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submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[-] [email protected] 98 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

"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 1 month ago

Pretty sure it's matte in the US, too

[-] [email protected] 85 points 1 month ago

Seconded. Literally have never seen it spelled mat.

[-] captain_aggravated 14 points 1 month ago

"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.

[-] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

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

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

In Swedish, mat is food

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

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

[-] [email protected] 9 points 1 month ago

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

[-] [email protected] 11 points 1 month ago

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

[-] Classy 4 points 1 month ago

I appreciate your cheekiness, sir

[-] [email protected] 64 points 1 month ago

It's definitely matte in the USA.

[-] [email protected] 45 points 1 month ago

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

[-] [email protected] 20 points 1 month ago

USA here- matte

[-] [email protected] 17 points 1 month ago

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

[-] [email protected] 16 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

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 1 month ago

Blonde = female; blond = male

[-] [email protected] 10 points 1 month ago

But that's the french's fault.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

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

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago
[-] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago

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

How strictly that distinction is observed is an open question.

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago
[-] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

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

[-] [email protected] 8 points 1 month ago

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.

[-] [email protected] 5 points 1 month ago

Hmm, did you try it in your hair though?

[-] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

... no comment

[-] [email protected] 6 points 1 month ago

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 1 month ago

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!

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month 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...

[-] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

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

[-] [email protected] 3 points 1 month ago

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

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