Page:Sanskrit Grammar by Whitney p1.djvu/416

 1057. Denominatives are formed at every period in the history of the language, from the earliest down.

a. They are frequent in RV., which contains over a hundred, of all varieties; AV. has only half as many (and personal forms from hardly a third as many: from the rest, present participles, or derivative nouns); AB., less than twenty; ÇB., hardly more than a dozen; and so on. In the later language they are quotable by hundreds, but from the vast majority of stems occur only an example or two; the only ones that have won any currency are those that have assumed the character of "-class" verbs.

1058. The denominative meaning is, as in other languages, of the greatest variety; some of the most frequent forms of it are: be like, act as, play the part of; regard or treat as; cause to be, make into; use, make application of; desire, wish for, crave — that which is signified by the noun-stem.

a. The modes of treatment of the stem-final are also various; and the grammarians make a certain more or less definite assignment of the varieties of meaning to the varieties of form; but this allotment finds only a dubious support in the usages of the words as met with even in the later language, and still less in the earlier. Hence the formal classification, according to the final of the noun-stem and the way in which this is treated before the denominative sign, will be the best one to follow.

1059. From stems in. a. The final of a noun-stem oftenest remains unchanged: thus,  plays the enemy, is hostile;  cultivates the gods, is pious.

b. But final is also often lengthened: thus,  plans mischief;  holds dear;  seeks for horses;  desires food.

c. While in the Veda the various modes of denominative formation are well distributed, no one showing a marked preponderance, in the later language the vast majority of denominatives (fully seven eighths) are of the two kinds just noticed: namely, made from -stems, and of the form or, the former predominating. And there is seen a decided tendency to give the denominatives in an active form and transitive meaning, and those in  a middle form and intransitive or reflexive meaning. In not a few cases, parallel formations from the same stem illustrate this distinction: e. g. makes turbid,  is or becomes turbid;  rejuvenates,  is rejuvenated;  loosens,  grows loose. No distinct traces of this distinction are