Abstract

Semitic languages have a large number of nominal patterns for adjectives, the most common of which are *qatal, *qatil, *qatul and *qatāl, *qatīl, *qatūl. These can have a stative or patient character, if the adjective is associated with a transitive verb in similar fashion to the participle (*qātil), which functions as agent noun. With the exception of the participle, adjectives are usually independent of the verbal stem. However, East Semitic and Ethiosemitic languages show evidence for verbal adjectives derived from the secondary verbal stems. The present study will discuss the possible original adjectival patterns in Semitic languages based on the distribution and function of patterns in the various languages as well as adjectives that can potentially be reconstructed to the Proto-Semitic stage. Keywords: adjective, participle, nominal pattern, Proto-Semitic, verbal root

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