent is mice, while the plural for the small computer connected device is either mice or mouses.' They use bigger samples than you seem to. – Edwin Ashworth Apr 30 '15 at 15:53
  • This has also been covered before on ELU at Is the plural of the electronic mouse “mouses” or “mice”?. OED has given both plural forms. – Edwin Ashworth Apr 30 '15 at 21:36
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    There are also the Toronto Maple Leafs – verbose Jan 22 '17 at 06:50