Page:The Comic English Grammar.djvu/37

Rh 2. By a difference of termination; as,

3. By a noun, pronoun, or adjective being prefixed to the substantive; as,

We have heard it said, that every Jack has his Jill. That may be; but it is by no means true that every cock has his hen; for there is a

Then we have a weather-cock, but no weather-hen, a turn-cock, but no turn-hen; and many a jolly cock, but not one jolly hen; unless we except some of those by whom their mates are pecked.

Some words; as, parent, child, cousin, friend, neighbour, servant and several others, are either male or female, according to circumstances.

It is a great pity that our language is so poor in the terminations that denote gender. Were we to say of a Rh