Part 2 — APPENDIX II

SPANISH COMMON NOUNS, IN ORDINARY USE, WHICH ARE USED ONLY IN THE PLURAL

Afueras (environs) Aguaderas (frames to carry water) Albricias (reward for good news—also used as interjection: joy! joy!!) Andas (stretcher, also frame for carrying an image) Calendas (calends) Calzoncillos (drawers) Carnestolendas (carnival) Celos (jealously—"Celo"—zeal) Hacer cosquillas (to tickle) Despabilladoras (snuffers) Enaguas (skirt) Fauces (gullet) Modales (manners) Mientes—also Mente (the mind) Parrillas (gridiron) Puches (sort of fritters) Tenazas (tongs, pincers) Tijeras (scissors) Tinieblas (utter darkness) Viveres (victuals) Zaragueelles (kind of breeches)

Note the following—

A ciegas (blindly) A ojos cegarritas (blindly) A horcajadas (astride) A hurtadillas (on the sly) A sabiendas (knowingly) De puntillas (on tiptoe) A tientas (groping) De bobilis bobilis (without toil) De bruces (on all fours) En ayunas (fasting) En volandas (in the air, off one's feet)

The following plurals, besides the ordinary, have also a different meaning from the singular—

El alfiler (pin) Los alfileres (pins, pin-money) El dia (day) Los dias (days, birthday) La esposa (wife) Las esposas (wives, handcuffs) El grillo (the cricket) Los grilles (crickets, shackles) La letra (letter) Las letras (letters—literary knowledge) El padre (father) Los padres[212] (fathers, parents)

[Footnote 212: In the same manner all masculine plurals include also the plurals of both genders, as: Hermanos (brothers, also brothers and sisters).]

We make the following remarks on the plural of compound words.

The elements which concur to the formation of compound nouns are—

A B Verbs Adjectives Prepositions Nouns Adverbs Participles Conjunctions Pronouns Prefixes

GENERAL RULE—

The elements in A are invariable except:

Un bullebulle (busybody), Unos bullebulles Un quehacer (occupation), Unos quehaceres Pasapasa (sleight of hand), Pasapasas (sleight of hand tricks)

The elements in B take the mark of the plural:

Alzacuello (minister's collar) Alzacuellos Alzapano (curtain hook), Alzapanios Andanino (child's cart), Andaninios Antepasado (ancestor), Antepasados Ave Maria (a prayer), Ave Marias Cualquiera (whatever), Cualesquiera Entremetido (intruder, busybody), Entremetidos Gentilhombre (man of gentle birth), Gentileshombres Guardafuego (fire-guard), Guardafuegos Hijodalgo (squire), Hijosdalgo Pasamano (handrail, lace-edgings), Pasamanos Pasatiempo (pastime), Pasatiempos Picaparte (latch or latchkey), Picapartes Pisaverde (beau), Pisaverdes Portaestandarte (standard bearer), Portaestandartes Portafusil (musket-sling), Portafusiles Puercoespin (porcupine), Puercosespines Quienquiera (whoever), Quienesquiera Quitasol (parasol), Quitasoles Ricahembra (woman of gentle birth), Ricashembras Sobrecama (counterpane), Sobrecamas Sobredicho (aforesaid), Sobredichos Tapaboca (slap on the mouth), Tapabocas Tiraboton (button-hook), Tirabotones

N.B.—When the second of the two words commences with r this letter should be doubled—

Ropa (clothes), guardarropa (wardrobe), guardarropas (pl.)

In compound nouns (very rare) formed of two nouns of which the first stands as an adjective to the second, the first noun remains invariable, the second only taking the mark of the plural—

Ferrocarril (railway), Ferrocarriles Madreselva (honeysuckle), Madreselvas

In the following compound nouns formed of an adjective and a noun, the adjective remains invariable in the plural, as—

Bajamar (low tide), Bajamares Bajorelieve (bas-relief), Bajorelieves Belladona (belladonna), Belladonas Blancomanjar (blanc-mange), Blancomanjares Plenamar (full tide), Plenamares Salvoconducto (safe conduct), Salvoconductos Salvaguardia (safeguard), Salvaguardias Santa Barbara (powder magazine), Santa Barbaras

In compound nouns formed of two words, the first of which has suffered the loss or change of a letter, this first component remains invariable—

(N.B.—Many such words are found in Spanish.)

Artimana (trick), Artimanas Barbicano (white-bearded man), Barbicanos Barbilindo (beardless man), Barbilindos Boquirrubio (rosy-lipped), Boquirrubios Cojitranco (lame fellow—disparagingly), Cojitrancos Cuellierguido (stiff-necked man), Cuellierguidos Gallipavo (turkey), Gallipavos Manirroto (spendthrift), Manirrotos Marisabidilla (blue stocking), Marisabidillas Ojinegro (black-eyed), Ojinegros Ojizarco (blue-eyed), Ojizarcos Patizambo (bandy-legged), Patizambos Pechicolorado (robin redbreast), Pechicolorados Pleamar (high tide), Pleamares Tragicomedia (tragi-comedy), Tragicomedias Viandante (wayfarer), Viandantes

The following make their plural as follows—

Bancarrota (bankruptcy), Bancarrotas Coliflor (cauliflower), Coliflores Dares y tomares (wrangling), used only in pl. Dimes y diretes (ifs, ands and buts), used only in pl. Don Diego de noche (four o'clocks—flower), Don Diegos de noche Maritornes (ill-shaped woman), Maritornes Parabien (compliment), Parabienes Vaiven (vibration), Vaivenes

The following are examples of the large class of nouns (compound) formed with a verb or adverb and a plural noun and which are used for both numbers—

Azotacalles (idler) Buscavidas (pryer) Cortaplumas (penknife) Chupaflores (humming-bird) Destripaterrones (navvy) Lavamanos (wash-hand stand) Limpiabotas (boot-black) Matamoros (boaster) Mondadientes (toothpick) Papahueros (ninny) Papamoscas (ninny) Papanatas (ninny) Paracaidas (parachute) Paraguas (umbrella) Pelagatos (ragamuffin) Pintamonas (slap-dasher or bad partner) Sacacorchos (corkscrew) Salvavidas (life-boats) Sepancuantos (slap or blow)

The following also are used for both numbers without alteration—

Correveidile (tale-bearer) Hazmereir (laughing-stock) Metomentodo (busybody) Paternoster (Lord's Prayer) Quitaipon (ornament for headstall of draught beasts) Sabelotodo (presumptious man) Sinvergueenza (barefaced man)