Re: [Haskell-cafe] Origins of (x:xs)?

Quoth Toby Hutton, nevermore:

Does anyone know why (x:xs)? Is xs meant to be a synonym for 'excess'?

I've seen it said somewhere (possibly Hudak's _Haskell School of Expression_) that "xs" should be read as the plural of "x". Although personally I always gravitate towards the "excess" notion, because it's such a nice word ;-) -- Dougal Stanton