Among concrete connotative words, we have already had full opportunity of observing that verbs constitute a principal class. Those words all NOTE some _motion_ or _action_ and CONNOTE an _actor_. There is the same frequency of occasion to leave out the connotation in the case of this class of connotative words, as in other classes. Accordingly ABSTRACT terms are formed from them, as from the connotative adjectives and substantives. The infinitive mood is such an abstract term; with this peculiarity, that, though it leaves out the connotation of the _actor_, it retains the connotation of _time_.[84] { 307} It is convenient, however, to have abstract terms from the verbs, which leave out also the connotation of time; such are the substantive _amor_ from _amo_, _timor_ from _timeo_, and so on.
[Editor's footnote 84: The infinitive mood does not always express time. At least, it often expresses it aoristically, without distinction of tense. "To love" is as abstract a name as "love," "to fear," as "fear": they are applied equally to past, present, and future. The infinitives of the past and future, as _amavisse_, _amaturus esse_, do, however, include in their signification a particular time.--_Ed._]
Verbs have not only an active but a passive form. In the passive form, it is not the _action_, but the _bearing_ of the action, which is NOTED; and not the _actor_, but the _bearer_ of the action, that is CONNOTED. In this case, also, there is not less frequent occasion to drop the connotation. By the simple contrivance of a slight alteration in the connotative term, the important circumstance of dropping the connotation is marked. In the case of the passive as the active form of verbs, the infinitive mood drops the connotation of the person, but retains that of the time. Other abstract terms, formed from the passive voice, leave out the connotation both of person and time. Thus from _legor_, there is _lectio_; from _optor_, _optatio_; from _dicor_, _dictio_; and so on.
It is to be remarked that the Latin mode of forming abstract terms from verbs, by the termination "tio," has been adopted to a great extent in English. A large proportion of our abstract terms are thus distinguished; as action, association, imagination, navigation, mensuration, friction, motion, station, faction, legislation, corruption, and many others.