Why is the Spanish word for 'dishwasher' plural?
The word for dishwasher in Spanish is 'los lavaplatos', correct? So what if I'm referring to more than one dishwasher, say in a store? How would I say, for example, the green dishwasher?
7 Answers
All compound words in Spanish are masculine and they appear to have a 'plural' ending even in the singular. El Lavaplatos, el paraguas, el microondas (microwave), el abrelatas (canopener), etc. are all masculine words. However, when you want to say you have more than one (pluralizing), the only thing that changes is the 'el' becomes 'los'; DO NOT change the actual basewords. It is NOT los lavaplatoses, it IS los lavalplatos. This is why it is known as an invariable noun: the base of the noun doesn't change at all when it is pluralized, only the article 'el' does. I hope that makes sense and answers your question.
The dishwasher = El lavaplatos.
The dishwashers = Los lavaplatos.
I don't like the green dishwasher = No me gusta el lavaplatos verde.
The green dishwashers are ugly = Los lavaplatos verdes son feos.
*This is how I think it would be... if I'm wrong, I'll learn something, too. 
These are good answers, but when I search 'dishwasher', I only get the plural word. Also, beside it, it says 'invariable'. I'm not sure what this means.
That means that the word stays the same for the singular and plural forms.
Like:
Paraguas - Umbrella/Umbrellas
Limpiaparabrisas - Windshield wiper/Windshield wipers
Just to name two....
I think in cases like this, it's all about the definite/indefinite article before it. With el/un lavaplatos, we'd be talking about one dishwasher, but when saying los/unos lavaplatos, we'd be referring to multiple dishwashers.
One reason it's plural is that the dish washer washes dishes. Not washes "dish".
Just think... el lavaplato would suggest that the machine had only enough room for one dish...
Why, in English, is "pants" (the noun) plural?
