Provencal sor and molher, Lone Survivors of the Feminine Imparisyllables

Abstract

Fairly well represented in Latin, the imparisyllabic flexion of feminine nouns counts only two members in Old Provencal: sor - seror and mólher - molhér. Based on a wide range of examples, this article explores some of the analogical pressures that were brought to bear on these remnants of an earlier declension.