Page:Nature and Origin of the Noun Genders of the Indo-European Languages.djvu/38

28 for the suffixes to become "productive" with this meaning inherent in them; and that, too, has sure parallels in both the newer and older Indo-European languages.

I quote two examples,—one from the German and one from the Greek. The suffix -iska-, used by Germans to form adjectives, equivalent to English -ish, New High German -isch, had originally a very general adjective signification. We have it in Gothic mannisks, 'manly', in English thievish, in New High German himmlisch, 'heavenly'. It appears with especial frequency in derivations from the names of persons and peoples, e. g., New High German kriegerisch, römisch, englisch. In a number of these adjectives it happens that the noun forming the base of the adjective is the name of a person whose rank or occupation is considered blameworthy or contemptible ; such as New High German diebisch, from dieb, 'thief', räuberisch from räuber, 'robber', närrisch from narr, 'fool'. In this way the element -isch has itself come to share in the idea of the contemptible, and particularly in this direction has become "productive" in New High German. New words have been coined with the suffix -isch to express the sense of contempt. Abgöttisch, 'idolatrous', teuflisch, 'devilish',