+62.+ When primitive man began to name the objects about him, doubtless
he first named the things which he could see, hear, taste, smell and
touch,--the objects which he could perceive by the five senses. Then
gradually he came to understand that these objects had certain qualities
which he could consider apart from the object itself.
He hunted among the stones to find those which were suitable for making
his arrow-heads. For this purpose he needed the hardest stone which he
could find, so _hardness_ became something which he could think of as
something apart from the object itself.
He saw the men about him and found a name for them. Then he knew that
some men were stronger than others, so _strength_ was a quality which he
could consider apart from the man himself.
These men performed certain actions; they ran, they climbed,--so
_running_ and _climbing_ became actions which he could think of as
something apart from any individual.
He noted too that men lived in certain conditions; for example, some men
were free, some were slaves, so he came to think of _slavery_ and
_freedom_ as conditions which could be thought of as something apart
from the individual.
So we draw away, or separate certain ideas; the _quality_ from the thing
which has it and the _action_ from the thing which does it and the
_condition_ from the thing which is in it. These nouns which are used to
describe these qualities, actions or conditions are called _abstract_
nouns. Abstract is a word derived from the Latin _abs_, _away from_, and
_tractus_, _drawn_, so it literally means _drawn away from_.
The nouns which are names of things which we can see, hear, taste, smell
and touch or perceive by any of the five senses are called _concrete_
nouns.
+63.+ +A concrete noun is the name of an object which may be perceived
by one or more of the five senses.+
+An abstract noun is the name of a quality, a condition or an action.+
+64.+ You remember we found in the study of adjectives that we have a
class of adjectives which are used to describe the qualities of objects,
as for example--_good_, _noble_, _honest_, _true_, _wise_, etc. Since
abstract nouns are the names of qualities, many of our abstract nouns
are formed from adjectives. Study carefully the following list of
adjectives and nouns. Note that the word is an _adjective_ when it is
used with a noun to _describe_ certain qualities. It is a _noun_ when it
is used by itself to _name_ that quality.
+Adjectives+ +Abstract Nouns+
1. honest honesty
2. pure purity
3. true truth
4. strong strength
5. wise wisdom
6. good goodness
7. bold boldness
8. just justice
9. silent silence
10. wide width
11. patient patience
12. stupid stupidity
+65.+ You will notice that another use of abstract nouns is to name
actions. The verb is the part of speech which expresses action,
therefore many abstract nouns are formed from verbs. Notice the
following list:
+Verbs+ +Abstract Nouns+
1. learn learning
2. invent invention
3. choose choice
4. defend defense
5. try trial
6. judge judgment
7. read reading
8. please pleasure
9. elect election
10. move motion
+66.+ An abstract noun is also the name of a condition. These nouns are
derived from the concrete noun which is the name of the person or thing
which is _in_ the condition.
+Concrete Nouns+ +Abstract Nouns+
1. slave slavery
2. friend friendship
3. thief theft
4. man manhood
5. child childhood
6. leader leadership
7. hero heroism
8. martyr martyrdom