Noun, Nomen de quo loquimur.
Verb, Verbum seu quod loquimur.—Quint. lib. i. 4.
Horace has been thought by some to countenance this doctrine when he says,
“Donec verba, quibus voces sensusque notarent,
Nominaque invenere.”—Lib. i. Sat. 3.
[9] The plural number, and the genitive singular, seem to have been originally formed by adding er to the nominative singular, as you, you-er, your; they, they-er, their; we, we-er, our. This termination was afterwards changed into en, and then into es or s. Thus we have still in provincial usage, though now almost entirely obsolete, childer for the plural of child, and the double plural in child-er-en, children, with the double genitive in west-er-en, western.
[10] Brethren, in Scripture, is used for brothers.
[11] The obsolete plural occurs in the Bible. “These men were bound in their hosen and hats.”—Dan. iii. 21.
[12] Baker inclines also to this usage in preference to the other; but does not affirm it to be a plural noun.