Strong Nouns

M&R §§26–62

ENG240Y Old English / Wed 22 Sep 2010

Recap: strong noun declensionmasc. Singular PluralNom. stān stānasAcc. stān stānasGen. stānes stānaDat. stāne stānumneut. Singular Plural Singular PluralNom. scip scipu word wordAcc. scip scipu word wordGen. scipes scipa wordes wordaDat. scipe scipum worde wordum

Recap: strong noun declensionmasc. Singular PluralNom. stān stānasAcc. stān stānasGen. stānes stānaDat. stāne stānumneut. Singular Plural Singular PluralNom. scip scipu word wordAcc. scip scipu word wordGen. scipes scipa wordes wordaDat. scipe scipum worde wordum

Recap: stem changesm/n Singular Plural Singular Plural

Nom. dæg dagas fæt fatuAcc. dæg dagas fæt fatuGen. dæges daga fætes fataDat. dæge dagum fæte fatum

Recap: stem changesmasc. Singular Plural Singular PluralNom. scōh scōs mearh mēarasAcc. scōh scōs mearh mēarasGen. scōs scōna mēares mēaraDat. scō scōm mēare mēarum

Stem changesm/n Singular Plural Singular Plural

Nom. bearu bearwas searu searuAcc. bearu bearwas searu searuGen. bearwes bearwa searwes searwaDat. bearwe bearwum searwe searwum

Stem changesm/n Singular Plural Singular Plural

Nom. engel englas hēafod hēafduAcc. engel englas hēafod hēafduGen. engles engla hēafdes hēafdaDat. engle englum hēafde hēafdum

Stem changesneut. Singular PluralNom. werod werodAcc. werod werodGen. werodes werodaDat. werode werodum

● ignore ge- (and usually be-)prefix, which does not affect stress (gefeoht [n], behāt [n]) (cf. wording of M&R §41)● in compounds, only the second element declines (mist-hlið [n], mān-drinc [m])● otherwise, in dissyllables with primary stress:

Dissyllabic stān/scip/word-nouns

short-long cyning færeld like stān/wordlong-long hengest īsern like stān/word

short-short metod werod like stān/wordlong-short engel hēafod like stān/scip, lose vowel

● ignore ge- (and usually be-)prefix, which does not affect stress (gefeoht [n], behāt [n]) (cf. wording of M&R §41)● in compounds, only the second element declines (mist-hlið [n], mān-drinc [m])● otherwise, in dissyllables with primary stress:

Dissyllabic stān/scip/word-nouns

short-long cyning færeld like stān/wordlong-long hengest īsern like stān/word

short-short metod werod like stān/wordlong-short engel hēafod like stān/scip, lose vowel

Dissyllabic stān/scip/word-nounsneut. Singular Plural Singular PluralNom. werod werod hēafod hēafduAcc. werod werod hēafod hēafduGen. werodes weroda hēafdes hēafdaDat. werode werodum hēafde hēafdum

Six stem changes summarized1. long neuter monosyllables drop u in nom./acc. plural (§34)

word2. æ is sometimes a when followed by a back vowel (§36)

dæg3. final h disappears between voiced sounds, with consequent vowel absorption or lengthening (§§37–39)

scōh, mearh4. final u becomes w before vowels (§40)

bearu5. medial vowels sometimes disappear (§42)

engel6. neuter dissyllable stems follow word rather than scip, except the ones like hēafod (§41–43)

werod

Strong masc./neut. dissyllables in -em/n Singular Plural Singular Plural

Nom. ende endas wīte wītuAcc. ende endas wīte wītuGen. endes enda wītes wītaDat. ende endum wīte wītum

● final -e dropped● neuters have nom./acc. plurals in -u to compensate for the loss of the second syllable

Strong feminine (ō-)nounsfem. Singular Plural Singular PluralNom. giefu giefa lār lāraAcc. giefe giefa lāre lāraGen. giefe giefa lāre lāraDat. giefe giefum lāre lārum

● nom. singular -u follows short stems only (cf. scip)● little case/number distinction, especially with the alternate nom./acc. plurals giefe, lāre though note the alternate gen. plurals giefena, lārena

u-nouns (masc./fem.)m/f Singular Plural Singular Plural

Nom. sunu suna hand handaAcc. sunu suna hand handaGen. suna suna handa handaDat. suna sunum handa handum

● nom.(/acc.) singular -u follows short stems only (cf. scip)● otherwise, only gen./dat. singular strictly distinguishes the declension from that of giefu/lār

i-mutation

i-mutation

ea

eo

ie

● raising: short vowels only● fronting: all vowels

● fronting + raising: /a/ + nasal (/m, n/)

i-mutated nouns (masc./fem.)m/f Singular Plural Singular Plural

Nom. mann menn bōc bēcAcc. mann menn bōc bēcGen. mannes manna bēc bōcaDat. menn mannum bēc bōcum

● hence MnE goose : geese, man : men, mouse: mice● dat. singular mutates in feminine nouns because gen./dat. singular are normally identical in feminine nouns

-r relationship nounsfem. Singular Plural Singular PluralNom. mōdor mōdra dohtor dohtorAcc. mōdor mōdra dohtor dohtorGen. mōdor mōdra dohtor dohtraDat. mēder mōdrum dehter dohtrum

masc. Singular Plural Singular PluralNom. fæder fæderas brōðor brōðorAcc. fæder fæderas brōðor brōðorGen. fæder fædera brōðor brōðraDat. fæder fæderum brēðer brōðrum

● only long stems lose the medial vowel● variants include gs fædres, mēder; nap fædras, brōðru, mōdru

What case, number?● þæs stānes

● þā scipu

● þām mēare

● ðæt word

● þāra bearwa

● þǣm searwum

● þæs fætes

● þȳ worde

What case, number?● þām dagum

● ðāra stāna

● þæs searwes

● ðā fatu

● þone bearu

● þæt searu

● se mearh