II. THE SEMANTICS OF LATIN ADJECTIVE The purpose of the following paper is to discuss, and roughly to classify, Latin adjectives from the point of view of the relation between stem and termination; to point out why variation in semantic content of adjective terminations may be readily detected and estimated in some instances and not in others, and to furnish some examples of the analysis of semantic content in suitable contexts.1 The material for examination has been taken from Plautus. It is believed that the collection is reasonably complete, though an exact statistical statement of the various classes of adjectives examined has not been attempted. Classified according to their morphology, for purposes of semantic investigation, there are in Latin three kinds of adjectives. I. Those in which both stem and termination are known as independent words, allowing of course for proper modification of the two constituent elements into the form of an adjective: as expers, furtificus. 'It may be permissible here to repeat from a previous paper the distinction which I there drew between semantic content and semantic area. Semantic Variability and Semantic Equivalents of -oso- and -lento-", New Era Publishing Company, 1914, p. 2, sec. 2: "The term 'semantic content' applied to suffixes throughout this paper denotes the meaning of a suffix in some particular context. For the general meaning of a suffix, which is of course an abstraction, the term 'semantic area' (Gebrauchssphäre) is perhaps as good as any, and will be used in that sense where necessary. The suffix -oso- has a semantic area; in the sense here employed it has no semantic content until placed in a definite context which determines such content." I have in this paper used the word "termination ", when necessary, to include the second member of such words as expers, furtificus. In such words as inops, copis, the second member is the distinguishing part of the compound, and perhaps some other term should be used to describe it. Morphologically, however, these second members are as much terminations as -oso- or -no-, and the appending of suffixes to a preposition or adverb finds a parallel in interior, exterior, etc. II. Those in which the stem is known and the termination of no very definite independent value, perhaps even of uncertain etymology as aquosus, aureus, rapax. III. Those in which both stem and termination are unknown, doubtful, or at any rate of no independent signification: as bonus, aequus, malus. Broadly speaking, this morphological classification will be found to correspond with certain semantic phenomena. There are exceptions, and there is one notable subdivision under Class II which almost deserves to be treated by itself. But the general tendency in each group is fairly clear. It must further be remembered that these adjectives when spoken conveyed their meaning to those who heard them with the help of various factors which one may recognize but cannot now determine-gesture, intonation, and emphasis. At the same time the written words are intelligible and it is by means of these that one must operate in dealing with Latin. Beginning with Class I, it is evident that some of these compound adjectives have also a sort of secondary termination (as the o/a termination) added to the real termination or second element of the word. It may be advanced as a preliminary hypothesis that such termination was a mere accommodation due to the fact that a Latin adjective was under the necessity of having some such ending for inflectional purposes. Following are some examples of adjectives of this sort: Asin. 33,1 apud fustitudinas ferricrepinas insulas. Aul. 502, Salutigerulos pueros. Cist. 492, Quia tibi aliast locuples Lemnia. Epid. 153, Est Euboicus miles locuples, multo auro potens. M. G. 107, Opiparisque opsoniis2 (noun and verb). Rud. 515, Dum tuis ausculto magnidicis mendaciis. Capt. 671, Tuis scelestis falsidicis fallaciis (adj. and verb). Amph. 212, 1 It might be objected to the use of some of these compounds that they are introduced by Plautus for comic effect and can hardly count in a grammatical discussion. In rejoinder it may be said that the comic element in language constantly plays a part in everyday speech and is entitled to consideration as much as any poetical or emotional element. Ordinary speech is not the result of purely intellectual processes any more than the language of Plautus was. To illustrate equivalence of semantic content between -lento- and parare, Bacc. 96, Tu facito opsonatum nobis sit opulentum opsonium. Magnanimi viri freti virtute et viribus. Rud. 281, Misericordior nulla mest feminarum. M. G. 631, Si albicapillus hic videtur (adj. and noun). Men. 24, Pueri septuennes. Poen. 66, Puer septuennis. Aul. 809, 821, Quadrilibrem aulam (numeral adj. and noun). Bacc. 641, Nam duplex facinus hodie feci duplicibus spoliis sum adfectus (numeral adj. and verb). Persa, 266, Triparcos homines, vetulos, avidos (adv. and adj.). Id. 298, Tamquam proserpens bestiast, bilinguis et scelestus (adv. and noun). Most. 213, Illa hanc corrumpit mulierem malesuada. Stic. 385, Malevoli perquisitores (id. and verb). Bacc. 657, Vorsipellem frugi convenit esse (verb and noun). Amph. 170, Ipse dominus dives operis et laboris expers. Bacc. 351, Ut erilem copem facerem filium. Capt. 622, Patriae compotem. Cist. 674, Tam socordem esse quam sum. Men. 891, Aqua intercus tenet (prep. and noun). Trin. 100, Turpilucricupidum1 te vocant cives tui (adj. and noun and adj.). Two general observations may be made on this class of adjectives. (1) It makes no difference whatever whether or not the compound adjective has a further -o/a- or other termination. Usually when the verbal part of the adjective is the suffix there is added an ending suitable for inflection as in ' opiparus', 'ferricrepinus'. When an adjective forms the second part of the compound, there is of course no need for any other than the regular adjectival inflection as in ‘triparcus'. Where the noun forms the second member of the compound, it may be inflected as the simple noun is inflected, for example, 'This word 'turpilucricupidus' forms an interesting example of the way in which the Latin language did not develop. It is to be doubted whether it expresses anything more than would be expressed by 'avarus'. In general it is true that Latin avoids such compounds, not from any undesirable complexity in the concept they represent, but, it is probable, simply because they are physically awkward for speech. An adjective may convey a concept as complex as a phrase. In the phrase it is apt to be more clearly differentiated. ‘Locuples' is perhaps not less complex than 'multo auro potens', but the latter is more clear and vivid. Cf. Cato, R. R. 157, 3. Cancer ater, is olet et saniem spurcam mittit; albus purulentus, sed fistulosus et subtus suppurat sub carne. 'Olet', 'saniem spurcam mittit', 'purulentus', 'fistulosus', 'suppurat sub carne', each describes some aspect of an ulcer. It would be difficult, perhaps, to establish the relative complexity of the various percepts here presented. Further, the whole question of the relation between the adjective and the relative clause would probably repay investigation. expertes'. It may also take a different termination from the regular as 'quadrilibris', 'septuennis'. The trend of evidence is to show that any termination added to the compound has no force and is used for purely inflectional purposes. (2) In the second place it may be observed that both parts of the components are stable in meaning, and retain very largely the original forces that they have when uncompounded. 'Furtificas manus', 'illa malesuada', and in fact almost any of the compounds examined cannot be dissolved without making some difference in the force of the expression. With reference to the phrase 'furtificas manus', 'furtum' united to manus' by any colorless termination would have practically the same force, but 'ficus' exactly fits the context, and makes the meaning absolutely clear. That is, 'furtum' is the determining member of the compound. In malesuada', however, the force is more evenly distributed, but neither member of the compound would serve alone. In general, while the first part of the compound adjective considered in this group retains its signification as do stems like 'aqua' or 'auro' in 'aquosus' and 'aureus', the second member of the compound adjective, quite different from the termination of 'aquosus' or 'aureus', has an independent force which it has also in its uncompounded form. That is, it has not reached the condition of those terminations which mean nothing until brought into connection with some stem and word limited. It may be observed further that this class of adjectives, owing to their relatively much more stable character, is not widely used. In a total of 2600 adjectives collected from Plautus there are 1001 examples of this class, but this small number of examples contains about 40 different adjectives. To be widely used an adjective must possess more flexibility than most of these possess. The precise relation between the noun limited and the stem of the adjective limiting it is already defined almost completely in these compounds, and the environment must be provided for the termination rather than the termination adapted to the environment. Their emotional ingre Words compounded with in-, either negative or intensive, are not, of course, included here. The function of in- is so regular and at the same time so general that it might as well be a separate word and cannot count in a discussion of the semantics of the adjective. dient may be pleasant or unpleasant, important or negligible, but the intellectual content is pretty clearly defined, and no very satisfactory results have been reached in studying the semantic variability of their terminations because their sphere of usage is thus limited.1 The second class which it is proposed to consider is that composed of adjectives which are formed on definite and known stems, but have terminations of no independent value. Such adjectives may be formed on various stems, but the majority of them will be found on noun and verb stems, and it is to these that the discussion of adjectives in Class II will be limited. Those found on verb stems make up the subdivision above referred to, which might perhaps have been included in a separate class. Their morphology, however, puts them in this class. To illustrate the adjective formed on a verb stem, words in -ax will be considered. These words, Lindsay says (L. L., V, 869). express tendency or character ". That is, the terminations are colorless and denote nothing except that the noun limited by the adjective in -ar has the habit of performing the action which is expressed by the verbal stem of the adjective. The termination has a temporal, durative force; the adjective resembles a frozen present participle. This fact renders the semantic variability of the termination -ax when appended to any particular verb stem practically nil; though some difference of content may be found in the termination when applied to different stems. In this respect, too, it differs from terminations added 16 'Commodus' is a word which belongs etymologically in this class. It is much more widely used than most of the words mentioned here. The reason is, that both its component parts are words of large and general meaning, and hence it is not nearly so limited in its application as the majority of the words discussed. Expers' is of the same nature, though probably not so widely extended in its use. However, exceptions will be found to practically every statement made in grammar, and these exceptions will not vitiate the conclusions drawn from the general trend of the evidence. 2 The nominal suffix -tor has a force somewhat similar. It might be worth while to examine words in -tor and -ar, to see how far these endings are found on the same stems, how far one takes the place of the other, and what their difference of content is when both are found on the same stem. It might be conjectured that in many instances the adjective does duty for the noun and vice versa; vid. Hor. Ep. I, 1. 38, Invidus, iracundus, iners, vinosus, amator. |