even from other Adjectives, called Relative Adjectives. Such are adjectives denoting origin, family, country, &c. Their characteristic is the addition of S to the end of the substantive whence they are derived, though the form of the adjective suffers various modifications, owing to the occurrence of the weak letters in the root and to the laws of euphony.

سماوی ,heaven سماء ارضی ,land ارض .

53

ملكي ,ing ملك ;شمسی,sun شمس ,Mecca مكة وملك Ting

a figurative signification attached, as material, enlightening, not bodily, lucid, which would be expressed in

The Relative Adjective is usually formed from the Singular Number, but in some instances likewise from

ساعاتی

کتبی

the plural, as a clockmaker, a librarian.

We may also call Relative Adjectives some which

5

assume the form, as they are derived from Nouns

rather than Verbs, for example, a milk dealer,

From the Relative Adjectives, Substantives may be derived by the addition of 8, which then indicate the

Nouns become Feminine from two causes: I. Signification; II. Termination.

Class I. contains two kinds.

1. Those whose nature is necessarily Feminine, as

o Mary, is Hind, of a bride, mother,

مریم

.sister اخت

2.

Those conventionally Feminine, as names of towns and provinces, and parts of the body which are

Cairo or Egypt, la Syria, & hand,

double, as Cairo or

مصر

513

رجل اذن ,a foot

an ear.

Class II. comprises Nouns which end

5-

63-5

1. In 8, as a garden, darkness.

the earth, the sun, the wind, and

a few other words are used as Feminine Nouns.

The letters of the Alphabet though of either gender, are most commonly treated as Feminine, and a few

other Nouns are common, as spirit, path.

Nouns not included in the foregoing enumeration are Masculine; and even amongst those Feminine by termination some exceptional Masculines may be found,

A similar change of Gender is effected by the same

In Adjectives of the form Jail, not being com

If the Adjective be a comparative or superlative, the

first, which اول ,Similarly . عظم,magnificent اعظم

لكاف

أخر latter, for أخر أولى or makes أَول represents

-1

وول

اخدى one, makes in the Feminine احد

غضبانة

drunken, . But not invariably, for use,

سکری سكران

are also allowable; and in those of the form

.عريانة

فعلة فعولة وفعالة فعالة Adjectives of the forms

Superlatives where the term of comparison is expressed, and Comparatives in all cases are invariable in Gender.

Except poor, which makes in the Feminine

and sometimes invariable in Gender. When the first has an active, or the second a passive signification, they admit a distinction of Gender whether the substantive be expressed or understood; when the first has a passive or the second an active signification, they only admit a distinction when the subject is understood.