Siihstantivation in Chaucer 17 



gultclcs, ivyse, zvisest, riche, sike, fre, bonde, grettest, 

 lowe, 7vorst, dcre, ncwe, konnyngcste, grcye, swete, 

 formest, hlisfiille, stronge, zvofullc, needful, harmful, 

 rewfullest, leef, slyc. 



(b) French words, poore, gentilest, feble, humblest, in- 

 nocent, covcytoiis, scint, snffrant, pacient, graciouse, 

 bountcvoiis. 



2. Personal substantives (with -s). 



(a) Old Eng-hsh words, eldres, hahves. 



(&) French words, nobles, scyntcs, gcntils, innocents, 

 penytentys, comunes. 



It is to be noted that in the case of these words which have 

 been substantivized thoroughly enough to take on inflectional 

 forms, the majority are of French origin. This might argue 

 that the process of substantivation started with the French. 



The figures for the different classes are as follows : 



1. Personal (without -.?).... Old English — 33 Romance — 11 



2. Personal (with -s) " " 2 " 6 



3. Abstract (without -s) " " 31 " 11 



4. Abstract (with -s) " " 5 " 1 



5. Neuters " " 14 " 10 



Totals Old English 85 Romance 39 



This summary does not include the few Latin words which 

 appear for Chaucer. While these lists do not pretend to record 

 every example of the substantivation of adjectives in Chaucer, 

 yet they are so nearly complete as to give a fair presentation of 

 conditions. 



III. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 



For the most part, in Old English, the adjective was used only 

 as a personal substantive. This substantivation, moreover, seems 

 to have been due almost altogether to the second cause given by 

 Kellner, namely, the dropping of an unnecessary noun. This is 



267 



