Daylight Savings Time - "Saving" or "Savings"?

Question

The Israeli Ministry of Interior uses the wrong term for DST in their URL:

http://www.moin.gov.il/Pages/summer-clock.aspx

Summer Clock is a word-for-word translation for the Hebrew Term שעון קיץ, which means Daylight Saving Time.

I would like to send them the right English term, but I'm not sure whether DST is about Daylight Saving Time (singular) or Savings (plural).

Wikipedia's article seem to use both the plural and singular form:

Daylight saving time (DST) is the practice of advancing clocks during
  summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour
  longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions
  that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to
  the start of spring and adjust them backward in the autumn to standard
  time

Which form is the right one?

jkp1187 · Accepted Answer

According to the Wikipedia, the first use of DST occurred during WW1, initiated by Germany and Austria-Hungary. The term used was "sommerzeit", which appears to translate into English as "Summer Clock". Perhaps this is the origin of the term used by the Israeli gov't?

The relevant U.S. Code on the subject that dates to 1966 describes the act to be taken (moving clocks ahead/back) and the dates on which the adjustments are to take place, but doesn't use the term "daylight saving(s) time" at all.

An executive order from President Richard Nixon in 1973 temporarily ordering year-round DST in the United States, described it as "daylight saving time" [singular, not plural]. (Coincidentally, enacted as a result of the Arab oil embargo due to America's support for Israel in the 1973 war.)

I really have no idea where the plural in "daylight savings time" came from, but oddly, it's something that I've heard people use since childhood in America.

Robbie Goodwin · Answer

The authority is the British Royal Observatory at Greenwich (http://www.rmg.co.uk/work-services/contact) whose WWW and Wikipedia entries don’t seem to offer any clarity.

Sorry to point this out and none of us needs to speak a word of Hebrew to realise that ‘Summer Clock’ is not a word-for-word translation of ‘Daylight Saving Time’ or anything like it. The Hebrew Term שעון קיץ might well mean either of them or anything in between and that changes nothing.

Since you’re being so prescriptive, please note that ‘Ministry of Interior’ prolly lacks a ‘The’. Try translating the Hebrew into two or three other languages and see how many do and don’t use ‘The…’

Since you’re being so prescriptive, please note that daylight saving(s) time (DST) is not a practice. DST is a mechanism through which a practice is achieved. the practice itself is ‘saving daylight time’ but sadly that doesn’t help decided whether the time saved is plural or singular.

kiwi-ian · Answer

First, it is Daylight Saving Time (singular). Savings is simply wrong.
Second - the British use the term (British) Summer Time (BST) which is also a direct translation of the German "Sommerzeit". Many other countries also use linguistic variations of "summer time". I don't speak Hebrew but the insinuation above is that they too use "summer time".
The ubiquitous cultural imperialism of Americanisms has resulted in Daylight Saving Time being the term used by the media all over the English speaking world. Here in NZ, the 1974 law referred to Summer Time but subsequent Orders in Council refer to Daylight Time (no Saving) however the media always, always refer to DST.
Perhaps we should dispense with the term Daylight Saving Time and use the term Summer Time because :

DST doesn't actually save any time so is strictly speaking inaccurate
People get confused as to whether it is Saving or Savings
Summer Time is more accurate
Summer Time and ST are shorter to say and to write.
Summer Time is directly translatable into other languages, DST is not.

Daylight Savings Time - "Saving" or "Savings"?

3 Answers

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question