§ 94. Formation of Feminine Nouns

a

1. The feminine ending h¤', when appended to the masculine forms treated in § 93, effects in almost all cases the same changes as are produced in the masculine forms by the addition of a light suffix, since in both cases the tone is moved one place farther forward (see § 92 b). The following scheme is based on the same division into four classes, with their subdivisions, as in § 93; a few special forms will be treated in § 95 in connexion with the paradigms of feminine nouns.

b

Paradigm I: segholate forms, with the feminine ending always added to the ground-form, (a) hK'l.m; queen, hf'b.K;, and with attenuation of aç to iç hf'b.Ki lamb, hP'c.rI hot stone, Is 6:6 (from another root hp'c.r)I; see Baer on Ez 40:17), hq'z>x, strength (unless belonging to Paradigm b); (b) hr't.si covering (masc. rt,señ); hn"d>[, pleasure (!d,[eñ), not to be confounded with the unchangeable forms with a prefixed m, derived from h¾¾l stems, as hw"c.mi command, plur. tAc.mi; (c) hD,l.xu, proper name (dl,xoñ mole), hl'k.a' food (lk,aoñ); (d) hr'[]n); girl (r[;n:ò); ( f ) hv'a.B' weed, tr'h\j†' purity (rh'joñ); (g) hl'w>[; wrong (also hl'A[, Paradigm i); (i) hd'yce victuals (masc. dyIc;ò, cr. Paradigm h); from qitÌl and qutÌl-forms, hn"yBi understanding, hp'Ws tempest; (k) hy"l.a; fat tail (as if from ylia]), hy"b.vi (aç attenuated to iç) captivity(ybiv.), hy"w>li wreath (probably an original qitÌl-form); (l) hY"x; life hD'mi measure (attenuated from hD'm;). Adjectives derived from [¾¾[ stems also belong in flexion to this class, as hB'r; multa, with middle guttural h['r' mala; (m) hM'zI plan; (n) hQ'xu statute (qxo).

c

Paradigm II: ground-form qaçtÌaçlaçt, &c., (a) hm'q'n> vengeance (~q'n"); (b) hm'r'a] earth; (c) hl'ben> corpse; (d) hp'yE[] languida; (f) hp'y" beautiful, hc'q' end (from hp,y"àhc,q'). From stems W¾¾[ arise such forms as hd'[e (masc. d[e, properly part. Qal from dw[) female witness. From the ground-form qaçtÌuçl, hQ'mu[] profunda (masc. qmo['), hD'bu[] servitude, &c.

d

Paradigm III: unchangeable vowel in the first, changeable in the second syllable, (a) hd'“leY*o a woman with child (cf. the examples in § 84a s, and the retention of the eÒ in the part. PiÇeÒl, Ex 22:17, 23:26; in the HithpaÇeÒl 1 K 14:5f.), but also with the change of the eÒ (originally iç) into SèewaÖ, hb'v.y( dwelling, Na 3:8. However, in these participial forms the feminine is mostly indicated by t¤, (see below, h); (c) hl'AG those of the captivity (masc. hl,AG), but also with a return of the final YoÖdh, hY"mih)o clamorous, Pr 7:11, and the examples in § 75 v. On the aÖ of the participles of verbs W¾¾[, which also belong to this class, such as hr'z" peregrina, cf. § 72 g.

e

Paradigm IV: originally changeable vowel in the first syllable, unchangeable in the second, (a) hl'doG> magna, hd'ysix] stork, properly pia; hl'WtB. virgin, properly seiuncta; (b) hy"nI[] misera.

f

2. A simple t is added as feminine ending in forms like tykiB. weeping (masc. ykiB., § 93 x, a), tyrIB. covenant; but feminine participles of verbs a¾¾l, as taceyOàtacemo, may be due to contraction from yoÖsÌeÊÈet, &c. (hardly to lengthening of the iç in the ground-form moÖsÌi), whilst forms like taec.Am)àtaevo.n* (see § 74 i) are to be explained on the analogy of the forms treated in § 93 t. Apart from the h¾¾l formations, we find the simple t in the participle tr;v'm. 1 K 1:15, contracted from T.t.r;v'm.. But T.d>l;YOw> Gn 16:11, Ju 13:5, 7 is the ground-form of the ptcp. td,l,ñYOw> (as in the same connexion in Gn 17:19, Is 7:14), cf. § 80 d and the Qere T.b.v; &c., discussed in § 90 n.

g

The forms which arise by appending the t feminine to masculine nouns with a changeable vowel in a closed final syllable are, as a rule, developed exactly in the same way as masculine segholate forms. Thus there arise in Paradigm I (a) from T.r>b;G> (for original gebirt; § 69 c), the form tr,k,ñG> mistress (but only in construct st.; in Is 47:7 also r[; tr,b,ñG> are to be taken together; the absolute st. is hr'ybiG>); from T.k.l;m.àtk,l,ñm. queen (in Paradigm II, a); tt,x,ñP. (tx;P. = tx;P;ñ pit) Lv 13:55; (c) rdeG" wall, tr,d,ñG> (from T.r>d;G> = gedirt; cf. !q;z> as construct st. of !qiz"); on the other hand, tv,meñx]) is construct st. of hV'mix]) five, with lengthening of the original iç of T.v.mix]).

h

Formations with a changeable oÒ in the second syllable belonging to this class are tv,xñn> bronze (from T.v.xun>), tn<toñK. the constr. st. of tn<ToñKu coat, perhaps also tb,toñK. writing (unless it be obscured from bt'K., § 93, Paradigm IV, c).—Paradigm III, (a) tm,t,ñxo (from T.m.t;xo), masc. ~t'Ax seal; (b) tq,n<òAy (properly sucking) sprout (in pause, e. g. tr,b'ñxo Ex 26:4, &c.), and so most feminines of participles ljeqo. On this transition of the ground-form qoÖtÌilt to T.l.j;qo (regularly before suffixes in ATq.n:Ay)àATd>l;y)o, &c.), cf. § 69 c; qoÖtÌalt serves as the ground-form under the influence of a guttural as well as before suffixes, e. g. t[;d;ñyO, feminine of [;deyO knowing; in a wider sense, tl,GOòl.GU, skull may also be included here, see § 95, Paradigm IV, c.

On the endings tW and ty¤i, see § 86 k, l, § 95 at the end.