The Latin Neuter Plurals in Romance - Page ON

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with the same meaning. This way of forming nouns indicating groups of
persons or things, often with a pejorative meaning, is common in Italian and
Sardinian, and Rhaeto-Romance also has its share, thus Surs. utschleglia, Eng.
utschellaglia (birds, cf. It. uccellaia), Surs. vermaneglia, Eng. vermiglia (vermin,
cf. It. verminaia; formerly with plural concord, see §6b), Surs., Eng. plebaglia,
also Eng. racaglia (‘rabble’, cf. It. plebaglia), Surs. pastreglia, Eng. pastriglia
(shepherds, cf. Camp. pastoralla), Surs. mattatschaglia, Eng. mattanaglia,
mattaniglia (boys, cf. It. ragazzaglia, Log. pittsinadza, Camp. pittšokkalla), Surs.
laudavaglias, Eng. lodavaglias (‘fulsome praise’), Surs. ferdaglia, Eng. fradaglia
(‘intense cold’), Eng. frus-chaglia (‘dry twigs’, cf. Fr. broussailles, Camp.
fustigalla); one interesting development has likewise affected both Italian and
Rhaeto-Romance, and that is the treatment of It. famiglia ‘family’, Surs.
fumeglia, Eng. famaglia (fameglia) as collectives, and the creation from them of
famiglio, fumegl and famagl respectively for a ‘servant’. One more example of
a formation from a local area is the Cat. serralla, Sp. cerraja, Ptg. serralha
‘sow-thistle’ from Spanish Latin SERRALIA, which I take to be a plural form.
Then there are the reflexes of a word referred to a different kind of etymon
ending in -ACULA, namely TENACULA ‘holding instruments’, but which
behave, notably the Sardinian forms, as if they come from *TENALIA (cf.
*SONALIA above): these are It. tanaglia (tenaglia) ‘pincers’, Tyrol. tanaia, Friul.
tana(i)e, Fr. tenailles, Prov. tenalhas, Cat. estenalles, Sp. (an-/en-)tenalla, Log.
tenadzas, Camp, tenallas (cf. Log. tenayu ‘petiole’, from TENACULU, HWS, §30).
Another form in -CULA is *CERNICULA ‘partings in the hair’, which has given
LEng. tschernaglia/tscharnaglia ‘lock’, ‘tress’, Sp. cerneja ‘fetlock’, Ptg.
cernelha ‘withers’, the connection seemingly being in the meaning of ‘tufts of
hair’, cf. It. cernecchio ‘lock of ruffled hair’, Friul. cernè$li (M.-L., Schicks.);
the Latin word also survives in Sard. (Cent.) kerrikru, (Log.) kerrigu, (Camp.)
tšerrigu ‘sieve’. Other groups of words of similar formation but uncertain
origin are Fr. limaille, Occ. limalho, Cat. llimalla, Sp. limalla, Ptg. limalha