§ 237. Latin ending versus French ending. Automne (Lat. auctumnus). Automne is now generally masculine according to etymology. In the older writers it constantly occurs in the feminine according to French ending. Cette automne délicieuse (Sévigné). L'automne dernière (Fénelon). Crêpe (Lat. crispus). le crêpe (crape) follows Latin ending. la crêpe (pancake) follows French ending. Such is the distinction made by the Academy, but treated with poor respect by authors, who employ the word, in any sense, in the masculine or feminine as they see fit. un moule une moule le mode Moule. mould (Lat. modulus), follows etymology. mussel (Lat. musculus), follows French ending. Mode (Lat. modus). mood, mode, method. Till the sixteenth century, is feminine, according to ending. "Les modes sont de cinq sortes, la première s'appelle indicative."-ESTIENNE. la mode un parallèle fashion, way, manner, follows French ending. Parallèle (Gk. παράλληλος). comparison, follows etymology. une parallèle parallel (lines), follows French ending. le solde la solde Période (Lat. periodus). highest point, follows apparent Latin gender. period, follows French ending. Solde (Lat. solidus). balance of account, follows etymology. § 238. Masc. Noun = Adj. used substantively;* Fem. Noun follows etymology or French ending. Faux. le faux, forgery. faux, false, employed substantively. Fin. le fin, gist, main-point, etc. fin employed substantively. la fin, end (Lat. finem.) * § 158. 1. le gueule, Gueule. gules ('red' in heraldry.) Probably. les gueules, adjective employed like le rouge, etc. la gueule, jaw, mouth (Lat. gula). Pourpre. le pourpre, purple, adjective taken substantively. Les joues animées de la plus belle pourpre.-VOLTAIRE. la pourpre, the purple (=robe). Lat. purpura. Vague. le vague, vagueness (Lat. vacuus *). Adj. taken substantively. Amour (Lat., amorem). un amour maternel un fol amour, une folle amour, de folles amours Latin words in -orem are masculine (§ 247). The French derivatives in Old French became feminine. In the sixteenth century an attempt was made to restore the Latin gender. Honneur, déshonneur, and labeurt were the only three words which finally yielded to the pressure, and are now masculine as in Latin. Amour, from amorem, has retained both genders. During the last two centuries it was employed indifferently in the masculine or feminine, with apparently a preference for the feminine. The following rules are given by Littré for the modern use of amour: "Aujourd'hui il n'est susceptible de recevoir les deux genres que quand il signifie la passion d'un sexe pour l'autre, ailleurs il est masculin. Amour au singulier n'est féminin qu'en poésie. Au pluriel il est féminin non-seulement en poésie, mais dans le parler ordinaire.” Merci. Merci, from Latin mercedem, is regularly feminine. It has for a long time been masculine in the phrase, un grand merci, grand merci. The absence of 'e' in grand was misunderstood, and grand was taken for a masculine. (Compare grand' mère, etc., § 207.) Hence we may say that merci, in the sense of remerciement, is masculine. In other senses it is feminine. un pique = Pique. spade (at cards). Influence probably of le carreau, diamond; le trèfle, club; le cœur, heart. une pique = pike, according to ending. Same root as masculine, un pic, pick-axe. Adj. wandering from vagus. Compare English vagrant. + These are sometimes found masculine before this time. L Poste. Le poste from le poste = post (= situation). la poste = post (= mail). La poste, from Low Latin posta, is the older word. seems to have been introduced in the sixteenth century, Italian posto. The Latin in both is positus, from pono. The four following nouns have strong points of resemblance. Couple (Lat. copula). une couple means simply two. It follows both Latin and French endings: une couple d'œufs. un couple means a male and a female:* un couple de pigeons. Gens (Lat., gentem). Gent means nation, race; it is always feminine, according tc etymology: La gent assassine.-(MOLIÈRE.) La gent hypocrite. -(BÉRANGER.) But in its plural form of gens, with the meaning of men and women, people, it has a strongly marked masculine force. A strange compromise has been made to satisfy both interests: (1) The epithets which immediately precede 'gens' must be feminine-De vieilles gens. Quelles vieilles gens. (2) The epithets which do not immediately precede must be masculine-Instruits par l'expérience les gens, etc. (3) The epithets which follow must be masculine-Des gens résolus. (4) With tout the rule is still more complicated. (a) When an adjective of a distinctly feminine form precedes gens--and then only-tout is attracted into the feminine: Toutes les vieilles gens. Tous les gens. Tous les honnêtes gens. (5) In gens de lettres, gens de robe, gens de guerre, etc., the sex has definitely fixed the gender, viz., masculine: Il n'y a que gens de lettres qui n'aient point d'intrigues.—(VOLTAIRE.) Personne vrais les Personne, person (Lat., persona), is etymologically feminine. When it means 'nobody,' it is usually masculine (i.e., practically neuter) Personne n'est parfait.+ Chose. Chose, a thing (Lat., causa), is etymologically feminine. With autre or quelque added, the indefiniteness of the idea makes the compound word masculine (i.e., practically neuter): Il y a en vous quelque chose de surnaturel. (VOLTAIRE.) * Compare le mari et la femme sont bons. † Jullien thinks that when personne distinctly refers to a woman, it may be feminine. Littré approves of the example given by Jullien"Personne n'était plus belle que Cléopatre." § 240. Reason of double gender not apparent. Givre. le givre, hoar-frost. Doubtful origin. la givre, snake, serpent (heraldry). Vipère and givre, or guivre, are derived from Lat. vipera. une réclame, advertisement, catch-word, etc. un réclame, call (term in falconry). Both from verb réclamer, to demand. un souris, un sourire, smile (Lat., subrisus). une souris, a mouse (Lat., soricem).* le quadrille la quadrille = = Quadrille. dance, is now always masculine. troupe de cavaliers pour un carrousel ou pour un tournois, etc. (LITTRÉ.) "Un carrousel composé de quatre quadrilles monstrueuses, * In some dialects souris (mouse) is masculine as in Latin. The reason of the feminine gender is not evident. It is old (See § 38, note.) Souris = smile, seems to date from the sixteenth century, and could not have influenced the exceptional gender of the other. Nouns which are feminine, although they do not § 241. Feminine Nouns ending in -a. La polka, danse' understood. So la mazurka. La villa, Latin, villa. La sépia, Latin, sepia. La véranda. § 242. Feminine Nouns ending in -e. a. -té, -tié. Feminine substantives in -té, -tié, have their origin for the most part in Latin substantives in -tatem of the same gender: verité, veritatem; santé, sanitatem. Those coined from French sources follow the same gender: ancienneté, from ancien. b. The masculine words in té admit of various explanations: (1) Un arrêté is the past participle of the verb arrêter, employed absolutely. Compare un reçu, un fait, etc. Un traité, from tractatus, and un côté, from Low Latin costatus, have a similar origin. Un pâté is formed after the model of arrêté and traité, from an imaginary verb pâter, faire cuire de la pâte. (2) Un bénédicité is a naturalized compound: bene dicite bénissez = bless ye. = Un aparté, like bénédicité, is a naturalized compound from Latin a and parte, the ablative of pars. (3) Un comté is derived from masculine comitatus. In Old French it was sometimes feminine-La comté de Flandres. -(FROISSART.) This feminine remains in La Franche-comté, name of province, and la Comté-pairie. (4) Un comité is from English committee. § 243. Feminine Nouns ending in -i. (a) La loi is from feminine legem. La foi, from fidem. (b) La paroi is from Latin masculine parietem. Hence, as might be expected, it is constantly found masculine in Old French: Je contemplay les paroys lesquels estoyent tous incrustez de marbre.-(RABELAIS). It is now definitively feminine, contrary both to French and to Latin endings. It is irregular. La nef § 244. Feminine Nouns ending in -f. nave, (ship, old) Latin navem (fe:ninine). |