--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "P&G" <petegray@...> wrote:
> >> Don't thematic adjectives of two terminations (i.e. idnetical
> >> msculine and feminine) argue for the feminine being 'recent'?
>
> >The funny thing is that this applies only to thematic adjectives,
>
> Well it would, wouldn't it? But seriously, third declension
adjectives
> (non-thematic) have no special form for the feminine either,
simply neuter
> and non-neuter.
That's not quite true in Greek. Stems in -u have 1st declension
feminines, e.g. _he:d-ús_, _-eîa_, _-ú_ 'sweet'. It would seem that
Latin _sua:vis_ 'sweet' has generalised the -i-, but perhaps things
are much more complicated than this. The same pattern can be seen
in Latin _gravis_ and Greek _barús_ 'heavy'.
Nor is it completely true in Latin. The 3rd declension (Class II)
adjectives in -er disintinguish the masculine and feminine in the
nominative singuler - _a:cer_ (m.), _a:cris_ (f.) and _a:cre_
(n.) 'sharp'; _celer_ (m.), _celeris_ (f.) and _celere_
(n.) 'swift'. I suppose this might be a later phenomenon; with
these two words there are examples of the masculine being used for
the feminine and vice versa.
Richard.