पृष्ठम्:The Sanskrit Language (T.Burrow).djvu/१७४

i68 THE FORMATION OF NOUNS 'slain' (Av. O. Pers. ]ata- t Gk. faro's*), gatd- 'gone' (Gk. /Jards* ‘ that can be traversed'), niktd- ' washed ' (Gk. avnrros 'unwashed'), usta - 'burnt' (Lat. ustus ), vrttd- ‘turned’ (Lat. vorsus, versus ) , drstd- 1 seen ' (AS. torht ‘ clear'), mista- savourv (of food)<Om’fo-, cf. Lat. mixtus. As elsewhere the specific function of this suffix is not inherent in it from the beginning but acquired by adaptation. The fundamental meaning of kluto - for instance, like that of any other adjectival form of the same type, is no more than r one connected with hearing In Greek the specialisation of mean- ing has not gone so far, since beside a passive sense, an active sense is frequently found : Si/mro's* r possible ' and ‘ able cwvctos f intelligible ' and ' intelligent etc. In Sanskrit an active sense is seen in siitd- ' charioteer ' (' driver i.e. ' one connected with ‘ driving ', from su- } suvati) and in ndpita- 1 barber The reason for the rarity of the simple suffix -t is that it has normally been replaced by compound formations in which a further suffixal element is added to the t. The commonest of these, which makes verbal abstracts is -ti. This i s the com- monest of all the -suffix es making ve rbal Abstracts or action nouns, and words formed with this suffix show less tendency to develop a concrete sense than is the case with other suffixes. T hese words are feminine, in contradistinction to the action nouns formed with the suffixes previously discussed, -which are neuter. In this respect they follow the simple ^-sterns which in most IE languages are feminine, and in Hittite common gender. The only traces of neuter ft’-stems that can be found are the pro- nominal forms kdti ‘ how many tdii ' so many ', ydti * as many ' which are such in form though they function differently. It is clear that those stems were among the earliest to break away from the neuter system proper to action nouns as the gender system developed. The process of the enlargement of Osteins by the addition' of the suffix -i is seen in such pairs as samit-, sdmiti- * assembly 1 ; ndkt-, ndkti- 4 night ' ; dasdt-, daidti- 4 decade The accentuation of these action nouns is subject to no rule. It may appear on the root as in fddhi - ‘ prosperity ', gdti - ' go- ing justi- * satisfaction dhfti - 1 firmness rati- 4 enjoyment v fddhi- 4 growth ', idkti- 4 power iinii- 4 peace or somewhat more frequently on the suffix : uti- 1 helping ksiti - * abode