#Remnants of Other Consonant Declensions.#
67. The nouns belonging here are chiefly masculines and feminines. Their
stem ended in a consonant other than n. The most important of them may
be divided as follows: (1) The _foot_ Declension, (2) r-Stems, and
(3) nd-Stems. These declensions are all characterized by the prevalence,
wherever possible, of i-umlaut in certain cases, the case ending being
then dropped.
68. (1) The nouns belonging to the _foot_ Declension exhibit umlaut most
consistently in the N.A. plural.
_Sing. N.A._ sê fôt sê mon sê tôð sêo cû
_Sing. N.A._ (_foot_) (_man_) (_tooth_) (_cow_)
_Plur. N.A._ fêt men têð cy:
NOTE.--The dative singular usually has the same form as the N.A.
plural. Here belong also #sêo bôc# (_book_), #sêo burg#
(_borough_), #sêo gôs# (_goose_), #sêo lûs# (_louse_), and #sêo
mûs# (_mouse_), all with umlauted plurals. Mn.E. preserves only
six of the _foot_ Declension plurals: _feet_, _men_, _teeth_,
_geese_, _lice_, and _mice_. The _c_ in the last two is an
artificial spelling, intended to preserve the sound of voiceless
_s_. Mn.E. _kine_ (= _cy-en_) is a double plural formed after the
analogy of weak stems; Burns in _The Twa Dogs_ uses _kye_.
No umlaut is possible in #sêo niht# (_night_) and #sê mônað#
(_month_), plural #niht# and #mônað# (preserved in Mn.E.
_twelvemonth_ and _fortnight_).
(2) The r-Stems contain nouns expressing kinship, and exhibit umlaut of
the dative singular.
_Sing. N.A._ sê fæder sê brôðor sêo môdor
(_father_) (_brother_) (_mother_)
_D._ fæder brêðer mêder
_Sing. N.A._ sêo dohtor (_daughter_) sêo swuster (_sister_)
_D._ dehter swyster
NOTE.--The N.A. plural is usually the same as the N.A. singular.
These umlaut datives are all due to the presence of a former i.
Cf. Lat. dative singular _patri_, _frâtri_, _mâtri_, _sorori_
(< _*sosori_), and Greek +thugatri+.
(3) The nd-Stems show umlaut both in the N.A. plural and in the dative
singular:
_Sing. N.A._ sê frêond (_friend_) sê fêond (_enemy_)
_D._ frîend fîend
_Plur. N.A._ frîend fîend
NOTE.--Mn.E. _friend_ and _fiend_ are interesting analogical
spellings. When s had been added by analogy to the O.E. plurals
#frîend# and #fîend#, thus giving the double plurals _friends_ and
_fiends_, a second singular was formed by dropping the s. Thus
_friend_ and _fiend_ displaced the old singulars _frend_ and
_fend_, both of which occur in the M.E. _Ormulum_, written about
the year 1200.
#Summary of O.E. Declensions.#
69. A brief, working summary of the O.E. system of declensions may now
be made on the basis of gender.
All O.E. nouns are (1) masculine, (2) feminine, or (3) neuter.
(1) The masculines follow the declension of #mûð# (§ 26), except those
ending in -a, which are declined like #hunta# (§ 64):
_Sing. N.A._ mûð _N._ hunta
_G._ mûðes _G.D.A._ huntan
_D.I._ mûðe _I._ huntan
_Plur. N.A._ mûðas huntan
_G._ mûða huntena
_D.I._ mûðum huntum
(2) The short-stemmed neuters follow the declension of #hof# (§ 32); the
long-stemmed, that of #bearn# (§ 32):
_Sing. N.A._ hof bearn
_G._ hofes bearnes
_D.I._ hofe bearne
_Plur. N.A._ hofu bearn
_G._ hofa bearna
_D.I._ hofum bearnum
(3) The feminines follow the declensions of #giefu# and #wund# (§ 38)
(the only difference being in the N. singular), except those ending in
-e, which follow the declension of #tunge# (§ 64):
_Sing. N._ giefu wund tunge
_G._ giefe wunde tungan
_D.I._ giefe wunde tungan
_A._ giefe wunde tungan
_Plur. N.A._ giefa wunda tungan
_G._ giefa wunda tungena
_D.I._ giefum wundum tungum
70. VOCABULARY.
ac, _but_.
bûtan (with dat.), _except, but, without_.
sê Crîst, _Christ_.
sê eorl, _earl, alderman, warrior_.
ðæt Englalond, _England_ [Angles' land].
faran, _to go_ [fare].
findan, _to find_.
sê God, _God_.
hâtan, _to call, name_.
sê hlâford, _lord_ [#hlâf-weard#].
mid (with dat.), _with_.
on (with acc.), _on, against, into_.
tô (with dat.), _to_.
uton (with infin.), _let us_.
NOTE.--O.E. #mon# (#man#) is frequently used in an indefinite sense
for _one_, _people_, _they_. It thus takes the place of a passive
construction proper: #And man nam þâ gebrotu þe þâr belifon, twelf
cy:pan fulle#, _And there were taken up of fragments that remained
there twelve baskets full_; but more literally, _And one_ (or
_they_) _took the fragments_, etc.; #Ond Hæstenes wîf ond hîs suna
twêgen mon brôhte tô ðæ:m cyninge#, _And Hæsten's wife and his two
sons were brought to the king_.
71. EXERCISES.
I. 1. Môn hine hæ:t Ælfred. 2. Uton faran on ðæt scip. 3. God is cyninga
cyning ond hlâforda hlâford. 4. Sê eorl ne giefð giefa his fîend. 5. Ic
næs mid his frîend. 6. Sêo môdor færð mid hiere dehter on ðâ burg.
7. Fintst ðû ðæs bôceres bêc? 8. Hê bint ealle (all) ðâ dêor bûtan ðæ:m
wulfum. 9. Ðû eart Crîst, Godes sunu. 10. "Uton bindan ðæs bonan fêt,"
cwið hê.
II. 1. Christ is the son of God. 2. Let us call him Cædmon. 3. He throws
his spear against the door. 4. Thou art not the earl's brother. 5. He
will go with his father to England, but I shall remain (abide) here.
6. Gifts are not given to murderers. 7. Who will find the tracks of the
animals? 8. They ask their lord for his weapons (§ 65, Note 3).