Page:A Danish and Dano-Norwegian grammar.djvu/86

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72
ETYMOLOGY.

greatness, Lærerinde (lady) teacher, Stilling position, Virkning effect, Gjæsling gosling, Beiler suitor, Vaklen vacillation, Barndom childhood.

2) as a rule -sel, -else, -e (in derivatives of adjectives), -d, -t, -st,; Færdsel traffic (but et Fængsel prison, et Stængsel bar, et Bidsel a bit, bridle), Förelse guidance (but et Spögelse a ghost, et Værelse a room), Styrke strenght, Höjde height, (but Mörket the darkness), Byrd birth, Færd behavior, Kunst art, Magt power (but et Skridt a step).

3) Foreign words ending in -ion, -isme, -tet, -ur, -us: Kommunionen, Radikalismen, en Kalamitet (but Universitetet), en Kultus, en Habitus, Kulturen (but et Kreatur); Diktatur may be used both as c. and n.

159. 1) Nouns having the same form as the stem of verbs are usually neuter; Ex.: Badet the bath (bade to bathe), Kaldet the call (kalde to call), Raabet the cry (raabe to cry).

Note. This rule does not apply in cases where the verb is derived from the corresponding noun (although, of course, also in that case the noun may be neuter); thus we have en Dröm a dream (at drömme to dream), en Leg a play (at lege to play), Trösten the comfort (at tröste to comfort). Also Drik drink, Grav grave, Hjœlp help, Straf punishment, Strid strife, Törst thirst are common gender, and so are words ending in -gt as Frygten the fright (at frygte to fear), and those in -ang, to which correspond verbs in -inge (ynge), Sangen the song (at synge to sing), Klangen the sound (at klinge to sound).

2) The following suffixes as a rule form words of neuter gender: -dömme, -ende, -maal, -ri, -skab; med mit Vidende with my knowledge, (but i en Henseende in one respect, denne Tidende this news, en Tiende a tithe), Kongedömmet the kingdom, et Spörgsmaal a question, Tyveriet the theft, Bageriet baker's shop, mit Kjendskab my knowledge, Ægteskabet marriage (but derivatives of adjectives are of common gender: Troskaben the faithfulness, Ondskaben the wickedness).