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Gender



> > 4 delum "door"
>
> No feminine?
> In your previous msg about Gedeh it was "deltum"...

Previously I was not aware that this root is only _dl_.

Gender suffixes are attached to inanimate nouns
only if you want to distinguish
convex versus concave,
for example
connector, screw, lens etc.
It also may mean closed versus opened;
and with verbal abstracts it means
perfect versus imperfect:
_lokteb_ "to write";
_loktebat_ "to be writing";
_loktebut_ "to have written".

So _delum_ means "door" generally,
whereas _delatum_ and _delutum_
may mean "opened door" and "closed door",
or _delatum_ "doorway".

Similarly
_bebum_ "gate",
_bebatum_ "gateway",
_bebanutum_ "gate wings (du.m.)".

      P.A.