2 Arthur Garfield Kennedy 



adjective with one has gradually become more common. To 

 say "the bravest one I ever knew" is quite in keeping with mod- 

 ern usage. The most complete substantivation, however, re- 

 quires no other word for the adjective to lean upon. Thus we 

 say, the good, the trvte, the beautiful, the unknown dead, for 

 'goodness,' 'truth,' 'principle of beauty,' etc. 



It is not the purpose of this paper to enter into a discussion of 

 the causes and beginnings of this process of substantivation. 

 The most probable cause seems to be that of the force which Pro- 

 fessor Paul^ calls "economy of expression." It would seem the 

 most natural thing to abbreviate tlie liable people to the noble, or 

 the Old English se betsta guuia to se bctsta, especially if the ex- 

 pression is so common that no one would misunderstand it. 

 This seems especially probable when we note that most of the 

 substantivized adjectives in the Beoivulf and the earlier English 

 literature are personal substantives. 



SUBSTANTIVATION OF ADJECTIVES IN OLD ENGLISH 



Many words which are nouns, pure and simple, in Chaucer's 

 day, have been developed from earlier adjectives or participles. 

 As examples we have stretc, from Latin strata via; mile, from 

 Latin milia passuum; frend, for Gothic frijonds; side, for Old 

 English sid; wheat and gold have been mentioned ; and many 

 others might be cited. 



In the Beozvulf we find the prevailing usage, — the adjective 

 for the person described : 



'iiikid.Q SQ goda . . . cempan gecorone, 1. 205. Cf. also 355, 

 676, 1191, etc. — Gewat him pa se hearda, 1. 1964. hares hyrste 

 Higelace bar, 1. 2988. — on pam ser/Va bad, 1.310. — Nafre ic inaran 

 geseah eorla ofer eoraan, 11. 247-48. — cwaea pat se almightiga 

 eoraan worhte, 1. 92. — pat he on eoraa geseah pone leofcstan lifes 

 at ende, 1. 2834. 



Gradually, after the Anglo-Saxon period, we find a broaden- 

 ing in the use of substantivized adjectives. Many examples ap- 



^ Principien dcr Sprachgeschichte, p. 203. 



252 . 



