80 
A. F. Rudolf Hoernle— Essays on the Gaurian Languages. [No. 1, 
in % in which case these neuters terminate in Gaurian in ; or in the 
particular forms of their base ending in (amplified by the addition of 
the affix ^f). This termination becomes in old Gaurian ^T?i. Instances 
of old Gaurian neuters in have been adduced. In modern Gaurian the 
termination is contracted to if; and this neuter terminal form we have 
in Marathi. 
But the old Gaurian termination is not the only form which the 
Prakrit termination assumes in Gaurian. The Prakrit 
termination (or suffers in Prakrit already a twofold deteriorating 
process. It changes sometimes into (or i;^), sometimes into (or 
This deterioration is found in Prakrit only in a few and isolated 
cases ; hut in Gaurian it has assumed much greater dimensions, and has 
affected, as we shall presently see, whole classes of nouns. It is therefore 
doubtlessly more appropriate to consider these phonetic modifications of the 
original Prakrit termination as a Gaurian one, than as a Prakrit one. 
This should he noted, as it has some hearing on the question of the presence 
or absence of an oblique form of the Gaurian nouns which have this modified 
terminal form. For proofs of the deterioration of the Prakrit base- 
termination into and I must refer more especially to the 
examination of the Gaurian masculine and feminine nouns in ^ and 3T. In 
the Mrichchhakati the form (the Prak. modification of the Sanskrit 
Hfirf) often alternates with Again, the Sanskrit scorpion , 
itself already modified from an original form becomes in Prakrit 
or or (cf. Pr. Prak. I, 15). # Again, the Sanskrit TTTcgaff 
becomes in Prakrit (for cf. Prak. Prak. I, 29) ; that is 
first changes to iTTcr^f, (by Pr. Prak. I, 27 ; next to ^TTcJ^f). If' the Prakrit 
base termination in may change to or in the case of masc. and 
fern., it is plain that it may do so also in the case of neuters. In Gaurian 
the Prakrit neuter terminations ( = xyft) and are slightly 
modified ; viz., in old Gaurian to and ^3^, and in modern Gaurian to ^ 
and e. g., pearl is in Skr. in Prak. ^TtJT or The latter 
has a bye-form or (Skr. and this changes in old 
Gaurian to ^Tprffi, in modern Gaurian (Marathi) to iffirf. That this 
is the true derivation of the final of is proved by such neuter 
nouns as qjxiiT water, pepper, butter , curds. For qpfrt repre¬ 
sents an old form a Prakrit form and Skr. qpntuTij ffiff repre¬ 
sents an old Gaurian a Prakrit and Skr. an old 
Gaurian Prak. or and a Sanskrit cf an old 
* But tbo unmodified form or must have existed also in 
Prakrit. This is proved by the Naipali which has for scorpion, (soe St. Luke xi. 
12 , x. 19.), while the Hindi lias and the Maraffif 
