The nouns belonging here are chiefly masculines and feminines. Their stem ended in a consonant other than n. The most important of them may be divided as follows: (1) The foot Declension, (2) r-Stems, and (3) nd-Stems. These declensions are all characterized by the prevalence, wherever possible, of i-umlaut in certain cases, the case ending being then dropped.

68.

(1) The nouns belonging to the foot Declension exhibit umlaut most consistently in the N.A. plural.

Sing. N.A. sē fōt (foot) sē mǫn (man) sē tōð (tooth) sēo cū (cow)

Plur N.A. fēt męn tēð cȳ

Note.—The dative singular usually has the same form as the N.A. plural. Here belong also sēo bōc (book), sēo burg (borough), sēo gōs (goose), sēo lūs (louse), and sēo mūs (mouse), all with umlauted plurals. Mn.E. preserves only six of the foot Declension plurals: feet, men, teeth, geese, lice, and mice. The c in the last two is an artificial spelling, intended to preserve the sound of voiceless s. Mn.E. kine (= cy-en) is a double plural formed after the analogy of weak stems; Burns in The Twa Dogs uses kye.

No umlaut is possible in sēo niht (night) and sē mōnað (month), plural niht and mōnað (preserved in Mn.E. twelvemonth and fortnight).

(2) The r-Stems contain nouns expressing kinship, and exhibit umlaut of the dative singular.

Sing. N.A. sē fæder (father) sē brōðor (brother) sēo mōdor (mother) sēo dohtor (daughter) sēo swuster (sister)

D. fæder brēðer mēder dęhter swyster

Note.—The N.A. plural is usually the same as the N.A. singular. These umlaut datives are all due to the presence of a former i. Cf. Lat. dative singular patri, frātri, mātri, sorori (< *sosori), and Greek θυγατρί.

(3) The nd-Stems show umlaut both in the N.A. plural and in the dative singular:

Sing. N.A. sē frēond (friend) sē fēond (enemy)

D. frīend fīend

Plur. N.A. frīend fīend

Note.—Mn.E. friend and fiend are interesting analogical spellings. When s had been added by analogy to the O.E. plurals frīend and fīend, thus giving the double plurals friends and fiends, a second singular was formed by dropping the s. Thus friend and fiend displaced the old singulars frend and fend, both of which occur in the M.E. Ormulum, written about the year 1200.

Summary of O.E. Declensions.

69.

A brief, working summary of the O.E. system of declensions may now be made on the basis of gender.

All O.E. nouns are (1) masculine, (2) feminine, or (3) neuter.

(1) The masculines follow the declension of mūð (§ 26), except those ending in -a, which are declined like hunta (§ 64):

Sing. N.A. mūð N. hunta

G. mūðes G.D.A. huntan

D.I. mūðe I. huntan

Plur N.A. mūðas huntan

G. mūða huntena

D.I. mūðum huntum

(2) The short-stemmed neuters follow the declension of hof (§ 32); the long-stemmed, that of bearn (§ 32):

Sing. N.A. hof bearn

G. hofes bearnes

D.I. hofe bearne

Plur N.A. hofu bearn

G. hofa bearna

D.I. hofum bearnum

(3) The feminines follow the declensions of giefu and wund (§ 38) (the only difference being in the N. singular), except those ending in -e, which follow the declension of tunge (§ 64):

Sing. N. giefu wund tunge

G. giefe wunde tungan

D.I. giefe wunde tungan

A. giefe wunde tungan

Plur N.A. giefa wunda tungan

G. giefa wunda tungena

D.I. giefum wundum tungum

70.

Vocabulary.

ac, but.

būtan (with dat.), except, but, without.

sē Crīst, Christ.

sē eorl, earl, alderman, warrior.

ðæt Ęnglalǫnd, England [Angles’ land].

faran, to go [fare].

findan, to find.

sē God, God.

hātan, to call, name.

sē hlāford, lord [hlāf-weard].

mid (with dat.), with.

on (with acc.), on, against, into.

tō (with dat.), to.

uton (with infin.), let us.

Note.—O.E. mǫn (man) is frequently used in an indefinite sense for one, people, they. It thus takes the place of a passive construction proper: And man nam þā gebrotu þe þār belifon, twęlf cȳpan fulle, And there were taken up of fragments that remained there twelve baskets full; but more literally, And one (or they) took the fragments, etc.; Ǫnd Hæstenes wīf ǫnd hīs suna twēgen mǫn brōhte tō ðǣm cyninge, And Hæsten’s wife and his two sons were brought to the king.

71.

Exercises.

I. 1. Mōn hine hǣt Ælfred. 2. Uton faran on ðæt scip. 3. God is cyninga cyning ǫnd hlāforda hlāford. 4. Sē eorl ne giefð giefa his fīend. 5. Ic næs mid his frīend. 6. Sēo mōdor færð mid hiere dęhter on ðā burg. 7. Fintst ðū ðæs bōceres bēc? 8. Hē bint ealle (all) ðā dēor būtan ðǣm wulfum. 9. Ðū eart Crīst, Godes sunu. 10. “Uton bindan ðæs bǫnan fēt,” cwið hē.

II. 1. Christ is the son of God. 2. Let us call him Cædmon. 3. He throws his spear against the door. 4. Thou art not the earl’s brother. 5. He will go with his father to England, but I shall remain (abide) here. 6. Gifts are not given to murderers. 7. Who will find the tracks of the animals? 8. They ask their lord for his weapons (§ 65, Note 3).