Part 4 — PART IV.

WORD-FORMATION.

I. DERIVATIVES.

146. Derivatives are formed by appending certain terminations called Suffixes to stems of verbs, nouns, or adjectives.

A. NOUNS.

1. Nouns derived from Verbs.

147. 1. The suffix -tor (-sor), Fem. -trīx, denotes the agent; as,—

victor, victrīx, victor; dēfēnsor, defender.

NOTE.—The suffix -tor is occasionally appended to noun stems; as,—

2. The suffix -or (originally -ōs) denotes an activity or a condition; as,—

amor, love; timor, fear; dolor, pain.

3. The suffixes -tiō (-siō), Gen. -ōnis, and -tus (-sus), Gen. -ūs, denote an action as in process; as,—

vēnātiō, hunting; obsessiō, blockade; gemitus, sighing; cursus, running.

NOTE.—Rarer endings with the same force are:—

a) -tūra, -sūra; as,—

sepultūra, burial; mēnsūra, measuring.

b) -ium; as,—

gaudium, rejoicing.

c) -īdō; as,—

cupīdō, desire.

4. The suffixes -men, -mentum, -crum, -trum, -bulum, -culum, denote the means or place of an action; as,—

lūmen (lūc-s-men), light; vocābulum, word;

ōrnāmentum, ornament; documentum, proof;

sepulcrum, grave; arātrum, plough;

vehiculum, carriage.

2. Nouns derived from Nouns.

148. 1. Diminutives end in—

-ulus, (-ula, -ulum)

-olus, (-ola, -olum), after a vowel

-culus, (-cula, -culum)

-ellus, (-ella, -ellum)

-illus, (-illa, -illum)

as,—

nīdulus, little nest (nīdus);

virgula, wand (virga);

oppidulum, little town (oppidum);

fīliolus, little son (fīlius);

opusculum, little work (opus);

tabella, tablet (tabula);

lapillus, pebble (lapis).

NOTE 1.—It will be observed that in gender the Diminutives follow the gender of the words from which they are derived.

NOTE 2.—The endings -ellus, -illus contain the primitive form of the diminutive suffix, viz., -lo-. Thus:—

agellus, field, for ager-lus;

lapillus, pebble, for lapid-lus.

2. The suffix -ium appended to nouns denoting persons designates either a collection of such persons or their function; as,—

3. The suffixes -ārium, -ētum, -īle designate a place where objects are kept or are found in abundance; as,—

columbārium, dove-cote (columba);

olīvētum, olive-orchard (olīva);

ovīle, sheep-fold (ovis).

4. The suffix -ātus denotes official position or honor; as,—

5. The suffix -īna appended to nouns denoting persons designates a vocation or the place where it is carried on; as,—

6. Patronymics are Greek proper names denoting son of ..., daughter of .... They have the following suffixes:—

a) Masculines: -idēs, -adēs, -īdēs; as, Priamidēs, son of Priam; Aeneadēs, son of Aeneas; Pēlīdēs, son of Peleus.

b) Feminines: -ēis, -is, -ias; as, Nērēis, daughter of Nereus; Atlantis, daughter of Atlas; Thaumantias, daughter of Thaumas.

3. Nouns derived from Adjectives.

149. The suffixes -tās (-itās), -tūdō (-itūdō), -ia, -itia are used for the formation of abstract nouns denoting qualities; as,—

bonitās, goodness; celeritās, swiftness; magnitūdō, greatness; audācia, boldness; amīcitia, friendship.

B. ADJECTIVES.

1. Adjectives derived from Verbs.

150. 1. The suffixes -bundus and -cundus give nearly the force of a present participle; as,—

tremebundus, trembling; jūcundus (juvō), pleasing.

2. The suffixes -āx and -ulus denote an inclination or tendency, mostly a faulty one; as,—

loquāx, loquacious; crēdulus, credulous.

3. The suffix -idus denotes a state; as,—

calidus, hot; timidus, timid; cupidus, eager.

4. The suffixes -ilis and -bilis denote capacity or ability, usually in a passive sense; as,—

2. Adjectives derived from Nouns.

a) From Common Nouns.

151. 1. The suffixes -eus and -inus are appended to names of substances or materials; as,—

aureus, of gold; ferreus, of iron; fāginus, of beech.

2. The suffixes -ius, -icus, -īlis, -ālis, -āris, -ārius, -nus, -ānus, -īnus, -īvus, -ēnsis signify belonging to, connected with; as,—

ōrātōrius, oratorical; legiōnārius, legionary;

bellicus, pertaining to war; paternus, paternal;

cīvīlis, civil; urbānus, of the city;

rēgālis, regal; marīnus, marine;

cōnsulāris, consular; aestīvus, pertaining to summer;

circēnsis, belonging to the circus.

3. The suffixes -ōsus and -lentus denote fullness; as,—

perīculōsus, full of danger, dangerous; glōriōsus, glorious; opulentus, wealthy.

4. The suffix -tus has the force of provided with; as,—

barbātus, bearded; stellātus, set with stars.

b) From Proper Names.

152. 1. Names of persons take the suffixes: -ānus, -iānus, -īnus; as,—

Catōniānus, belonging to Cato; Plautīnus, belonging to Plautus.

2. Names of nations take the suffixes -icus, -ius; as,—

Germānicus, German; Thrācius, Thracian.

3. Names of places take the suffixes -ānus, -īnus, -ēnsis, -aeus, -ius; as,—

Rōmānus, Roman; Athēniēnsis, Athenian;

Amerīnus, of Ameria; Smyrnaeus, of Smyrna;

Corinthius, Corinthian.

NOTE.— -ānus and -ēnsis, appended to names of countries, designate something stationed in the country or connected with it, but not indigenous; as,—

3. Adjectives derived from Adjectives.

153. Diminutives in -lus sometimes occur; as,—

4. Adjectives derived from Adverbs.

154. These end in -ernus, -ternus, -tīnus, -tĭnus; as,—

hodiernus, of to-day (hodiē);

hesternus, of yesterday (herī);

intestīnus, internal (intus);

diūtinus, long-lasting (diū).

C. VERBS.

1. Verbs derived from Verbs.

155. 1. INCEPTIVES OR INCHOATIVES. These end in -scō, and are formed from Present Stems. They denote the beginning of an action; as,—

labāscō, begin to totter (from labō);

horrēscō, grow rough (from horreō);

tremēscō, begin to tremble (from tremō);

obdormīscō, fall asleep (from dormiō).

2. FREQUENTATIVES OR INTENSIVES. These denote a repeated or energetic action. They are formed from the Participial Stem, and end in -tō or -sō. Those derived from verbs of the First Conjugation end in -itō (not -ātō, as we should expect). Examples of Frequentatives are—

jactō, toss about, brandish (from jaciō, hurl);

cursō, run hither and thither (from currō, run);

volitō, flit about (from volō, fly).

a. Some double Frequentatives occur; as,—

cantitō, sing over and over (cantō);

cursitō, keep running about (cursō);

ventitō, keep coming.

b. agitō, set in motion, is formed from the Present Stem.

3. DESIDERATIVES. These denote a desire to do something. They are formed from the Participial Stem, and end in -uriō; as,—

ēsuriō, desire to eat, am hungry (edō);

parturiō, want to bring forth, am in labor (pariō).

2. Verbs derived from Nouns and Adjectives (Denominatives).

156. Denominatives of the First Conjugation are mostly transitive; those of the Second exclusively intransitive. Those of the Third and Fourth Conjugations are partly transitive, partly intransitive. Examples are—

a) From Nouns:—

fraudō, defraud (fraus);

vestiō, clothe (vestis);

flōreō, bloom (flōs).

b) From Adjectives:—

līberō, free (līber);

saeviō, be fierce (saevus).

D. ADVERBS.

157. 1. Adverbs derived from verbs are formed from the Participial Stem by means of the suffix -im; as,—

certātim, emulously (certō);

cursim, in haste (currō);

statim, immediately (stō).

2. Adverbs derived from nouns and adjectives are formed:—

a) With the suffixes -tim (-sim), -ātim; as,—

gradātim, step by step;

paulātim, gradually;

virītim, man by man.

b) With the suffix -tus; as,—

antīquitus, of old;

rādīcitus, from the roots.

c) With the suffix -ter; as,—

breviter, briefly.

II. COMPOUNDS.

158. 1. Compounds are formed by the union of simple words. The second member usually contains the essential meaning of the compound; the first member expresses some modification of this.

2. Vowel changes often occur in the process of composition. Thus:—

a. In the second member of compounds. (See § 7, 1.)

b. The final vowel of the stem of the first member of the compound often appears as ĭ where we should expect ŏ or ă; sometimes it is dropped altogether, and in case of consonant stems ĭ is often inserted; as,—

signifer, standard-bearer;

tubicen, trumpeter;

magnanimus, high-minded;

mātricīda, matricide.

159. EXAMPLES OF COMPOUNDS.

1. Nouns:—

a) Preposition + Noun; as,—

dē-decus, disgrace;

pro-avus, great-grandfather.

b) Noun + Verb Stem; as,—

agri-cola, farmer;

frātri-cīda, fratricide.

2. Adjectives:—

a) Preposition + Adjective (or Noun); as,—

per-magnus, very great;

sub-obscūrus, rather obscure;

ā-mēns, frantic.

b) Adjective + Noun; as,—

magn-animus, great-hearted;

celeri-pēs, swift-footed.

c) Noun + Verb Stem; as,—

parti-ceps, sharing;

morti-fer, death-dealing.

3. Verbs:—

The second member is always a verb. The first may be—

a) A Noun; as,—

aedi-ficō, build.

b) An Adjective; as,—

ampli-ficō, enlarge.

c) An Adverb; as,—

male-dīcō, rail at.

d) Another Verb; as,—

cale-faciō, make warm.

e) A Preposition; as,—

ab-jungō, detach;

re-ferō, bring back;

dis-cernō, distinguish;

ex-spectō, await.

NOTE.—Here belong the so-called INSEPARABLE PREPOSITIONS:

ambi- (amb-), around;

dis- (dir-, di-), apart, asunder;

por-, forward;

red- (re-), back;

sēd- (sē-), apart from;

vē-, without.

4. Adverbs:—

These are of various types; as,—

anteā, before;

īlīcō (in locō), on the spot;

imprīmīs, especially;

obviam, in the way.