Talk:chassis
Add topicLatest comment: 5 years ago by Equinox in topic Plurality
Etymology
[edit]Chassis derives directly from greek capsis/καψίς meaning 'small case'. (capsa/κάψα -> case, capsis/καψίς -> small case). If it was a Latin word, the ending for 'small' in female nouns would be '-ella' and not '-is' as it is characteristic for greek. In a possible latin origin we would had: capsa (case) -> capsella (small case) and not capsis and thus chassis in french. — This unsigned comment was added by 92.118.188.12 (talk) at 18 February 2009.
- The term *"καψίς" is so far unattested in Wiktionary; I cannot find the term in Lewis & Short 1879.
- The etymology of Latin "capsa" is treated in the entries for "case" in English dictionaries. There, Century 1911, Webster 1913 and Online Etymology Dictionary agree that Latin "capsa" is from Latin "capere" ("capio"). Lewis & Short 1879's entry "capsa" has "capio" as a root. Merriam-Webster Online contains a weakened claim that Latin "capsa" is probably from Latin "capere".
- If you want to replace this referenced etymology with another one, you will need to provide references I am afraid, and even then it would be preferable to state both referenced hypotheses rather than replacing one referenced hypothesis with another referenced hypothesis. --Dan Polansky 15:55, 4 October 2010 (UTC)
- That was for Latin "capsa". For English "chassis", several dictionaries derive it from Latin "capsa"; MWO does not, and stops at Middle French "chasse" instead. --Dan Polansky 15:59, 4 October 2010 (UTC)
Plurality
[edit]The plural is listed as the same as the singular (chassis) but I thought it might be "chasses" because when I pronounce it plural I'm pretty sure it changes from a short I to a long E sound. "Chas Sis" vs "Chas Sees" basically. Ranze (talk) 00:03, 9 June 2015 (UTC)
- Some words do end in -es and have that sound, e.g. Aristophanes, bases (from basis), but it wouldn't make sense for a word borrowed from French like this one. Equinox ◑ 23:39, 30 October 2019 (UTC)
Cambridge Grammar of the English Language
[edit]Such French borrowings as chassis (and chamois, corps, faux pas, patois, rendezvous) have base plurals in writing but not in speeech. Nouns like species which have identical singular and plural forms with final s take a bare genitive in the singular as well as the plural, and in writing this will apply to nouns like chassis too.