238 THE DECLENSION OF NOUNS formations with simple vrddhi have disappeared in the case of most types of stem. In addition the nasal of the n- and -wi- st e ms (nitndni, ghrt'atidnti) has been analogically introduced into other types of'stem, e.g. mdnamsi ‘ minds' for munas-i , simi- larly havinisi ‘ ablations cdksumsi f eyes etc. A non- nasalised form remains only in the case of caivdri * four The process is continued further in the post-Rgvedic period by the creation of nasalised i-plurals for consonantal root-stems, e.g. °sanki from °sak- ‘ able °bundhi from °budh - ‘ understand- ing In addition, on the analogy of the neuter n-stems like ndmani there is created a new type of neuter plural for a-, i - and n-stems : bhuvandni f worlds suclni ‘ bright vdsttni ' riches In the Vedic language these forms occur in competi- tion with the older forms { bhuvand , suet, vdsu), but in the later language they are exclusively used. Furthermore, on this analogy the later language creates a neut. pi. -Ifni for stems in - ir . (4) The inherited neuter plural of thematic stems is in -d (yugd, Gk. £uya, Lat. iuga, Goth, juka, 0 . SI. iga). This -d is identical with the suffix -a which in the historical period forms feminines. As already pointed out this d ( <a) was not origin- ally distinct from the usual type of neuter suffix. These plurals were originally singular neuter collectives, and in Greek they retain this character to the extent that they are still construed with a singular verb (Vd £o>a rpc^t). In this function the suffix -a retains its primitive characteristic of being indifferent to the distinction between nominative and accusative. The variation in the IE languages between a and d appears to be due to dif- ferent sandhi developments of IE -an (-d before vowels or a pause, otherwise -d) and it is paralleled by a similar fluctuation in the case of feminines in -d. The neuter stems in -1 and -w also* make plurals by lengthening the vowel of the stem, and if these forms are not simply made on the analogy of the thematic neuters, they can be analysed -t-H and -u-u with the weak form of the suffix added to the stem. In the Vedic language they exist side by side with forms undifferentiated from the singular and with the innovating type -Ini, - uni which later becomes the rule. h Inmental Plural. The ending of the instrumental plural v ,*t$ (Av; -bis) contains an element -bhi- which according to the evidence of Greek (Oeorf) i, dycAij^i, t<j>t t va.v<f)i, €pef}€o<f>L, etc.) was at an earlier period of IE of much vaguer and wider appli-
