1.1 General Aspects

Abstract words such as Fr. attention ‘attention’, It. diligenza ‘diligence’, Sp. riqueza ‘wealth’, Pt. cozedura ‘cooking’, Ro. bunătate ‘goodness’, belong to the word class ‘noun’. Within the spectrum of nouns, abstract words are located on the opposite side of proper names, which are maximally concrete. As direct neighbors of proper names, common nouns are found that refer to classes of entities sharing certain typical characteristics, for example, Fr. chien ‘dog’, It. albero ‘tree’, Sp. casa ‘house’ (cf. figure 1; Nübling et al., 2015, p. 29). Collective nouns are lower in concreteness than common nouns, as they denote a multiplicity of something without stating a concrete number: Fr. montagne ‘mountains’, It. fogliame ‘foliage’, Sp. manada ‘herd’, for instance, do not specify how many mountains, leaves, or animals are included. Mass nouns (e.g., Fr. eau ‘water’, It. sabbia ‘sand’, Sp. leche ‘milk’) are even less contoured, as they lack countability: in order to quantify them, units of measurement are needed, such as Fr. deux seaux d’eau ‘two bucketfuls of water’, It. tre pale di sabbia ‘three shovelfuls of sand’, Sp. una cuchara de leche ‘one spoonful of milk’. Abstract nouns are most distant from proper names and common nouns because they do not possess materiality and therefore lack to a large extent sensory perceivability. Abstract nouns are in part non-count and thus cannot form a plural, like, for instance, certain action nouns (e.g., It. il nuoto ‘swimming’, Sp. el caer ‘falling’, cf. Gaeta, 2015, p. 1212). Many other deverbal nouns do allow plural forms (e.g., Fr. mariages ‘weddings’, It. traduzioni ‘translations’, Sp. juramentos ‘oaths’, cf. Nübling et al., 2015, p. 30), however. In some cases, the possibility of forming a plural can be a sign of concretization, for example, It. fermata ‘interruption’ versus le fermate dell’autobus ‘bus stops’, Sp. acceso ‘getting in’ versus los accesos de los edificios ‘entrance doors’. Within the classes of concrete and abstract nouns, one can draw further distinctions as proposed by Ewald (1992, pp. 279–280): depending on the degree of sensory perceivability, she distinguishes between ‘center’ and ‘periphery’. Objects and living things are perceivable by several senses and denoted by so-called central concrete nouns (e.g., Fr. cheval ‘horse’, It. fiore ‘flower’, Sp. mesa ‘table’), whereas phenomena perceivable by only one sense are denoted by so-called peripheral concrete nouns (e.g., Fr. brume ‘fog’, It. corale ‘choral’, Sp. guion (de compuesto) ‘hyphen’). With regard to abstract nouns, the differentiation between center and periphery is likewise possible: central abstract nouns are in principle not sensuously perceivable. They are either derivatives (e.g., Fr. indépendance ‘independence’, It. possesso ‘possession’, Sp. mentalidad ‘mentality’) or do not depend directly on verbs or adjectives (e.g., Fr. âme ‘soul’, but ‘aim’, It. senso ‘sense’, motivo ‘reason’, Sp. espíritu ‘spirit’, kilogramo ‘kilogram’). Peripheral abstract nouns denote either qualities and actions/processes that are sensuously perceivable (e.g., Fr. fraîcheur ‘freshness’, chant ‘singing’, It. luminosità ‘brightness’, tramonto ‘sunset’, Sp. dureza ‘hardness’, quema ‘burning’) or abstract entities that display certain features that are sensuously perceivable (e.g., Fr. matin ‘morning’, toux ‘cough’, It. notte ‘night’, raffreddore ‘cold’, Sp. verano ‘summer’, gripe ‘influenza’). In contrast to this, scholars with a more morphological approach reserve the term ‘abstract’ exclusively for derived nouns (cf. Rainer, 2015, p. 1269). This article will focus on abstract nouns that are complex words, that is, results of word formation processes.

1.2 Classification of Abstract Nouns

For derived abstract nouns, a classification system connected with derivation bases appears suitable: (a). (primary) denominal abstract nouns (e.g., Fr. duché ‘dukedom’, It. linguaggio ‘language’, Sp. añada ‘vintage’, Pt. compadrio ‘cronyism’, Ro. domnie ‘rule’); (b) (primary) deadjectival abstract nouns (e.g., Fr. folie ‘madness’, It. bellezza ‘beauty’, Sp. cortesía ‘courtesy’, Pt. baixeza ‘baseness’, Ro. greutate ‘weight; difficulty’); and (c) (primary) deverbal abstract nouns (e.g., Fr. mouvement ‘movement’, It. uscita ‘exit’, Sp. venganza ‘revenge’, Pt. perdição ‘loss’, Ro. biruinţă ‘victory’). As a matter of fact, derived abstract nouns constitute numerically by far the larger group. Non-derived abstract nouns present in all Romance languages are, for instance, Ofr. aé, It. età, Sp. edad, Prv. Cat. edat, Pt. idade, Ro. etate, Egd. eted, Log. edade (< Lat. aetate ‘age’); Ofr. som(m)e, It. sonno, Sp. sueño, Prv. som, Cat. son, Pt. somno, Egd. sœn, Ro. somn, Log. sonnu, Vgl. samno (< Lat. somnu ‘sleep’); Fr. paix, It. Ro. pace, Sp. Pt. paz, Prv. patz, Cat. pau, Egd. peš, Log. pake (< Lat. pace ‘peace’). However, aetas is a derivative within Latin (cf. Walde & Hofmann, 1965, p. 21). So far as, for instance, the Latin -io-type is concerned, highly productive in Latin (factio ‘making’, missio ‘sending’, oratio ‘speaking’, etc.), one can see that only 3% of these formations persist as native words in the Romance languages and none of them in all languages (cf. Burdy, 2013a, pp. 48–49). Borrowed abstract words may be said to have been exceptional in the early days of the Romance languages, for example, Fr. guerre, It. Sp. Cat. Pt. guerra ‘war’ (< Ogerm. *werra ‘quarrel’, ‘confusion’); Fr. trêve, It. Sp. tregua, Pt. tregoa, Cat. treva, Prv. tregua ‘truce’ (< Ogerm. *treuwa ‘treaty’); Fr. orgueil, It. orgoglio, Sp. orgullo, Pt. orgulho, Cat. orgull, Prv. orgolh ‘id.’ (< Ogerm. *urgoli ‘pride’). The adoption of many learned abstract nouns, fostered by the New Learning, belongs to a later period. On the whole, it seems safe to assume that languages create their popular abstract vocabularies for the most part themselves. The morphological devices for forming abstract nouns in the Romance languages differ but little from those employed in Late Latin. The most important device through all periods of time is suffixation (e.g., Lat. -ĭtia: Fr. -esse, It. -ezza, Sp. -eza; Lat. -mentu: Fr. -ment, It. -mento, Sp. -miento). There are, however, quite a lot of suffixes of Latin origin that begin to form abstract nouns only in Romance (cf. Rainer, 2015, p. 1280). Among these are, for example, the outcomes of -aticu (Fr. péage ‘toll’, Sp. hallazgo ‘discovery’), -aceu (Sp. cuchillazo ‘knife thrust’), -aria (Sp. borrachera ‘drunkenness’, It. vecchiaia ‘old age’). Even processes like suffixless deverbal formation (e.g., Fr. regret ‘regret’ ← regretter, It. governo ‘government’ ← governare, Sp. cambio ‘change’ ← cambiar, Pt. perda ‘loss’ ← perder, Ro. botez ‘baptism’ ← boteza), and nominalization of infinitives and past participles (e.g., Fr. le devoir ‘duty’, vue ‘sight’, It. il piacere ‘pleasure’, salita ‘climb’, Sp. el parecer ‘opinion’, llegada ‘arrival’, Pt. os haveres ‘assets’, sentido ‘sense; direction’, Ro. iertare ‘forgiveness’, dormit ‘sleep’) can be traced back to Vulgar Latin. Other abstract nouns arise from the conversion of adjectives and adverbs (e.g., Fr. le froid ‘coldness’, le mal ‘evil’, It. il caldo ‘heat’, il bene ‘good’, Sp. el frío ‘coldness’, el bien ‘good’), sometimes by means of ellipsis (Lat. hibernum (tempus) ‘winter’ → Fr. hiver, It. inverno, Sp. invierno, Pt. inverno, Ro. iarnă). Still other processes of forming abstract nouns may be real innovations within the Romance languages, but they should be considered marginal: this goes for the conversion of finite verb forms (e.g., Fr. doit ‘amount’) and reduplication (e.g., Fr. cache cache ‘hide-and-seek’, It. fuggi fuggi ‘escape’). In terms of meaning, abstract nouns are usually subdivided into three groups: (a) Action/result nouns (e.g., Fr. lavage ‘washing’, traduction ‘translation’, It. caccia ‘hunting’, giuramento ‘oath’, Sp. mordedura ‘bite’, cosecha ‘harvest’, Pt. escolha ‘choice’, armação ‘equipment’, Ro. arat ‘ploughing’, biruinţă ‘victory’); (b) Quality nouns (e.g., Fr. dignité ‘dignity’, It. biancore ‘whiteness’, Sp. modestia ‘modesty’, Pt. tristeza ‘sadness’, Ro. dulceaţă ‘sweetness’); and (c) Status nouns (e.g., Fr. episcopat ‘episcopate’, It. cuginanza ‘cousinhood’, Sp. almirantazgo ‘admiralship’, Pt. servidão ‘serfdom’, Ro. preoţie ‘priesthood’). However, these groups are not clearly definable, as will be seen in the following sections. Within the realms of abstract nouns, action nouns and likewise quality nouns tend to become concrete nouns due to metonymic change in meaning (cf. Blank, 1997, p. 251; Ullmann, 1967, p. 231). This has been effected through the resultative meaning since the Latin era: Lat. legio ‘making of a selection’ is derived from the verb legere ‘to pick out’, which then assumed the collective meaning ‘squads’, that is, the ‘result of the selection’; compare also messis ‘harvest; crop yield’, monumentum ‘memory; memorial’, scriptura ‘writing; document’. In Medieval Latin, one finds further examples of concretization, for example, copia ‘supplies, abundance’, then ‘copy’; civitas ‘civil right, citizenry’, then ‘town, castle’; ordo ‘order’, then ‘monastery’ (cf. HLSMA, 1996–2004, 2, V §89.3, §89.8). Correspondingly, there are numerous examples for collective and concrete nouns in Romance languages following the morphological pattern of abstract nouns, for example, Fr. couture ‘seam’, venaison ‘venison’, It. ossatura ‘bone frame’, ornamento ‘decoration’, Sp. pescado ‘fish’, verdura ‘vegetable’, Pt. vestimenta ‘clothing’, moldura ‘frame’, Ro. oseminte ‘bones’, băutură ‘beverage’. Medieval Lat. crassitudo, crassities ‘layer of fat’, iustitia ‘execution site’ may serve as examples of quality nouns becoming concrete nouns (cf. HLSMA, 1996–2004, 2, V §89.3). In the following sections, attention will be directed to the principal morphological devices that help to form action nouns, quality nouns, and status nouns in the Romance languages. The formation of abstract nouns as they are used in scientific and technical language follows the Neo-Latin and Greek word formation patterns (Fr. arthrite, tuberculose, athéisme, It. artrite, tubercolosi, ateismo, Sp. artritis, tuberculosis, ateísmo, Pt. artrite, tuberculose, ateísmo, Ro. artrită, tuberculoză, ateism ‘arthritis’, ‘tuberculosis’, ‘atheism’) and as a rule display only limited variation in the individual languages. Therefore, the following sections will concentrate on popular Romance word formation strategies.

2.1 Latin Tradition

Firstly, there is a group of suffixes that preserve their function to form action nouns through all times. The following types are present in all Romance languages:

2.2 Innovative Processes

An extended form -aría (< -ariu + ía, cf. Pharies, 2002, pp. 225–227) can also be found in Romance action nouns: Fr. tromperie ‘deceit’, flatterie ‘flattery’; It. ruberia ‘stealing’, orologeria ‘watchmaking’; Opg. romaria ‘pilgrimage’ (Roma) (Huber, 1933, pp. 242 §435); Ro. ajutorie (†) ‘support’; Oprv. pagaria ‘payment’, raubaria ‘robbery’, putaria ‘prostitution’ (puta); (Upper Egd.) tschantscharia ‘waffle’.

A noteworthy number of suffixes that originally formed relational adjectives have assumed the function of forming action nouns in Romance languages, namely by means of ellipsis: the meaning of an adjective-noun sequence must have been absorbed by the adjective after the omission of the noun, for example, It. *(atto) ladroneccio → ladroneccio ‘robbery’. This is, of course, a hypothetical rear projection. As a matter of fact, it is unclear which noun has been dropped; compare GSI, 1966–1969, 3, §1073.

In Gallo-Romance and Romanian, some suffixes of non-Romance origin that form action nouns can be found:

A pan-Romance device for forming action nouns is through conversion, which concerns verbal stems, past participles, infinitives, and, to a lesser degree, gerunds. As conversion is treated in a separate article of this volume (see Marzo’s Conversion in the Romance Languages), only some basic information will be given here.

Latin action nouns of the fourth declension ending in -us (actus ‘act’, venatus ‘hunting’, audītus ‘hearing’, gemĭtus ‘groan; sigh’) are treated in this paragraph because they were formally identical with masculine past participles. In Late Latin, a merger of -us, -ūs (e.g., peccatus ‘sin’, mandatus ‘order’) and past participles used as abstract nouns (peccatum ‘sin’, mandatum ‘order’) must have taken place (Meyer-Lübke, 1966, p. 77 §107; Pharies, 2002, pp. 43–44). The abstract-forming function of this type persists in the Romance languages, but not in all languages with the same frequency. In French, only a few examples can be found, and in Raeto-Romance, deverbal abstract nouns of the -atu-type seem to be missing completely (cf. Elwert, 1972, p. 187 § 368). In Ibero-Romance and Romanian, on the other hand, this type of action noun is quite productive: OFr. congié ‘permission’, ‘farewell’, pensé ‘thinking’; It. addentellato ‘connection; link’, bàttito ‘striking’, (Sic.) scártitu ‘selection’ (GSI, 1966–1969, 3, §1137; cf. also Emmi, 2011, pp. 151–152); Sp. afeitado ‘shaving’, revelado (de fotos) ‘photo development’; Pt. mandado ‘orders’, pedido ‘request’; Ro. arat ‘ploughing’, botezat ‘christening’, scâncit ‘whimpering’; OPrv. comensat ‘beginning’, brugit ‘noise’, plevit ‘pledge’, baizat ‘kiss’ (bais), Prv. batejat ‘christening’; Srd. búddidu ‘boiling’, (Cpd.) nádidu ‘swimming’. In Ibero-Romance and Romanian, the -ītu-type (or ´-ĭtu in Romanian) often denotes sounds and noises, for example, Sp. estallido ‘bang’ (estallar), ladrido ‘barking’ (ladrar) (Pharies, 2002, pp. 312–313); Pt. grasnido ‘croaking’; Cat. brogit ‘roaring’, cruixit ‘rustling’; Ro. muget ‘moo’, răget ‘bellow’. The Latin model of this special function seems to be sonare, sonĭtus ‘noise’ (Sp. sonido, Ro. sunet, cf. GRS, 1890–1902, 2, p. 525 §485).

Feminine past participles have been used as action nouns since Antiquity, but this type gains importance only in Romance. Whereas the Latin examples belong to the third conjugation (collecta ‘contribution; collection’, repulsa ‘rebuff’, permissa ‘permit’), in later times, formations in -ata (first conjugation) become more prominent (cf. HLSMA, 1996–2004, 2 VI, §57.1). Denominal derivatives become common later on. The conversion of feminine past participles can be observed in all Romance languages: OFr. achatee ‘buying’, Fr. sortie ‘departure’, vue ‘sight’; It. entrata ‘entering’, salita ‘going up’, caduta ‘fall’, (Triest.) corada ‘run’ (correre), piovada ‘downpour’ (piovere) (GSI, 1966–1969, 3, §1129); Sp. llegada ‘arrival’, acometida ‘attack’; Pt. bailada ‘dance’, saída ‘departure’; Ro. venită ‘arrival’, mulţumită ‘rewarding’; OPrv. arribada ‘landing’, colhida ‘harvest’, atenduda ‘waiting’, Prv. bramado ‘yelling’, voulado ‘flight’; Cat. caminada ‘walk’, dormida ‘nap’, batuda ‘threshing’; Raeto-Romance (Fassa) sonéda ‘ringing’, mordúda ‘bite’, špartída ‘division’ (Elwert, 1972, p. 188 §369–371), (Upper Egd.) clameda ‘call’, saglida ‘leap’, (Lower Egd.) puntschüda ‘stabbing pain’, (Friul.) cusìde ‘sewing’ (De Leidi, 1984, p. 109); Srd. (Log.) lampáda ‘attack’, (Cpd.) lómpida ‘arrival’. Cat. vàlua ‘estimate’, pèrdua ‘loss’ and OPrv. segoa ‘succession’, perdoa ‘loss’ possibly belong here, too; compare Moll (1991, p. 191 §413) (< ´-ĭta?). Action nouns of the -ata-type denote for the most part semelfactive and thus countable actions.

Denominal derivatives of the -atu/-ata-type also denote semelfactive actions, especially blows, pushes, and so forth. Another secondary function of the -atu/-ata-type consists of the denotation of measurements and periods. These two functions belong together etymologically (cf. Meyer-Lübke, 1966, p. 84 §115): (O)Fr. esperonnée ‘spur stitch’, jouée ‘slap round the face’, canonnade ‘cannonade’ (< It. cannonata), poignée ‘handful’, soirée ‘period of an evening’; It. occhiata ‘glance’, forcata ‘forkful’, ‘blow with a pitchfork’, grembialata ‘apronful’; Sp. lanzada ‘spear thrust’, invernada ‘period of a winter’, bocado ‘mouthful’; Pt. caldeirada ‘bucketful’, pedrada ‘blow with a stone’, pontado ‘stitch (pain in the side)’, punhado ‘fistful’; Ro. ocheadă ‘glance’ (< Fr. œillade); OPrv. espazada ‘sword-cut’, bocinada ‘mouthful’; descat ‘basketful’, Prv. pistoulado ‘pistol shot’, brassado ‘armful’, pugnat ‘fistful’; Cat. galtada ‘slap round the face’, fornada ‘ovenful’; Raeto-Romance (Upper Egd.) curtelleda ‘knife thrust’, bratscheda ‘armful’; Srd. bukkáda ‘mouthful’.

In Spanish and, to a lesser degree, in Portuguese, the suffix -azo/-aço (< -aceu) has likewise taken over the function of denoting blows and pushes (cf. Gaeta, 2015, p. 1223; Pharies, 2002, pp. 129–133). Besides this, -ón can be found, as well as -ão in Portuguese: Sp. espadazo ‘sword-cut’, cuchillazo ‘knife thrust’; Pt. pistolaço ‘pistol shot’, canhonaço ‘cannon shot’; compare the similar semelfactive meaning of -az in Friulan: tremaz ‘sudden trembling’ (De Leidi, 1984, p. 25); Sp. pechugón ‘blow to the chest’, pescozón ‘blow to the nape’, Pt. vergão ‘blow with a switch’, cachação ‘rabbit punch’.

Another function of denominal derivatives of the -ata-type is denoting behavior with negative connotations or behavior associated with particular individuals. In this function, -aria/-eria is also to be found, as well as -ezzo in some Venetian dialects and in Upper Egd. -ögn(a): Fr. taquinerie ‘teasing’, cochonnerie ‘nasty remark’, gasconnade ‘bragging’, jérémiade ‘wailing’ (-ade < It. -ata); It. cavolata ‘silly action’, furfanteria ‘cheating’, (Rovigno) striezzo ‘sorcery’, diavolezzo ‘evil action’ (GSI, 1966–1969, 3, §1039); Sp. muchachada ‘childish action’ brujería ‘spell’; OPrv. fachilharia ‘sorcery’; Cat. infanteria ‘childish action’; Raeto-Romance (Upper Egd.) putrunaria ‘swindling’, putrögna ‘villainy’, striögn ‘sorcery’; Srd. molentería ‘silly behavior’ (Log. molente, Cpd. molenti ‘donkey’). Occasionally, denominal derivatives of the -ata-type denote qualities (cf. section 3.2): It. (Ven.) aśenada ‘ignorance’, (Milan.) veggiada ‘vecchiaia’ (GSI, 1966–1969, 3, §1129). On the whole, the examples show that there is no sharp delineation between ‘behavior’ and ‘quality’.

Suffixless deverbal formation of action nouns can be found throughout all Romance languages. Its origins likewise go back to Late Latin. First, there are a number of feminine nouns created by suffixless formation: pugna ‘battle’ (pugnare), lucta ‘combat’ (luctari), proba ‘test’ (probare) (HLSMA, 1996–2004, 2 VI, §177). These formations are supported by word pairs like formare ‘to form’ – forma ‘form’, operare ‘to busy oneself’ – opera ‘activity’, even if in these cases the noun is primary. In Late Latin, word pairs like cantus ‘singing’ – cantare ‘to sing’, ausus ‘daring’ – ausare ‘to dare’ lead to the creation of masculine formations like dolus ‘pain’ (dolere), rogus ‘request’ (rogare) (HLSMA, 1996–2004, 2 VI, §178). Both types (m. and f.) subsist in the Romance languages: Fr. regret ‘regret’ (regretter), soutien ‘support’ (soutenir); It. domanda ‘question’ (domandare), volo ‘flight’ (volare); Sp. socorro ‘help’ (socorrer), compra ‘buying’ (comprar), pregunteo ‘questions’ (preguntar); Pt. ameaça ‘threat’ (ameaçar), sorvo ‘swallow’ (sorver); Ro. avânt ‘swing’ (avânta), cuget ‘thought’ (cugeta), teamă ‘fear’ (teme), şoaptă ‘whispering’ (şopti); OPrv. despens ‘expense’ (despensar), toc ‘touch’ (tocar), venda ‘sale’ (vendre), defalha ‘defaut’ (defalhir), Prv. casso ‘hunting’ (casar), gouvèr ‘conducting’ (gouvernar); Cat. regateig ‘haggling’, prova ‘test’; Raeto-Romance (Fassa) búgol ‘bellowing’ (bugolér), škrévet ‘creaking’ (škrevedér) (Elwert, 1972, p. 166 §320), (Upper Egd.) clam ‘call’ (clamer), güstra ‘combat’ (güstrer); Srd. lássa ‘bequest’ (lassare), amméntu ‘memory’ (ammentare). The origin of the final -e in many Spanish and Portuguese derivatives remains uncertain (Pharies, 2002, pp. 181–183); compare Sp. embarque ‘boarding’ (embarcar); Pt. derrame ‘leakage’ (derramar). In Old Provençal, however, the final -e in dopte ‘doubt’ (doptar), tempre ‘tempering’ (temprar) and others may be an epenthetic vowel (Adams, 1913, pp. 544–545). As for the Spanish abstract nouns in -eo, they are in part also denominal derivatives, for example, dedeo ‘agility of the fingers’ (dedo); compare Pharies (2002, pp. 222–223).

Nominalized infinitives can likewise be traced back to Late and Medieval Latin; solitary examples can already be found in Plautus and Cicero (compare GSI, 1966–1969, 2, §701). They have concrete or abstract meaning, for example, biberes ‘beverage’ (Regula Benedicti), haberes ‘property’ (Spain, 8th century), licere ‘permission’ (Italy, 10th century) (Löfstedt, 1950, p. 129). They are subject to declension and vacillate between masculine and feminine gender (singulas biberes/singulos biberes, cf. ThLL, 1900–, 2, p. 1954). The conversion of infinitives to nouns with abstract meaning is found in all Romance languages. It is least common in Modern French, where all examples are lexicalized (repentir ‘repentance’, baiser ‘kiss’, devoir ‘duty’, and others), and most widely spread in Romanian, where the long form of the infinitive always has the function of a verbal abstract (cântare ‘singing’ versus a cânta ‘to sing’, adunare ‘collection’, durere ‘pain’, gândire ‘thinking’, îndurare ‘compassion’, etc.). In Old French, however, the conversion of infinitives was absolutely possible and the results were subject to declension (li levers/le lever). For a detailed study of the nominalized infinitive in Old French, compare Buridant (2005). The remaining Romance languages have maintained the possibility of using an infinitive as a verbal abstract; compare GRS, 1890–1902, 2, p. 438 §392. The vacillation of gender observable in Latin persists in Romance: nominalized infinitives are mostly masculine; in Romanian, however, they are feminine. Due to the degree of lexicalization, nominalized infinitives show a different morphosyntactic behavior. In Old Italian, it was possible to pluralize certain infinitives (i soffriri ‘suffering’, i baciari). The more they tend to be combined with adjectives and genitive attributes, the more their lexicalization is evolving (un gran battere; allo spuntar del giorno). The transition, however, is fluent: al leggere di quella lettera and al leggere quella lettera both seem to be possible; compare GSI, 1966–1969, 2, §701.

As for verbal abstract nouns, the nominalization of gerunds is of minor importance in the Romance languages. In certain Italian dialects, -anda and -enda seem to be equivalent to -ata: (Abruzz.) fijjanna ‘birth’, vussannǝ ‘knocking’, metenna ‘harvest’ (GSI, 1966–1969, 3, §1098f.), (Bresc.) sapanda ‘digging over’, seganda ‘mowing’, stonǧanda ‘shearing’ (GRS, 1890–1902, 2, p. 551 §512). In Raeto-Romance (Upper Egd.), -anda has a durative meaning: bavanda ‘drinking’, scrivanda ‘scribbling’; compare Friulan freànde ‘massage’, leànde ‘binding’ (De Leidi, 1984, p. 38). From Old Provencal, some further examples can be quoted: montan ‘increase’, levan ‘raise’.

3.1 Latin Tradition

The following suffixes were already used in Latin to form quality nouns and are found in all Romance languages.

-ia (inertia ‘ignorance’, desīdia ‘idleness’). In Latin, ´-ia was unstressed. Later, the Greek variant of this suffix, namely -ía (elegía ‘elegy’, academía ‘academy’), became common; compare section 2.2 and HLSMA, 1996–2004, 2, VI §43.2. Romance quality nouns that require ´-ia for phonetic reasons were not derived in the individual languages, but already in Latin (Fr. force ‘strength’ < fortia, It. angoscia ‘anguish’ < angustia, Sp. vergüenza ‘shame’ < verecundia) (GRS, 1890–1902, 2, pp. 450–451 §405), or they are learned (Sp. soberbia ‘pride’, angustia ‘anguish’, cf. Pharies, 2002, pp. 297–298). Only the later form -ía was able to become productive, partly in the extended form -aría (< -ariu + -ía, cf. section 2.2 and Pharies, 2002, pp. 225–227). It is added to adjectival and sometimes to nominal stems: Fr. modestie ‘modesty’, maladie ‘illness’; It. allegria ‘happiness’, furberia ‘cunningness’, (Nap.) cechía ‘blindness’, sordía ‘deafness’ (GSI, 1966–1969, 3, §1076); Sp. glotonería ‘gluttony’, villanía ‘impudence’; OPt. grandia ‘greatness’ (Huber, 1933, p. 242 §435), Pt. soberbia ‘pride’, bisonharia ‘inexperience’; Ro. avuţie ‘wealth’, beţie ‘drunkenness’; OPrv. diablia ‘deviltry’, ribaudia ‘shamelessness’ (ribaut), meichantaria ‘badness’, Prv. foulié ‘folly’, courtesié ‘courtesy’; Cat. amorosia ‘infatuation’, cortesia ‘courtesy’; Raeto-Romance (Upper Egd.) daschütlia ‘laziness’, tuctaria ‘stupidity’; Srd. (Log.) galantía ‘youth’, (Log. Cpd.) lokkería ‘stupidity’.

-ant-ia/-ent-ia (constantia ‘changelessness’, potentia ‘power; capacity’). The extended form of -ia stems from suffixed participles used as adjectives (constans, potens + -ia → constant-ia, potent-ia → const-antia, pot-entia). This type developed fully in Late Latin and remains highly productive in Romance (cf. HLSMA, 1996–2004, 2, VI §44): Fr. endurance ‘endurance’, urgence ‘emergency’; It. abbondanza ‘abundance’, confidenza ‘familiarity’; Sp. semejanza ‘resemblance’, menudencia ‘pedantry’; Pt. alegrança ‘happiness’, parecença ‘resemblance’, ignorância ‘ignorance’; Ro. cutezanţă ‘bravery’; OPrv. plendansa ‘fullness’, folensa ‘folly’; Cat. confiança ‘familiarity’, indulgència ‘leniency’; Raeto-Romance (Upper Egd.) avriaunza ‘drunkenness’, beadentscha ‘bliss’. Some of the formations are derived from verbs with stative meaning (e.g., Sp. semejanza, Pt. parecença). The variants in -ancia, -encia, and so forth are learned; in Sardinian, the suffix exists exclusively in the borrowed form (-ants(i)a, -ents(i)a < Sp. It., cf. Wagner, 1952, pp. 115–117 § 132). Compare section 2.1.

-ĭtie(m)/-ĭtia(m) (tristities ‘sadness’, pigritia ‘sluggishness’). This suffix was very common in Latin and forms abstract nouns on adjectival bases. In Romance, both variants persist, but with different distribution: (-ĭtia(m):) OFr. richoise ‘wealth’, Fr. sagesse ‘wisdom’, faiblesse ‘weakness’; It. durezza ‘hardness’, bellezza ‘beauty’; Sp. agudeza ‘sharpness’, fiereza ‘ferocity’; Pt. limpeza ‘cleanliness’ escureza ‘darkness’; Ro. dulceaţă ‘sweetness’, albeaţă ‘whiteness’; OPrv. drecheza ‘uprightness’, feloneza ‘cruelty’, Prv. belesso ‘beauty’, soutiso ‘silliness’; Cat. dolcesa ‘sweetness’, feblesa ‘weakness’; Raeto-Romance (Fassa) lengétsa ‘length’, (Upper Egd.) gravezza ‘gravity’, leidezza ‘happiness’; Srd. (Log.) boníssia ‘goodness’, klaríssia ‘clearness’; (-ĭtie(m):) It. (ORmc.) forteze ‘force’, (ONap.) magrecze ‘thinness’, (Velletri) vecchieze ‘old age’ (GSI, 1966–1969, 3, §1153); Sp. timidez ‘shyness’, rapidez ‘speed’, vejez ‘old age’; OPt. grandece ‘greatness’ (Huber, 1933, p. 243 §435), Pt. aridez ‘dryness’, madurez ‘maturity’. In all languages, learned or borrowed variants of this suffix can be found (cf. GRS, 1890–1902, 2, pp. 519–521 §480–481): Fr. -ise, -ice (franchise ‘honesty’, avarice ‘avarice’); It. -izia (letizia ‘happiness’), -igia (< Fr. -ise) (franchigia ‘liberty’); Sp.- icia (avaricia ‘greed’), -icie (canicie ‘grayness’); Pt. -ice (< Fr. -ise) (velhice ‘old age’); Ro. -eţe (< Fr. -esse/It. -ezza) (tandreţe ‘tenderness’, tinereţe ‘youth’, frumuseţe ‘beauty’).

-tas, -tate (nobilitas ‘nobility’, celeritas ‘quickness’). This type remains widespread in the Romance languages. The suffix is added mostly to adjectival stems, but sometimes also to nominal and verbal stems: Fr. beauté ‘beauty’, fermeté ‘firmness’; It. fedeltà ‘faithfulness’, bontà ‘goodness’, (Tic.) strachedá tiredness’, vegedá ‘old age’; Sp. arbitrariedad ‘arbitrariness’, caballerosidad ‘chivalry’; Pt. leviandade ‘lightness’, ruindade ‘wickedness’ (ruim); Ro. dreptate ‘justice’, greutate ‘weight’, răutate ‘malice’; OPrv. malvestat ‘badness’, avaretat ‘avarice’, greugetat ‘difficulty’ (greujar ‘to make heavy’), Prv. pureta ‘purity’, rapideta ‘speed’; Cat. curtedat ‘shortness’, sequedat ‘dryness’; Raeto-Romance (Upper Egd.) fosdet ‘falseness’; nardet ‘foolishness’. In Sardinian, the suffix does not seem to be indigenous; compare Wagner (1952, p. 102 §107).

-tudo, -tudine (magnitudo ‘greatness’, fortitudo ‘strength’). Deadjectival abstract nouns of this type are less common in Romance: OFr. espessetume ‘thickness’, Fr. amertume ‘bitterness’; OSp. franquedumbre ‘liberty’, feedumbre ‘ugliness’; OPt. dulcidõe ‘sweetness’, Pt. frouxidão ‘weakness’, rouquidão ‘hoarseness’; Raeto-Romance (Surs.) štrenǧadińa ‘narrowness’, (Egd.) yuventüna ‘youth’ (GRS, 1890–1902, 2, p. 538 §495). For the difficult phonetic evolution of this suffix, compare Pharies (2002, p. 174). It is quite difficult to separate the results of -tudo from those of -umen. For French -ume, Pharies (2002, p. 174) postulated a crossing of both suffixes; compare also Meyer-Lübke (1966, p. 73 §101). The learned result of -tudo in Italian is -tudine (quietudine ‘quiet’, gratitudine ‘gratitude’) and in Spanish -tud (quietud ‘quiet’, fortitud ‘strength’). The latter seems to be influenced by the learned suffix -tud, which goes back to Lat. -tus, -tute (juventus ‘youth’, senectus ‘old age’; Sp. juventud, sene(c)tud ‘id.’); compare Pharies (2002, pp. 500–501). Learned results of -tus, -tute can also be found in Italian (gioventù ‘youth’, virtù ‘virtue’, OIt. gioventude, vertude ‘id.’).

-edo, -edine (pigredo ‘slothfulness’, dulcedo ‘sweetness’). This suffix seems to have survived in Old Portuguese and in certain modern dialects: OPt. amarguém ‘bitterness’, tristén ‘sadness’, magrém ‘leanness’; Gal. grandén ‘big size’, humedén ‘humidity’; West Ast. clarén ‘clarity; glare’, mourén ‘blackness’, rouquén ‘hoarseness’. According to Malkiel (1985, pp. 409–411), -én represents a kind of crossing of -edine and -agine. The hypothesis of the survival of Lat. -edo in Portuguese may be supported by evidence from Hispanic Latin: Alvaro of Córdoba (9th century) used molledo ‘softness’ and horredo ‘abomination’ (horridus); compare HLSMA, 1996–2004, 2 VI, §52.

3.2 Innovative Processes

For several derivational types that originally form action nouns, a semantic extension toward ‘quality’ can be observed:

-or, -ore (candor ‘whiteness’, calor ‘heat’). In Latin, this suffix is added originally to verbal stems (cf. section 2.1), but in Romance, deadjectival derivatives are even more widespread. As a matter of fact, derivatives like frigor ‘cold’ (frigere) could easily be associated with frigidus (thence frigdor), albor ‘whiteness’ (albescere) with albus, and so forth (cf. Pharies, 2002, p. 442). Subsequently, quality nouns of this type can be found in all Romance languages: Fr. largeur ‘breadth’, minceur ‘slimness’; It. spessore ‘thickness’, fortore ‘pungent smell’; Sp. blancor ‘whiteness’, dulzor ‘sweetness’; Pt. frescor ‘freshness’, amargor ‘bitterness’; Ro. răcoare ‘coolness’, strâmtoare ‘narrowness’; Oprv. longor ‘length’, velhor ‘old age’, Prv. frejour ‘coldness’, tristour ‘sadness’; Cat. blancor ‘whiteness’, magror ‘leanness’; Raeto-Romance (Upper Egd.) psantur ‘weight’, clarur ‘lightness’; Srd. (Log.) agrióre ‘sourness’, nieḍḍóre ‘black’. In Gallo-Romance, Raeto-Romance, Romanian, and Catalan, the derivatives are feminine.

-ago, -agine (serrago ‘sawdust’), -igo (vertigo ‘giddiness’). In Latin, derivatives in -igo denoted illnesses and physical states, whereas -ago originally formed collective nouns and designations of plants; compare section 2.2. In Italian and Sardinian, derivatives formed by both suffixes also denote qualities with negative connotation and especially complaints: It. cascaggine ‘exhaustion’, sordaggine ‘deafness’, dimenticaggine ‘forgetfulness’, sfacciataggine ‘insolence’, impetiggine ‘skin rash’; Srd. (Nuor.) berrígine ‘mood’, asprígine ‘barrenness’, makkígine ‘madness’, (Log.) berríne ‘mood’, mudíne ‘dumbness’.

-amen (linteamen ‘linen cloth’), -imen (regimen ‘control’), -umen (tegumen ‘covering; cover’). This group of suffixes originally formed verbal abstract nouns and collective nouns; compare section 2.1. Isolated examples of quality nouns have already been formed in Latin (gravamen ‘heaviness’, purgamen ‘purity’); compare Rainer (2018, p. 407). In Romance, quality nouns mostly of the -imen/-umen-type can also be found, among them illnesses: It. tenerume ‘affectation’, nerume ‘darkness, black’, (Lecc.) stracciatúmene ‘tiredness’, mazzetúmene ‘thinness’ (GSI, 1966–1969, 3, §1089); Pt. pesadume ‘weight’, azedume ‘bitterness’; Ro. adâncime ‘depth’, limpezime ‘clarity’; Oprv. amarum ‘bitterness’, frescum ‘freshness’; Raeto-Romance (Fassa) verdúm ‘jaundice’ (Elwert, 1972, p. 177 §343); Srd. (Cpd.) grussámini ‘thickness’ frižidúmini ‘coldness’, (Log.) surdímine ‘deafness’.

-ura (scriptura ‘writing’, cursura ‘running’). Owing to the phonetic and semantic similarity with -or, the -ura-type also forms quality nouns in all Romance languages except Sardinian: OFr. hauture ‘height’, Fr. courbature ‘muscle ache’, froidure ‘coldness’; It. bruttura ‘nastiness’, bassura ‘profligacy’; Sp. amargura ‘sadness’, blandura ‘softness’; Pt. doçura ‘sweetness’, tristura ‘sadness’; Ro. strâmtură ‘narrowness’; Oprv. falsura ‘falsity’, frejura ‘coldness’, Prv. negruro ‘blackness’, frescuro ‘freshness’; Cat. malura ‘illness’, foscura ‘darkness’; Raeto-Romance (Upper Egd.) largüra ‘spaciousness’; bgerüra ‘multiplicity’.

-mentu (incrementum ‘growth’, fundamentum ‘foundation’). The -mentum-type is known for forming action and result nouns (cf. section 2.1) but also produces some quality nouns in several Romance languages: Fr. abattement ‘despondency’; Sp. atrevimiento ‘bravery’; Pt. descoramento ‘paleness’; Cat. astorament ‘daze’; Raeto-Romance (Upper Egd.) ardimaint ‘cheekiness’.

-io, -ione (laudatio ‘praising’, auditio ‘hearing’). At least in Old French, the -io-type occasionally formed deadjectival nouns or even deverbal nouns that denote qualities: OFr. aveugloison ‘cécité’, surdoison ‘surdité’; aigrison ‘sourness’, meneison ‘dysentery’, aatison ‘ardor’ (cf. Burdy, 2013a, p. 237). Some of the learned words of the -io-type also denote qualities by means of metonymy, for example, Fr. précision ‘exactitude’: OFr. ‘cutting’, cf. Lat. praecisio ‘id.’; érudition ‘scholarship’: OFr. ‘teaching’; compare Lat. eruditio ‘id.’; discrétion ‘discretion’: OFr. ‘segregation’; compare Lat. discretio ‘id.’

Lat. -o, -one (manduco ‘glutton’, palpo ‘flatterer’). The origin of abstract nouns of this type is not clear; compare section 2.2. There seems to be a connection with derivatives of the -io-type (cf. Pharies, 2002, p. 431): OFr. randon ‘impetuousness’ (randir), Oprv. randon ‘id.’, fondon ‘depth’, malicion ‘wickedness’ (malicia).

A number of suffixes that form relational adjectives in Latin have undergone a functional extension toward abstractness. This must have taken place by means of ellipsis: (tempus) aestivum → Sp. Pt. estío, Prv. estiu ‘summer’, * (sensus) coraticus ‘senses of the heart’ → OFr. corage ‘mind; courage’, and so forth (cf. GRS, 1890–1902, 2, pp. 437–438 §391; GSI, 1966–1969, 3, §1060; Meyer-Lübke, 1966, pp. 61–62 §87; Pharies, 2002, p. 127). Of course, it is unclear which noun has been omitted.

-aticu (viaticus ‘relating to a journey’, lunaticus ‘moon-struck’). This suffix preserves its adjective-forming function to a limited extent in Old French and Italian (blé ivernage, uva lugliatica; cf. Meyer-Lübke, 1966, pp. 94–95 §129; GSI, 1966–1969, 3, §1131). In several Romance languages, derivatives of this type that denote qualities can be found: Fr. courage ‘courage’, langage ‘way of speaking’; It. coraggio ‘courage’, linguaggio ‘way of speaking’; Sp. coraje ‘courage’; Pt. friagem (f.) ‘coldness’, hospedagem (f.) ‘hospitality’; Oprv. vilanatge ‘coarseness’, oltratge ‘outrage’ (oltra); Cat. mestratge ‘skill’. These formations seem to radiate from Gallo-Romance, because It. -aggio, Sp. -aje, and Pt. -agem are not native phonetic results of the suffix. In Provençal, the variant -ige (< -iticu) can also be found (a(i)ssige ‘sourness’, palige ‘paleness’). The gender change in Portuguese may have been provoked by -agem in imagem (f.) and others (cf. GRS, 1890–1902, 2, p. 523 §482). The -aticu-type also forms action and status nouns; compare sections 2.2 and 4.2.

-aria (aquaria ‘of, for water’, lactaria ‘milky’). The -ariu/-aria-type continues to form adjectives, agent, and instrument nouns in Romance. In some languages, however, this type also forms quality nouns, among them illnesses and complaints: It. vecchiaia ‘old age’; Sp. dentera, pechuguera (cf. Rainer, 2016, p. 422); Pt. cegueira ‘blindness’, asneira ‘asininity’; Oprv. calviera ‘baldness’, acabiera ‘perfection’ (acabar ‘to complete’); Cat. ballera ‘desire to dance’, xerrera ‘desire to chat’ (deverbal formations); Raeto-Romance (Frl.) grociàrie ‘hoarseness’, seciàrie ‘drought’ (De Leidi, 1984, p. 55); Srd. grusséra ‘thickness’, imbriagéra ‘drunkenness’ (< Cat.; cf. Wagner, 1952, p. 81 §84). In Friulan, there are also derivatives in -èrie that denote physical states (rauchèrie ‘hoarseness’, strachèrie ‘tiredness’, tristèrie ‘nastiness’; cf. De Leidi, 1984, p. 56). Corresponding examples can be found in Italian and its dialects (cattivéria ‘wickedness’, OUmb. convenéria, Oven. tristéria, brutéria, which might be influenced by -erium; cf. GSI, 1966–1969, 3, §1115 and section 2.1). Given that -àrie, -èrie are not native results in Friulan (cf. Benincà, 1989, p. 568), one has to suppose that the Friulan derivatives are influenced by the neighboring Italian dialects. Further learned derivatives of the -aria-type are attested in Catalan and Sardinian, namely designations for dimensions: Cat. altària ‘height’, grandària ‘size’, llargària ‘length’ (cf. Moll, 1991, p. 184 § 372); Srd. largária ‘breadth’, amprária ‘width’. In Sardinian, this type is borrowed from Catalan (cf. Wagner, 1952, pp. 81–82 §85).

-aneu (mediterraneus ‘inland’), -ineu (fagineus ‘of the beech tree’), -oneu (ultroneus ‘of one’s own accord’). This group of suffixes forms not only Romance action nouns (cf. section 2.2), but also quality nouns in Raeto-Romance, Italo-Romance, and Provençal. It stands out that many of the derivatives denote qualities with negative connotation or diseases: It. (Calabr.) umertagna ‘humility’, brafagna ‘hoarseness’, (Nap.) seccagna ‘aridity’ (cf. GSI, 1966–1969, 3, §1067), (Bellun.) scuragna ‘darkness’, (OPiem.) pautrogna ‘vileness’, (Piem.) marsogna ‘rot’, anbriacògna ‘drunkenness’, sbursògna ‘breath difficulty (of horses)’, (Tic.) balurdögna ‘dizziness’ (cf. GSI, 1966–1969, 3, §1069); Oprv. malanha ‘evil, pain’ (mal), Prv. malagno ‘unease, anxiety’, loungagno ‘slowness’; Raeto-Romance (Upper Egd.) fanzögn ‘childish nature’, slaschögn ‘wildness’; Srd. (Nuor.) ammoligíndzu ‘dizziness’, (Barb.) imprindzóndzu ‘pregnancy’.

*-oceu. Abstract nouns of this type are restricted to Raeto-Romance and certain Upper Italian dialects; compare section 2.2. Nouns ending in -öz that denote qualities can be found in the dialects spoken in Grisons and Ticino (cf. Jochems, 1959, p. 208): cumplimantöz ‘camp’, sgögnöz ‘slowness’, sgurdinöz ‘turbidity’; (Bellinzona) bañöts ‘dampness’.

-ivu (captivus ‘of captives’, aestivus ‘pertaining to summer’). Quality nouns of this type are as exceptional as action nouns (cf. section 2.2) and form a quite heterogeneous group: It. espressiva ‘articulateness’; Sp. estío ‘summer’, bravío ‘fierceness’; Pt. estio ‘summer’, feitio ‘character, style’, poderio ‘jurisdiction; wealth’; Prv. Cat. estiu; Srd. istiu ‘summer’. The derivatives denoting ‘summer’ are, of course, Latin formations (tempus aestivum). For the further productivity of the -ivu-type, compare Pharies (2002, pp. 344–346).

-ĭciu/-īciu (laterĭcius ‘made or consisting of bricks’, adventīcius ‘foreign’): Besides deriving a number of Romance action nouns (cf. section 2.2), this suffix can also be found in a few quality nouns: It. (Ven.) golosezzo ‘gluttony’, poltronezzo ‘idleness’ (cf. GSI, 1966–1969, 3, §1039); Oprv. fades(c) ‘fatuity’ (fat ‘foolish’), diables ‘deviltry’, privadesc ‘intimacy’, ufanesc(a) ‘arrogance, presumption’; alegresa ‘happiness’, joinesa ‘youth’ (or is -esa a mere variant of -eza < -ĭtia?); Cat. xerradissa ‘garulousness’ (-issa < -īcia); Raeto-Romance (Frl.) rabièz ‘rage’, redrosèz ‘trouble’ (De Leidi, 1984, pp. 89–90). For the juxtaposition of -es, -esc, -esca in Provençal, compare Adams (1913, pp. 183–184, 186–188), who explains -esc(a) by means of Lat. -iscu/Germ. -isk. Given that -iscu does not appear in the realms of abstract nouns otherwise and that there is a certain number of doublets (fades(c), omenes(c), parentes(c); cf. section 4.2), the phenomenon could also be nothing but pure graphic confusion.

Derivation types of non-Latin origin for forming quality nouns practically do not exist, except OFr. -ine (< Germ. -eins) and the rare Ro. -eală (< OBlg. -ĕlĭ); compare section 2.2: OFr. desertine ‘solitude’, famine ‘hunger’; Ro. acreală ‘sourness’, amăreală ‘bitterness’.

Conversion (cf. section 2.2) likewise appears in the realm of quality nouns. The conversion of non-derived adjectives is practically always possible throughout the individual languages; compare Fr. le chaud, It. il bello, Sp. el sublime, and so forth. Nominalized infinitives can also denote qualities in individual cases; compare the potere-type (‘power, capability’): Fr. pouvoir, It. potere, Sp. Pt. Cat. poder, Ro. putere, Prv. poudé, Srd. podere. As far as suffixless deverbal formation is concerned (Fr. achat, It. invio, Sp. Ayuda, etc.), it is worth mentioning that some of those abstract nouns secondarily denote qualities: Sp. aseo ‘cleanliness’ (asear); Ro. învăţ ‘(bad) habit’; Srd. (Cpd.) mendígu ‘poverty’. In Spanish, -eo is even added to certain nominal stems (dedeo ‘agility of the fingers playing an instrument’; compare Pharies, 2002, p. 223).

Occasionally, denominal derivatives of the -ata-type (cf. section 2.2) assume the meaning of quality nouns: It. (Ven.) aśenada ‘ignorance’, (Tic.) stübidada ‘madness’, (Mil.) veggiada ‘old age’ (GSI, 1966–1969, 3, §1129).

4.1 Latin Tradition

Just as Neither Romance languages nor Latin possess an independent suffix for status nouns. The only salient morphological pattern in this context is the addition of -atus to nominal stems.

-atus (consulatus ‘consulship’, pontificatus ‘pontificate’). In Latin, denominal abstract nouns are still exceptional. They denote ranks and titles (cf. Meyer-Lübke, 1966, p. 58 §84). The -atus-type then becomes more frequent in Medieval Latin (diaconatus ‘rank of priest’, ducatus ‘dukedom’; cf. HLSMA, 1996–2004, 2 VI, §56) and in most Romance languages: Fr. comté ‘earldom’, évêché ‘bishopric’; It. padronato ‘entrepreneurship’, apprendistato ‘apprenticeship’; Sp. rectorado ‘rectorship’, marquesado ‘marquessate’; Pt. baroado ‘barony’, arciprestado ‘position of archpriest’; Ro. voievodat ‘principality’; OPrv. arquidiquenat ‘archdeaconate’, prebostat ‘office of provost’, Prv. evescat ‘bishopric’; Cat. bisbat ‘episcopate’, comtat ‘earldom’. In French, -at is found in some learned derivatives (consulat ‘consulate’, prolétariat ‘proletariat’); compare Meyer-Lübke (1966, p. 59 §85). The same goes for Sp. -ato (sultanato ‘sultanate’; cf. Pharies, 2002, p. 122). The Romanian derivatives of this type are of recent formation; compare Fischer (1989, p. 36).

4.2 Innovative Processes

As there are no clear Latin models for the derivation of status nouns, the Romance languages use different abstract-forming suffixes for that purpose. Among these suffixes are:

-ía. This suffix forms Romance quality and action nouns (cf. sections 2.2 and 3.1), but some of these derivatives also denote status from Medieval Latin onward (sacristia ‘rank, office of a sexton’, comitia ‘earldom’, capellania ‘rank, office of a chaplain’; cf. HLSMA, 1996–2004, 2 VI, §43. This type exists in several Romance languages: OFr. baillie ‘guardianship’, Fr. seigneurie ‘seigniory’; It. borghesia ‘bourgeoisie’, abbazia ‘rank, office of an abbot’; Sp. alcaldía ‘mayoralty’, escribanía ‘rank, office of a scribe’; Pt. senhoria ‘lordship’; Ro. văduvie ‘widowhood’; OPrv. frairia ‘brothership’, preveiria ‘priesthood’, Prv. barounié ‘barony’, segnourié ‘seigniory’; Cat. baronia ‘barony’, senyoria ‘seigniory’.

-ant-ia/-ent-ia. This type frequently comes up in the realms of Romance action and quality nouns; compare sections 2.1 and 3.1. The status nouns of this type in part display a collective meaning, too: Fr. présidence ‘presidency’; It. vedovanza ‘widowhood’, luogotenenza ‘governorship’, dirigenza ‘management’; Sp. comandancia ‘headquarters’, intendencia ‘directorship’; Pt. gerência ‘management’.

-aticu. Romance derivatives of the -aticu-type denote actions and qualities (cf. sections 2.2 and 3.2) but can also be found in the category of status nouns: Fr. vasselage ‘vassalage’, cousinage ‘cousinhood’; It. comparatico ‘godparenthood’, baronaggio ‘barony’; Sp. almirantazgo ‘admiralship’, padrinazgo ‘godfathership’; Pt. vilanagem ‘peasantry’ (vilão ‘peasant’), amádigo ‘position of nurse to the son of a noble’ (ama ‘governess, nurse’); OPrv. preveiratge ‘priesthood’, bailiatge ‘stewartship’ (baile ‘intendant’); Cat. fadrinatge ‘position of bachelor’; Raeto-Romance (Upper Egd.) cusdrinedi ‘cousinhood’. For the different phonetic results of -aticu in the individual languages, compare section 3.2.

-tudo; -tus. Besides some Romance quality nouns of this type (cf. section 3.1), there are very few derivatives whose meaning is more like status nouns: Fr. servitude ‘serfdom’, négritude ‘negritude’; It. (Sic.) sirvitútini ‘serfdom’ (GSI, 1966–1969, 3, §1149; cf. also Emmi, 2011, pp. 141–142); Sp. servidumbre ‘serfdom’; Pt. servidão ‘serfdom’. In Italian, certain doublets in -tù (< -tus, -tutem) can be found (servitù ‘serfdom’, schiavitù ‘slavery’). The French and Italian forms are all more or less learned; compare section 3.1.

-ĭciu. In Provençal and Raeto-Romance (Friulan), besides some quality nouns (cf. section 3.2), even status nouns of this type can be found: OPrv. omenes(c) ‘homage, vassalage’, parentes(c) ‘relationship’ (> Sp. parentesco; cf. DCECH, 1980–1991, 4, p. 404), vezinesc ‘neighborhood’; OCat. parentes(c); Frl. coparèz ‘godparenthood’ (De Leidi, 1984, p. 89). For the variation between -es and -esc in Provençal, compare section 3.2.