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8. The following are common in the masculine, but very rare in the feminine :

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Nouns which are feminine, although they do not end in 'e mute.' (S$ 241-251.)

§ 160. Feminine nouns which do not end in 'e mute' are only found ending in a, é, i, f, m, n, r, s, t, u, x.

The greater number of nouns even with these endings are masculine.

§ 161. Feminine Nouns ending in -a.

la polka, la villa, la véranda, la sépia.

§ 162. Feminine Nouns ending in -é.

Only nouns in -té, -tié, are feminine.

They are mostly

derived from Latin words in -tatem of the feminine gender:

la vérité, veritatem.

§ 163. Feminine Nouns ending in -i.

(a) From Latin feminines are derived:

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* Masculines in -té are un pâté, pie; un traité, treaty; un côté, side,

etc. (§ 242.)

§ 166. Feminine Nouns ending in -n. (§ 246.)

(a) Almost all feminine nouns in -n are derived from feminine Latin nouns in -ionem :

(1) Nouns in -ion: la légion (legionem). (2) Nouns in -aison la maison, house (mansionem). (3) La façon, workmanship; la contrefaçon, forgery; la leçon, lesson; la rançon, ransom. (4) La boisson, drink; la moisson, harvest; la cuisson, cooking. (5) La toison, fleece; la cloison, partition. (6) La prison; la trahison, treason. (7) La chanson, song.

(b) The following are not derived from Latin nouns in -ionem, but are feminine like those which are so derived: la garnison, garrison; la guérison, cure.*

(c) Are also feminine as in Latin:

la main, hand; la fin, end.

§ 167. Feminine nouns ending in -r. (§ 247.)

(a) Are feminine in Latin: la chair, flesh; la cour, court; (b) Are irregular: (1) la cuiller, spoon; la mer, sea. (2) Abstract nouns in -eur.-Abstract nouns in -eur are mostly derived from Latin nouns in -or, -orem: color, colorem. The Latin nouns are MASCULINE: colorem. The French nouns are FEMININE: la couleur.

(3) Concrete Nouns in -eur.-The only concrete feminine nouns in -eur are-la vapeur, vapour; la fleur, flower; les mœurs, manners; la liqueur, liquor. These also are masculine in Latin.t

* 1. Masculines in ion are million, bastion, and lampion. 2. All words in -son (not aison), and -çon, which are not given, are masculine. None of these masculines are from Latin nouns in -ionem. They are perfectly regular.

† Only honneur, déshonneur, and labeur are masculine as in Latin. Le bonheur, good luck, and malheur, ill luck, are compounds of bon and heur, mal and heur respectively. Heur is from augurium, likė augure, also masculine. It is now obsolete.

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§ 171. Feminine Nouns ending in -x

Are all derived from feminine Latin nouns :

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Nouns which are masculine, although they end in 'e mute.'

OBS.-Only the most important words are given here. Longer lists and the Latin, etc., are given in §§ 252-270.

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§ 176. Masculine Nouns ending in -fe, -phe.

le golfe

gulf

le paragraphe

le télégraphe

etc.

§ 177. Masculine Nouns ending in -ge.

(a) Almost all words in -age are masculine* : le courage, le fromage, le village, etc., etc.

(b) From Latin masculines and neuters are most words in -ége, -ige, -oge, -uge. They are masculine in French: le college; le vestige; un éloge, praise; le déluge.

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Feminines: la cage; la rage; la page; une image, picture; la plage, shore; la nage, swimming; la tige, stalk; la loge, lodge, box.

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