Compound Substantives. § 218. The syntactical dependence of the component parts is not always easy to detect. No rule of general application is possible,-unless it be this: The shortened phrase must be filled up, and the component parts must in the full phrase appear exactly as they stand in the shortened phrase. We will examine a few words at length, and give with some others such suggestions as seem wanted. A complete list is unnecessary.* § 219. In the following words the sense evidently requires that in both the singular and plural s should be omitted: Un réveille-matin (an alarum clock), means literally something which wakes one up in the morning. It is plain that the plural must be réveille-matin, for réveille is a verb, and the number of mornings' would not increase in proportion to the number of clocks. = un crève-coeur un casse-cou = peine qui crève le cœur des crève-coeur. des abat-jour. des trouble-fête. des perce-neige. chaise sur laq. on prie Dieu des prie-Dieu. endroit où l'on se casse le cou des casse-cou. § 220. In the following examples, on the contrary, the sense requires s in both singular and plural: un or des porte-allumettes (boite qui porte des allumettes.) un or des porte-clefs un or des serre-papiers un or des essuie-mains un or des cent-gardes (valet de prison qui porte les clefs.) § 221. In a still larger number of words it seems indifferent whether or not s is added to the second component; equally good sense is produced with or without it. (1) The analysis appears to lean towards the addition of s to the last component for both singular and plural in- un tire-bottes un garde-cendres des tire-bottes (2) On the contrary, it would seem better not to put s in the plural, and à fortiori not in the singular in des garde-feu des sous-pied un garde-feu un garde-chasse un sous-pied * Such a list is however given by Bescherelle in his larger Grammar. It includes some 1200 words. See also Didot: Observations sur l'Orthographe, pp. 417-452. But in this and all other doubtful cases it is perhaps better to put s in the plural of the compound word, but to omit it in the singular; to say: un sous-pied un casse-noisette des sous-pieds des tire-bottes des casse-noisettes § 222. In addition to this difficulty about the second component, appears a difficulty about the first in compound words with garde. (1) Garde may be looked upon as a verb (quelque chose qui garde), and is of course invariable. Garde may be looked upon as a noun (gardien), and is of course capable of taking an s. Hence the following customary* forms: ... * Littré makes the following observations on this difficulty: "Garde mot employé en composition qui se dit tantôt des personnes qui gardent (un garde-chasse), tantôt des choses qui conservent (un gardemanger). Le pluriel offre des difficultés. Pour le second cas, tout le monde est d'accord; garde reste invariable; des garde-manger. Pour le premier, l'accord des grammairiens cesse ; l'Académie n'indique le pluriel que pour garde-côte et garde-note, et là elle écrit gardes-côtes, gardes-notes. Laveaux a été explicite, disant que garde en cet emploi représente le substantif masculin garde, et doit toujours prendre la marque du pluriel. Mais, à moins de supposer une ellipse, dans gardecôte, garde-magasin, etc., ce n'est pas le substantif garde, c'est le verbe garder, qui est en composition. De plus, en suivant la vue de l'Académie et de Laveaux, on arriverait à cette singulière conclusion qu'il faudrait écrire des garde meuble, quand il s'agit du lieu où l'on garde les meubles, et des gardes meuble, quand il s'agit de l'employé qui garde les meubles. Cette anomalie montre d'une façon palpable qu'il faut laisser, en tous les cas, garde invariable." 134 S$ 223-225. § 223. The following words require special explanation:- (2) Bot, garou, cervier, grièche, are only found in pied-bot, (5) Un terre-plein un plein (= plaine) de terre; plural, § 224. Monsieur, Madame, Monseigneur, Mademoiselle, gentilhomme, and bonhomme, seem to be the only substantives which are joined without a hyphen, and in which the component parts take nevertheless the marks of the plural. (Compare respublica in Latin.) On the contrary, a large number of nouns of similar origin now present the appearance of simple nouns, and are treated as such e.g., gendarme, vaurien, etc.* (§ 41. 2.) § 225. The special difficulties presented by compound adjectives are these: 1. Both adjectives may separately and distinctly qualify the substantive, as: Des enfants sourds-muets (i.e., sourds et muets.)† 2. The first adjective may be employed substantively :‡ * See Didot's remarks on the use and abuse of the hyphen: Observations sur l'Orthographe, pp. 408-414. Also Hetrel's Code Orthogra phique. Buffon writes 'sourds et muets.' Compare such phrases as des rubans-paille, des robes noisette des ceintures orange, etc. N'est-elle pas rouge la cassette? Non, grise. Hé, oui, gris-rouge.-MOLIÈRE. 3. The first adjective may be employed adverbially, as: Des champs clair-semés. Une fleur fraîche-cueillie.* § 226. Nu-tête, demi-heure, etc. When the hyphen is omitted, nu and demi agree with the Substantive. Till lately this was usual. (See SYNTAX, 'Agreement.") In demi, the agreement does not seem to have been so consistently carried out. It ceased at an earlier date than that. of nu. * Fraîche-cueillie; frais construit avec un participe signifie tout nouvellement; et bien qu'il soit adverbe, l'oreille a exigé, contre la grammaire, qu'il s'accordât avec son substantif en genre et en nombre. Tout pris. adverbialement offre un cas semblable: toute belle qu'elle est. Une maison toute fraîche bâtie. Des roses fraîches-cueillies.-LITTRÉ. The modern rule with tout stands thus: if the substantive is feminine, and begins with a consonant, toute is written. It has not been always observed. † Archives occurs in the singular in Amyot. It is there masculine ; from the Latin neuter archivum. (Compare § 234.) Arrhes was constantly singular before the 17th century. $ Broussailles is employed exceptionally in the singular by Voltaire : "Son cheval . . . fuit dans la broussaille." Environ. La Fontaine follows the custom of his time, and employs it in the singular: "On tremble à l'environ." This is analogous to the adverbial use of sous, etc., au-dessous, etc. = Pleur lamentations, is used in poetry, etc. Un pleur éternel. (BOSSUET.) Faire un pleur éternel. (VICTOR HUGO.) GENDER. § 228. The following remark of Dr. Adams is worthy of the attention of English students, who usually employ "gender" and sex as synonymous terms : 66 "In Old English the word [gender] commonly meant a kind or class, and even in the time of Shakespeare we find, 'Supply it with one gender of herbs, or distract it with many!' (Othello.) It is important not to confound gender, a grammatical term signifying a class of nouns, with sex, the distinction between male and female. In the English language it happens that sex is adopted as the basis of classification; in most other languages this is not the case. * In those languages masculine and feminine do not mean male and female." Substantiva Mobilia. § 229. a. The ending -esse.-The ending esse is peculiar to substantives. The adjectives enchanteresse, pécheresse, vengeresse, chasseresse, and traitresse, have indeed this ending, but they were first substantives, and even now may be used as such. A few genuine adjectives assume -esse, when taken substantively, but usually with a bad or comic meaning: un pauvre, a poor man; une pauvresse, a beggar-woman, etc. (Comp. § 230. a.) The ending -ess is in English the only living mode of forming the feminine. It was borrowed in the 13th century from the Norman-French, and ejected the Saxon feminine suffix -ster, which now only appears in spinster: -ess is itself dying out in earlier English it was much more common than now. (See TRENCH," English Past and Present," p. 116.) b. The ending -trice. The ending -trice, like -esse, is peculiar to substantives. The words débitrice, inventrice, inspectrice, persécutrice, have this ending, but they are really substantives employed adjectively. It is only in learned words from the Latin -tricem, that trice has stood its ground against the substantival ending -esse and the adjectival ending -euse. Ambassadrice is anomalous. Empereur is popular, impératrice, learned. c. Gouverneur, Serviteur. gouverneur gouvernante. gouvernant serviteur servante. Gouverneur from gubernatorem, and serviteur from servitorem, have for usual feminine gouvernante and servante from servir, gouverner, Gouvernant governor is rare. Gouverneuresse is found in Froissart. Servant mostly occurs in the sense of ‘gunner.’ 'Servant de gauche."-ERCKMANN-CHATRIAN. d. Masculine form derived from feminine. Canard is derived from cane (Germ. Kahn.) Cane in Old French a boat. Dindon is derived from dinde d'Inde = oiseau = 'Inde. (Compare Guinea-pig, cochon d'Inde, etc.) |