Obs. 1 The Ionians said ἡδέα, θηλέη, &c. for ἡδεία, θηλεία. So also,

in the old Attic, we find ἡμίσεα from ἥμισυς, half.

Obs. 2 We find εὐθέα, ευρέα in the poets, for εὐθύν, εὐρύν.

Obs. 3 πρέσβυς, venerable, has a feminine πρέσβειρα and πρέσβα.

Obs. 4 In the poets, adjectives in -us are occasionally feminine ; thus in Homer we have ἡδὺς ἀϋτμή, θῆλυς αυτή, πουλὺν ἐφ ̓ ὑγρήν, θῆλυς ξέρση, and "Ηρη θῆλυς ἐοῦσα; and in Theocritus (xx. 8) ἁδέα χαίταν.

Similarly τάλας, unfortunate, which is the only other example;

but (6) τέρην, tender, follows the same analogy.

This is a solitary instance, for other adjectives in -nu are declined

like ἄρσην.

(d) Adjectives in -ηεις, -ηεσσα, -ηεν, and -οεις, -οεσσα, -οεν, admit of contraction, thus:

Obs. 1 The contractions in -ῆs are found in Homer (see Il. IX. 605, XVIII. 475).

Obs. 2 Homer and other epic poets use some of the adj. in -εις without any difference of inflexion, as epithets of towns, which are feminine.

1 This orthography, though contrary to analogy, is supported by the best MSS. of the Attic writers. See Schneider ad Plat. III. p. 85 sq.; Hermann ad Soph. Ed. T. 633; Poppo ad Thucyd. III. 9.