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Some grammarians have denominated this part of speech by the name of adjective noun; to others this designation appears inadmissible. The latter observe, that neither is the adjective the name of anything, nor is it in English variable, like the substantive. They allow, that in Greek and Latin, the designation in question is, in some degree, justifiable, because, though the noun and adjective differ essentially in office, in these languages, they agree in form; but in our language they deem it a singular impropriety[35].

I have said that the adjective denotes a substance, quality, or property, “as pertaining,” or in concreto. Now, it is to be observed, that substances do not admit degrees of more or less, in regard to their essential character. “A wooden table” cannot be more or less wooden. “An iron bar” cannot be more or less such. In these cases, the adjective, as I have already remarked, by expressing the matter, limits the form to one species of substance. The same observation is applicable to the converse circumstance, in which the form strictly limits the matter, as “triangular board.” Here it is obvious, that the substance limited to one form by the term triangular, cannot be more or less triangular. But this is not the case with qualities or properties, which may exist in different substances in different degrees. And, as it is sometimes necessary to express the existence of a quality, as greater or less in one substance than another, hence arises the utility of some form of expression to denote these relative degrees of its existence. It is in this case only, that the termination of the adjective admits variation; and then it is said to be in a state of comparison.