A.S. WORDS IN -EN. A.S. words ending in _-en_ usually drop the _-n_ in M.E. Hence, in place of the A.S. _[=ae]fen_, Chaucer has _eve_; though _even_ also occurs. So also _game_ for A.S. _gamen_; _kinrede_, A.S. _cyn-r[=ae]den_; _mayde_, A.S. _maegden_; _morwe_, A.S. _morgen_. s. 74. GENITIVE SINGULAR. The genitive almost invariably ends in _-es_[62], sometimes shortened to _-s_. Ex. _cherles_, _maydens_. A few old feminines in _-e_ occur occasionally; as _halle_, _helle_, _love_ (in the comp. _loveday_). A few genitives in _-e_ are due to the A.S. _-an_ of the weak declension; as _herte_, _sonne_, _cherche_, _widwe_. Here belongs _lady_ (short for _lady-e_). _Hevene_ occurs as well as _hevenes_. The gen. of _fader_, father, is both _fader_ and _fadres_. s. 75. DATIVE SINGULAR. As explained above, the dative ends in _-e_, except for words of type C (s. 70). The accusative always resembles the nominative. s. 76. PLURALS. The usual ending is _-es_ (also written _-is_) or _-s_; as _dayes_, _maydens_. The same ending is usually employed even for sbs. of the weak declension, where the A.S. suffix was _-an_. Only a few old weak plurals survive; as _oxen_, _pesen_, peas, _asshen_ (rarely _asshes_), _hosen_, _y[:e]n_, eyes, _foon_, foes, _toon_, toes, _been_, bees (seldom _bees_), _fleen_, fleas. We also find _kyn_, kine, _bretheren_, (never _brothers_), _doghtren_ and _doghtres_, _sustren_ and _sustres_. So also _children_. Some words, originally neuter, remain unchanged in the plural; as _deer_, _folk_, _hors_, _neet_, _pound_, _sheep_, _swyn_; sometimes _thing_ (also _thinges_), _yeer_ (also _yeres_). So also _winter_. A few plurals shew mutation; as _feet_, _teeth_, _men_, _wommen_, _gees_, _mys_. _Breech_ is really an old plural; but Chaucer has the double plural _breches_ (I 330). _Monthe_ (B 1674) is an old genitive plural, after the numeral _twelf_. In _wyf_, pl. _wyves_, _f_ becomes _v_. In _ship_, pl. _shippes_, the _p_ is doubled, to shew that the vowel is short. s. 77. SUBSTANTIVES OF FRENCH ORIGIN. Substantives of French origin take a genitive in _-es_ or _-s_, and remain unchanged in the dat. and accusative. The plural likewise ends in _-es_ or _-s_. The final _-e_ appears in a large number of words, such as _face_, _grace_, &c.; but is sometimes suppressed, even when etymologically correct, as in _fors_ for _force_, _sours_ for _source_, _beest_ for _beste_, _host_ for _hoste_, _princess_ for _princesse_[63]. In Sir Thopas, _plas_ occurs for _place_, and _gras_ for _grace_. Cf. vol. iv. p. xxxii.