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For example, what is the difference between

  • race car vs

  • racing car;

  • cook oil vs

  • cooking oil.

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  • Are you asking about the semantic difference or the syntactic one?
    – BillJ
    Commented Nov 27, 2022 at 8:53
  • I mean, a car built for racing - is it equally fine if I call it a "race car" or a "racing car"? Would there be difference in meaning? thanks.
    – Musicman
    Commented Nov 27, 2022 at 9:42
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    AFAIK race car is used in American English, racing car in British English. I don't think anyone says cook oil. Commented Nov 27, 2022 at 10:02
  • A car for a race might be a race car, and you can play the race card if you're using race as a sword or shield. But you asked for "a car built for racing." Enough said. Commented Nov 27, 2022 at 12:22
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    Not all -ing words are always used the same way each time they fall before another word: cooking classes, cooking apples, cooking pots, cooking soup, cooking hot, running average, running water, running trails, running season, running time, running contraband, running low, running back, cunning plans, cunning thieves, cunninger animals, cunning running, running cunning, lasting weeks, lasting harms, flipping eggs, flipping spatulas, flipping impossible. :)
    – tchrist
    Commented Nov 27, 2022 at 16:36

2 Answers 2

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Normally you would find as much difference in the compound word as in the noun-'ing-suffixed' pair. e.g. 'cool car' and 'cooling car'. Take another pair, 'skid car' and 'skidding car'. In your example both are NP. In the first the proper 'common noun' form, in the second the -ing suffixed form is modifying the second noun.

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For example, what is the difference between • race car vs • racing car;

They are identical constructions = NP1 + NP2. = NP2 associated contextually with NP1.

It happens that race is a noun and racing is a gerund (not a participle).

Race car = a car that is contextually associated with a race

Racing car = a car that is contextually associated with racing

To take Edwin Ashworth’s examples:

'fish scale' a scale that is contextually associated with fish

'fishing rod' a rod that is contextually associated with fishing

'Fly paper' - a paper that is contextually associated with flies

'flying lessons' – lessons that are contextually associated with flying

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