Difference between revisions of "Die - dice"
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In ordinary spoken English, the singular nowadays used for the 'gambling cube' is usually '''dice''', however incorrect this may seem to [[pedant]]s. The [[plural]] of the engineering mould, but never of the six-sided gambling cubes, is '''dies'''. | In ordinary spoken English, the singular nowadays used for the 'gambling cube' is usually '''dice''', however incorrect this may seem to [[pedant]]s. The [[plural]] of the engineering mould, but never of the six-sided gambling cubes, is '''dies'''. | ||
| − | :::Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator, announced his decision to start a war as 'The '''die''' is cast' - the usual translation into English of his [[Latin]] words '''''Alea iacta est'''''. It is now something of a [[ | + | :::Julius Caesar, the Roman dictator, announced his decision to start a war as 'The '''die''' is cast' - the usual translation into English of his [[Latin]] words '''''Alea iacta est'''''. It is now something of a [[cliché]] for any decision from which there is no turning back. |
*There is also a [[verb]] 'to '''dice'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> | *There is also a [[verb]] 'to '''dice'''<nowiki>'</nowiki> | ||
Latest revision as of 20:56, 9 March 2020
The noun 'a die' means 'a cube marked with dots on all six sides used for games of chance, like backgammon'. (For some confusions about the verb 'to die', see Die - dye.)
The word dice is the plural form of the singular word die, meaning 'more than one of the little cubes'. This is the traditional usage that in most ordinary speech is used as a singular. Many academics would like to see their students use the older form - singular die, plural dice - which has been correct since the 14th century, or as long as English has had 'die' in this sense. Do not say, for example, in a maths exercise on probability 'A dice was thrown'. Properly, it must be 'A die was thrown' or 'The dice were thrown'. (Note the change in the verb, from singular to plural form.)
- Note that die is also a term in Engineering and related areas, meaning 'a mould', or design that may produce repeated patterns. (In this sense, it originated from the 'gambling cube': the first 'moulds' to be called dies (note the regular plural) were blocks (shaped like the gambling cubes) used to print designs on paper, or to strike coins. Die is also used for the hardened nozzles through which hot metal may be drawn to make wire.
In ordinary spoken English, the singular nowadays used for the 'gambling cube' is usually dice, however incorrect this may seem to pedants. The plural of the engineering mould, but never of the six-sided gambling cubes, is dies.
- There is also a verb 'to dice'
- One meaning is 'to gamble'. In present-day English this is rarely used literally, that is in the sense of rolling a die or dice and betting on the outcome. It is used more generally to mean 'behaving riskily', as in "In most cities, when a pedestrian crosses a major road, he is dicing with death."
- Cooks, on the other hand, commonly use it to mean 'cut into small cubes'. They do this with vegetables, particularly root vegetables, and meat to prepare them for stewing.
