28 A. F. Rudolf Hoernle— Essays on the Gaurian Languages. [No. 1, 
thus we obtain the form Urejt<jT or (according to Marathi orthography) 
That this is the true account of its origin is proved by its oblique 
form (e. g. Gen. ^fi), where the form of its Prakrit original 
re-appears, namely, the originally short \ in the penultimate, and the original 
vowel ^ in the final syllable. # This final \ of the oblique form proves that 
^ • 
the inflexional base of the direct form originally ended in X- The case is 
exactly the same as that of the feminine nouns in ^ (like q[R, etc.), which 
have an oblique form in \; and which has been fully discussed in the 3d 
Essay, p. 159. The oblique form namely, is identical with the 
Prakrit genitive or ^fspin^r. It follows from this derivation 
of the feminine affix that it can properly be added only to such nouns in 
as are derived by means of the Sanskrit affix . But it is, irregularly, 
added also to such nouns in x, as are derived (as will be proved further on) 
from a base formed by the affix ; e. g\, fern, of gardener, 
and also to nouns in ^ (as fern, of qTR) and ^ (as qRiqr from qR 
tiger). That this is the true derivation of the feminine affix is confirmed 
by the Bangali, which has, e. g., as against the Marathi 
as against the Marathi qTEjpjr; against the Marathi I 
suspect, however, that the irregularity, just noted, is only apparent; and 
that we have here two altogether different affixes which though identical in 
outward form, are widely different in origin. The affix namely, as 
added to nouns of a Sanskrit base in T«T (as ^wt), contains the Skr. fem. 
affix which by the action of the laws of phonetic decay has been altogether 
lost, while the remainder is really part of the original base and not any 
affix at all. On the other hand, the affix tR, as added to the other nouns, 
contains probably the Sanskrit feminine affix, (as feminine, i. e. 
wife, of Indra), of which the final has also been lost, while the remaining 
vowel ^ (i. c. minus qr) is a modification of the original vowel ; e. g. 
the feminine of qR was probably originally qRT^nt, in which form the 
vowel ^jr, perhaps under the influence of the final long x was changed to ^ 
(compare the feminine corresponding to the masculine affix ^qr); 
hence the Bangali ^TR^t; again the final X, as usual, was reduced, and on 
the other hand, the penultimate X lengthened to thus arose the Marathi 
^Rp^!- Some confirmation of this theory may be found in the fact, that 
while such Bangali nouns as qTRlT blacksmith form a fem. qiRTT«ft (the 
Sanskrit equivalent of which would be wife of a black smith), corre¬ 
sponding Marathi words as blacksmith , form a feminine 
The Gaurian fem. ending as we have now seen, is a modification of 
the Prakrit fem. ending (Sanskrit ^KT). This fem. termination ^y 
* The penultimate X reappears because the reason for its lengthening no more exists. 
f It may be noted that if in these feminines, in which the penultimate has been 
lengthened in Marathi, the antepenultimate is a long vowel, it is generally shortened ; 
