Grammar Of Apabhramsa

Author(s): Madhusudan Mishra
Publisher: Vidyanidhi Prakashan

Page 58

Word-formation, Compounds and Indeclinables
47 words are derived from the Apbh verbs. The most common suffixes are :
-ira, showing habit : bham-ira (traveller), etc. -aņa-a, making agent nouns : mār-aņaa (killer), boll-anaa
(speaker), bajj-aņaa (drummer), etc. The suffixes making participles have already been discussed.
(a) The secondary suffixes are more numerous in Apbh, and all of them represent the historical development of some vedic suffixes : -a is the word-extending suffix, without any meaning (=Skt.
-ka): dittha-a (seen), gaa-a (gone), bhagga-a (wounded) etc. The fem. form is extended by -ā : gai-ā, mui-ā,
etc. -da also is a similar suffix: diaha-da (day), mār-ia-da
(killed), etc. Sometimes there is extension both by •a and -da : hiaa-da, then also hiaa-da-a and hia-da-a (heart), etc.
When the fem. -di ia added, the preceding vowel, whatever it is, becomes a- : gori (fair girl) +ại=gora-ci, ratti+di == ratta-di (night), etc.
-ā and -1 make fem. : dbanā (lady), gai (gone), etc.
-1 (Vedic -tāti) make abstract nouns: dhan-āi (lady-hood), badd-āi (greatness), etc.
-ima (Skt. -iman) makes abstract nouns: vamk-ima (crookedness), mu::s-ima (manhood), etc.
-ma (Skt. -maya) denotes made of : vajja-ma (made of thunderbolt).
ttana and -ppaņa (Vedic -tvana) make abstract nouns : badda-ttaņa and badda-ppaņa (greatness). The shorter form -pā is seen in Hindi.
-āra is a possessive suffix with some pronominal bases : tumh-āra (your), amh-āra/mah-āra (our), etc.