People walking between the bus stop (outside the picture) and the building (on the right) don’t like taking the long route around this huge green circle. It was pretty obvious that this would happen sooner or later.
this post was submitted on 28 May 2025
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Desire Paths
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Desire paths Desire paths can be paths created as a consequence of erosion caused by human or animal foot-fall or traffic. The paths usually represent the shortest or most easily navigated routes between origins and destinations. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Desire_path
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Why isn't this comm called "desired paths?" Sounds really weird with the wrong tense.
These paths are called “desire paths”— paths that desire follows.
Weird. The grammatically correct way is "desired path."
Nope "desire path" is a perfectly grammatically correct way of saying "path of desire".
"Desire path" is a valid noun phrase where "desire" functions as an attributive noun modifying "path." This construction is grammatically correct in English.
Yes. Thanks. I've been informed like 30 times now. I get it.
The "grammatically correct" way is always whatever way is already in widespread use. Also, I'd say this is a noun adjunct, so not all that uncommon.
Because it comes from "paths of desire", I think. Sort of like "beauty mark" is not "beautifying mark": because it comes from "mark of beauty".
I believe you, it just sounds strange.
English is a strange language 🤷
In Dutch we call it "elephant's path" (loosely translated of course). And I think that's beautiful.
For some reason I now have Colonel Hathi's March from The Jungle Book playing in my head :D
That I can agree with fully.
You get used to human.
I sort of like the strangeness, because it makes the concept feel stickier in my brain; I read "desire path" and my brain stumbles on the odd grammar and I spend longer on that concept than I would have done. It makes it feel like the noun-phrase exists as greater than the sum of the two words that make it up.
Desired paths sounds weirder to me. I think desire here is a noun and not a verb, like "love affair" vs "loved affair".
I get it now.