etymology - Do adjectives ending in "-ed" derive from words that were once used as verbs?


Talented derives from talent, which is not a verb in Modern English.


Has talent ever been used as verb? Are there any words ending in -ed that derive from words once used as verb that is not used nowadays?



Answer




Has talent ever been used as verb?



There are no signs of this in any dictionary, etymology dictionary, or online resource I have checked.



Do adjectives ending in “-ed” derive from words that were once used as verbs?



No, not necessarily. Someone is talented because he has talent, not because he was talented by someone or has talented something. As Daniel points out in his answer, there are lots of such constructions: five-fingered, long-legged, lighthearted, etc. These words are not derived from verbs, they are derived from nouns, as Kosmonaut explains in full detail in his answer.



Are there any words ending in -ed that derive from words once used as verb?



Yes. One example is "sacred":



sacred
c.1300, from pp. of obsolete verb sacren "to make holy" (early 13c.)



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