Chapter 14 Nouns: the o-Declension

Chapter 14

Nouns: the o-Declension

14.1. All nouns of the ō-Declension (which includes the jō- and wō-stems) are feminine

ō-Stems

Monosyllabic, short: giefu, gift; long: lār, lore, learning.
Disyllabic, short: firen, sin; long: frōfor, consolation; costung, temptation.

S.N. giefu,-o lār firen frōfor costung
A. ~ e ~ e ~ e frōfre ~ a,-e
G.D.I. ~ e ~ e ~ e ~ e ~ a,-e
P.N.A. ~ a,-e ~ a,-e ~ a,-e ~ a,-e ~ a,-e
G. ~ a,-ena ~ a, -ena ~ a ~ a ~ a
D.I. ~ um ~ um ~ um ~ um ~ um

Note 1: As before, the S.N. inflectional ending -u is retained only in words with short radical syllable (like giefu). The P.G. inflection -ena is taken over from the n-Declension (See below 14.7), probably because it is more distinctive than -a. As before, the middle vowel is syncopated after a long radical syllable (frōfre). Nouns in -ung (costung) commonly have the inflectional ending -a in the Sing. oblique cases.

14.2. jō-Stems
Long: wylf, she-wolf; byrðen, burden; hālignes, holiness.
Note 2: These are declined like firen, above. In byrðen, n may be doubled in oblique cases; in hālignes and similar words, s is regularly doubled in oblique cases: byrðenne, hālignessum, etc.

14.3. wō-Stems
Short: beadu, battle.
Long: stōw, place; mǣd, mead, meadow.

S.N._beadu stōw mǣd
A._beadwe ~ e ~ (w)e,(mǣd)
G.D.I._~ e ~ e ~ (w)e
P.N.A._~ a -e ~ a,-e ~ (w)a,-e
G._~ a ~ a ~ (w)a
D.I._~ um ~ um ~ (w)um

Note 3: An epenthetic vowel u, o, or e (probably [ə]) may be developed before w: bead(u)we, bead(o)we, near(o)we, geat(e)we, etc.

The i-Declension

14.4. The i-declension includes nouns of all genders, but it has been much affected analogically by the a-declension, whose inflectional endings it has adopted.

14.5. Masculine and Neuter i-Stems
Masculine: hryre, fall; frēondscipe, friendship; plural only, Dene, the Danes, Engle, the Angles.
Neuter: sife, sieve.

S.N._hryre frēondscipe sife
A._~ es ~ es ~ es
G.D.I._~ e ~ e ~ e
P.N.A._~ as Dene Engle ~ u
G._~ a ~ (ige)a ~ a ~ a
D.I._~ um ~ um ~ um ~ um

Note 4: The original i of the stem has produced umlaut of the radical vowel; when the radical syllable is short, this i ˃ e in the Sing. N.A., e.g. in WGmc *hruri ˃ EWS hryre. Except in proper nouns (Dene, Engle, etc.) the historical Masc. Plur. N.A. ending -e has been almost wholly displaced by -as of the a-declension.

14.6. Feminine i-Stems
Long: dǣd, deed; scyld, guilt.

S.N._dǣd scyld
A._~ (e) ~
G.D.I._~ e ~ e
P.N.A._~ e ~ e,(-a)
G._~ a ~ a
D.I._~ um ~ um

Note 5: the endings Sing. A. -e, Plur. N.A. -a are often brought over from the ō-declension.

The Weak Declension (n-Declension)

14.7. Masculine: noma, name; gefēa, joy.
Neuter: ēage, eye.
Feminine: tunge, tongue.

S.N._noma ēage tunge gefēa
A._~ an ~ e ~ an ~ an
G.D.I._~ an ~ an ~ an ~ an
P.N.A._~ an ~ an ~ an ~ an
G._~ ena ~ ena ~ ena ~ ana
D.I._~ um ~ um ~ um ~ a(u)m

Note 6: The ending of Plur. G. -ena (which may also occur as -ana, -ona, -una) is sometimes reduced to -na, or even to -a (in conformity with other declensions); -an often becomes -on. Gefēa exemplifies a small class of stems ending in a vowel which absorbed the vowels of the nflectional endings. Other words of this class are: frēa, lord; ðrēa, threat; flā, arrow. Beside ēage, the only other full Neuter n-stem is ēare, ear.

Translation: Luke VI, 39-42

Ðā sægde hē heom sum bigspell: Segst þū, mæg se blinda þone blindan lædan? Hū ne feallaþ hīe bēgen on þone pytt?
Nis se leorningcniht ofer þone lārēow. Ælc bið fulfremed gif hē is swilce his lārēow.
Hwī gesihst þū þā egle on þīnes brōðor ēagan and ne gesihst þone bēam on þīnum ēagan? And hū meaht þū secgan þīnum brēðer, "Brōðor, lǣt þæt ic ātēo þā egle of þīnum ēage," and þū seolf ne gesiehst þone bēam on þīnum āgenum ēagan? Ēalā līcettere! Tēoh ǣrest þone bēam of þīnum ēage, and þonne þū gesihst þæt þū ātēo þā egle of þīnes brōðor ēage.

VOCABULARY
  1. ǣlc, each
  2. ǣrest, first
  3. āgen, own
  4. ātēon, to draw out
  5. bēam, beam
  6. bēgen, both
  7. blinda, blind man
  8. brēðer, Sing.D. of brōðor
  9. brōðor, Sing.N.G. brother
  10. ēalā, int., alas
  11. egl, mote

  12. fullfremman, to fulfill
  13. hū, how
  14. lǣdan, to lead
  15. lǣtan, to let, permit
  16. līcettere, hypocrite
  17. mæg, PresT ofmagan, to be able
  18. meaht, PresT ofmagan
  19. pytt, pit
  20. secgst, PresT of secgan, to say
  21. swilce, like
  22. tēoh, imperitive of tēon, to pull

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