Estudio de los adjetivos en -al / -ar en el "Tratado de las apostemas" de Diego el Covo"

Abstract

In this article Spanish adjectives formed by the suffix -al, -ar are analysed in a medical treatise of the 15th Century. During this period this type of adjective was widely used due to its cultural character. The origin of this suffix is of Latin extraction (-ALIS, -ARIS) beloging to a high speech register. Thus it could appear even in epic language. This derivative morpheme has two allomorphs, -al, -ar, in complementary distribution, regulated by the presence of the lateral phonemes in final position in the lexeme. Morcover there are three diachronic variants extant (-ial, iar, and -ual). Its primary function is to form adjectives from nouns, although the presence of adjectives formed from adjectives has been recorded.