Of the two chief explanations of the origin of inflection, one, the theory of adaptation, as held at the present time, answers the question by saying that “inflectional endings are not essentially different from word-building suffixes, but are rather to be regarded as word-building suffixes in a new rôle and partially systematized into paradigms. Inflection comes at the point—wherever in the long course of development that point may be—where the endings of two or more different forms of a word begin to be felt to be the carriers of relations of case, or of mode and tense, to a certain extent independently of stem and context. It is therefore not properly a matter of forms, but of meanings, and that theory which accounts for the meanings and for their association with forms explains inflection, whether it accounts for the forms or not.”[188]
In other words, inflectional forms got their meanings in a manner similar to that we have illustrated in the case of our nouns.
(1.) The apparent definiteness that case-endings have does depend largely on their stem-meaning. Many of the functional distinctions of case can be made only by the meaning of the nouns, e. g., in “gladiis pugnatum est”, Caes. B. G. 1, 52; “uno tempore omnibus locis pugnatur,” B. G. 7, 84; “pugnatum continenter horis quinque vario certamine,” B. C. 1, 46, we have five ablatives, expressing instrument, time when, duration of time, manner, and place, only because the words in the ablative are capable of these meanings. Just so, we saw that our nouns got their general meaning of instrument, place, result of action, etc., because their verb stems were such as to admit of such meaning.
(2.) While our nouns naturally get an important part of their meaning from the verb stem, yet they derive great specialization of meaning from some element in the context. It is very probable, too, that originally our so-called inflectional system was in reality only a large number of undifferentiated forms which, by a process of centralization and adaptation, and influenced by the associations in which they were used, acquired their present meaning.
(3.) The variety and overlapping of suffixes may also be paralleled by case-endings; for example, in both the first and second declensions the same form serves for the dative and ablative plural, while there is another form for the other declensions. The genitive singular, and nominative and accusative plural of the fourth declension are alike in form. In the historical language, the genitive singular, dative singular, and nominative plural of the first declension have become identical in form. Other similar comparisons might be drawn to illustrate the similarity in meaning of forms with different endings, and from the verb as well as the noun. The very fact that we have five declensions and four conjugations, with many variations inside the system and irregularities outside, goes to show that it is not real system that we have here, but the survival of an original mass of undifferentiated forms, which through a long period of development have acquired their present inflectional meaning.
The parallel suggested here is put forth merely as a suggestion; all we can say is, that it is possible that inflectional forms did get their meaning in some such way as the nouns treated in this paper got theirs. More evidence will be necessary for establishing this theory, if it can be established at all.
INDEX OF WORDS
- acetabulum, [26]
- additamentum, [18], [32]
- adiumentum, [18], [45]
- adminiculum, [27]
- alimentum, [13], [47]
- allevamentum, [20], [47]
- ammentum, [13]
- antepagmentum, [16]
- argumentum, [20], [36]
- armamentum, [13]
- armentum, [14], [49]
- atramentum, [18]
- auctoramentum, [20]
- baculum, [27]
- blandimentum, [21], [45]
- caementum, [11], [49]
- calceamentum, [14], [47]
- cenaculum, [29], [50]
- coagmentum, [16]
- cognomentum, [23]
- complementum, [21]
- conciliabulum, [25], [39]
- condimentum, [16]
- conventiculum, [29], [40]
- cruciamentum, [18], [47]
- cubiculum, [29]
- cunabulum, [26]
- curriculum, [30], [50]
- dehonestamentum, [19], [33]
- delectamentum, [11], [33]
- delenimentum, [18]
- deliramentum, [19]
- dentifrangibulum, [25]
- deridiculum, [30], [33]
- desidiabulum, [26]
- detrimentum, [19]
- deverticulum, [29], [50]
- documentum, [21], [33], [36], [46]
- emolumentum, [19]
- everriculum, [27], [33]
- exorabulum, [25]
- experimentum, [23], [36], [45]
- explementum, [21]
- ferculum, [27], [51]
- ferramentum, [17]
- firmamentum, [22], [36], [46]
- formamentum, [20], [46]
- fragmentum, [11], [33]
- frumentum, [15]
- fundamentum, [16], [33], [46]
- gubernaculum, [27]
- hibernaculum, [29]
- hortamentum, [22], [33], [47]
- hostimentum, [21]
- ientaculum, [30]
- impedimentum, [16]
- inanimentum, [19]
- incerniculum, [27], [51]
- incitamentum, [21], [33], [34]
- incunabulum, [26]
- infundibulum, [24]
- instrumentum, [14], [37]
- integumentum, [14], [33], [35]
- intertrimentum, [19]
- invitamentum, [21], [34], [47]
- irritamentum, [21], [34], [44]
- iugumentum, [15]
- iumentum, [15]
- latibulum, [25], [39], [49]
- laxamentum, [19]
- levamentum, [22], [45]
- libamentum, [15]
- libramentum, [22]
- lineamentum, [23]
- lomentum, [15]
- lutamentum, [12]
- medicamentum, [13], [45]
- mendicabulum, [26]
- miraculum, [30]
- molimentum, [23], [45]
- momentum, [20], [45]
- monumentum, [14], [35]
- munimentum,[48]
- nidamentum, [17]
- nucifrangibulum, [25]
- nutrimentum, [16], [48]
- oblectamentum, [22], [48]
- omentum, [16]
- operculum, [28]
- operimentum, [13], [48]
- opprobramentum, [22]
- oraculum, [31], [40]
- oramentum, [23]
- ornamentum, [14], [33], [37], [48]
- pabulum, [25], [39]
- patibulum, [24]
- pavimentum, [12]
- periculum, [30], [41]
- perpendiculum, [28]
- piaculum, [28], [41]
- pigmentum, [16]
- poculum, [28]
- praepedimentum, [22]
- propugnaculum, [29], [33]
- prostibulum, [26]
- pulpamentum, [17]
- ramentum, [11]
- receptaculum, [29]
- redimiculum, [28]
- retinaculum, [28]
- rutabulum, [24]
- saeculum, [30]
- saepimentum, [14]
- salsamentum, [17]
- sarculum, [28]
- sarmentum, [12], [49]
- scitamentum, [18]
- sessibulum, [25], [50]
- sicilimentum, [12]
- sincipitamentum, [18]
- spectaculum, [30], [41], [51]
- spiraculum, [28], [51]
- stabilimentum, [14]
- stabulum, [25], [33], [40], [50]
- sternumentum, [23]
- stramentum, [11], [38], [44]
- subligaculum, [28]
- suffimentum, [13]
- supplementum, [15]
- tabernaculum, [29]
- tegumentum, [13], [35], [49]
- temperamentum, [20]
- termentum, [20]
- testamentum, [12]
- tinnimentum, [23], [49]
- tintinnabulum, [24]
- tormentum, [15], [38]
- turbamentum, [22]
- turibulum, [26]
- umbraculum, [30], [41]
- vehiculum, [29], [42]
- venabulum, [25]
- vestibulum, [25]
- vestimentum, [15], [39], [49]
- vocabulum, [25], [40], [50]