§ (4) Although the Imperfect Participle and the Verbal Noun now happen to be of the same form, such was not always the case. In Anglo-Saxon the termination of the Imperfect Participle was ende; in Old English this assumed the forms ende, ande, inde; and the change in form to ing is first observed in the 13th century. In Anglo-Saxon there was a class of Verbal Nouns ending in ung, from which our termination of the Verbal Nouns is probably obtained. The Anglo-Saxon Dative Gerund ending in anne or enne also answers to our Verbal Noun in ing; and some are of opinion that it is from this dative termination that the suffix ing is obtained. II. Remarks on Gender. § (5) Many definitions of Gender are given in textbooks on Grammar, some of which are very perplexing, and some of which-like "Gender is the distinction of sex"-are absolutely absurd. The word Gender is derived from the Latin word genus, a kind or class; and simply signifies a class of Nouns or Pronouns. All living creatures are either of the male sex or of the female sex. Things without life are of neither sex. Nouns are divided into classes, the idea of sex forming the basis of the classification; but instead of saying that they belong to certain classes, we say that they belong to certain Genders. Nouns denoting male beings are said to be in the Masculine Gender, or to belong to the Masculine Class. Nouns denoting female beings are said to be in the Feminine Gender, or to belong to the Feminine Class. Nouns which denote either a male or a female are said to be in the Common Gender, or to belong to the Common Class. Nouns denoting things without life are said to be in the Neuter Gender, or to belong to neither of the above classes. We see, then, that Genders are classes of Nouns and Pronouns corresponding to the classes of things: of the male sex, things of the female sex, and things of neither sex. The words male and female are applicable only to living beings, and the words masculine and feminine only to names. § (6) The distinction of Gender in Nouns standing for pairs of males and females is marked in three ways,— (1) Quite different words are used. (2) Different terminations are used. (3) Prefixes denoting males and females are used. Lists of the above will be found in most text-books on Grammar. § (7) Ster was the characteristic sign of the feminine up to the end of the 13th century; in the 14th century, however, this gave way to the Norman-French ess, which is now the most common of our suffixes to denote the feminine. We have now but one feminine in ster, viz., spinster. We have some forms which, etymologically speaking, are double feminines; e.g.,— Songstress: feminine suffixes ster and ess. The suffix ster is still to be found in many words, but it has lost its feminine signification, and mostly denotes the agent with a sense of depreciation. In Old English en was a common feminine termination. This only survives in one word, vixen, the feminine of fox, formed from vox, a dialectic form of fox. The termination ine in heroine, margravine, &c., is of romance origin. § (8) As a rule the feminine is formed from the masculine; but the words bridegroom, widower, and gander are formed from the feminine. The Old English for goose was gôs = gons, gans. gander was gandra. The d and the r in the latter word are only euphonic; and a being the masculine suffix, the connection between the two words is clear. Groom in the word bridegroom is a corruption of goom (Anglo-Saxon guma, man). Widow, in Anglo-Saxon, was wuduwe. The suffixes e and a were lost, and from what remained of the words our words widow and widower have been formed. III. Remarks on Number. § (9) In Old English as, an, u, a, and o, were plural terminations, these were afterwards reduced to es, en, and e, later still to es and en, and now the most common plural suffixes are es and s; en surviving only in a very few words, and in a corrupted form, as a provincialism. § (10) (a) Nouns ending in s, ss, sh, ch, and x form their plurals in es, as, Glasses, lashes, churches, boxes. (b) Nouns of pure English origin ending in ƒ, fe, lf, preceded by a long vowel, change the f into v and add es, as, Leaf, leaves; knife, knives; shelf, shelves. But we have,— Roof, roofs; hoof, hoofs; reef, reefs; fife, fifes; strife, strifes. (c) In Nouns of romance origin ending in f, the f remains unchanged, and s only is added, as, Brief, briefs; grief, griefs; chief, chiefs. (d) To Nouns ending in ff and rf, s only is added, as, Mastiff, mastiffs; scarf, scarfs. (e) Nouns ending in y preceded by a consonant change the y into i, and add es, as,— Lady, ladies; city, cities. (f) Nouns ending in y preceded by a vowel simply add s, as, Boy, boys; toy, toys; valley, valleys. (g) Nouns ending in o as a rule add es, as,— Hero, heroes; potato, potatoes; echo, echoes. But Nouns ending in io generally take s, as,- We have also, Cantos, grottos, dominos, quartos, mottos, solos, cuckoos, Hindoos. (h) In compound words the plural is variously formed:(1) By adding s, as, Roundheads, blackbirds, &c. (2) When the Adjective is the last part of the compound the plural suffix is added to the Noun, as,— Courts-martial, cousins-german, attorneys-general. (3) In prepositional compounds the plural suffix is added to the first word of the compound, as, Fathers-in-law, men-of-war, sons-in-law, &c. (4) When full is added to a Noun s is added after this element, as,— Handfuls, cupfuls, &c. (5) When two titles are joined, the last usually takes the mark of the plural, as,— Major-generals. There are a few compounds like these in which both elements take the mark of the plural, as,— Lord-justice Lord-lieutenant Knight-templar §(11) Plurals in en. lords-justices. lords-lieutenants. knights-templars. This plural suffix was originally found in many words, but now only appears in two or three words. It survives in some few words also in provincial dialects. In some districts in the north of England, for instance, we frequently hear shoon for shoes, een for eyes. The recognised plurals in en are, oxen, brethren, children. Some grammarians call brethren and children double plurals, regarding r or er as a corruption of the Anglo-Saxon ra or ru. This, however, does not seem to be the case. The r is not a plural element, it was simply added to strengthen the base; and to this strengthened base the plural termination was added. The Old English for child was cild, plural cildr-u. In the 12th and 13th centuries this form of the plural was converted into (1) child-r-e, and (2) childr-e-n. In some northern dialects in the 14th century we find childer used as a plural, the re having become er; and this form still survives in provincial dialects of the north. § (12) The same word is sometimes used for the singular and plural, as, Deer, sheep, swine, &c. Many words are used as plurals without the plural sign, as, Cavalry, infantry, fish, fowl, cattle, &c. Many Nouns are used only in the plural, as,— Annals, archives, assizes, bellows, bowels, compasses, entrails, goods, lungs, scissors, snuffers, tongs, trousers, &c. Many Nouns have no plural forms, as, Honesty, meekness, compassion, &c. Many Nouns retain their foreign plurals. (1) From the Latin. |