464 OBSERVATIONS ON THE 
$27. The following plurals of French words are 
remarkable. 
caas, 825, 13578, iii. 84. 
paas, 1892, 4726. 
degré, 1892. 
seeré, 6923 (?). 
orgon, 16337 f. 
vessel, 15634; 15712, 15714 (?). 
vesseals, 15680, 15687. 
But vessealx, 
richesses, ii. 368, 370, 371, iii. 92; sing. richesse, 
ii. 967 ; pl. riches, ii. 368. 
LANGUAGE OF CHAUCER. 
§ 28. Genitive Plural. — The Genitive Plural in 
Chaucer is much the same as in English, saving, of 
course, the use of és instead of s. 
lordés hestés, 8405. seintes lyves, 6272. 
lordés doughtrés, 13488, folkes wyves, iii. 167. 
13491. mennes wittes, 4622; soules, 
foxes tailes, 15519. 7402. 
bestes dennes, 15749. — wymmens counseiles, 16742. 
his eyghen sight occurs, 10184. 
ADJECTIVES. 
$ 29. Adjectives which end in e in Saxon preserve 
the e in Chaucer. 
blithe (S. blipe, L. O. blide), 1880 f, 14210 f. 
blithé, 848; blith, 10652. 
clene (S. deene, L. clene, O. dene), 506, 12087, 
14288. 
clené, 12228.  * 
dere (S. deóre, L. deore, dure, O. deore, dere), 
13593 f, 14921 f. 
derne (S. derne, L. derne, O. dærne), 3200, 3278. 
drye (S. dryge, dry, O. drizze), 16334, 422 f, 15703 f. 
elenge (S. ellende — peregrinus, and therefore miser, 
as in other languages (see Diefenbach, i. 37), d 
being changed to g, as in the modern English form 
of the present participle?), 14633 f, 6781 f. 
fremde (S. fremede), 10743. 
grene (S. gréne, L. grene), 2937, 3876. 
heende (S. ge-hende (?), L. hende), 3199, 3401, 3487. 
kene (S. céne, L. O. kene), 2878 f, 9633 f, 15745 f. 
kynde (S. cynde), 649 f, 8728 f, 15008 f. 
lene (S. læne), 9727 f, 16299 f. 
newe (S. niwe, L. niwe), 430, 8881. 
proude (S. prfte, prát), 7809. 
prowd, 3863, 3167 (?). 
ripe (S. ripe), 17015. 
scheene (S. scêne, L. scene, O. shene), 115 f, 1511 f. 
softe (S. sófte, sóft, L. softe, O. soffte), 6994. 
stille (S. L. stille, O. stille, still), 10810f, 11782 f, 
16929 f. 
sterne (S. L. sterne, O. stirne), 8341. 
swete, swote (S. swéte, O. swet), 2429, 5967, 6041, 
15344. 
thenne (S. pynne), 4064 f, 9556 f. 
thikke (S. picce, L. picke), 551. 
trewe (S. treówe, L. treowe, O. trowwe), 533, 961. 
un-weelde (S. un-vylde = impotens), 16987 ; 3884 
also, but plural. 
white (S. hwite, hwit, L. white, whit), 4775. The 
common form is whit, 17065, 238, 3238, 2180 f. 
Several other adjectives might probably be inserted 
in this list, but as they are found in the Canterbury 
Tales only in the “definite form” (see $ 32), they 
have not been noticed. 
(all-) oone, is from the $. definite form ána — solus, 
9200, 9435, 14256 f, 14707 f. 
narwe, is from S. nearu, 627, 7385, etc. 
worthi, worthy (as if from weorpig) is from S. 
weorpe, wyrpe, 285, 461. 
$30. The following adjectives and adjective pro- 
nouns, though ending in a consonant in Saxon, have 
sometimes, or always, the termination e in Chaucer, 
resembling the nouns in $ 13 (compare Lat. atrox, 
Ital. atroce ; fallax, fallace, etc). 
alle (S. eall, all, L. al, O. all, alle), 1247, 1686, 2704, 
4586, 9623, 13589, 14015, 14472, etc. ; 
but al, 7057, 12613, 12599, 14091, 14240, 
14376. 
bare (S. ber, L. bare, bar), 8755, 8771 f, 11884 f, 
12660 f. 
blewe (S. bleoh), 566. 
eche (S. ele, L. ælc, eche, O. ille), 1184. 
evene (S. efen, L. efne, O. efenn), 83, 3316. 
faire (S. feger, L. feir, feire, O. fazzerr), 2388, 
2665, 12043; 
- but, fair, 165, 575, 3233, 7835 f, 9147 f, 9431 f, 
14432f. 
fawe (S. feah = fegen, as in feahlic), 5802 f. 
