Obs. 1 The Ionians said ἡδέα, θηλέη, &c. for ἡδεῖα, θηλεία. So also, in the old Attic, we find ἡμίσεα from ἥμισυς, half. Obs. 2 We find εὐθέα, εὐρέα in the poets, for εὐθύν, εὐρύν. Obs. 3 πρέσβυς, venerable, has a feminine πρέσβειρα and πρέσβα. Obs. 4 In the poets, adjectives in vs are occasionally feminine ; thus in Homer we have ἡδὺς ἀϋτμή, θῆλυς αυτή, πουλὺν ἐφ ̓ ὑγρήν, θῆλυς ξέρση, and Ἥρη 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 (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. |