- Why is the plural form of piano pianos and not pianoes?
"Those which have a vowel before the final -o always just add -s like studio studios etc " So piano pianos? How is n a vovel? The link thankfully is correct and it has specific examples of words ending with a consonants followed by a vowel using es as suffix for plural, like domino dominoes –
- Whats the origin and first meanings of the term grand piano?
Five grand pianos were under construction at the time, their keyboards, soundboards and actions ready to be assembled There were also 'four small frames for little Forte Pianos' as well as 'two small Piano Forte cases' 23 Backers can be seen as the founder of the English tradition of making grand pianos
- grammar - play piano v. s. play the piano - English Language Usage . . .
I've heard that 'play piano' is OK in American usage Is that true? What I learned so far is 'play the piano' As long as it comes to the instruments, we usually "play the (instrument)" Is that co
- etymology - English Language Usage Stack Exchange
Only a week or two ago, the British Admiralty was proudly demonstrating to King George its new eight-barreled anti-aircraft guns, "Chicago pianos,"…named, forsooth, after the sawed-off shotguns and the "Tommy-guns" of Chicago's ex-gansters St Louis Post-Dispatch, Missouri, 08 Jul 1938, p 16 (paywalled)
- semantics - English Language Usage Stack Exchange
The part about "fine furniture" is not contradicted by the photo I was referring to the statements, "It becomes the focal point of whatever room it's in," and, "The seating arrangement works around it " Based on my recollection of rooms with pianos in them, these statements usually are true They merely seemed not to apply to this particular room
- Why are the buttons on computer keyboards called keys?
Originally of pianos, organs, etc , extended to other machines 1846 The verb is first recorded 1926 (implied in keyboarding) key: Musical sense of "tone, note" is 15c , but modern sense of "scale" is 1580s, probably as a translation of Latin clavis or French clef (see clef; also see keynote) Extended c 1500 to "mechanism on a musical
- Is there a good rule of thumb for plurals of words ending in o?
If it’s a music word, it’s probably Italian, so just add -s: pianos, concertos Otherwise, look it up in a dictionary There is no rule of thumb that correctly covers all words Many nouns ending with -o can take either -es or -s but one or the other is preferred
- What is the origin of the idiom with all the bells and whistles?
The invention of portable electrical generators (originally driven by the steam-engines that were used to move the travelling fairground rides) was also a big influence on the design Prior to that date, mechanical organs and pianos were much smaller and simpler instruments –
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