GRANDDAD'S GRAMMAR

GENDER.

There are two genders properly so called: Masculine and Feminine. The distinction of male and female in nature is called sex. The distinction between Masculine and Feminine in words is called Gender.

Note. The word Gender comes from the Latin word genus, generis, a sort or kind.

The English language, unlike most others, applies the distinction of Masculine and Feminine only to the names of persons and animals: man, woman; boy, girl; lion, lioness. Nouns which denote things without animal life are said to be Neuter or of Neuter Gender, from the Latin word neuter, neither (i.e, neither masculine nor feminine) : iron, stone, river. The only exception to this rule is when inanimate things are represented as persons.

Note. Collective Nouns are Neuter though denoting collections of male or female objects: army, committee, sisterhood.

When the same name is used for male and female, it is said to be Common or of Common Gender : bird, fish, parent, sovereign, friend. There are three ways of indicating difference of Gender in Nouns:-

1. By inflexion.*
2. By using a word indicative of sex.
3. By distinct words.

* INFLEXION [Latin, inflecto, flexi, flexum, to bend or change] means some addition to, or change in, a word to denote a modification of meaning. The inflexional changes of words are explained in connexion with their classification

THE GENDER DISTINGUISHED BY INFLEXION.

1. The feminine is usually distinguished from the masculine by the ending -ess :

Masculine.	Feminine.	Masculine.	Feminine.
abbot actor adulterer master author mayor duke monitor baron marquis murderer enchanter prophet god emperor founder governor seamster host elector sorcerer tiger traitor viscount	abbess actress adulteress mistress authoress (or author) mayoress duchess1 monitress baroness marchioness2 murderess enchantress prophetess goddess empress foundress governess sempstress3 hostess electress sorceress tigress traitress viscountess	lion benefactor negro canon patron count peer dauphin poet deacon proprietor preceptor protector prior giant heir shepherd hunter priest songster instructor inventor Jew	lioness benefactress negress canoness patroness countess peeress dauphiness poetess (or poet) deaconess proprietress (-trix) preceptress protectress prioress giantess heiress shepherdess huntress priestess songstress3 instructress inventress Jewess

NOTES. -The ending -ess comes through the French from the Latin ending -ix. (See below, 2.)
1 Duchess is from Fr. duchesse.
2 Marchioness from late Latin marchio, marchionissa.
3 Sempstress (seamstress) and songstress, see below, No. 2 '3).

Note. Many feminine forms besides the above are occasionally to be met with, especially in our older authors: victoress, or victress (Spenser, Shakspeare, Jonson) offendress (Shakspeare) tyranness (Akenside). But the present tendency of the language is to reduce the number of such words by using the masculine form as common, as in the case of author, poet, elector (except when used as a sovereign title). In the case of official titles the feminine form is carefully preserved. Governor = ruler is common : governess == instructress.

2. A few isolated instances of other feminine endings occur:-

(1.) -trix, in a few Nouns taken directly from the Latin: as,-

Masculine               Feminineadministrator            administratrix
executor                   executrix
testator                     testatrix

(2.) -en, an old feminine suffix of which only one pure English example remains : vix-en (0. E. fixen ; Germ. fuchsin), she-fox; hence, a spiteful woman.

To this head belong also-

Masculine            Feminine
hero                      heroine (Greek)
landgrave              landgravine (German)
margrave               margravine (German)

Note. Land-gravine, Mar-gravine: German -grafin. The suffixes -en, -in, -ine, are Identical in origin.

(3.) -ster, an old English ending, of which only one example is now in use as feminine : spin-ster-(lit.she that spins; viz. with the spinning-wheel); an unmarried woman.   Also song-ster was originally feminine, so that song-str-ess has two feminine endings. In like manner semp-str-ess from the verb seam, has two feminine endings.

Note. But (the termination -ster came to be used as a masculine. This appears in such old words as brewster, huckster, maltster, tapster.

(4.) -a in a few Romance words:-

Masculine                        Feminine
don                                   donna (Italian)
infant                                 infanta(Spanish)
signor                               signora (Italian)

So- sultan                     sultana

Note. The Romance languages are those spoken in the countries which were once provinces of the Roman Empire, and are derived from Latin.

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