Adjectives denoting the matter out of which any thing is made, are
derived from nouns by adding _en_; as, from "Oak, oaken; wood, wooden;
wool, woollen," &c.
Adjectives denoting abundance are derived from nouns by adding _ful_;
as, from "Joy, joyful; sin, sinful; fruit, fruitful," &c.
Adjectives denoting plenty, but with some kind of diminution, are
derived from nouns by adding _some_; as, from "Light, lightsome;
trouble, troublesome; toil, toilsome," &c.
Adjectives denoting want are derived from nouns by adding _less_; as,
from "Worth, worthless;" from "care, careless; joy, joyless," &c.
Adjectives denoting likeness are derived from nouns by adding _ly_; as,
from "Man, manly; earth, earthly; court, courtly," &c.
Some adjectives are derived from other adjectives, or from nouns by
adding _ish_ to them; which termination when added to adjectives,
imports diminution, or lessening the quality; as, "White, whitish;" i.e.
somewhat white. When added to nouns, it signifies similitude or tendency
to a character; as, "Child, childish; thief, thievish."
Some adjectives are formed from nouns or verbs by adding the termination
_able_; and those adjectives signify capacity; as, "Answer, answerable;
to change, changeable.
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