Puzzles, Riddles, and Word ESL Games

Re: A plural noun that becomes singular when you add s

Avangi — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 01:00:43 GMT

Too many conditions!

When you began with "bras" to "brass" it encouraged me to overlook the condition of retaining the original meaning, and I undertook to write a program to find all the cases where we go from plural to singular by adding "s" (of which "princess" is one.) However, your "princess" example makes your intention clear, and I realized my folly. I now suspect your search is in vain. If such existed, someone surely would have stumbled upon it by now.

A plural noun that becomes singular when you add s

HZhou — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 21:52:25 GMT

I'm sure many of you have heard of words such as bras, millionaires, and princes that become brass, millionairess, and princess respectively when the letter s is added to the end.

What I'd like to know: is there is a plural noun that, when it becomes singular after the addition of an s, still retains its original meaning? Princes comes close, but there is quite an obvious difference between prince and princess.

Is there such a noun, or am I searching in vain?