$104.

3. Formation of Comparative- and Superlative-Stems.

COMPARATIVE-STEMS.

1. Suffix original -yans-.

This suffix is perhaps a variation from a still earlier -yant-, and akin to -ant-, -mant-, -vant- (§§ 101, 91, 90); in these suffixes also we see t frequently passing over into s, and this change seems to have taken place in the case of -yans- as early as the original-language, since a *yant- appears nowhere (e.g. vidvád-bhis, but yáriyō-bhis, i.e. *yaviyas-bhis). The suffix is a primary one, and is added directly to the final of the root. Like most primary-suffixes it is in its use confined to a few particular roots.

Indo-European original-language. E.g. nav-yans-, from nav-a- (new); magh-yans-, from magh-ant- or perhaps also magh-ara- (great); svād-yans-, svād-u- (sweet); āk-yans-, ak-u (swift), etc.

Sanskrit. In later Sanskrit the early form -yans- is retained as -yas- only after vowels, but in the earlier language (Vēd.) also after consonants, in which case the later Sk. substitutes -īyās- for -yãs-, y being split up into iy (§ 15, b) and the short vowel being lengthened before y (§ 15, a). The Sk. form -iyas- shows its modern date also by the fact that it is still wanting in a language so closely akin as Zend.

Suffix -yãs-; e.g. Vēd. náv-yās- from náva- (new); Sk. bhú-yãs- from bhú-ri- (much); gyá-yās- (older) √ģya (grow old), positive not used; sthéyas-, i.e. *stha-iyās- or *sthā-iyās-, from sthirá- (firm) for *stha-ra- (§ 7), √stha (stand); sphéyās-, i.e. *spha-iyas-, sphi-rá- (swollen), for *spha-ra-, √spha (wax, swell); pré-yãs- from priy-á- (dear), with root-vowel raised a step (or perhaps from an older root-form pra), etc.

Suffix -iyās-; e.g. vár-iyãs- (better), vár-a- (good) and urú- for *var-ú (broad, wide); drágh-iyãs-, dirghá- (long) for *dargh-a(§ 8), √*dargh (darh), *dragh, and with many other adjectives

formed with suffix -a-; gár-iyãs-, from gur-ú- (heavy) for § 104. *gar-u- (§ 7), like it, from √gar; lágh-iyās- from lagh-ú- (light); áç-iyās-, Vēd. from aç-ú- (swift), and so with other adjs. formed with suffix -u-; kšód-iyās- from kšud-rá- (small, scanty) from √ksud with step-formation; yáv-iyās- from yúvan- (young), √yu with step-formation; máh-iyās- from mah-ánt-, Vēd. mah(great), √mah.

As a secondary suffix -iyas- appears in certain cases only, e.g. matiyās- from mati-mant- (intelligent), má-ti- (mind, insight, √ma + suffix -ti-+ also -mant-), etc. These words are treated according to the analogy of the above-mentioned, as if e.g. mat were root of mati-.

Greek. The 8 of the suffix -yans- (the s is retained in the superlative, v. post.) is lost, and the y changed to or combined with a preceding consonant into oo, (§ 68, 1, d. e), e.g. κάκ-ιον- (n. sg. masc. κακίων) from κακ-ό- (bad), V κακ; ἔλασσον, i.e. *¿λax-yov-, èλaxú (light), vẻ-λax-; ñd-ɩov- from ¿d-ú(sweet), νἡδ, ὧδ; ἔχθ-ιον- from ἐχθρό (hostile), from έχθ-, which serves here as a root; μeîov-, i.e. *μey-yov-, from μéy-as, μεγάλο- (great), ν μεγ; πλεῖον-, πλέον-, f.f. pra-yans-, πολύ(much), f.f. par-u-, √pra=par; so too μe-îov- (less), f.f. ma-yans, from a root ma, which mostly appears weakened to mi, mi-n (cf. Sk. mi-ná-mi, mi-nó-mi, pf. ma-má, ma-māú, fut. mā-syámi (throw down, annihilate).

Latin. -yans- became -yons- and subsequently -ios- (e.g. ma (g) iōsibus; § 77, 1, a), later -ior-; in acc. n. neut. the later language also shows still the old s in the form -ius, i.e. -yas with loss of the n. In Lat. the comparative is regularly formed by means of this suffix, which is therefore used as a secondary one also. E.g. *mag-iōr-, hence mā-iōr- (§ 77, 1, a), n. neut. mā-ius, but adverb mag-is for *mag-ius, mag-no- (great); plūs, plous (more) from *plo-ius=πλe-îov, f.f. pra-yans-, √pra=par (fill), pleores (carmen Aruale) for *ple-ior-es, √ple=plo, original pra, compar. of ple-ro- (plerus Cato, pleri-que), plē-no- (full);

§ 104. leu-iōr-, i.e. *legu-iōr-, can come equally well from *leg-iōr(§ 73, 1), √leg-, f.f. lagh, or, though less probably, from adjective-stem legu- in leui- (light), i.e. *leg-ui-, a further formation of *leg-u-, Sk. lagh-ú-, Gk. éλax-ú-; min-ōr- (smaller), from a root min, stands for *min-iōr-, min-us for *min-ius-, f.f. man-yans-; doct-iōr- from docto- (doctus learned, √doc), which loses its final vowel only before the suffix, like all adjs. in vowels; facil-iōrfrom facili- (easy to do; √fac), etc.

$ 105.

2. The suffix -tara- and -ra-.

The suffix -tara- is the ordinary comparative suffix in Sk., Zend, and Greek; it is also found here and there in the other languages. It is a secondary suffix; primary but rarely.

The suffix -tara- is very probably compounded of the two frequent stem-formative suffixes -ta- and -ra-; -ra- occurs also alone in the function of comparative formation, e.g. Sk. áva-ra- (lower), from áva (prep. of), ápa-ra- (hinder, latter), ápa (prep. of)= Zend apa-ra- from apa; cf. Lat. sup-eru-s, sup-er, inf-eru-s, inf-er (sup-er-ior, inf-er-ior, add to the older comparative element -which has lost its comparative force-the ordinary comparative suffix).

Indo-European original-language.

The suffix -tara- was, it seems, already applied to the function of forming comparatives from pronominal-stems and the like; thus an undoubted primitive stem is found in an-tara- (interior) from pronominal √an, stem ana- (demonstr.), where exceptionally the suffix is probably primary; moreover ka-tara- (uter), pronominal-stem and √ka- (interrog.).

Sanskrit. -tara- (masc. -tara-s, fem. -tarā) is added to the end of nominal-stems simply (used also in case of substantives); variant nom.-stems have their shorter stem-forms before this suffix, e.g. púnya-tara- from púnya- (pure); ka-tará- (uter, interrog.), ka- (quis); ya-tará- (uter, rel.), ya- (rel.); í-tara(other), vi (is); çúki-tara- from çúki- (pure); agnimát-tarafrom agnimánt- (being with fire); vidvát-tara-, Vēd. also vidúš

-tara-, stem vidvant-, vidvans-, weakened to vidus- (part. pf. act.; § 105. knowing, cunning); dhani-tara-, Vēd. also dhanin-tara-, dhanin(rich). In án-tara- (interior) -tara- is primary, √an, stem ana(demonst.); -tara- is found after comparatives in -yans-, and after superlatives in -iš-tha- also, e.g. çréšṭha-tara- from çrésṭha(best; cf. 'Superlative').

Greek. Suffix -Tepo-original and Sanskrit -tara-, e.g. κουφό-τερο-, κουφο- (light), πό-τερο- for κό-τερο- (uter) from root and pron.-stem πо-, ко- (quis), but after a short vowel preceding, with final o, original a, lengthened, e.g. σopw-тeρо-, σοφό- (wise); γλυκύτερο-, γλυκύ (sweet); χαριέσ-τερο- for *FET-TEро (§ 68, 2) from xapl-FeVT-, in shorter form xapiFeτ,

etc.

Cases like piλ-Tepo- from píλo- (dear) treat -Tepo- as primary suffix, whilst in φιλαί-τερο-, ἰσαί-τερο-, μεσαί-τερο-, and the corresponding superlatives, φιλαίτατο-, μεσαί-τατο-, etc., there is an underlying stem different from that of the regularly-formed φιλώ-τερο-, etc.

Note.-Benfey (Or. u. Occ. ii. 656) assumes as a basis for this formation an early locative in at, since in Sk. in certain cases before -tara-, -tama-, the locative case occurs instead of the stem, e.g. aparāhņē-tara- beside -na-tara-, from aparāhná(masc. afternoon).

The termn. -έσ-τερο-, e.g. εὐδαιμον-έσ-τερο- from εὐδαιμον(fortunate), appears to have been transferred from adjs. in -eσ-, e.g. σαφέστερο, σαφές- (clear), to other stems; whilst in -ίσ-τερο-, e.g. λαλ-ίσ-τερο- from λάλο- (talkative), we can hardly be mistaken in seeing a combination of the suffix -yans- in its shortest form -is-, with the more recent comparative-ending -tara- (cf. superlative --To-, and Lat. superlative in *-is-tama-, -issumo-, as well as Lat. -is-tero-).

Latin. The suffix -tara- appears only exceptionally, e.g. in u-tero- for *cu-tero- or *quo-tero-, n. sg. masc. u-ter (whether, i.e. which of two), neut. u-tro-m, fem. u-tra, e of the suffix

§ 105. -tero-, original -tara-, being ejected; dex-ter- (right), cf. dežɩós, Sk. dákš-iņa-; in-ter (between), cf. Sk. án-tara-, and the like.

§ 106.

In min-is-tero- (minister servant), Osk. min-s-tro- (lesser; gen. sg. masc. neut. minstreis is attested), and mag-is-tero(magister master), Umbr. més-tro- (greater) from *ma-is-tro-, *mag-is-tro-, and probably in sin-is-tero- (sinister left), the suffix -tara- has been added to the comparative suffix -is- from -yans-, as in Gk. λaλ-lo-repo-; in Sk. also the comparatives in -yans- and -istha- were sometimes further raised by means of -tara- and -tata-.

SUPERLATIVE-STEMS.

For the purpose of expressing the superlative were used the suffixes -ta- and its compound -tama-, in Gk. and Erse also -mata-, and reduplication -tata-, in Erse also -mama-, all of which, as well as the simple -ta-, often appear in other functions also (cf. § 91). These are secondary suffixes often joined to the end of comparative-stems.

1. Suffix -ta-, alone used especially in ordinal-numbers (q. v.); added to the end of comparatives in original -yans-, it forms their superlative. The reduplication -ta-ta- occurs in Gk. as the regular superlative-formation beside comparatives in -ta-ra-.

Indo-European original-language. It is not easy to decide whether here we must suppose a complete magh-yans-ta(μéy-10-TOS), to which the Goth. -ōs-ta- would seem to testify, and āk-yans-ta- (Kiσтos), etc., or magh-is-ta-, āk-is-ta-, with -yans- shortened to -is-. The former assumption seems to me the best supported.

Sanskrit. Suffix -ta- added to the word-stem itself, e.g. in ordinals šaš-thá- (sixth), with -tha- for -ta- on account of the foregoing & (§ 59, 1), šaš (six), katur-thá- (fourth), with -thafor -ta- (§ 52, 2), katur- (four).

After the comparative-suffix -yas- (-iyās-) -ta- appears as the