txakur/dzhagaru/cachorro....

[Leo A. Connolly]

Diogo Almeida wrote:

>> From: Rick Mc Callister <rmccalli at sunmuw1.MUW.Edu>
>> Date: Thu, 4 Jan 2001 14:41:17 -0500

>> [DGK]

>>> Does anyone know why <leche> is feminine?

>> There is a group of Latin neuters that became feminine in Spanish &
>> Portuguese and masculine in French and Italian.

> But "leite" (portuguese for "leche") is masculine ("o leite"), and I'm
> pretty sure that it is masculine both in Brazilian and European Portuguese.

The larger question is why we have _leche_ (as well as It. _latte_, Fr. _lait_
when there was no **_lactem_ so long as the word was neuter.  But if _lactem_
developed, then gender reassignment would be a must, and formally there would
have been no reason to choose masculine over feminine.  Why shouldn't a
product of the female breast become feminine?  If anything, it's the masculine
forms that need explaining.

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