(i) Original Roots. (ii) Strong or weak Derivatives. (iii) Compounds. (i) Primitive Nouns are chiefly monosyllabic and AngloSaxon. They embrace the names of all the common objects of nature and human life around us, the winds, passions, &c.; as, brother, sister, sun, earth, fear, wife, roof. (ii) Strong Derivatives are also, with few exceptions, Anglo-Saxon. (iii) Weak Derivatives may be divided into four classes. (a) PROPRIATE NOUNS (proprium) which express some special notion or character (such as, state, condition, form, profession, office, &c.) affecting the meaning of the original word; as, childhood, musician, homage, kindred, &c: For an explanation of such words, or their suffixes, vide Etym. Deriv. chap. I. 7. (b) DIMINUTIVES are nouns formed by adding to the primitive words suffixes which signify 'little,' and have the effect of diminishing or weakening the meaning; as, lance, lancet; stream, streamlet. (c) DIMINUTIVES, besides 'littleness,' sometimes express endearment, pity, depreciation, or contempt; as, darling, mannikin, lordling. For List and Explanation, vide Etym. Deriv. chap: I. 4. (d) AUGMENTATIVES are nouns formed by adding to the primitive words suffixes which have the effect of intensifying the meaning; as, balloon, pollard. (e) AUGMENTATIVES also sometimes express censure; as, dotard, dullard, buffoon. For List and Explanation, vide Etym. Deriv. chap. I. 5. (f) PATRONYMICs are nouns formed by adding a prefix or suffix to the name of the father to indicate the son; as, Robin-son, Fitz-Herbert, O'Connell, Mc' Ivor, &c. Vide Etym. Deriv. chap. I. 6. COMPOUNDS: (iv) COMPOUND NOUNS are various. They are formed by (a) The logical force of a compound noun is this. The second word indicates the genus or class, and the first word the difference or 'species.' Thus in manservant, servant is the 'genus'; but in servant-man, man is the 'genus.' Since a logical definition is formed by adding the difference to the genus, it follows, that many compound nouns are logical definitions of the person or thing to which we apply the term. (b) 'There are several nouns in which the composition is concealed by the apparent incompleteness of one of the elements or sometimes both. The compound hence appears as a derivative, or even as a root, when in truth it is neither: thus misdeed, kingdom, manhood, friendship, bishopric are all compounds, the italic syllables having originally a distinct meaning. To these may be added (c) 'On the other hand, many words which appear to be compounds are not really such. Such are Crayfish, for crevice, Fr. écrivisse. Wiseacre, for weissager, Ger. a diviner. Sparrowgrass, for asparagus. Yeoman, for yemeane, A.-S. common. Bag-o-nails, for bacchanals.' &c. &c. &c. (d) Composition, it may be added, is later in a language than Derivation, and it forms a most important power in any tongue. In English, as in German and Greek, it is a great excellence, and goes far to compensate us for the loss of case-endings. Indeed it helps us to express our meaning with a brevity and clearness which case-endings alone would never have given.'-Angus, H. E. Tongue, p, 143. § 4. Number. 1. We speak of the properties of a class, and the accidents of an individual. Hence we say the accidents of a noun are Number, Gender, Case. 2. Definition. NUMBER is a grammatical form expressing one, or more than one, of the things indicated by the name. These numbers are called singular and plural. 3. Nouns of Anglo-Saxon origin form their plurals in four ways: (i) By a radical change; as, mouse, mice. These are called strong plurals, and imply collectiveness. (ii) By the suffix en; A.-S. as, ox, oxen. These are rapidly becoming obsolete, and are estimated strong. (iii) By the suffix er; as childer (in A.-S. ru or ra), cor rupted now into ry; as, yeomanry, also implying collectiveness. (iv) By the suffix es or s; as, book, books; church, churches. 4. A favourite termination of the plural of N.-French nouns was x, and of A.-Saxon nouns as. Hence the fourth method, which now prevails, would naturally be adopted when the languages blended. 5. Rules for forming the plurals in s and es, &c. (a) Nouns ending in ch soft, sh, ss, s, x, z, and generally in two consonants or a double consonant, also in o and y preceded by a consonant, form their plurals by adding es; as, church, churches; topaz, topazes; hero, heroes: y changes into i before es; as, fly, flies. (b) Exceptions: Canto, grotto, palmetto, junto, portico, octavo, quarto, duodecimo, solo, tyro, form their plurals in s. (c) Other nouns ending in ch hard, or in one consonant, or in o and y preceded by a vowel, form their plurals by adding s; as, book, books; valley, valleys; patriarch, patriarchs. (d) Nouns ending in fe form their plurals in ves; as, wife, wives. Except fife, strife, safe. (e) The following nouns ending in ƒ do not change it in the plural: Brief, chief, dwarf, fief, grief, gulf, kerchief, hoof, mischief, proof, roof, reproof, scarf, surf, turf, wharf; and nouns in ff, as muff.—N. B. Wharf and dwarf form their plurals both ways; as, wharfs, wharves; dwarfs, dwarves. (f) The following thirteen simple nouns have strong plu Other words, as sheep, grouse, &c., have strong plurals of un changed form. 6. Some nouns have both a strong and a weak plural : Since plurals in en are estimated strong, to these we may add Brother Brothers Brethren 7. Nouns which have two plurals with totally different meanings: 8. Nouns which have different meanings in the singular and THE An adjective Evening A sight A medicine Evening prayers Glasses to see with Under this class we may place the names of materials which in the plural indicate varieties; as, wines, sugars, &c. 9. Nouns which have two meanings in the singular and one in 10. Nouns which have two meanings in the plural and one in the singular: |