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  herbicida (m.) weed killer raticida (m.) rat poison

  insecticida (m.) insecticide etc.

  1.2.1.3 Unexpected masculine nouns in -a

  There are a few other non-human nouns ending in -a which are of masculine gender. Firstly some exotic animals:

  equidna (m.) spiny anteater puma(m.) puma

  goril·la (m.) gorilla tamàndua (m.) lesser anteater

  llama (m.) llama

  The remainder are semantically miscellaneous:

  abracadabra (m.) abracadabra

  afores (m.pl.) outskirts

  al·leluia (m.) Hallelujah/Alleluia

  bocabarra (m.) cavity in windlass for inserting lever

  clima (m.) climate

  còlera (m.) cholera

  cometa (m.) comet

  cremallera (m.) rack railway

  delta (m.) delta

  dia (m.) day

  migdia (m.) midday

  gàmeta (m.) gamete

  glòria (m.) the Gloria (of the Mass) (glòria otherwise feminine)

  hosanna (m.) Hosanna

  ioga (m.) yoga

  mapa (m.) map

  nirvana (m.) nirvana

  passa-passa (m.) sleight of hand

  pijama (m.) pyjamas; Neapolitan ice-cream

  planeta (m.) planet

  quilowatt-hora (m.) kilowatt-hour

  terra (m.) ground, floor

  titella (m.) puppet

  tramvia (m.) tram

  visca (m.) cheer, cry of ‘visca!’

  1.2.2 Gender of Nouns Ending other than in -a

  Nouns which end in anything except unstressed -a are typically masculine, for example: ferro (m.) ‘iron’, sofà (m.) ‘sofa’, gra (m.) ‘grain’, judici (m.) ‘judgement’, mitjó (m.) ‘sock’, segle (m.) ‘century’, te (m.) ‘tea’, tipus (m.) ‘type’, tret (m.) ‘feature’, and so on.

  1.2.2.1. Feminines in -O

  The ending -o is regarded as a prototypically masculine one: in fact it occurs as a specific masculine gender marker in certain nouns and adjectives like amo (m.) ‘master’, maco (m.) ‘handsome’, ‘pretty’, fondo (m.) ‘deep’, and in masculine noun and adjective plurals like discos ‘records’, feliços ‘happy (m.pl.)’. There are very few feminine nouns ending in -o: the following is a complete list:

  dinamo (f.) dynamo

  foto (f.) photo

  Gestapo (f.) Gestapo

  libido (f.) libido

  magneto (f.) magneto

  moto (f.) motorbike

  pòlio (f.) polio

  ràdio (f.) radio

  soprano (f.) soprano

  Unesco (f.) Unesco

  1.2.2.2 Typical feminine endings other than -a

  There are a score or so of word endings other than -a which are nearly always feminine (V stands for any vowel, C for any consonant): -tud, -VCide, -ie, -cele, -ole, -si (not -ssi), -xi, -ció, -nió, -sió, -tió, -xió, -lis, -tis, -edat, -etat, -itat, -ltat. Words with these endings are nearly always abstract nouns. Where there are exceptions, the words which are masculine, despite these endings, tend to be concrete nouns. We give a couple of examples of each:

  -tud

   altitud (f.) altitude inquietud (f.) worry

   etc. (no exceptions)

  -VCide

   piràmide (f.) pyramid probòscide (f.) proboscis

   etc. (two exceptions: àpside (m.) ‘apsis’, ràfide (m.) ‘raphide’)

  -ie

   sèrie (f.) series superfície (f.) surface

   etc. (no exceptions)

  -cele

   hidrocele (f.) hydrocele varicocele (f.) varicocele

   etc. (no exceptions)

  -ole

   hipèrbole (f.) hyperbole prole (f.) progeny

   etc. (no exceptions)

  -si (not -ssi)

   catarsi (f.)dosi (f.) catharsisdose hipòtesi (f.) hypothesis

   etc. (nine exceptions: cesi (m.) ‘caesium’, dicasi (m.) ‘dichasium’, èxtasi (m.) ‘ecstasy’, Gènesi (m.) ‘(the book of) Genesis’, indusi (m.) ‘indusium’, magnesi (m.) ‘magnesium’, oasi (m.) ‘oasis’, parèntesi (m.) ‘parenthesis’, ‘round bracket’, prasi (m.) ‘prase’)

  -xi

   profilaxi (f.) prophylaxis sintaxi (f.) syntax

   etc. (one exception: taxi (m.) ‘taxi’)

  -ció

   acció (f.) action, share nació (f.) nation

   etc. (very numerous, but there is one exception: alció (m.) ‘halcyon’, ‘kingfisher’)

  -nió

   unió (f.) union comunió (f.) communion

   etc. (one exception: anió (m.) ‘anion’)

  -sió

   concessió (f.) award inclusió (f.) inclusion

   etc. (very numerous, no exceptions)

  -tió

   digestió (f.) digestion qüestió (f.) question, issue

   etc. (four exceptions: bastió (m.) ‘bastion’, catió (m.) ‘cation’, llantió (m.) ‘fairy light’, tió (m.) ‘burning log’)

  -xió

   reflexió (f.) reflection connexió (f.) connection

   etc. (no exceptions)

  -lis

   bilis (f.) bile sífilis (f.) syphilis

   etc. (four exceptions: melis (m.) (a kind of resinous pinewood), pròpolis (m.) ‘propolis’, ‘bee glue’, rosolis (m.) ‘rosolio’, xeflis (m.) ‘feast’)

  -tis

   diabetis (f.) diabetes artritis (f.) arthritis

  and many others, mostly inflammations or diseases. (There are five exceptions: cutis (m.) ‘cutis’, ‘complexion’, frontis (m.) ‘façade’, hidrastis (m.) ‘hydrastis’, mutis (m.) ‘(stage) exit’, plumetis (m.) (type of cotton cloth)

  -edat

   netedat (f.) cleanness fosquedat (f.) darkness

   etc. (three exceptions: emparedat (m.) ‘sandwich (British style)’, refredat (m.) ‘cold’ (affliction), vedat (m.) ‘preserve’)

  -etat

   varietat (f.) variety seguretat (f.) security

   etc. (three exceptions: acetat (m.) ‘acetate’, emboetat (m.) ‘tongue-and-groove boarding’, empaquetat (m.) ‘pack(ag)ing’)

  -itat

   meitat (f.) half veritat (f.) truth

   etc., very numerous examples, largely abstract nouns derived from adjectives: e.g. intensitat ‘intensity’, impossibilitat ‘impossibility’. (There are five exceptions: acolitat (m.) ‘rank of acolyte’, hàbitat (m.) ‘habitat’, palmitat (m.) ‘palmitate’, precipitat (m.) ‘precipitate’, recitat (m.) ‘recitative’.)

  -ltat

   lleialtat (f.) loyalty facultat (f.) faculty

  etc. (one exception: resultat (m.) ‘result’)

  1.2.2.3 Less Predictable Endings

  Certain other frequent word endings are less predictably assignable to one gender or the other.

  Nouns in -al

  There are some 340 nouns ending in -al, of which 77 per cent are masculine. Among the commonest feminine ones are:

  canal (f.) channel, gutter, and see 1.2.4.

  capital (f.) capital (city), and see 1.2.4.

  catedral (f.) cathedral

  central (f.) head office, power station

  editorial (f.) publisher, publishing house, and see 1.2.4.

  espiral (f.) spiral

  moral (f.) morality

  postal (f.) postcard

  sal (f.) salt

  sucursal (f.) branch (office)

  terminal (f.) terminal building

  vocal (f.) vowel, and see 1.2.4

  etc.

  Nouns in -Oide

  There are in the Diccionari General de la Llengua Catalana about fifty-six nouns, of a technical nature, ending in -oide of which about 75 per cent are masculine, including cel·luloide (m.) ‘celluloid’ and solenoide (m.) ‘solenoid’. Among the feminines are hemorroide (f.) ‘haemorrhoid’ and sinusoide (f.) ‘sine curve’. (-oide is also an adjective ending; many -oide nouns are substantivized adjectives, for example, with ellipsis of the head noun who
se identity (or gender) may no longer be evident.)

  Nouns in -or

  The gender of the numerous nouns with two or more syllables ending in -or depends to a considerable extent on their meaning or derivation.

  (i) Nouns ending in -or denoting animals or concrete objects are for the most part masculine: castor (m.) ‘beaver’, decor (m.) ‘decor’, ‘decoration’, encenedor (m.) ‘lighter’, licor (m.) ‘liqueur’, motor (m.) ‘motor’, ‘engine’, obrador (m.) ‘workbench’, païdor (m.) ‘stomach’, retrovisor (m.) ‘rear-view mirror’, tambor (m.) ‘drum’, tumor (m.) ‘tumour’, voltor (m.) ‘vulture’, and so on.

  But three concrete nouns in -or are feminine:

  llavor (f.) seed volior (f.) flock of birds in flight

  llacor (f.) sludge

  (ii) Abstract nouns derived from verb stems with the suffix -or are feminine, for example:

  escalfor (f.) warmth (from escalfar ‘warm’)

  picor (f.) itch (from picar ‘itch’)

  pudor(f.) stink (from pudir ‘stink’)

  suor(f.) sweat (from suar ‘sweat’)

  tardor (f.) autumn (from tardar ‘be late’)

  coïssor (f.). burning feeling (irregular derivative of coure ‘sting’, ‘burn’)

  etc.

  There are a few exceptions: tremolor (m.) ‘trembling’ is masculine (cf. tremolar ‘tremble’); clamor (m. or f.) ‘shout’, ‘outcry’ (cf. clamar), temor (m. or f.) ‘fear’ (cf. témer), valor (m. or f.) ‘value’ (cf. valer) resemble the more usual non-derived abstract -or nouns (see v(c) below) in being usually masculine, though they may also be feminine.

  (iii) Likewise, abstract nouns derived from adjectives with the suffix -or are feminine:

  claror (f.) light (from clar)

  dolçor (f.) sweetness (from dolç)

  frescor (f.) freshness (from fresc)

  morenor (f.) darkness of complexion (from moreno/morè)

  etc.

  (iv) There are also a few such feminine abstract nouns derived from other nouns:

  avior (f.) ancestry, antiquity (from avi ‘grandfather’)

  bafor or bavor (f.) whiff (from baf ‘(bad) breath’)

  borinor (f.) distant thunder, hum (from borinot ‘bumble bee’)

  germanor (f.) brotherhood (from germà ‘brother’)

  verinor (f.) poisonousness (from verí ‘poison’)

  (v) Non-derived abstract nouns ending in -or fall into three groups:

  (a) A few are always masculine:

  enyor (m.) longing

  factor (m.) factor

  pudor (m.) shame (not = pudor (f.) ‘stink’)

  vector (m.) vector

  (b) Several are always feminine; these include words which denote smells (mostly unpleasant), and words associated with atmospheric heat:

  bovor (f.) sultriness, stuffiness

  calor (f.) heat

  fetor (f.) putrid smell

  fortor (f.) stench

  olor (f.) smell

  xafogor (f.) closeness, sultriness

  xardor (f.) stifling heat

  and the following miscellaneous ones:

  albor (f.) whiteness, dawn light (not = albor (m.) (a freshwater fish))

  esplendor (f.) splendour

  resplendor (f.) radiance

  rabior (f.) itch, stinging

  bonior (f.) buzz, hum

  remor (f.) murmur, rustle

  torpor (f.) torpor

  (c) The third group includes some very common abstract nouns, which may be feminine, but are predominantly masculine in current prose usage:

  amor (m./f.) love

  desamor (m./f.) indifference

  ardor (m./f.) zeal

  candor (m./f.) candour, guilelessness

  color (m./f.) colour

  dolor (m./f.) pain

  error (m./f.) error

  estridor (m./f.) raucousness

  estupor (m./f.) stupor

  favor (m./f.) favour

  desfavor (m./f.) disagreeableness

  fervor (m./f.) fervour

  fragor (m./f.) din

  fulgor (m./f.) glow

  furor (m./f.) fury

  honor (m./f.) honour

  horror (m./f) horror

  humor (m./f.) humour

  rancor (m./f) rancour, grudge

  rigor (m./f.) rigour

  rubor (m./f.) blush

  rumor (m./f.) rumour

  sabor (m./f.) taste

  dessabor (m./f.) tastelessness

  sopor (m./f.) drowsiness

  terror (m./f) terror

  vigor (m./f.) vitality

  (en vigor ‘in force’, ‘in effect’)

  xamor (m./f.) charm

  Note, with reference to abstract nouns ending in -or, that except in Valencian the final -r is usually silent in feminine nouns but pronounced in masculine ones.

  1.2.2.4 Other unexpectedly feminine nouns

  There remain over 250 feminine nouns which do not end in unstressed -a, and which are not covered by the principles mentioned so far (1.2.2.1–3). The names of the letters of the alphabet: a, be, ce, de, etc. are feminine, including xeix, the name for the letter x when it sounds ‘sh’; likewise the letters of the Greek alphabet: alfa ‘alpha’, to omega. (Notes of the scale, however, are masculine: do, re, mi, and so on.)

  The majority of the remainder of ‘exceptionally feminine’ nouns are everyday, or fairly common, words, though a few are technical terms from rhetoric, botany, and so on. The following list includes the commonest words, in alphabetical order.

  allau or llau avalanche

  amistat friendship

  anemone anemone

  arrel or rel root

  art art

  base basis

  beixamel bechamel

  bici bike

  bondat goodness

  breu breve

  calç lime

  cançó song

  carn meat, flesh

  catàstrofe catastrophe

  cicatriu scar

  circular circular

  ciutat city

  classe class, kind

  clau key (not = clau (m.) ‘nail’)

  clímax (also m.) climax

  col cabbage

  coliflor cauliflower

  consonant consonant

  constant constant

  cort court, sty

  creu cross

  cristiandat Christendom

  dent tooth

  deu spring, source

  el·lipse ellipse

  enemistat enmity

  falç sickle

  fam hunger

  fase phase, stage

  fe faith

  febre fever

  fi end (not = fi (m.) ‘objective’)

  flor flower

  font spring, fountain

  frase phrase, clause

  gent people

  germandat fraternity, sisterhood

  gla acorn

  grip (also m.) influenza

  guineu fox

  hèlice spiral, propeller

  higiene hygiene

  imatge image

  imperdible (also m.) safety-pin

  invariant invariant

  joventut youth

  lent lens

  llar home, fireplace

  llebre hare

  llei law

  llet milk

  llibertat liberty

  lliçó lesson

  llum light (not = llum (m.) ‘lamp’)

  mà hand

  majestat majesty

  maldat wickedness

  mar (also m.) sea

  marató marathon

  matriu womb

  mel honey

  ment mind

  mercè favour, benefit

  metròpoli metropolis

  molar molar

  mort death

  mortaldat death toll

  nau ship

  neu snow

  nit night

  nou nut, walnut

  oblivió oblivion

  ordre
order, command

  orfandat orphanhood

  paret wall

  part part

  patent patent

  patum (figure representing a fabulous animal, which is paraded through the streets during popular festivals), big shot

  pell skin

  pelvis pelvis

  perdiu partridge

  pols dust (not = pols (m.) ‘pulse’)

  por fear

  post plank, ironing board

  potestat authority, jurisdiction

  presó prison

  processó (religious) procession

  psique psyche

  pubertat puberty

  raó reason

  rebel·lió rebellion

  sal salt

  salt health (not = salut (m.) ‘greeting’)

  sang blood

  serp snake

  set thirst

  seu cathedral

  síndrome syndrome

  son sleepiness

  sort luck

  talent appetite (not = talent (m.) ‘skill, gift’)

  tele television, telly

  tempestat storm

  Tet (river in North Catalonia)

  torre tower

  tos cough

  tribu tribe

  vall valley (not = vail (m.) ‘trench’)

  variable variable

  variant variant

  veu voice (note altaveu (m.) ‘loudspeaker’)

  virtut virtue

  voluntat will

  voluptat sensual pleasure

  1.2.3 THE GENDER OF COMPOUND NOUNS

  1.2.3.7 Verb + noun compounds

  A frequent type of compound is that composed of a verb and a noun, referring to the person or animal or plant that does such-and-such, or the instrument with which it is done. The important point to bear in mind is that the gender of the compound is not normally related to the gender of the noun it contains. Those that denote humans can, as usual, be of either gender (1.1). The remainder are masculine, such as:

  eixugamà (m.) hand-towel

  enganyabadocs (m.) booby-trap

  escuradents (m.) toothpick

  passaport (m.) passport

  picaporta (m.) door-knocker

  portamonedes (m.) purse

  rentamans (m.) washbasin

  rentaplats (m.) dishwasher

  xuclamel (m.) honeysuckle

  etc.

  There are a very few exceptions, in all of which the included noun element is itself feminine singular in -a, where the whole compound is feminine, such as: