14 kty31()Loc;y and syntax. 



§ 5'J. 1. Tlie vowels, n, e, ttc, prefixed to li or iii, to hare, Ibrni the pj'efixcs al, 

 el, el, ol, ol, etc., which form uouns of possession from other uouus ; as, alaso, the 

 owner of doth, a dealer in dotli (from aso, dotli) ; elcsiq, tlie oivner of « lior^e, 

 a liorsenmn (from csiq, a Jiorse) ; oloti, tlie oivner of ale, a dealer in, ale (from 

 oti, ale^. 



2. Since the performer of an action may be regarded as its possessor, nouns of 

 this form frequently denote the actoi' or agent ; as, alabo, a defender (from aljo, 

 defence) ; elegbe, a helper (from egbe, help) ; ele^e, a sinner (from ^se, ahi) ; olore, 

 a henefador (from ore, a favor) ; olore, a giver (from ore, a gift^. 



3. Occasionally "we have the form olu, by § 16,3; as, oluwa (oli iwil, he who has 

 life^, a lord; oluse (ise, worlc), a lahorer. 



4. a. The vowel prefixed to '1' must be the same as the initial vowel of the 

 noun which takes the prefix, according to the princi^jle of euphonic concord 

 (§ lo, 2), as seen in the examples given above. But the prefix 'il' is never used; 

 and hence, when a prefix is required for a noun beginning with ' i,' it is customary 

 to employ ' on ' ; as, onibu, that 'ivhich has breadth, which is broad (from ibu, breadth) ; 

 onigbflgbo, a believer (from igbt\gbo, belief). 



b. Sometimes it is more agreeable to the ear to substitute ' ol ' for ' on ' ; as, olifa, 

 that ivhich is 2) r of table (from \1a., profit). But in such cases it is usual for the final 

 ' i ' of oli, and the initial ' i' of the noun to be changed into ' u.' (See § 52, 3.) 



.5. a. By exchanging the initial vowel of these prefixes for ' ai,' they become 

 negative. Thus, elese, a sinner, becomes ail^se, one toho is sinless ; olomo, one who 

 has a ddld, ailomo, tvho is childless ; aldgbdra, tvlio is strong, ailAgbara, tvho is not 

 strong. 



b. Frequently the prefix ' al ' is employed before negative nouns ; as, aiko, tlie state 

 nf being unlearned (from ko, to learn), alaiko, one who is unlearned; aise, sin- 

 iessness, alais^*, he %vho is sinless ; aldd, uncreatedness, alaidd, tvliidi is not cre- 

 ated, ivhidt has no existence. 



JVoiiiis formed l>y licdtqjlication. 



§ .53. Nouns are formed from verbs by reduplicating the first syllaljlc; of the 

 verb; as, didara, goodness (from dara, to be good); kpikpe, duration (from kpe, to 

 stay, to continue^. The vowel of the reduplicated syllable is changed into ' i,' as in 

 the above examples, except that occasionally 'u' is not changed; as, giguq or 

 gugur), length (from guq, to be long). 



§ 54. Nouns formed by reduplication from active transitive verbs have both an 

 active and a passive signification ; as, titd, a selling, also, that which is sold or to be 

 sold (from ti\ to sell) : e. g. titd ki ise bibu, selling is not giving ; aso tita, doth to sell. 



§ 55. A few inelegant nouns are formed by redui)licating the entire verb; as, 

 kped^akpedza, a fisherman (from kpedza, to Mil fish). Either akpedza or oni- 

 kpedza is preferable to the reduplicated form. 



§ 56. Nouns are formed by redupUcating a noun and inserting ki, li, ri, de, or iyi, 

 usually with an elision of the final vowel of the particle, as follows : 



1. a. Ki has the sense of any or idiaterer ; as, oiyekeiye, any bird irliaterer 

 (from eiye) : e. g. d 6 ri eiyekeiyo, ive scctv no birds whatever ; eiyekeije a to, any 

 bird irill do (a to, will svfiUce). 



