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SUBSTANTIVE.

SUBSTANTIVE, or NOUN, is the Name of a thing; of whatever we conceive in any way to fubfift, or of which we have any notion.

-Subftantives are of two forts; Proper, and Common, Names. Proper Names are the Names appropriated to individuals; as the names of perfons and places: fuch are George, London. Common Names ftand for kinds, containing many forts; or for forts, containing many individuals under them; as, Animal, Man. And thefe Common Names, whether of kinds or forts, are applied to exprefs individuals, by the help of Articles added to them, as hath been already fhewn ; and by the help of Definitive Pronouns, as we fhall fee hereafter.

Proper Names being the Names of individuals, and therefore of things already as determinate as they can be made, admit not of Articles, or of Plurality of number; unless by a Figure, or by Accident: as, when great Conquerors are called Alexanders; and fome great Conqueror An Alexander, or The Alexander of his Age: when a Common Name is understood, as The Thames, that is, the River Thames; The George, that is, the Sign of St. George: or when it happens, that there are many perfons of the fame name; as, The two Scipios.

I

Whatever

Whatever is spoken of is reprefented as one, or more, in Number: these two manners of reprefentation in refpect of number are called the Singular, and the Plural, Number.

In English, The Subftantive Singular is made Plural, for the most part, by adding to it s; or es, where it is necessary for the pronunciation: as king, kings; fox, foxes; leaf, leaves; in which laft, and many others, ƒ is alfo changed into v, for the fake of an eafier pronunciation, and more agreeable found.

Some few Plurals end in en; as, oxen, children, brethren, and men, women, by changing the a of the Singular into e[7]. This form we have res tained from the Teutonic; as likewise the introduction of the e in the former fyllable of two of the laft inftances; weomen, (for fo we pronounce it,) brethren, from woman, brother [8]: fomething like which may be noted in fome other forms of Plurals: as moufe, mice; loufe, lice; tooth, teeth; foat, feet; goofe, geefe [9].

[7] And antiently, eyen, fhoen, houfen, bofen: fo likewife antiently fowen, coven, now always pronounced and written. fwine, kine.

[8] In the German, the vowels, a, o, u, of monofyllable Nouns are generally in the Plural changed into diphthongs with an e: as die hand, the hand, die bänue; der but, the hat, die küte. der knopff, the button, (or knob,) die knöpffe ; &c. [9] Thefe are directly from the Saxon: mus, mys; lus, lys; toth, teth; fot, fet; gos, ges.

The words sheep, deer, are the fame in both Numbers.

Some Nouns, from the nature of the things which they exprefs, are ufed only in the Singular, others only in the Plural, Form: as, wheat, pitch, gold, floth, pride, &c. and bellows, scissars, lungs, boivels, &c.

The English Language, to express different connexions and relations of one thing to another, ufes, for the most part, Prepofitions. The Greek and Latin among the antient, and fome too among the modern languages, as the German, vary the termination or ending of the Subftantive, to answer the fame purpose. These different endings are in those languages called Cafes. And the English being derived from the fanie origin as the German, that is, from the Teutonic [1], is not wholly without them. For inftance, the relation of Poffeffion, or Belonging, is often expreffed by a Cafe, or a different ending of the Subftantive. This Cafe anfwers to the Genitive Cafe in Latin, and may ftill be fo

[1] "Lingua Anglorum hodierna avitæ Saxonicæ formam in plerifque orationis partibus etiamnum retinet. Nam quoad particulas cafuales, quorundarn cafuum terminationes, conjugationes verhorum, verbum substantivum, formam paffivæ vocis, pronomina, participia, conjunctiones, et præpofitiones omnes; denique, quoad idiomata, phrafiumque maximam partem, etiam nunc Saxonicus eft Anglorum fermo." Hickes, Thefaur. Ling. Septent, Præf. p. vi. To which may be added the Degrees of Comparison, the form of which is the very fame in the English as in the Saxon.

called;

called though perhaps more properly the Poffeffive Cafe. Thus, "God's grace:" which may alfo he expreffed by the Prepofition; as, "the grace of God." It was formerly written, "Godis grace; we now always fhorten it with an Apoftrophe; often very improperly, when we are obliged to pronounce it fully; as, "Thomas's book:" that is, "Thomasis book," not "Thomas his book," as it is commonly fuppofed [2].

When the thing, to which another is faid to belong, is expreffed by a circumlocution, or by many terms, the fign of the Poffeffive Cafe is commonly added to the laft term; as, "The

[2] "Chrift his fake," in our Liturgy, is a mistake, either of the Printers, or of the Compilers. "Nevertheless, Afa his heart was perfect with the Lord." 1 King's, xv. 14. "To fee whether Mordecai his matters would ftand." Efther, iii. 4.

Donne,

"Where is this mankind now? who lives to age Fit to be made Methufalem his page?" "By young Telemachus his blooming years." Pope's Odyssey. "My Paper is the Ulyffes bis bow, in which every man of wit or -learning may try his ftrength." Addifon, Guardian, No. 98. See also Spect. No. 207. This is no flip of Mr. Addison's pen: he gives us his opinion upon this point very explicitly in another place. "The fame fingle letter s on many ccafions does the office of a whole word, and reprefents the kis and her of our forefathers." Addifon, Spect. No. 135. The latter inftance might have fhewn him, how groundless this notion is: for it is not easy to conceive, *how the letter s added to a Feminine Noun fhould represent the word ber; any more than it should the word their, added to a Plural Noun; as, "the children's bread." But the direct derivation of this Cafe from the Saxon Genitive Cafe is fufficient of itself to decide this matter.

King of Great Britain's Soldiers." When it is. à Noun ending in s, the fign of the Poffeffive Cafe is fometimes not added; as, " for righteouf ness' fake [3];" nor ever to the Plural Number ending in s; as, "on eagles', wings [4]." Both the Sign and the Prepofition feem fometimes to be used; as, દર a foldier of the king's:" but here are really two Poffeflives; for it means, of the foldiers of the king.'

66. one

The English in its Subftantives has but two different terminations for Cafes; that of the Nominative, which fimply expreffes the Name of the thing, and that of the Poffeffive Cafe.

Things are frequently confidered with relation to the diftinction of Sex or Gender; as being Male, or Female, or Neither the one, nor the ether. Hence Subftantives are of the Mafculine, or Feminine, or Neuter, (that is, Neither,) Gen

[3] In Poetry, the Sign of the Poffeffive Cafe is frequently omitted after Proper Names ending in s, or x: as, "The wrath of Peleus' Son." Pope. This seems not so allowable in Profe: as, "Mofes' minifter." Jofh. i. I. "Phinehas' wife." 1 Sam.

iv. 19. "Feftus came into Felix' room." Acts, xxiv. 27. [4]"It is very probable, that this Convocation was called, to clear some doubt, that King James might have had, about the lawfulness of the Hollanders their throwing off the Monarchy of Spain, and their withdrawing for good and all their allegiance to that Crown." Welwood's Memoirs, p. 31. 6th Edit. In this Sentence the Pronominal Adjective their is twice improperly added; the Poffeffive Cafe being fufficiently expressed without it.