matemáticas

Feminine plural noun in Spanish, taking plural agreement (las matemáticas son difíciles). From Latin mathematica (neuter plural of mathematicus), itself from Greek μαθηματικά (mathēmatiká, "things learned/studied"). Latin neuter plurals were systematically reinterpreted as feminine in Romance languages. Spanish preserves both forms: la matemática (singular, used for the discipline as an abstract concept, common in academic Spanish and Latin America) and las matemáticas (plural, the everyday usage for the school subject and field of study). English equivalents (maths in British English, math in American English) are treated as singular mass nouns despite the -s, while Spanish takes genuine plural agreement.