Similar usage as "a pair of pants." The binoculars have two oculars, pants have two legs.
stan On Apr 17, 2011, at 3:32 PM, John Francis wrote: > On Sun, Apr 17, 2011 at 02:19:30PM -0400, Igor Roshchin wrote: >> >> >> "A pair of binoculars" - is this two binoculars or just one _binocular_? >> ;-) >> >> But one optical device in question is called a binocular, not binoculars! > > Not in English. > > It may not be accurate, or rational. But it is "correct" (sic) usage. > > You can also use "binocle", or just the singular "binocular". But by far the > most common form is the phrase "a pair of binoculars". Or so says the OED. > -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
