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I see the term "parts maker" in use a lot in automotive industry news, and I'm wondering if the term is a correct construction (grammatically speaking).

When this term is used in Japanese it is always written with an S sound on the end (whether talking about one or more than one): パーツメーカー So this may contribute to the frequent inclusion of the S in English as well - at least in documents translated from Japanese. However, such cases most likely represent a relatively small percentage.

Web searches produce inconsistent results. Note this Wikipedia page, for example:

Category:Auto parts suppliers

There are subcategories here such as "Motorcycle parts manufacturers" and "Automotive part retailers‎". So depending on the word that follows "part", the S may be included or excluded.

Let's compare the usage using Google Trends:

Maker:

Maker

Supplier:

Supplier

Manufacturer:

Manufacturer

Why is there so much inconsistency here? And what do English scholars have to say about this?

Mentalist
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  • It seems logical to me to use parts, as it refers to many different components of a car. – Kate Bunting May 25 '20 at 07:29
  • @KateBunting I know what you mean. But is there any sort of rule that governs this? If a metal refinery processes many different kinds of metals is it logical to call it a metals refinery? That sounds unnatural to me - but according to Google that usage is not uncommon if we are discussing "precious metals". It all seems like a big grey area the more I examine it. – Mentalist May 25 '20 at 07:40
  • "Donkey sanctuary" and "dogs home" are standard (well, a few traditionalists might still cling on to "dogs' home"). You just have to go with what's idiomatic (what most well-informed native speakers actually use), often by-passing what might be more logical and being especially wary of looking for inviolable patterns. – Edwin Ashworth May 25 '20 at 11:57
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    Does this answer your question? When are attributive nouns plural? Note that (1) attributive nouns default to (/usually are) in singular form, but (2) there are exceptions, especially when emphasising a plurality seems sensible. And here, I'd say parts maker trips slightly more easily off the tongue – usually the deciding factor. – Edwin Ashworth May 25 '20 at 12:01
  • The hyphenation makes it strange. Somebody or something that is part-maker suggests that they only partially do that. For instance, they could also be part-baker or part-farmer. Whether the noun should be part maker or parts maker (and the plural is more common for this phrase), a hyphen would normally not be used. – Jason Bassford May 25 '20 at 13:00
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    @EdwinAshworth Yes, that demystifies it for me. Thank you. Since there are so many exceptions to the default singular form, it must be difficult for those learning English as a second language. And there are many cases (such as "part(s) manufacturer") in which there is no consensus, even among native speakers. But I will accept this as just one of the quirky aspects of English, and move on with life. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ – Mentalist May 26 '20 at 02:11

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