Refering to a shop as a "store"

Butch Cassidy

To me a shop is a shop. In the last few years I've seen more and more younger people refer to a shop as a "store". In American English this would be the case and you hear it on the American TV shows.

Are kids here referring to shops as "stores" due to watching so much American TV? Or was it always the case that you would call a shop a "store"?

FlutterinBantam

Butch Cassidy wrote: »

To me a shop is a shop. In the last few years I've seen more and more younger people refer to a shop as a "store". In American English this would be the case and you hear it on the American TV shows.

Are kids here referring to shops as "stores" due to watching so much American TV? Or was it always the case that you would call a shop a "store"?

You answered your own question just there.

mike65

Butch Cassidy asking about Store and Shop eh?

[Middle English stor, supply, from Old French estor, from estorer, to build, from Latin nstaurre, to restore; see st- in Indo-European roots.]

[Middle English shoppe, from Old English sceoppa, treasure house.]

So you could say both are equally correct. The Yanks always used Store no doubt due to the shortage of retail establishments and the need to build a communal store in the homestead or settlement.

Skerries

well it is Dunnes Stores

pickarooney

The 'store' was always the place out the back that goods were stocked in before being moved into the shop proper. Using it to mean shop is just another Americanism, I guess.

Yeah, that was intentional, go figure.

Butch Cassidy

Referring to trousers/jeans/bottoms as "pants" is another one that's creeping in.

Dunjohn

ever since I was a youngin' I saw a "shop" as a smaller corner or high street affair, and a "store" as a larger one like Dunnes or Quinnsworth. However, like Skerries' post points out, that may have been from association. I don't remember ever being told that.

"Pants" is one I resist strongly, even though it's claimed my younger siblings (and by that, I mean early twenties).

Yakuza

My daughter(9) uses "waiting in line" when talking about a queue. I blame iCarly and Hannah Montana. (or should that be "iBlame iCarly"? )