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Full Idea
Some words that seem to be semantically non-count can take syntactically plural forms: 'snows', 'sands', 'waters' and the like.
Gist of Idea
Some apparent non-count words can take plural forms, such as 'snows' or 'waters'
Source
Henry Laycock (Words without Objects [2006], Intro 4 n24)
Book Ref
Laycock,Henry: 'Words without Objects' [OUP 2006], p.12
A Reaction
This seems to involve parcels of the stuff. The 'snows of yesteryear' occur at different times. 'Taking the waters' probably involves occasions. The 'Arabian sands' presumably occur in different areas. Semantics won't fix what is countable.
Related Idea
Idea 17694 Some non-count nouns can be used for counting, as in 'several wines' or 'fewer cheeses' [Laycock]
| 12794 | Plurals are semantical but not ontological [Laycock] |
| 17694 | Some non-count nouns can be used for counting, as in 'several wines' or 'fewer cheeses' [Laycock] |
| 17695 | Some apparent non-count words can take plural forms, such as 'snows' or 'waters' [Laycock] |
| 17696 | 'Humility is a virtue' has an abstract noun, but 'water is a liquid' has a generic concrete noun [Laycock] |
| 12791 | It is said that proper reference is our intellectual link with the world [Laycock] |
| 12792 | The category of stuff does not suit reference [Laycock] |
| 12818 | We shouldn't think some water retains its identity when it is mixed with air [Laycock] |
| 12795 | Parts must be of the same very general type as the wholes [Laycock] |
| 12797 | If plural variables have 'some values', then non-count variables have 'some value' [Laycock] |
| 12799 | Descriptions of stuff are neither singular aggregates nor plural collections [Laycock] |