SO A. F. Rudolf Hoernle —Essays on the Gaurian Languages, [No. 1, 
; and thus becomes in Marathi Again, palate is rTT^T or masc. 
J « ^ . . . • ^ ^ 
in Hindi, but fem. in Marathi. In Sanskrit it is rfT^T which is neuter ; but 
there is a bye-form made by the affix 3T and this is also feminine, viz. 
<TT^R7; in Prakrit it becomes ftT^T^T, and in Gaurian, through the interme- 
\J vj ° 
diate form it becomes cfT^T or ^T*f. Again chalk is Sanskrit 
vj C\ ° 
in Prakrit it is ^fsn^T, but also ; for both forms occur as the bases 
vj 
of Gaurian formation. While the Hindi takes the form and from 
it derives its form the Marathi takes the form and from it 
derives the form *3^". 
♦ 
From what has been said regarding the origin of the feminine nouns in 
y" and it follows that these terminations are purely Gaurian formations. 
With this agrees the fact that all feminine nouns in y; and belong to the 
proper Gaurian element in all Gaurian languages, in other words, do not 
admit of an oblique form. Only the Marathi presents a very few exceptional 
cases of feminine nouns in which have an oblique form in 'i. They are the 
following thirteen nouns, (see Manual, p. 36), ^ET^> woman , ^ louse, 
leech, sister-in-law , palate , <TT^T forehead, spirits, f ^^flea, 
coil of rope , vit^ bear, 31^ sand, yrT<^ mother-in-law, needle. The 
probable origin of the final y of the oblique form of feminine nouns, I have 
already explained in Essay IY. Assuming that explanation to be correct, 
the oblique form in ^ of those exceptional feminine nouns in^ easily explains 
itself from the Prakrit. E. g., to ~3T^T sand corresponds in Sanskrit ^r^T^RT, 
in Prakrit 3T^T. Gen. of is in Prakrit *TT^Ty. The 
J \J \i Vi 
latter form would change successively to ^T^T^iy, next to ^T^gy, finally to 
^T^T, which is the present form. Again, m^leech is in Skr. ^T^r^TT., Prakrit 
; the Gen. is Skr. aT^n^fT^lTb in Prakrit of^^Ty, and this would 
change successively to next to «T^ry„ and finally to which is the 
present Marathi oblique form of the word. 
On the other hand, as regards feminine nouns in and ^T, this 
termination has much more the character of a Prakrit formation ; still in the 
Hindi-class Gaurian languages which, as has been shown in Essay III, 
possesses only a very small number of Era/critic nouns, (viz., the masculine 
nouns in ^t), all the feminine nouns in or belong to the proper 
Gaurian element, and do not admit of an oblique form. As they have retained 
their direct form their Prakritic character almost entirely, (the Gaurian 
having added merely the euphonic connecting consonants ^), there can 
be no doubt that they would have an oblique form in y in Marathi. In 
Hindi, as I have just remarked, they are very common. In the Ganwari (or 
Low Hindi) especially, they may be heard as bye-forms of any feminine 
nouns in x or and there they are very frequently used ; they are always 
employed when the thing expressed by the noun, is referred to as some¬ 
thing biown and determined (their use being analogous to that of the 
