Gesenius' Hebrew Grammar/94. Formation of Feminine Nouns

by Wilhelm Gesenius, edited and enlarged by Emil Kautzsch

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§94. Formation of Feminine Nouns.

a 1. The feminine ending ־ָה, when appended to the masculine forms treated in § 93, effects in almost all cases the same changes as are produced in the masculine forms by the addition of a light suffix, since in both cases the tone is moved one place farther forward (see § 92 b). The following scheme is based on the same division into four classes, with their subdivisions, as in § 93; a few special forms will be treated in § 95 in connexion with the paradigms of feminine nouns.

b Paradigm I: segholate forms, with the feminine ending always added to the ground-form, (a) מַלְכָּה queen, כַּבְשָׂ֫ה, and with attenuation of ă to ĭ כִּבְשָׂ֫ה lamb, רִצְפָּה hot stone, Is 6⁶ (from another root רִֽצְפָה; see Baer on Ez 40¹⁷), חֶזְקָה strength (unless belonging to Paradigm b); (b) סִתְרָה covering (masc. סֵ֫תֶר); עֶדְנָה pleasure (עֵ֫דֶן), not to be confounded with the unchangeable forms with a prefixed מ‍, derived from ל״ה stems, as מִצְוָה command, plur. מִצְו‌ֹת; (c) חֻלְדָּה, proper name (חֹ֫לֶד mole), אָכְלָה food (אֹ֫כֶל); (d) נַֽעֲרָה girl (נַ֫עַר); (f) בָּאְשָׁה weed, טָֽהֳרָה purity (טֹ֫הַר); (g) עַוְלָה wrong (also עוֹלָה, Paradigm i); (i) צֵידָה victuals (masc. צַ֫יִד, cf. Paradigm h); from qiṭl and quṭl-forms, בִּינָה understanding, סוּפָה tempest; (k) אַלְיָה fat tail (as if from אֲלִי), שִׁבְיָה (ă attenuated to ĭ) captivity (שְׁבִי), לִוְיָה wreath (probably an original qiṭl-form); (l) חַיָּה life, מִדָּה measure (attenuated from מַדָּה). Adjectives derived from ע״ע stems also belong in flexion to this class, as רַבָּה multa, with middle guttural רָעָה mala; (m) זִמָּה plan; (n) חֻקָּה statute (חֹק).

c Paradigm II: ground-form qăṭălăt, &c., (a) נְקָמָה vengeance (נָקָם); (b) אֲדָמָה earth; (c) נְבֵלָה corpse; (d) עֲיֵפָה languida; (f) יָפָה beautiful, קָצָה end (from יָפֶה, קָצֶה). From stems ע״וּ arise such forms as עֵדָה (masc. עֵד, properly part. Qal from עוּד) female witness. From the ground-form qătŭl, עֲמֻקָּה profunda (masc. עָמֹק), עֲבֻדָּה servitude, &c.

d Paradigm III: unchangeable vowel in the first, changeable in the second syllable, (a) יֽׄלֵדָה a woman with child (cf. the examples in § 84^a s, and the retention of the ē in the part. Piʿēl, Ex 22¹⁷, 23²⁶; in the Hithpaʿēl 1 K 14^{5 f.}), but also with the change of the ē (originally ĭ) into Š^ewâ, יֽשְׁבָה dwelling, Na 3⁸. However, in these participial forms the feminine is mostly indicated by ־ֶת (see below, h); (c) גּוֹלָה those of the captivity (masc. גּוֹלֶה), but also with a return of the final Yôdh, הֹֽמִיָּה clamorous, Pr 7¹¹, and the examples in § 75 v. On the â of the participles of verbs ע״וּ, which also belong to this class, such as זָרָה peregrina, cf. § 72 g. e Paradigm IV: originally changeable vowel in the first syllable, unchangeable in the second, (a) גְּדֹלָה magna, חֲסִידָה stork, properly pia; בְּתוּלָה virgin, properly seiuncta; (b) עֲנִיָה misera.

f 2. A simple ת is added as feminine ending in forms like בְּכִית weeping (masc. בְּכִי, § 93 x, a), בְּרִית covenant; but feminine participles of verbs ל״א, as יׄצֵאת, מֹצֵאת, may be due to contraction from yôṣèʾet, &c. (hardly to lengthening of the ĭ in the ground-form môṣi), whilst forms like מֽוֹצְאֵת, נֽשְֹׁאֵת (see § 74 i) are to be explained on the analogy of the forms treated in § 93 t. Apart from the ל״ה formations, we find the simple ת in the participle מְשָׁרַת 1 K 1¹⁵, contracted from מְשָׁרַתְתְּ. But וְיׄלַדְתְּ Gn 16¹¹, Ju 13^5.7 is the ground-form of the ptcp. וְיׄלֶ֫דֶת (as in the same connexion in Gn 17¹⁹, Is 7¹⁴), cf. § 80 d and the Q^ere שַׁבְתְּ, &c., discussed in § 90 n.

g The forms which arise by appending the ת feminine to masculine nouns with a changeable vowel in a closed final syllable are, as a rule, developed exactly in the same way as masculine segholate forms. Thus there arise in Paradigm I (a) from גְּבַרְתְּ (for original g^ebirt; § 69 c), the form גְּבֶ֫רֶת mistress (but only in construct st.; in Is 47⁷ also גְּבֶ֫רֶת עַד are to be taken together; the absolute st. is גְּבִירָה); from מְלַכְתְּ, מְלֶ֫כֶת queen (in Paradigm II, a); פְּחֶ֫תֶת (פְּ֫חַת = פַּ֫חַת pit) Lv 13⁵⁵; (c) גָּדֵר wall, גְּדֶ֫רֶת (from גְּדַרְתְּ = g^edirt; cf. זְקַן as construct st. of זָקֵן); on the other hand, חֲמֵ֫שֶׁת is construct st. of חֲמִשָּׁה five, with lengthening of the original ĭ of חֲמִשְׁתְּ.

h Formations with a changeable ō in the second syllable belonging to this class are נְח֫שֶׁת bronze (from נְחֻשְׁתְּ), כְּתֹ֫נֶת the constr. st. of כֻּתֹּ֫נֶת coat, perhaps also כְּתֹ֫בֶת writing (unless it be obscured from כְּתָב, § 93, Paradigm IV, c).—Paradigm III, (a) חֹתֶ֫מֶת (from חֹתַמְתְּ), masc. חוֹתָם seal; (b) יוֹנֶ֫קֶת (properly sucking) sprout (in pause, e.g. חֹבָ֫רֶת Ex 26⁴, &c.), and so most feminines of participles קֹטֵל. On this transition of the ground-form qôṭilt to קֹטַלְתְּ (regularly before suffixes in יֽוֹנַקְתּוֹ, יֽׄלַדְתּוֹ, &c.), cf. § 69 c; qôṭalt serves as the ground-form under the influenee of a guttural as well as before suffixes, e.g. יׄדַ֫עַת, feminine of יׄדֵעַ knowing; in a wider sense, גֻּלְגּׄ֫לֶת skull may also be included here, see § 95, Paradigm IV, c.

On the endings וּת and ־ִית, see § 86 k, l, § 95 at the end.