Romance Neuter Nouns (was: Lat. -idus)

From: Richard Wordingham
Message: 35876
Date: 2005-01-11

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "alex" <alxmoeller@...> wrote:
> Piotr Gasiorowski wrote:
> >
> > That's true. Latin doesn't show <-idus-> next to neuters in <-us,
> > -eris>, but it has them regularly (with only sporadic
exceptions) in
> > *-es- stems that developed into <-or, -o:ris> abstract
masculines.
>
> which eventually developed back in neutra in Romance (upss... I
shouldn't
> use "neutra" within Romance, would I ?:-))

Indeed, it would be far better to say "neuter" :)

Actually, it is not unreasonable to use "neuter" when discussing
Eastern Romance - I think it can reasonably be said that Italian
words like _uovo_ (singular, masculine), _uova_ (plural,
feminine) 'egg' are neuter rather than of mixed gender. I'm sure
I've seen references to Sicilian neuter nouns in -u in learned
journals, though unfortunately I know nothing of these nouns'
inflection and gender concord.

Richard.