पृष्ठम्:The Sanskrit Language (T.Burrow).djvu/१८८

I 82 THE FORMATION OF NOUNS Gk. wov 'egg' *(<dwyom ) is a thematic extension of an old neuter *6wi ‘ egg ' (with vrddhi of root as frequently in i- and u - stems). Skt. ves is therefore a formation of adjectival type (' one connected with eggs, egg-bearer ') and the suffixal accent which is proper to adjectives has brought about the reduction and disappearance of the radical vowel. ( 3 } The usual adjectival type forms the nom. and acc. singular in -is, -im, -us, -urn. Adjectives in accented -u are very common and frequently have corresponding forms in other IE languages : trsu- 'thirsty' (Goth, paursus 'dry'), ripu- 4 treacherous, enemy J (Lith. lip us 1 sticky, slimy '), prthu - 4 broad ' (Av. pndQu- 4 id *, Gk. TrXarvs ' flat Lith. plains 4 broad '), raghu laghu- ‘ swift, light 1 (Gk. iXaxvs) , guru- 1 heavy 1 (Gk. j 8apvs Goth, kaurus), bahu - 4 much ' (Gk. naxv$ ' thick '), puru pulu - 4 many ' (Gk. ttoAuT ; the corresponding neuter in Goth, fiht), nru - 4 broad ' (Av. vaunt-, Gk. <vpv$), tan u- 4 thin ' (Gk. raw °) , dsn- ' swift ’ (Av. dsu Gk. wkvs ), svddu - ‘ sweet ' (Gk. rjSvs), amhu - 4 narrow ' (Goth, aggwus, 0. SI. azu-ku), rju- *' straight * (Av. vrdzu-), krdhu - 4 shortened, mutilated ' jdyu- 4 victorious ddru - 4 destroying nrtu- 4 dancer piyu- 4 spiteful valgu - 4 handsome vidhu- 4 solitary sayu- 4 lying sddhu - 4 good The accent in gurus nom. sg., etc., is what is expected for adjectives, but it is in complete contradiction to the weak grade of the suffix which appears in the nom. acc. sg. It follows clearly that such a form of adjective cannot have remained un- altered from the beginning. We have seen that an older type is represented in a few archaic examples and that evidence exists that this was once more widely spread. The forms in -us, - urn may therefore be regarded as substitutes for this older type, but they are very ancient substitutes because they occur not only in the languages represented in the examples quoted above, but also in Hittite : nom. sg. 4 good ", parkus 4 high ', etc. The strong form of suffix which should go with the accent, but which has been r eplaced in the nom. acc. sg. appears in the case of these stems in the dat. and gen. sg. Here the adjectival declension (agues, guros) is differentiated from what remains of the old neuter declension ( mddhvas ) in a way that accords with the position of the accent in the two types. The reduction of the termination of the gen. sg. to -s in accordance with the old