Part 41 (1/2)

--SHAK See _Johnson's Dict, w Kersey_

GENDERS

Genders, in graard to sex

There are three genders; the _masculine_, the _feender_ is that which denotes persons or ani_

The _feender_ is that which denotes persons or animals of the feender_ is that which denotes things that are neither male nor female; as, _pen, ink, paper_

Hence, names of males are s inaniular feed to _ess_: as, _hunter, huntress_; _prince, princess_; _lion, lioness_

OBSERVATIONS

OBS 1--The different genders in grammar are founded on the natural distinction of sex in anis

In English, they belong only to nouns and pronouns; and to these they are usually applied, not arbitrarily, as in soreeably to the order of nature Froe over those who use the gender differently, or without such rule; which is, that our pronouns are easy of application, and have a fine effect when objects are personified pronouns are of the saender as the nouns for which they stand

OBS 2--Many nouns are equally applicable to both sexes; as, _cousin, friend, neighbour, parent, person, servant_ The gender of these is usually determined by the context; and they are to be called rammarians have applied the unnecessary and iender_ Murray justly observes, ”There is no such gender belonging to the language The business of parsing can be effectually perforender_”--_Gram_, 8vo p 39 The term is more useful, and less liable to objection, as applied to the learned languages; but with us, whose genders _distinguish objects in regard to sex_, it is plainly a solecisender to be ”_the distinction of sex_,” and then speak of a _couished_; and of the _neuter gender_, in which objects are treated as being of _neither sex_ These views of the ender, do the writers undertake to define, but ”gender” as a whole; and absurdly enough, too; because this whole of gender they ienders of gender, or kinds of gender, and these not compatible with their definition Thus Wells: ”Gender is _the distinction_ of objects, with regard to sex There are four genders;--the _masculine_, the _feminine_, the _common_, and the _neuter_”--_School Gram_, 1st Ed, p 49 [Those]

”Nouns which are applicable _alike to both sexes_, are of the _coender under the foregoing definition, and the term _neuter_ is made somewhat less appropriate by the adoption of a third denomination before it Nor is there less absurdity in the phraseology hich Murray proposes to avoid the recognition of the _coender_: ”Thus we ender; _Parent_, if doubtful, is of the _ender is known by the construction, is of the gender so ascertained”--_Graenders_, exclusive of that which is called _common_; namely, the _ynal_, and the _doubtful_

OBS 4--It is plain that raender really is Soender with sex, deny that there are enders, because there are only two sexes Others, under a likeinstance,) to an _androgynal_, and also to a _doubtful_ gender: both of which are raard to sex,” is, in our language, confessedly, no distinction at all I assuenders, masculine, feminine, and neuter, and no more; and that every noun and every pronoun ender; consequently, of soender is, literally, a sort, a kind, a sex But genders, _in grammar_, are attributes of words, rather than of persons, or anis; whereas sexes are attributes, not of words, but of living creatures He who understands this, will perceive that the absence of sex in sorammatical distinction, as the presence or the difference of it in others; nor can it be denied, that the neuter, according to ard_ to sex,” though it does not eenders, and only three

OBS 5--Generic names, even when construed as masculine or feiven _the horse_ strength?

hast thou clothed _his_ neck with thunder? Canst thou lory of _his_ nostrils is terrible”--_Job_, xxxix, 19

”Doth _the hawk_ fly by thy wisdole_ h?”--_Ib_, ver 26 These were called, by the old grammarians, _epicene_ nouns--that is, _supercoender of the pronoun which is put for it

OBS 6--The gender of words, inprinciple of universal grammar Those terms which are equally applicable to both sexes, (if they are not expressly applied to females,) and those plurals which are known to include both sexes, should be called ender is considered the enerally employed when both sexes are included under one common term Thus _parents_ is always masculine, and ender of a word is a property indivisible, and that which refers to the male sex, always takes the lead in such cases If one say, ”Joseph took _the young child and his ypt,” the pronoun _theed to _its_, and the plural pronoun that folloill be feender takes precedence of the neuter, but not of thechild without designating the sex As for such singulars as _parent, friend, neighbour, thief, slave_, and many others, they are feminine when expressly applied to any of the female sex; but otherwise, masculine

OBS 7--Nouns of multitude, when they convey the idea of unity or take the plural forender; but when they convey the idea of plurality without the forender of the individuals which coress_, a _council_, a _committee_, a _jury_, a _sort_, or a _sex_, if taken collectively, is neuter; being represented in discourse by the neuter pronoun _it_: and the forresses, councils, committees, juries, sorts, sexes_, of course, are neuter also But, if I say, ”The coraced _themselves_,” the noun and pronoun are presu of a coain: ”The _fair sex, whose_ task is not to le in the labours of public life, have _their_ own part assigned _them_ to act”--_Comly's Gram_, p 132 Here _sex_, and the three pronouns which have that word for their antecedent, are all fe _themselves_ in the clothes of the other”--_Wood's Dictionary_, v _Feast of Purim_ Here _sex_, and the pronoun which follows, are masculine; because, the male sex, as well as the female, is here spoken of plurally

OBS 8--To _persons_, of every description, known or unknown, real or iinary, we uniforence, and sex supposes so child_ may be spoken of with distinction of sex or without, according to the notion of the speaker; as, ”I went to see the _child_ whilst they were putting on _its cloaths_”--_Priestley's Gram_, p 125 ”Because the _child_ has no idea of any nurse besides _his_ own”--_Ib_, p 153 To _brute anih with less uniforender which seeurative; as, ”Go to the _ant_, thou sluggard; consider _her_ ways, and be wise”--_Prov_, vi, 6 ”The _spider_ taketh hold with _her_ hands, and is in kings' palaces”--_Prov_, xxx, 28 So the _bee_ is usuallya little creature of adeneral, irrational creatures whose sex is unknown, or unnecessary to be regarded, are spoken of as neuter; as, ”And it became a _serpent_; and Moses fled from before _it_ And the Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take _it_ by the tail And he put forth his hand and caught _it_, and _it_ becah the word _serpent_ is sometimes masculine, the neuter pronoun seeinary creatures: as, ”_Phenix_, the fohich is said to exist single, and to rise again from _its_ own ashes”--_Webster's Dict_ ”So shall the _Phoenix_ escape, with no stain on _its_ plue”--_Dr Bartlett's Lect_, p 10

OBS 9--But this liberty of representing animals as of no sex, is often carried to a very questionable extent; as, ”The _hare_ sleeps with _its_ eyes open”--_Barbauld_ ”The _hedgehog_, as soon as _it_ perceives _itself_ attacked, rolls _itself_ into a kind of ball, and presents nothing but _its_ prickles to the foe”--_Blair's Reader_, p 138 ”The _panther_ is a ferocious creature: like the tiger _it_ seizes _its_ prey by surprise”--_Ib_, p 102 ”The _leopard_, in _its_ chace of prey, spares neither man nor beast”--_Ib_, p 103 ”If a man shall steal an _ox_, or a _sheep_, and kill _it_, or sell _it_”--_Exod_, xxii, 1 ”A _dog_ resists _its_ instinct to run after a hare, because _it_ recollects the beating _it_ has previously received on that account The _horse_ avoids the stone at which _it_ once has stumbled”--_Spurzheim, on Education_, p 3 ”The _racehorse_ is looked upon with pleasure; but it is the _warhorse_, that carries grandeur in _its_ idea”--_Blair's Rhet_, p 30

OBS 10--The sexes are distinguished _by words_, in four different ways

First, by the use of different terminations: as, _Jeess; Julius, Julia; hero, heroine_ Secondly, by the use of entirely different na, queen_ Thirdly, by co solishrandmaid; man-servant, maid-servant; schoolirl; peacock, peahen; cock-sparrow, hen-sparrow; he-goat, she-goat; buck-rabbit, doe-rabbit; male elephant, female elephant; male convicts, female convicts_ Fourthly, by the pronouns _he, his, him_, put for nouns masculine; and _she, her, hers_, for nouns feminine: as, ”Ask _him_ that fleeth, and _her_ that escapeth, and say, What is done?”--_Jer_, xlviii, 19

”O happy _peasant!_ Oh unhappy _bard!_ _His_ the mere tinsel, _hers_ the rich reward”--_Cowper_