Porcine - a noun?

[Lorcan]

Are words like porcine and hircine nouns as well as adjectives? I was wondering because feline and canine are both.

[Quizmonster]

Both words you list are given by Chambers Dictionary as purely adjectives.

[Quizmonster]

I suppose, if you saw someone being butted by a goat, you could facetiously shout: "Oh, you wicked hircine!" but the official - for want of a better word - noun meaning 'goatishness' is 'hircosity'.

[Narolines]

"Feline" and "canine" are indeed both purely adjectives, but are often used nounally, the missing word "creature" or "animal" being understood. I'm sure this happens with other adjectives, too, but I can't think of an example off the top off my head.......

[jno]

or, in the case of canine, 'tooth'. QM how about 'capriciousness'?

[Quizmonster]

It's a sex thing, Jno! Strictly-speaking, 'capriciousness' is related to capra = a female goat, whilst 'hircosity' is related to 'hircus' = a male goat. It figures, given that capricious behaviour is more often associated with female attitudes. (That's not sexist, ladies, it just is more frequently thus associated in common usage.)

[jno]

good point QM. Presumably because goats are no longer kept by many English-speakers, the language doesn't distinguish between the sexes (unlike dog, horse, cow)... unless goatess is a word among countryfolk.

I understand there is a female British celebrity by the name of Caprice, but know nothing of her behaviour patterns.

[Quizmonster]

Narolines, when I said earlier that "both words" are "purely adjectives", I was referring to porcine and hircine - the actual words in question - and not to feline and canine. The latter two are quite clearly indicated in Chambers and TOED as nouns as well as adjectives. Of course, the adjectival form predated the noun form. Given the rarity of the other two words, I cannot imagine anyone using either as a noun except in a jocular fashion such as I suggested earlier. Cheers

[Peter Pedant]

Because of the similarity in smell, apparently, is anyone aware of caprine being related to the left armpit and hircine to the right ?

[which I heard about thirty years ago and never really believed]