CHAPTER III.

THE ADJECTIVE.

$265. An ADJECTIVE is a word which can not, by itself, form the subject of a proposition, but which, with the verb to be, can form the predicate of a proposition; as, "God is good;” “Man is, mortal." In the first proposition, God is the predicate; in the second, mortal is the predicate.

Or, an ADJECTIVE is a word which qualifies or limits a noun; as, A wise man; virtuous women; seven children.

Adjectives, from the Latin word adjectivus (added to), have been called Attributives, because they denote qualities attributed to things. An adjective denotes a concrete quality of a noun, without any other circumstance. Thus, in the phrase "He is an eloquent man," the word eloquent withdraws the attention from every other circumstance, and fixes it upon his eloquence. It is sometimes called a noun adjective, because it is the name of a quality. Like the substantive, it is, according to the classification of Becker, a notional word. Unlike the Anglo-Saxon, the English adjective preserves the same form in both numbers, and in all genders and cases. See § 277.

CLASSIFICATION.

§ 266. I. A PROPER ADJECTIVE is one that is derived from a proper name; as, Roman, from Rome; English, from England.

II. A COMMON ADJECTIVE is one that is not derived from a proper name, and expresses quality; as, Useful, industrious, frugal.

III. A NUMERAL ADJECTIVE is one that expresses a definite number. There are three kinds of numeral adjectives, namely, Cardinal; as, One, two, three; Ordinal; as, First, second, third; Multiplicative; as, Single, double or two-fold, triple or three-fold. See § 280.

IV. A PRONOMINAL ADJECTIVE is one that partakes of the nature of a pronoun and an adjective, being sometimes used as the one, and sometimes as the other. The following have been

called pronominal adjectives: This, that, these, those; each, cvery, either; much, many, few, several; all, none, any, one, other, another, such, some, both; certain, divers, else; former, latter, first, last; neither, own, same, what, whatever, whatsoever, which, whichever, whichsoever, &c. These words are often classed with pronouns. Some of these are properly numerals. See § 314.

V. A PARTICIPIAL ADJECTIVE is one that has the form of a par. ticiple without the idea of time; as, "A pleasing person;" "an amusing story."

VI. A COMPOUND ADJECTIVE is one that is made up of two or more words, usually joined by a hyphen; as, " Sun-burnt hair;" "love-lorn nightingale."

OTHER CLASSIFICATIONS.

§ 267. Adjectives have also been divided into,

I. DESCRIPTIVE ADJECTIVES, which express some quality or condition of the noun; as, "A good man;""an open book."

II. DEFINITIVE ADJECTIVES, which define or limit the meaning of the noun to which they are applied; as, "Several men;" "those books."

Another division has been proposed, by which adjectives have been distributed into two classes.

The FIRST CLASS under this distribution are those which fix the attention on the quality or property which they describe, whether this property be an object of bodily sense, as green, loud, or of the mental perceptions and affections, as dear, kind, true. Among these, the most characteristic are those which are not obviously derived from any other word, as good, soft, bright. Words of this class do not contain in themselves any reference to any other word; but we have various derivatives formed from them, as goodness, wisdom, soften, brighten, redden.

The SECOND CLASS under this distribution are those which have a manifest and distinct reference to some primitive, either a concrete substantive, as wooden, fatherly, or to a verb, as tiresome, seemly. These may be called ADJECTIVES OF RELATION. Various terminations are employed in the formation of such terms; some of Teutonic origin, as lovely, faithful, faithless, witty, sleepy, troublesome, sheepish, golden; others of Latin

extraction, as gracious, ethereal, angular, adamantine, visiðnary, promissory, angelic, offensive, changeable, accessible, and others. The characteristic of the present class of adjectives is, that they have a distinctly felt reference to their primitives. When, for instance, we speak of a beechen bowl, of an insular climate, of fatherly duties, there is a reference, distinctly perceived, to the substantives from which the adjectives come, and we are conscious that we mean a bowl made of beech, the climate of an island, the duties of a father.

Adjectives of this class often express the MATERIAL of which a thing is made, by the addition of n or en; as, Golden, brazen. Formerly this mode of derivation was more common than it is now; as, Cedarn alleys; treen platters = wooden plates.

But, as many words do not admit of the termination en, we use the substantive adjectively, without any change; as, An iron crown; a stone wall. The analogy of such cases leads us to do the same even where the adjective exists.

Compound words and phrases are used in the same way. Falstaff tells Prince Hal to "go hang himself in his own heirapparent garters;" and Campbell uses similar forms in the line "Like angel visits, few and far between."

§ 268. Adjectives are not derived from substantives only, but from other words, and especially from verbs. Of this kind we have but few English adjectives, unless we consider participles as such. In most cases we have the alternative between a Latin adjective and an English participle. We speak of hereditary rights, and of rights inherited from our ancestors; of native talents, or of talents born with a man; of derivative claims, or claims flowing from others; of striking or of impressive descriptions; of a radiant or a beaming countenance. Words like these, in pairs, of which one is of Latin and the other of Saxon origin, are not exactly synonymous. Thus, terrestrial is not precisely equivalent to earthy, nor sylvan to woody, nor feminine to womanly, nor timely to temporary. In a language which so much borrows its adjectives from another, their meaning is naturally liable to be mistaken by those whose learning does not extend beyond their mother tongue.

Nothing is more common among uneducated writers than this confounding of the meaning of adjectives.

Some adjectives of English form and origin have fallen into disuse in modern times, as Latin radicals and terminations have become more familiar. This process, however, like most of those which occur in the progress of language, seems to have gone on very capriciously. We use fatherly, motherly, brotherly, as readily as paternal, maternal, fraternal. Sisterly has no Latin equivalent. Sonly is never used, though filial does not fully represent it. Daughterly is not common. We sometimes meet with the phrase "daughterly house;" that is, a house full of daughters.

COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES.

§ 269. Those adjectives which denote VARIABLE QUALITIES have three degrees of Comparison, the Positive, the Comparative, and the Superlative. Variable qualities are those which are capable of increase or diminution.

SIMPLE OR

TERMINATIONAL

COMPARISON.

§ 270. The POSITIVE degree of the quality is expressed by the adjective in the simple form; as, Wise, cold.

The COMPARATIVE degree of the quality is expressed by adding r or er to the positive form; as, Wiser, colder.

The SUPERLATIVE degree of the quality is expressed by adding st or est to the positive form; as, Wisest, coldest.

The comparative refers to two persons or things, and denotes a greater degree of a quality in the one than in the other. The superlative refers to more than two persons or things, and denotes the utmost degree of a quality.

All monosyllables admit of r, st, or er, est, and dissyllables when the addition may be easily pronounced.

When adjectives end in y after a consonant, the y is dropped and i substituted before er and est; as, Lofty, loftier, loftiest.

§ 271. Every adjective susceptible of comparison may also be compared by the use of the adverbs more and most; as, More wise, most wise. This mode of comparison is generally used in

the case of long words, for euphonic reasons, while the other is used in the case of short words.

DIMINUTION of quality, whether the adjective is of one syllable or more than one syllable, is formed by less and least; as, Happy, less happy, least happy. The termination -ish expresses a slight degree of a quality, as reddish. More, most, less, or least, prefixed to an adjective, forms with it virtually a compound adjective.

We thus have the means of denoting at least five varieties of quality; as, Least happy, less happy, happy, more happy, most happy.

IRREGULAR COMPARISON.

272. The following adjectives have DIFFERENT WORDS for expressing the different degrees of comparison:

Much or many,
Little,

More,

Less, Lesser.

Superlative.

Best.

Worst.

Most.

Least.

Good and better are related logically in the ideas they express, but not etymologically. They are related in their use, but not in their origin. Better and best have lost their positive, if they ever had any, which has been replaced by good, a word of a different origin. It is stated that the Persian language has beh=good, and better for the comparative. The same general account may be given of the relations of bad and worse, of many and more. They are etymologic、 ally different words. It is also said that the Persian language has bad, and comparative badter.

In other languages, the words corresponding to good, better, best, show a similar want of relationship in their origin. Icelandic gód, bettri, bestr; Maso-Gothic goth, batiza, batist; Danish god, bedre, beste; Swedish göd, bättre, büst; Dutch goed, beter, best; Friesic god, bettre, beste; Anglo-Saxon god, betra, betst. In Latin, as an equivalent for good, better, best, we have bonus, melior, optimus.

Much is etymologically related to more. It is doubtful whether little and less are etymologically related to each other.

IRREGULAR TERMINATIONS.

§273. The following adjectives have IRREGULAR TERMINATIONS for expressing the degrees of comparison :