# A cup with a red feather design/pattern...



## 99bottles

_He was holding a cup with a red feather *design/pattern* on it._

I think it's design. Am I right?


----------



## cidertree

Perhaps. Without seeing the cup it's a little hard to tell.


----------



## 99bottles

cidertree said:


> Perhaps. Without seeing the cup it's a little hard to tell.


Here's a picture I found. Not the color I was talking about in the OP, but I don't think it makes any difference. So, how would you describe this? 

_A cup with a yellow feather *design/pattern* on it._


----------



## cidertree

It's a single yellow feather print on a red background.


----------



## Myridon

"pattern" usually suggests the idea of repetition and/or covering the surface.
A cup with a feather pattern on it.


----------



## 99bottles

Myridon said:


> "pattern" usually suggests the idea of repetition and/or covering the surface.
> A cup with a feather pattern on it.
> View attachment 68945


So, should I use _design_? Or _print_ as #4 suggested?


----------



## Myridon

cidertree said:


> It's a single yellow feather print on a red background.


Did you mean "print" or "printed"?


----------



## cidertree

"Print"


----------



## Myridon

So you think that's an actual imprint made by a feather (like a fingerprint) and not a drawing of a feather printed on the cup? Or is this some new AmE/BrE issue I didn't know about before?


----------



## cidertree

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English - Print #25

- _"a picture, design, or the like, printed from an engraved or otherwise prepared block, plate, etc"_


----------



## Myridon

cidertree said:


> WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English - Print #25
> 
> - _"a picture, design, or the like, printed from an engraved or otherwise prepared block, plate, etc"_


In AmE, I normally think of that meaning as being on paper. The imprint of the block and the paper is a print. Let's go to the art store and buy a print of "Dogs Playing Poker."  I wouldn't say that cup is a print or has a print.
That sort of print can often be used to make a pattern like "This fabric has a feather print."


----------



## cidertree

The image produced by printing is a print, but there are many forms of printing. The image on the cup appears to have been made by _screen printing_, and is therefore, in my opinion, a print.


----------



## Myridon

cidertree said:


> The image produced by printing is a print, but there are many forms of printing. The image on the cup appears to have been made by _screen printing_, and is therefore, in my opinion, a print.


The question though is not about this specific cup nor how the design was produced. What would you call it without regard for whether it was printed or painted or etched with a laser?
Both designs and patterns can be printed so "print" doesn't really address the question of whether it is a design or a pattern.


----------



## cidertree

Never mind. You win.


----------



## 99bottles

cidertree said:


> Never mind. You win.


So, do I put _design_?


----------



## cidertree

99bottles said:


> So, do I put _design_?


I've already answered this to the best of my ability.


----------



## 99bottles

Myridon said:


> The question though is not about this specific cup nor how the design was produced. What would you call it without regard for whether it was printed or painted or etched with a laser?
> Both designs and patterns can be printed so "print" doesn't really address the question of whether it is a design or a pattern.


What about you, Myridon? Do you agree with _design_?


----------



## Myridon

Between the two words that you asked about, that is a feather design, not a feather pattern.


----------



## elroy

I wouldn’t use either.  It’s definitely not a pattern, and “design” to me evokes something more elaborate than just a single plain-looking feather against a solid background. 

How about “a cup with an *image* of a red feather on it”?


----------



## 99bottles

elroy said:


> I wouldn’t use either.  It’s definitely not a pattern, and “design” to me evokes something more elaborate than just a single plain-looking feather against a solid background.
> 
> How about “a cup with an *image* of a red feather on it”?


Isn't _image_ more ambiguous than _design_? It might as well mean the photo of a real feather.


----------



## elroy

Are you specifically wanting to convey that it’s _not_ a photo of a real feather?  

My issue with “design” wasn’t ambiguity.  It’s that it quite clearly does _not_ call to mind something like the example you shared.


----------



## 99bottles

elroy said:


> Are you specifically wanting to convey that it’s _not_ a photo of a real feather?
> 
> My issue with “design” wasn’t ambiguity.  It’s that it quite clearly does _not_ call to mind something like the example you shared.


Could you please show me a photo of something you would call a feather design?


----------



## elroy

or


----------



## 99bottles

elroy said:


> View attachment 68947
> 
> or
> 
> View attachment 68948


Does it have to depict many feathers to be a design?


----------



## cidertree

As already posted by OP in #3.

X-posted


----------



## elroy

Why don’t you tell us what you have in mind and what features are important to convey, and we’ll advise you accordingly.


----------



## 99bottles

elroy said:


> Why don’t you tell us what you have in mind and what features are important to convey, and we’ll advise you accordingly.


Let's say that that feather design/pattern/drawing (until we decide what to call it, lol) is the emblem of some organization the cup comes from.


----------



## elroy

That would be a “feather *logo*.”


----------



## 99bottles

elroy said:


> That would be a “feather *logo*.”


So, should I write it like this?

_He was holding a cup with the logo of the company (a green feather) on it._


----------



## elroy

I suggest:

…with the company’s logo, a green feather, on it.


----------



## 99bottles

elroy said:


> I suggest:
> 
> …with the company’s logo, a green feather, on it.


I think I've been told somewhere (maybe on this forum), that we don't use _'s _with the possessive forms of inanimate things.


----------



## elroy

99bottles said:


> I think I've been told somewhere (maybe on this forum), that we don't use _'s _with the possessive forms of inanimate things.


That’s not true, and has been discussed extensively in prior threads.  Let’s not ruffle any feathers by starting up that discussion again.


----------



## 99bottles

elroy said:


> That’s not true, and has been discussed extensively in prior threads.  Let’s not ruffle any feathers by starting up that discussion again.


In any case, why did you opt to replace _of the company_ with _company's_? Is the former unnatural here? If so, why?


----------



## elroy

English often prefers ’s to of.


----------



## 99bottles

elroy said:


> English often prefers ’s to of.


Is _the company logo_ correct too?


----------



## elroy

Yes.


----------



## Hermione Golightly

I agree with Elroy's witty suggestion that we not ruffle any feathers by changing the topic.


----------



## 99bottles

elroy said:


> That’s not true, and has been discussed extensively in prior threads.  Let’s not ruffle any feathers by starting up that discussion again.


Could you please give me the link to one of those threads?


----------



## velisarius

You may enjoy this one:
Possessive - using 's with inanimate nouns


----------



## abluter

The right word to use in this case is "motif" - the cup carries a feather motif.


----------



## elroy

I feel the same way about “motif” as I do about “design”:


elroy said:


> “design” to me evokes something more elaborate than just a single plain-looking feather against a solid background.



And I wouldn’t say that the cup _carries_ a design/motif. This may be a US/UK difference.


----------



## Tegs

elroy said:


> And I wouldn’t say that the cup _carries_ a design/motif. This may be a US/UK difference.


I wouldn’t say a cup carries anything. A person can carry a cup though. For the cup shown in #3 I’d say “a cup with a picture of a feather on it”.


----------



## abluter

Another word I would use is "bears" - the cup bears a feather motif.


----------



## Roxxxannne

'Picture' (#42) and 'image' (#19) are a little different in register: 'image' is a tad bit higher than 'picture' to me.  

"Bears a feather motif" sounds pretty formal, as though it's a quotation from an art history book written before 1970.

Choice of words always depends in large part on the context and the 'voice' of the narrator.


----------

