Early! colspan="2" | Late! colspan="2" | Early! colspan="2" | Late|- ! Nominative, Accusative|| gast || – || gast || – || gesti || –i || gesti || –i|| anst || – || ansti || – || ensti || –i || ensti || –i |- ! Genitive|| gastes || –es || gastes || –es || gesteo (-io) || –eo (–io) || gesto || –o|| ensti || –i || ensti || –i || ensteo (-io) || –eo (–io) || ensto || –o|- ! Dative|| gaste || –e || gaste || –e || gestim (-in) || –im (–in) || gesten || –en|| ansti || –i || ansti || –i || enstim (-in) || –im (–in) || ensten || –en|- ! Instrumental|| gastiu (gestiu) || –iu || gastu || –u || -- || -- || -- || -- || --|| --|| --|| -- || -- || -- || -- || -- |} The -u declension This declension was much more reduced compared to other old Germanic languages such as Old English. Most nouns were transferred outright to the i- or sometimes the a-declension, and the remaining nouns were heavily influenced by the i-declension—only the nominative and accusative singular are different, ending in -u. {| class="wikitable" ! rowspan="3" | ! colspan="8" | situ; siti custom m.! colspan="2" | fihu cattle n.|- ! colspan="4" | Singular! colspan="4" | Plural! colspan="2" | Singular|- ! colspan="2" | Early! colspan="2" | Late! colspan="2" | Early! colspan="2" | Late! colspan="2" | |- ! Nominative, Accusative|| situ || –u || situ || –u || siti || –i || siti || –i|| fihu || –u|- ! Genitive|| sites || –es || sites || –es || siteo (-io) || –eo (–io) || sito || –o|| fihes || –es|- ! Dative|| site || –e || site || –e || sitim (-in) || –im (–in) || siten || –en|| fihe || –e|- ! Instrumental|| sitiu (sitiu) || –iu || situ || –u || -- || -- || -- || -- || --|| -- |} Notes: Five masculine nouns follow this declension: situ "custom", fridu "peace", hugu "understanding", sigu "victory", and sunu "son" (also sun). Only a single neuter noun, fihu "cattle", follows the declension, and exists only in the singular. The only trace of a feminine u-declension is in the word hant "hand", declined as a feminine i-stem except in the dative plural, where the old u-declension forms hantum, -un, -on persist. The -ī declension