Why is it called a Four-Poster Bed, and not a Four-Post Bed

Question

It seems that every reference I can find refers to the columns of a four-poster bed as 'posts', so why is it called a four-poster bed?
I've found some references that indicate that it was called a four-post bed in the 14th and 15th centuries, but nothing describing the change over time or where it came from.
A friend posited:

I assume it came from the way people talk. “That’s a four poster there”

But I would just like some more information regarding that. Is it just a change in the way people talk? Or maybe how they write?

BoldBen · Accepted Answer

This is a common (though not necessary) way to refer to any object with multiples of a given component.
For instance a three wheeler vehicle which can be a car, bike (strange in itself as 'bike' is short for 'bicycle' or 'two wheels'), handcart or anything else with a tricycle wheel arrangement.
Also a sailing ship with three masts can be called a three master
A 'hackney carriage' with four wheels  was called a 'four wheeler'. They are often mentioned in the Sherlock Homes books.
A truck with six wheels (and sometimes one with ten wheels on three axles) is also called a 'six wheeler'. This is also extended to 'eight wheeler', 'ten wheeler' (another name for a six wheeler with twin wheels on the rear axles) and so on.
Those are just a few of the common names for things that are named in the same way as 'four poster' beds so you see it's quite old: at least Victorian, Conan Doyle was writing contemporary fiction in  contemporary language when he wrote the Sherlock Holmes books.

Jules · Answer

Referring to a noun that has a specific characteristic, there are probably hundreds of examples like runner, sleeper, hunter, worker, steamer, driver, revolver, etc. etc.
For those that include a numeric component there are fewer, but include, off the top of my head:

6 footer (someone/something who is six feet tall),
6 pounder (common cannon size, firing a 6 pound projectile - also available in other calibres),
6 shooter (gun with 6 bullets),
5 miler (race of 5 miles).

Mark Foskey · Answer

BoldBen's answer is indeed correct, but I thought there was a little more to add. When the context is clear, nouns formed in this way usually stand on their own. You hear "two-seater" more often than "two-seater car," or "six-shooter" rather than "six-shooter gun." Very often these terms are coined in exactly these situations where the context is clear. Then, when it becomes unclear, the noun indicating the category gets added.

Answered by Mark Foskey on May 15, 2021

Why is it called a Four-Poster Bed, and not a Four-Post Bed

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