i 
 
 n 
 
 8 
 
tiatcnbon (J)treee Settee 
 
 PRINCIPLES 
 
 
 ENGLISH ETYMOLOGY 
 
 Rev. WALTER W. SKEAT, Litt.D. 
 
 LL.D. Edin., M.A. Oxon 
 
 Elrington and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon 
 in the University of Cambridge 
 
 FIRST SERIES 
 THE NATIVE ELEMENT 
 
 SECOND AND REVISED EDITION 
 
 • Or should we careless come behind the rest 
 In power of words, that go before in worth, 
 Whenas our accent 's equal to the best, 
 Is able greater wonders to bring forth? 
 When all that ever hotter spirits express'd 
 Comes better'd by the patience of the north.' 
 
 OF 
 
 BY THE 
 
 Daniel, Musophilus 
 
 AT 
 
 THE 
 
 CLARENDON 
 1892 
 
 PRESS 
 
PRINTED AT THE CLARENDON PRE 
 
 BY HORACE HART, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY 
 
PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION 
 
 The present volume is intended to serve as a help to 
 the student of English etymology. In my Etymological 
 Dictionary, the numerous examples of similar letter-changes 
 are invariably separated from each other, by the necessity for 
 adhering to the alphabetical order. It is therefore advisable 
 to re-arrange the results so as to shew what words should be 
 under consideration at the same time. It is only by a com- 
 parison of this character that the various phonetic laws can 
 be properly observed and tested. 
 
 I have found it advisable to follow the example of Mr. 
 Sweet, in his History of English Sounds, and to consider 
 what may be called the 1 native element 1 of our language 
 apart from the Romance or imported element. Hence I 
 have purposely excluded all words of French origin from the 
 present investigation. A few French words are quoted here 
 and there by way of illustration, but no inferences are here 
 drawn from the results which their history furnishes. If the 
 present volume should meet with approval, I propose to 
 issue another volume, to be entitled 1 Second Series/ which 
 will deal particularly, and almost exclusively, with the words 
 which have been imported into English from French, as well 
 as from Latin, Greek, and other languages (except Teutonic 
 and Celtic) after the Norman Conquest. 
 
 I have, however, here taken into consideration such Latin 
 and Greek words as found their way into Anglo-Saxon (see 
 Chap. XXI) ; and have been careful to include words from 
 
vi 
 
 PREFACE, 
 
 Scandinavian sources, as these mostly belong to an early 
 stage of the language (see Chap. XXIII). I have also con- 
 sidered the Celtic element of the language (see Chap. XXII); 
 as well as the words which have been borrowed, at various 
 times, from Dutch or some other Low German source (see 
 Chap. XXIV). A list of the few and unimportant words of 
 German origin is also included, for the sake of completeness 
 (see Chap. VI, p. 85) ; so that all the Teutonic sources of 
 our language are thus accounted for. Whilst the main sub- 
 ject of the book is the 1 native element ' of our very composite 
 language, it is convenient to consider, at the same time, all 
 words of Teutonic origin (except such as have reached us, at 
 second-hand, through the French or some other Romance 
 language), as well as the words of Celtic origin and such as 
 were borrowed from Latin at an early period. 
 
 The exact contents of the book may best be learnt from 
 the very full ' Table of Contents ' which follows this Preface. 
 I may here say, briefly, that I begin with a very short sketch 
 of the history of the language ; and give an explanation, with 
 specimens, of the three principal Middle-English dialects, 
 corresponding to the three principal dialects of the earliest 
 period. I then discuss the chief Anglo-Saxon vowel-sounds, 
 purposely choosing the long vowels, because their history is 
 more clearly marked and more striking than that of the 
 short vowels. It will easily be seen how very largely I have 
 here copied from Mr. Sweet. I then shew that Anglo-Saxon 
 is cognate with the other Teutonic tongues, and explain what 
 is meant by this ; and further, that it is cognate with the 
 other Aryan tongues, and explain what is meant by this also. 
 Next follows a discussion of Grimm's Law, which is stated, 
 first in its usual form, and secondly in a much more simple 
 form, obtained by leaving out of consideration the com- 
 
PREFACE. vii 
 
 paratively unimportant sound-shiftings peculiar to the Old 
 High German. The consideration necessarily involves the 
 distinction of the guttural sounds into the two series known 
 as 'palatal 7 and 'velar' sounds; a point which, I believe, 
 nearly all English works on English etymology commonly 
 ignore. I have here received much assistance from Dr. 
 Peile. Next follows a statement of Verner's Law, with 
 illustrations. This is succeeded by an account of vowel- 
 gradation and of vowel-mutation ; both subjects of the 
 highest importance to the student of English etymology, 
 yet frequently receiving but little attention. Chapters XII 
 and XIII deal with Prefixes and Substantival Suffixes, of 
 native origin only. Chapter XIV deals with Adjectival, 
 Adverbial, and Verbal Suffixes, also of native origin only. 
 Chapter XV explains what is meant by an Aryan root, and 
 how English words can sometimes be traced up to such a 
 root, or deduced from it. Chapter XVI attempts a short 
 sketch of a highly important subject, viz. the changes that 
 have at various times taken place in English spelling ; in 
 order to enable the student to see for himself that Early and 
 Middle English spelling was intended to be purely phonetic, 
 and that the present almost universal notion of spelling words 
 so as to insinuate their etymology (often a false one) is of 
 comparatively modern growth, and contradictory to the true 
 object of writing, which is to express by symbols the spoken 
 words themselves, and not their long-dead originals. This 
 necessarily leads to a brief account of the phonetic systems 
 of spelling employed by Mr. Ellis and Mr. Sweet, though of 
 course the true student will consult the original works of 
 these two masters of our language. In Chapter XVIII, 
 I give an account of the various Teutonic consonants, and 
 trace the history of each downwards to the present day, 
 
i 
 
 viii 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 which is the only way of dealing with them that avoids end- 
 % less confusion ; it also renders the results, after a little study, 
 perfectly easy to remember. In the next Chapter, I consider 
 the phonology of words (chiefly as regards the consonants) 
 more fully, and shew the various modes by which their forms 
 suffer change. Chapter XX deals with ' doublets/ or double 
 forms of the same original word, and with words formed by 
 composition. A list of compound words is appended, ex- 
 plaining all those, of common occurrence, of which the origin 
 has been obscured. I then discuss, as I have already stated, 
 the early words of Latin origin \ words of Celtic origin ; 
 words of Scandian 1 origin (with a second list of compound 
 words of obscure form) ; and words which may be of Friesic 
 origin or which have been borrowed from Dutch or (con- 
 tinental) Low German. The last chapter treats, very briefly 
 and perhaps inadequately, of the important effects produced 
 upon the sound of a word by accent and emphasis. 
 
 The whole volume is nothing but a compilation from the 
 works of others and from results obtained in my own Dic- 
 tionary. I trust there is in it very little that is original ; for 
 it is better to follow a good guide than to go astray. Some 
 experience in teaching has suggested the general mode of 
 arrangement of the book, which cannot be said to follow 
 any particular order; yet I believe it will be found to 
 conduce to clearness, and that, if the chapters be read in 
 the order in which they stand, the whole will be more easily 
 grasped than by another method. Perhaps, however, Chap- 
 ters XVIII-XX, which are not difficult, may be read, with 
 advantage, immediately after Chapter V. The exact and 
 rigid order prescribed by theory is seldom best suited for a 
 
 1 Scandian is just as good a word as the long and clumsy word 
 Scandinavian ; see note to p. 454. 
 
BOOKS CONSULTED. 
 
 beginner ; and it is for beginners in philology that I have 
 principally written. To the advanced student I can only 
 apologise for handling the subject at all; being conscious 
 that he will find some unfortunate slips and imperfections, 
 which I should have avoided if I had been better trained, or 
 indeed, trained at all. It is well known how completely the 
 study of the English language was formerly ignored, and it 
 is painful to see how persistently it is disregarded (except in 
 rare instances) even at the present moment ; for the notion 
 prevails that it does not pay. 
 
 I append a list of some of the books which I have found 
 most useful, and from which I have copied more or less. I 
 also beg leave to acknowledge my great obligations to the 
 works of Mr. Sweet, and to the kind and friendly assistance 
 I have received, chiefly as regards Aryan philology, from 
 Dr. Peile, Reader in Comparative Philology. Professor Rhys 
 has kindly helped me in the chapter upon Celtic, and Mr. 
 Magnusson in that upon Scandian ; but for the present form 
 of those chapters I am solely responsible. I have also received 
 some assistance from Prof. Cowell and Mr. Mayhew. The 
 Index of Words, intended to make the book useful for frequent 
 reference, is my own work. 
 
 LIST OF BOOKS CONSULTED. 
 
 (/ mention the editions which I have used ; they are not always 
 the latest.) 
 
 Anglia : Zeitschrift fur englische Philologie. Halle, 1878- 
 1886. 
 
 BaHDER, K. von: Die Verbalabstracta in den gcrmanischen 
 
 Sprachen. Halle, 1880. 
 Brugmann, K. : Grundriss der ve?'gleiche?ide?i Grammatik der 
 
X 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 indogermanischen Sprachen. Erster Band. Strassburg, 
 1886. 
 
 Douse. T. le M. : An Introduction to the Gothic of Ulfilas. 
 
 London, 1886. (This admirable book appeared too late 
 
 to be of much help.) 
 Earle, J.: Anglo-Saxon Literature. London (S. P. C. K.), 
 
 1884. 
 
 Ellis, A. J.: Early English Pronunciation. Parts I — III. 
 
 London, 1869, 1870. (The tract on Glossic is pre- 
 fixed to Part III ; it was also published separately.) 
 Fick, A. : Vergleichendes Worterbuch der indogermanischen 
 
 Sprachen. Dritte Auflage. Gottingen, 1874-6. 
 Helfenstein, J. : A Comparative Grammar of the Teutonic 
 
 Languages. London, 1870. 
 Koch, C. F. : Historische Grammatik der cnglischen Sprachc. 
 
 3 vols. Weimar, 1863 ; and Cassel, 1865-8. 
 Kluge, F. : Nominate Stammbildungslehre der altgermanischen 
 
 Dialecte. Halle, 1886. 
 Kluge, F. : Etymologisches Worterbuch der deutschen Sprache. 
 
 Strassburg, 1883. 
 Loth, J. : Etymologische angelscechsisch-englische Grammatik. 
 
 Elberfeld, 1870. 
 Maetzner, Professor : An English Gra?nmar ; translated by 
 
 C. J. Grece, LL.B. 3 vols. London, 1874. 
 Morris, R.: Historical Outlines of English Accidence. London. 
 
 1872. 
 
 Morris, R. : Specimens of Early English, from 11 50 to 1300. 
 
 (Part I.) Oxford, 1885. 
 Morris and Skeat: Specimens of Early English, from 1298 
 
 to 1393. (Part II.) Oxford, 1873. 
 Muller, F. Max : Lectures on the Science of Language. 
 
 2 vols. Eighth edition. London, 1875. 
 
BOOKS CONSULTED. 
 
 xi 
 
 Muller, I wan \ Handbuch der Klassischen A Iter turns- Wissen- 
 schaft. Funfter Halbband. Nordlingen, 1886. 
 
 Peile, J. : Introduction to Greek and Latin Etymology. Second 
 edition. London, 1872. 
 
 Peile, J.: Primer of Philology. London, 1877. 
 
 Rhys, J. : Lectures on Welsh Philology. Second edition. 
 London, 1879. 
 
 Sayce, A. H. : Introduction to the Science of Language. 
 
 2 vols. London, 1880. 
 Schade, O. : Altdeutsches Worterbuch) Halle, 1872-82. 
 Sievers, E. : An Old English Grammar, translated by A. S. 
 
 Cook. Boston, 1885. (A most useful book.) 
 Skeat, W. W. : An Etymological Dictionary of the English 
 
 Language. Second edition. Oxford, 1884. (See the 
 
 list of Works consulted at p. xxv.) 
 Skeat, W. W. : A Concise Etymological Dictionary of the 
 
 English Language. Second edition. 1885. (See the 
 
 list of Dictionaries at p. xi.) 
 Skeat, W. W. : Specimens of English Literature ; from 1394 
 
 to 1579. ( Par t HI.) Oxford, 1879. 
 Skeat, W. W. : The Gospel of St. Mark in Gothic. Oxford, 
 
 1882. 
 
 Skeat, W. W. : The Gospels in the Anglo-Saxon and North- 
 umbrian (and Mercia?i) Versions. 4 vols. Cambridge, 
 1871-1887. 
 
 Strong, H. A., and Meyer, K. : Outlines of a History of the 
 
 German Language. London, 1886. 
 Sweet, H. : A Handbook of Phonetics. Oxford, 1877. 
 Sweet, H. : A Histoiy of E?tglish Sounds. (Eng. Dialect 
 
 Society.) London, 1874. 
 Sweet, H. : An Anglo-Saxon Reader. Fourth edition. 
 
 Oxford, 1884. 
 
xii 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Sweet, H. : An Icelandic Primer. Oxford, 1886. 
 Sweet, H. : The Oldest English Texts. (E. E. T. S.) London, 
 1885. 
 
 Trench, R. C. : English Past and Present. Ninth edition, 
 1875. And On the Study of Words. Tenth edition, 
 1861. 
 
 Whitney, W. D. : Language a?id the Study of Language. 
 
 Second edition. London, 1868. 
 Wright, T. : Anglo-Saxon and Old English Vocabularies. 
 
 Second edition. Edited by R. P. Wulcker. 2 vols. 
 
 London, 1884. 
 
 ABBREVIATIONS AND SIGNS. 
 
 A.S. — Anglo-Saxon; the Wessex or Southern dialect of 
 the Oldest English. 
 
 M.E. — Middle English; chiefly of the thirteenth and 
 fourteenth centuries. 
 
 E. — Modern English. 
 
 The ordinary grammatical abbreviations, such as * s/ for 
 ' substantive/ 1 v/ for 1 verb/ will be readily understood ; as 
 also the ordinary abbreviations for languages, such as ' Du/ 
 for ' Dutch/ 1 Skt/ for Sanskrit. (See Concise Etym. Diet.) 
 
 The following signs are introduced to save space : — 
 
 < is to be read as 1 is derived from/ or 1 comes from/ or 
 k i a later form than/ (Compare its ordinary algebraical 
 meaning of ' is less than '). 
 
 > is to be read as 1 produces/ or ' becomes/ or 1 is the 
 origin of/ or ' is an earlier form than/ (Compare its 
 usual algebraical meaning of ' is greater than/) 
 
 . . is the symbol of mutation, and stands for the words 
 ' by mutation/ 
 
ABBREVIATIONS, ETC. 
 
 xiii 
 
 II signifies ' & stem of the same form as/ or ' the verbal 
 stem which appears in/ It denotes parallelism of form. 
 Hence > .. is to be read as 1 produces by mutation/ 
 
 < .. is to be read as ' is derived by mutation from/ 
 
 < || is to be read as 'is derived from the verbal stem 
 which appears in/ 
 
 < . . || is to be read as ' is derived by mutation from the 
 verbal stem which appears in/ 
 
 * prefixed to a word signifies that it is an original theo- 
 retical form, evolved by known principles of development. 
 V signifies ' Aryan root/ 
 
 If it be desired to know to which conjugation a modern 
 English strong verb belongs, the reader has only to consult 
 the Index, referring to pp. 1 61-167. 
 
 %* I have not always been consistent in writing the 
 theoretical Teutonic forms of words. Thus the theoretical 
 Teutonic stem of E. whole is given sometimes as haila, and 
 sometimes as hailo. The former really represents the 
 original Gothic stem, and the latter the original Teutonic 
 stem. The inconsistency will not give much trouble, now 
 that it is pointed out. 
 
 PRONUNCIATION OF ANGLO-SAXON. 
 
 The A. S. so-called accent (as in the case of a) really marks 
 vowel-length ; thus A. S. d = Lat. a. 
 
 The pronunciation of the long vowels, d, e, 1, 0, u, is given 
 at p. 52 ; of y, at p. 66 ; of cc, at p. 67 ; of e'a, eo, at p. 68; of 
 the short vowels e, i, 0, u, <z, at p. 71 ; and of y, at p. 66. 
 See also p. 301, and consult Sweet's A. S. Grammar or Primer. 
 
 For remarks on the A. S. consonants, see pp. 299-302. 
 
POSTSCRIPT IN THE SECOND 
 EDITION 
 
 In the Second Edition, my work has been principally 
 confined to making such corrections as have been pointed 
 out to me, and many more which have occurred to myself. 
 A considerable time has been spent in the endeavour to 
 insure a higher degree of accuracy, but only the careful 
 reader will find much difference. The results of such toil 
 are not very visible. 
 
 Substantially, the book remains the same in form ; but, 
 after § 458, I have added a few sections at the end of the 
 book in the hope of satisfying, to some extent, the wishes of 
 those who have asked me for further remarks upon short 
 vowels, in addition to the Note at p. 71. 
 
 The simplest clue to our changes in pronunciation is to be 
 obtained from the comparison of pp. 340, 341 with pp. 336, 
 337- 
 
 I have introduced the symbol ' A.F.' to denote ' Anglo- 
 French/ i. e. the Norman dialect of French as developed in 
 England. 
 
 This symbol is commonly used in the ' Second Series ' of 
 the present work (alluded to at page v of the Preface to the 
 First Edition), which was published in 1891, and concerns 
 the ' Foreign Element ' of our language. 
 
 Cambridge, 
 March 26, 1892. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface v 
 
 Chapter I.— Introductory. § 1. A passage from Shakespeare 
 quoted. § 2. English literature and the English language. 
 § 3. Vocabulary of Modern English. § 4. Composite nature 
 of that vocabulary ........ I 
 
 Chapter IL — The Sources of the English Language. 
 § 5. Necessity of observing chronology. § 6. Additions to the 
 Vocabulary of the English language. § 7. Changes in the 
 language are ceaseless but silent. § 8. Sources of the English 
 language. § 9. Enumeration of these sources. Native English ; 
 Celtic ; Latin ; Scandinavian ; Dutch ; Greek ; French ; Hebrew ; 
 Arabic. Modern stage of the language. Additions from Spanish, 
 Italian, German, Russian, Turkish, &c. § 10. The Modern 
 Period begins about a.d. 1500. Importance of this date with 
 regard to the Vocabulary. § 11. Foreign things denoted by 
 foreign words. Examples of words borrowed from Dutch, 
 Gaelic, Italian, Spanish, Russian, Greek ; &c. § 12. Useful 
 dates. § 13. Historical Survey ; shewing the influence of 
 historical events upon the English language. § 14. The same 
 continued during the Modern Period .... 5 
 
 Chapter III. — The Native Element; Dialects of Middle 
 English. § 15. Tests for distinguishing native English words 
 from borrowed ones. § 16. The passage from Shakespeare 
 (formerly quoted at p. 1) examined. § 17. Changes in pro- 
 nunciation much greater than the changes in our spelling seem 
 to indicate. Necessity for examining the old forms of words. 
 § 18. Variations in spelling from time to time. Values of a, e y 
 i, 0, and u in the time of Chaucer. § 19. Middle-English 
 Vowels. Necessity for some study of Chaucer. § 20. Chaucer's 
 spelling. The Midland Dialect. Passage from the Man of 
 
xvi 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Law's Tale. Remarks upon the pronunciation of the words in 
 this passage. § 21. The vocabulary of the words in the same 
 passage considered ; preponderance of native English words. 
 § 22. Changes in the spelling of words in the same passage. 
 § 23. History of some of these words. § 24. The three main 
 Dialects ; Northern, Southern and Midland. § 25. The 
 Southern Dialect. Passage from Trevisa's translation of 
 Higden's Polychronicon. § 26. The same in modern English ; 
 with a continuation. § 27. Interesting information found in 
 the above passage. Peculiarities of the Southern Dialect. 
 § 28. The Northern Dialect. Passage from Hampole's Prick of 
 Conscience. Peculiarities of the Northern Dialect. § 29. The 
 East-Midland Dialect. Passage from the Handlyng Synne, 
 written by Robert of Brunne. Peculiarities of the East-Midland 
 Dialect. Its strong resemblance to the standard literary English. 
 § 30. Difference between East-Midland and West-Midland. 
 Area over which these dialects extend . . . . 19 
 
 Chapter IV. — The Native Element : the oldest dialects. 
 § 31. The three main dialects of Middle-English traced further 
 back. They appear as Northumbrian, Mercian, and Wessex. 
 * Anglo-Saxon ' includes the Wessex dialect only, and is not 
 co-extensive with ' Old English.' § 32. Remains of the Old 
 Northumbrian dialect. Remains of the Old Mercian dialect ; 
 and of the Wessex dialect. § 33. Modern literary English 
 derived from the Old Mercian dialect. Table of thirty-two 
 English words, with their corresponding Old Mercian and 
 Anglo-Saxon (or Wessex) forms. § 34. The A. S. * broken' 
 vowels not found in modern English, nor commonly used in the 
 Old Mercian dialect. § 35. Chronology of A.S. writings and 
 manuscripts. The Lauderdale MS. of Alfred's translation of 
 Orosius older than the Cotton MS. of the same. § 36. Specimen 
 of 1 Anglo-Saxon/ i. e. of the Wessex dialect ; St. Matt. xiii. 3-8. 
 § 37. Useful lessons in English grammar, etymology, and 
 pronunciation to be learnt from the above extract . . 40 
 
 Chapter V. — English Long Vowels. § 38. Change of pro- 
 nunciation of the A. S. 6 in s6(5 to the modern English 00 in 
 sooth. The same change exemplified in other words. § 39. 
 General shifting of vowel-sounds. The A.S. vowels d, e', i, 6, u 
 have been replaced by the modern E. oa, ee, t, 00, ou. The A.S. 
 bat, bete, bltan, bdt, d-btitan have become boat, beet, bite, boot, 
 a-botit. §40. English should be traced downwards as well 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 xvii 
 
 as upwards. The former method shews the true process of the 
 development. The A. S. vowels i and u have become, pho- 
 netically, ai (mod. E. t) and au (E. ou). The A. S. ie, ie, ea, 
 to, <k have become, phonetically, i (E. ee). The A. S. a has 
 become o ; and 6 has become u. §41. The vowel-sounds are 
 affected by the consonant that follows (or sometimes, that 
 precedes) them. Special influence of the consonant r. § 42. 
 History of the A. S. d. Examples : rd, sl roe ; twd, two ; dhte, 
 ought; dr 9 oar; an, one; -had (suffix), -hood; &c. § 43. 
 The A. S. e. Examples : he, he ; heh, high ; her, here ; ege, 
 eye ; hrec, rick ; &c. § 44. The A. S. L Examples : bi t by ; 
 hiw, hue; wif-men, women; -lie (suffix), -ly ; &c. § 45. 
 The A. S. 6. Examples : scS, shoe ; mdr, moor ; swSr, swore ; 
 oder, other; moste, must; behofian, behove; go man, gums; 
 rdd, rood, rod ; Sec. § 46. The A. S. u. Examples : ////, 
 how; stir j sour; aide, could; rum, room; riih, rough; &c. 
 § 47. The A. S. y {ie) ; how pronounced. Confused with A. S. 
 /. Examples : hwy, why ; hyr, hire ; fyl5, filth ; &c. § 48. 
 The A.S. <k, ia, to; usually become E. ee. Examples: see, 
 sea ; hw<kg, whey ; &c. § 49. The A. S. ca ; usually written 
 earn mod. K. § 50. The A.S. eo\ usually written ee in mod. E. 
 § 51. Summary of results of Chapter V. Exceptional instances 
 of the development of A. S. d, e, i, 6, li, and y. Note on the 
 Short Vowels ......... 50 
 
 Chapter VI. — Teutonic Languages cognate with English. 
 § 52. Value of the vowels in tracing the history of etymologies. 
 § 53. English is not derived from German. § 54. Source of 
 this common error ; confused ideas as to the meaning of 
 * German.' § 55. The Teutonic Group of Languages. Modern 
 German a bad guide to English etymology. Eastern and Western 
 Teutonic. § 56. East Teutonic : Gothic, Swedish, Danish, 
 Icelandic. Great value of Icelandic for English etymology. 
 § 57. West Teutonic : Anglo-Saxon, Old Eriesic, Old Saxon, 
 Dutch, German. Old, Middle, and modern High German. 
 § 58. Teutonic types. Meaning of a 4 type ' ; and of the terms 
 ' base' and * stem.' The mod. E. bite is nearer to the Teutonic 
 type than the equivalent G. beissen. § 59. Teutonic dental 
 sounds. German has changed Teut. d into t\ Teut. initial / 
 into s, medial / into ss, and final / into z, tz, ss, s ; and Teut. th 
 into*/. § 60. Change of Teut. d to G. t. Examples. §61. 
 Change of Teut. / to G. z (ss, medially ; z, iz, ss, s, finally). 
 Examples. § 62. Change of Teut. th to G. d. Examples. 
 VOL. I. b 
 
xviii 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 The forms Vater and Mutter are exceptional. § 63. Teutonic 
 labial sounds. German has initial pf for p ; and turns Teut. 
 final/ into/. Examples. § 64. Teutonic/ remains as G./, 
 though sometimes written v. Teut. v appears as G. b. § 65. 
 Teutonic guttural sounds. Teut. g, k, h frequently remain un- 
 changed in German ; or final k becomes G. ch. § 66. English 
 and German compared. Double changes in some words. E. 
 thorpe — Q. Dorf. The vowel-changes require explanation as 
 well as the consonantal changes. A. S. d = G. u. A.S.fot (E. 
 foot) = G. Fuss. § 67. Paucity of English words borrowed 
 from German. List of E. words borrowed from German ; 
 all in the modern period. § 68. Sound-shifting. What 
 is meant by * cognate ' words. § 69. E. foot ' cognate 1 
 with Goth, fotus. Gothic, Swedish, Danish, and Dutch, all 
 resemble English in their use of consonants ; whilst German 
 differs from them all. § 70. Results of §§ 54-69. English not 
 borrowed from German (with a few exceptions). German is not 
 the sole Teutonic language, nor our easiest guide. We should 
 rather consult Gothic, Old Friesic, &c. German is distinguished 
 from other Teutonic languages by certain consonantal shiftings. 
 Primitive Teutonic 1 types ' can be constructed. All the Teutonic 
 languages are sister-languages. § 71. The A. S. ^ = Teut. Al 
 (rarely £). A. S. stdn (stone) = Teut. staino (or stain a). A. S. 
 bat (boat) ■-= Teut. beto (or bata). § 72. The A. S. / commonly 
 arises by mutation from Teut. 6. A. S. fet (feet) = Teut. f6ti ; 
 where A. S. i is due to limitation of 6. § 73. The A. S. / — 
 Teut. f. A. S. hwil (while) = Teut. HwfLO. § 74. The A. S. 6 
 = Teut. 6, or Teut. £ ; or is due to loss of ft in on (for an). A, S. 
 stdl (stool) = Teut. stolo. A. S. spdn (spoon) = Teut. sp£ni. 
 A. S. tdtS (tooth) = Teut. tanthu. § 75. The A. S. ii= Teut. 0 ; 
 or is due to loss of n in A. S. un = Teut. ON. A. S. nu (now) 
 = Teut. NU. A. S. mud = Teut. MONTHO. § 76. The A. S. y 
 commonly arises by mutation from Teut. 0 (or AU, or eu). 
 § 77. The A.S. / = Teut. au. A. S. heap (heap) = Teut. 
 haupo. § 78. The A. S. io = Teut. EU. A. S. leof(\\ei) = Teut. 
 LEUBO (or leuvo). § 79. The A. S. ce commonly arises from an 
 limitation of d. § 80. Results of Chapter VI. Table of equiva- 
 lent long vowels in English, A. S., Du., G., Dan., Swed., Icel., 
 Goth., and general Teutonic 72 
 
 Chapter VII.— Classical Languages cognate with English. 
 Grimm's Law. § 81. How to compare Latin forms with 
 English. The Lat. pater is cognate with E. father. § 82. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 xix 
 
 Examples of E. words borrowed from Latin before the Conquest. 
 § 83. Words cognate with native E. words may often be found 
 in Greek, Sanskrit, &c. Modern comparative philology com- 
 menced in the year 1784. Sanskrit not a mother-language, but 
 a sister-language. The same is true of other * Aryan ' languages. 
 § 84. The Aryan family of languages; also called Indo-European 
 or Indo- Germanic. The Indian group. The Iranian group. 
 The Lettic, Slavonic, Hellenic, Italic, Keltic, and Teutonic 
 groups. § 85. The three ' sets' of Aryan languages ; Classical, 
 Low German, and High German. Classical pilar, irar-qp, pater, 
 Sec. § 86. Grimm's Law ; as it relates to the dental series of 
 letters DH, D, T. The memorial word ash ; changing to sha, 
 and has. (1) Sanskrit DH, D, T ; (2) English D, T, TH ; (3) 
 Old High German T, TH, D. § 87. Meaning of the symbols DH, 
 D, T, TH as applied to various languages. Examples of classical 
 (initial and medial) DH ; of classical (initial and medial) T ; and 
 of classical D. § 88. Exceptions to Grimm's Law. Skt. 
 bhrdtar, A.S. brSftor, G. Brndcr ; as compared with Skt. pitar, 
 A. S. feeder, G. Vater. The exceptions can be explained by 
 Verner's Law. § 80. Grimm's Law ; as it relates to the labial 
 and guttural series of letters, BH, B, P, PH ; and GH, G, K, KH. 
 Examples of the shifting of classical BH, B, and P ; and of clas- 
 sical GH, G, and K. § DO. Needless complication of Grimm's 
 Law due to the attempt to drag in the Old High German forms. 
 § 91. Simpler form of Grimm's Law; by omission of the Old 
 High German forms. In the series DH, D, T, TH, each 1 classical' 
 symbol is shifted to the 'Low German' sound denoted by the 
 symbol which next follows it. § 92. Difficulty of including 
 the Old High German sound-shiftings under Grimm's Law. 
 Value of Grimm's Law. § 93. The Aryan type of a word ; re- 
 statement of the simplified form of Grimm's Law. Re-statement 
 of Grimm's Law, as applied to the dental series of symbols DH, 
 D, T, TH 97 
 
 Chapter VIII.— Simplified Form of Grimm's Law. § 94. 
 The dental, labial, and guttural series of consonants must be 
 treated separately. Aryan and Teutonic. Old High German 
 excluded. § 95. Dental Series. Aryan D : Skt. d ; Gk. 5 ; 
 Lat. d f I. Aryan T: Skt. t, th ; Gk. t ; Lat. /. Aryan DH : 
 Skt. dh, d\ Gk. 0, t; Lat. / (initially^ d, b (medially); Slav., 
 Lith., Irish d. § 96. Teut. T (Aryan D) : Goth. / ; Dan. d 
 (when final). Teut. th (Aryan T) : Goth, th ; A. S. ]>, S ; Icel. 
 t>, d; Dan. and Swed. d; Du. d. Teut. D (Aryan DH): Goth, 
 b 2 
 
XX 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 d. § 97. Meaning of the symbols > and <. The series DH > 
 D >T>TH is equivalent to D<DH;T<D; TH < T. § 98. 
 Labial Series. BH > B > P > PH. Difficulties relating to the 
 Teutonic p. § 99. Aryan B : Skt. b; Gk. 0 ; Lat. b. Aryan 
 P : Skt. p y ph ; Gk. 7T ; Lat., Slav., Lith. p. Aryan BH : Skt. 
 bh ; Gk. <p; Lat./, h (initial), b (medial). § 100. Teut. B: 
 Goth. b. Teut. P : Goth. p. Teut. PH : Goth./ (or, by Verner's 
 Law, b). BH > B > P > PH (F) is the same as B < BH ; P < B ; 
 F < P. § 101. Guttural Series. GH > G > K > KH. Diffi- 
 culty of interpreting these symbols, owing to the double values 
 of the Aryan G, K, and GH. § 102. Palatal and velar sounds of 
 the Aryan G. Explanation by Prof. Sayce. Aryan palatal 
 sounds denoted by K, G, and GH. Aryan velar sounds denoted 
 by Q, Gw, and GHw. § 103. Aryan G (palatal) : Skt./; Lith. 
 z ; Slav, z ; Gk. 7 ; Lat. g > Teut. K. Aryan Gw (velar) : (a) 
 Skt. gj ; Gk. 7 ; Lat. g > Teut. K. (b) Skt. gj ; Gk. 0 ; Lat. 
 l\ v > Teut. Q (k, k\v). § 104. Aryan K (palatal) : Skt. c; 
 Lith. sz ; Gk. k ; Lat. c > Teut. GH ; Goth. h. Aryan Q (velar) : 
 Skt. k, ch ; Gk. *, T 9 w ; Lat. c, qu, v ; Lith. k > Teut. KHw 
 (Hw) ; Goth, hw,/, h. § 105. Aryan GH (palatal) : Skt. h\ Gk. 
 X ; Lat. h,f(g) ; Lith. z > Teut. G. Aryan GHw (velar) : Skt. 
 g/i, h ; Gk. x, <P, 0 ; Lat. g t h,f{gu y v) ; Lith. g > Teut. Gw (g). 
 § 106. Grimm's Law : Guttural Series (velar). GHw > Gw > 
 Q>KHw(hw). Otherwise, Q< Gw; Hw< Q; Gw(G)< GHw. 
 § 107. Table of regular substitution of consonants. § 108. 
 Examples : Teut. K < Aryan G. E. kin ; Lat. genus, Gk. ytvos ; 
 Skt. Jan (to beget). § 109. Examples from Scandinavian. 
 § 110. Teut. K > E. ch. E. chin ; Lat. gena, Gk. ySmm, § 111. 
 Teut. K ; final. E. eke ; Lat. angere ; and other examples. 
 § 112. Teut. KH (H) < Aryan K. Examples. E. horn, Lat. 
 cormi. § 113. Teut. g < Aryan GH. Examples. E. gall; 
 La.t.fel; Gk. x 0 ^*!- §114. Teut. Q < Aryan Gw. Examples. 
 E. queen ; Gk. 71/1/77 ; Skt. Jani t § 115. Teut. Hw < Aryan Q. 
 Examples. E. who; Lat. qui ; Skt. has. § 116. Teut. Gw, 
 G < Aryan GHw. Examples. § 117. Teut. T < Aryan D. 
 Examples. E. tame; Lat. domare; Skt. dam. § 118. Teut. TH 
 < Aryan T. Examples. E. thin ; Lat. tenuis ; Skt. tanu. 
 § 119. Teut. D < Aryan DH. Examples. E. dare; Gk. dapouv. 
 § 120. Teut. P < Aryan B. Paucity of examples. The possi- 
 bility of Aryan P remaining unshifted. § 121. Teut. PH (f) < 
 Aryan P. Examples numerous. E. father ; Lat. pater ; Gk. 
 770x77^ ; Skt. pilar. § 122. Teut. B < Aryan BH. E. brother ; 
 Lat. frater ; Skt. bhrdtar 115 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 xxi 
 
 Chapter IX. — Consonantal Shifting : Verner's Law. § 123. 
 Difficulties about Grimm's Law, as originally explained. The 
 Second Shifting (from Low to High German) much later in time 
 than the First Shifting (from Aryan to Teutonic). Probable date 
 of the Second Shifting. § 124. In what sense 'Law' is to be 
 understood. The vagueness of popular notions on this point. 
 § 125. Sound-shifting not confined to Teutonic ; difficulty of 
 explaining its origin. § 126. Anomalies explained by Verner's 
 Law. § 127. Verner's Law discovered in 1875. Statement 
 of the Law. Peculiarities of Aryan and Teutonic accent. § 128. 
 Verner's Law, as stated in the original German ; with a transla- 
 tion of it. § 129. Examples. Gk. k\vt6s does not answer to 
 A. S. hhid, but to A. S. hind E. loud) ; this is due to the accent 
 being upon the second syllable. Change of s to z, and afterwards 
 to /-. Causal verbs accented on the suffix. Explanation of the 
 equivalent forms rear and raise. § 130. Points in A. S. gram- 
 mar explained by Verner's Law. Why the A. S. snidan (to cut), 
 pt. t. sndd, makes the pt. t. pi. snidon, and the pp. sniden (instead 
 of midon and s?ii8en). Why mod. E. comparative adjectives end 
 in -er. § 131. Vedic Accentuation ; how connected with Anglo- 
 Saxon spellings. § 132. General Results ; in a slightly different 
 form. § 133. Examples. Shiftings of guttural, dental, and 
 labial consonants. The occurrence of r for s in English. E. 
 hare = G. Hasc. The words /ore, better, forlorn, frore . 142 
 
 Chapter X. — Vowel-Gradation. § 134. Meaning of gradation : 
 drink, drank, drunken. Found also in Greek and Latin. 
 § 135. Modern English gradation very imperfect. Confusion of 
 past tenses with past participles. Strong verbs often become 
 weak ; the converse seen in the case of wear. § 136. Necessity 
 of considering the M. E. and A.S. forms of E. verbs. The 
 Seven Conjugations : fall, shake, bear, give, drink, drive, choose. 
 Memorial couplet. § 137. Reduplicating Verbs : the verb fall. 
 No real gradation here. § 138. The four principal stems of 
 A.S. Verbs: (1) the present stem; (2) the first preterit-stem; 
 (3) the second preterit-stem ; (4) the past participial-stem. 
 Stems of fall'. (1) feall-an; (2)/^//; {£) feoll-on ; (4) feall-en. 
 § 139. Principal E. verbs of the /^//-conjugation. § 140. The 
 verb shake. Stem-vowels : a, 0, 6, a. Mod. E. Stem-vowels : 
 a, 00, 00, a. Example: shake, shook, shook, shaken. § 141. 
 Principal E. verbs of the j/^^-conjugation. § 142. General 
 resemblance in the conjugations of bear, give, and drink ; Teut. 
 stem-vowels : e (*')> a, e, 0 K u) ; or else e (*), a, e, e (f) ; or else 
 
xxii 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 e (z), a, u y o (u). General formula: E, a, O. Compare Gk. 
 rpecpeiv, erpacpov, T€Tpc<pa. § 143. The verb to?'. Stem-vowels : 
 e (i) a, a (d), o (u) ; Teut. E, a, e ( = A% o. § 144. Verbs of 
 the tor-conjugation. § 145. The verb give. Stem-vowels : e 
 (/), ce, ce (d), e (/). § 146. Verbs of the ^/^-conjugation. 
 § 147. The verb drink. Stem-vowels : e (eo, i) t a (ea, ce), u, o (u). 
 § 148. Verbs of the dr/«£-conjugation. § 149. The verb 
 dtive. Stem- vowels : /, d, i, i ; Gothic ei, ai, i {at), i (at). 
 § 150. Verbs of the r/r/z^-conjugation. § 151. The verb choose. 
 Stem-vowels: eo (u\ ea, u, o; Gothic iu, au, u (au), u (au). 
 § 152. Verbs of the r/ztf^-conjugation. § 153. Table of stems 
 of the seven conjugations (fall, shake, bear, give, drink, drive, 
 choose) in Teutonic, Gothic, A. S., E., Du., G., Icel., Swed., and 
 Danish. § 154. Comparative Table of Vowel-Sounds, as de- 
 duced from the gradation seen in strong verbal stems. § 155. 
 Remarks on the Table. Teut. A may be lengthened to A (be- 
 coming 6, E\ Teut. E may be graded to A, or o. Teut. i may 
 be graded to Ai or I. Teut. EU may be graded to AU or u. 
 The E-group : E, A, o. The i-group : !, I, ai. The u-group : 
 eu, u, au. Values of Teut. a, 6, &c, in various Teut. lan- 
 guages. § 156. Various values of Teut. long I. § 157. 
 Equivalents of A. S. d in other Teut. languages. § 158. 
 Equivalents of A. S. e in other Teut. languages. § 159. The 
 same of A. S. /. § 160. The same of A. S. 6. § 161. The same 
 of A. S. u. § 162. The same of A. S. y. § 163. The same of 
 A. S. cc. § 164. The same of A. S. ea. § 165. The 
 same of A. S. eo. § 166. Necessity of observing equivalence 
 of vowel-sounds. § 167. Practical application of gradation in 
 comparative philology. § 168. Four words containing A. S. d: 
 goose, tooth, other, sooth. The Skt. word sail ; E. suttee. § 169. 
 Derivatives can be formed from any of the verbal stems. § 170. 
 This result much neglected. § 171. Derivatives from verbs of 
 the ^//-conjugation. § 172. Derivatives from stems of verbs 
 like shake. § 173. ^^/--conjugation : derivatives from stems. 
 § 174. ^/^-conjugation : derivatives from stems. § 175. 
 Z>r/«/£-conjugation : derivatives from stems. § 176. Drive- 
 conjugation : derivatives from stems. § 177. C/^^-conjuga- 
 tion : derivatives from stems. § 178. Brief Summary of Results. 
 Table of vowel-gradation ....... 156 
 
 Chapter XI. — Vowel-Mutation. § 179. 'A man said to Gold- 
 bur 'h t buy a ii'hole goose and a cow cheap ' ; explanation of this 
 memorial sentence. § 180. Mutation of ea to ie (y) ; of eo to 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 xxiii 
 
 the same ; and of eo to te (y). § 181. I-mutation. Original 
 vowels : a, o, u ; d, 6, 11 ; ea, eo ; ea, eo. Mutated vowels : e } y t 
 y ; <k, e, y ; ie (y) ; te (y). § 182. Meaning of ' concealed ' mu- 
 tation. § 183. A mutated to E. § 184. o mutated to Y. 
 § 185. u mutated to Y. § 186. Long A mutated to long je. 
 § 187. Long o mutated to long e. § 188. Long u mutated to 
 long Y. § 189. Long EA mutated to long IE (y). § 190. U- 
 mutation. § 191. Examples of A. S. mutations. Meaning of 
 the symbols > and < in combination with the symbol (••). 
 (i) mann > .. menu. (2) gold > . . gylden. (3) burh > .. by rig. 
 (4) hdl > . . hcelan. (5) gos > . . ges. (6) cu > . . cy. (7) ceap > 
 .. depan, cypan. § 192. Examples of mutation in modern 
 English. A>..E. § 193. o > . . Y. § 194. u>..Y. 
 §195. A>..A §196. 6>..e. §197. 0>..y. §198. 
 ea > . . Y ; eo > . . Y. § 199. Recapitulation of examples of 
 mutation in modern English. § 200. A vowel may be affected 
 both by gradation and (subsequently) by mutation . . 190 
 
 Chapter XII. — Prefixes and Substantival Suffixes. § 201. 
 Prefixes : after- y an-, ami-, at-, be-, c-, e-, edd- } emb-, for- (1), 
 for- (2), fore-, forth-, fro-, gain-, im-, in-, /-, mid-, mis-, n- (1), 
 n- (2), n- (3), n- (4), of, off-, on-, or-, out-, over-, t-, thorough-, 
 to- (i), to- (2), twi-, un- (1), un- (2), un- (3), under-, uf>-, wan-, 
 with-, y-. § 202. Substantival Suffixes : -dom, -hood, -head, 
 -lock, -ledge, -red (1), -red (2), -ric, -ship. § 203. Suffixes ex- 
 pressive of diminution : -c, -el, -en, -ing, -ling, -kin . . 213 
 
 Chapter XIII.— Substantival Suffixes (continued). § 204. 
 Aryan suffixes : -o, -A, -1, -u, -10, -ia, -wo, -wA, -mo, -mon, 
 -ro, -lo, -no, -ni, -mi, -to, -ti,-tu,-ter (-tor),-tro, -ont, -es 
 (-OS), -ko. The Aryan -to may become Teut. -TO, -mo, or -do 
 (-ta, -THA, or -da). § 205. Aryan -o ; fern. -A. Examples of 
 Modern English words which once contained this suffix : masc. 
 day ; neut. deer ; fern, half, &c. § 206. Teut. suffix -an ; fem. 
 -on ( => -An). Examples : masc, bear, bozv, bourn, cove, drop, 
 gall, shank, smoke, spark, stake, 7vit; neut., ear; fern., crow, 
 fly, heart, tongue, week ; ashes. § 207. Aryan -I. Examples: 
 masc. hip ; fem. queen ; Sec. § 208. Aryan -U. Examples : 
 masc. wand; fem. chin; &c. § 209. Aryan -io ; Gothic -ja ; 
 A. S. -e. Examples: end, herd (shepherd), &c. Aryan -I A. 
 Examples : bridge, crib, edge, &c, all feminine. § 210. Teut. 
 -yan. Examples : masc. ebb, &c. ; fem. eld, &c. Teut. -Ina ; 
 A. S. -en. Examples : main, sb., swine. § 211. Aryan -wo. 
 
xxiv 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 Examples : bale, cud, meal, tar, glee, knee, tree, straw, lee; also 
 dew, low, snow. § 212. Aryan -WA ; feminine. Examples : claw, 
 gear, mead, shade, shadow, sinew, stow. § 213. Teutonic -WAN. 
 Examples : swallozv, arrow, barrow, sparrow, yarrow, widow. 
 § 214. Aryan -MO. Examples : beam, bosom, bottom, doom, dream, 
 fathom, film , foam , gleam, gloom, haulm, helm, holm, loam, lime, 
 qualm, scam, slime, steam, storm, stream, swarm, team; also 
 room, boom. § 215. Aryan -MI. Example : home. § 216. 
 Aryan -MON (-MEN). Examples: barm, besom, bloom, name, 
 time ; also blossom. §217. Aryan -R0 ; Goth. -RA. Examples: 
 masc. acre, beaver, finger, floor, hammer, otter, steer, summer, 
 tear, thunder; also anger : fern, feather, liver, tinder; neut. 
 bower, lair, leather, timber, udder, water, wonder ; also stair. 
 Suffix -ru : exx. hunger, winter. § 218. Aryan -L0 ; English 
 -le, -el, -I. Substantives of verbal origin ; beetle, bundle, &c. 
 Angle, apple, &c. ; fowl, hail, nail, rail, &c. Sickle, tile, mangle. 
 § 219. Teut. suffixes -ran A, -arna. Examples : acorn, iron. 
 § 220. Teut. suffix -LAN. Examples: heel, nettle, throstle; 
 navel. Teut. suffix -ilsa. Examples : burial, riddle, shuttle. 
 § 221. Aryan suffix -NO. Examples: beacon, oven, raven, token, 
 weapott ; bairn, Main, brain, corn, horn, loan, rain, stone, thane, 
 wain, yarn ; game, roe. Aryan suffix -ni. Exx. soken, em 
 (eagle). Aryan suffix -NU. Exx. quern, son, thorn. § 222. 
 Teut. suffix -nan. Exx. haven, sun, teen. § 223. Aryan suffix 
 -TO. {a) E. suffix -th ; birth, broth, &c. (b) E. suffix after 
 f gh, n, r, s ; as theft, light, brunt, hart, frost. (c) E. suffix d; 
 gold, blade, blood, &c. § 224. Aryan suffix -TI. (a) E. suffix 
 -th ; as birth, (b) E. suffix -t ; flight, gift, thirst, &c. (c) E. 
 suffix -d; deed, glede, mind, &c. § 225. Aryan suffix -TU. (a) 
 E. suffix -th ; as death, (b) E. suffix -/ ; loft, lust, (c) E. suffix 
 -d ; flood, shield, wold. § 226. Suffixes augmented by adding 
 -n ; food, maiden. § 227- Aryan suffix -TER (-TOR). Lat. fratcr. 
 (a) Goth, -thar ; brother, {b) Goth. -dar\ father, mother, (c) 
 E. -ter ; daughter, sister. § 228. Aryan suffix -TRO : Teut. 
 suffix -THRO, -THLO. (a) The form -thro; rudder, lather, 
 murder, leather. (b) The form -dro ; bladder, adder, fodder, 
 ladder, weather, (c) The form -tro ; halter, laughter, slaughter, 
 foster, bluster, (d) Suffix - s-tro ; bolster, holster, (e) Suffix -plo ; 
 needle, (f) Suffix -tSlo ; spittle, (g) Suffix -tlo; bristle, throstle, 
 (h) A. S. suffix -Id ; A. S. bold, whence E. build ; threshold. 
 § 229. Aryan suffix -ont (-ENT, -nt). Present Participles. 
 Hence errand, fiend, friend, tidings, wind, youth. § 230. Aryan 
 suffix -OS, -es. Lat. opus, gen. operis. {a) E. hate, awe, lamb, &c. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS, 
 
 XXV 
 
 (b) E. suffix -s, -ze, -x; adze, ax, bliss, eaves, (c) E. suffix -r ; ear 
 (of corn"), children. § 231. (a) Suffix -S-la ; honsel, ousel. (6) Suffix 
 -L-s; burial, riddle, shuttle. § 232. E. suffix -ness ; for -n-es-s. 
 § 233. Aryan suffix -(is-lo; sophist, dentist, florist ; harvest , 
 earnest. E. words in -// ; twist, trust, last, wrist, rust, grist. 
 § 234. Teut. suffix -s-ti ; fist, listen. § 235. Teut. suffix -s-TU ; 
 mist. § 236. Teut. suffix -s-t-man ; blossom. § 237. Teut. 
 suffix -ska; tusk, husk. § 238. A. S. suffix -ES-TRAN ; E. suffix 
 -stcr ; spinster, songster, &c. § 239. E. suffix -er, expressing 
 the agent. § 240. Aryan suffix -KO ; Gk. -kos, Lat. -cus ; 
 Goth, -ha-, -ga ; body, honey, ivy, sally. E. -k ; folk, hawk, 
 whelk, yolk, silk. § 241. Teut. suffix -ga, -an-ga, -in-ga, -un-ga. 
 [a) A.S. suffix -ing; patronymic and diminutival, (b) A. S. 
 suffix -ung; the so-called ( verbal ' substantive. How to parse 
 * for breaking a window ' ....... 225 
 
 Chapter XIV. — Adjectival, Adverbial, and Verkal 
 Suffixes. § 242. The suffixes -fast, -fold, -ful, -less, -like or 
 -ly, -some, -ward, -wart, -wise. § 243. Aryan -o ; blind, black, 
 bleak, &c. § 244. Aryan -I ; mean. § 245. Aryan -U ; (junk, 
 hard. § 246. Aryan -10 ; Gk. -10-s ; dear, free, mid, new, 
 wild ; also (with mutation) keen, sweet, § 247. Teut. -i-NA ; 
 Goth, -ei-na ; A.S. -en; E. -en, -n; beech-en, gold-en, 8cc. 
 § 248. Aryan -wo ; call-ow, fall-oiv, mell-ow, narr-ow, sall-ou>, 
 yell-ow. Also few, nigh, raw, sloia, true, y are. § 249. Aryan 
 -MO ; war-tn. § 250. Teut. -ma-n ; fore-m-ost, hind-m-ost, &c. ; 
 for-m-cr. § 251. Aryan -Ro ; bitt-cr, fiii-r, slipp-cr-y. Aryan 
 -lo ; A.S. -ol, -el; britt-le, cv-il, fick-le, id-le, litl-le, mick-le : 
 rakehell, ai-l,fou-l. § 252. Aryan -No ; brow-n, ev-en, fai-n, 
 giv-en, heath-en, grce-n, lea-n, stcr-n ; cast-cm, &c. § 253. 
 Aryan -To ; pp. suffix, (a) E. -th ; uncou-th, nor-th, sou-th;four-th, 
 &c. (//) E. -/; cleft, reft, &c. ; set, hurt, &c. ; deft, left, soft, 
 sivifit ; brigh-t, ligh-t, righ-t, sligh-t, straigh-t, tigh-t ; sal-t, 
 swar-t, tar-t, eas-t, 7ves-t ; was-te. (c) E. -d ; bal-d, bol-d, col-d, 
 dca-d, lou d, nak-ed. § 254. Aryan -TER ; o-thcr, whe-ther. 
 ei-ther, nci-thcr. § 255. Aryan -ont, -ent ; (cf. § 229). § 256. 
 Aryan -KO ; Goth, -ha; might-y, man-y ; bus-y, crafty, dizz-y y 
 dough t-y, dust-y,foam-y, heav-y, wear-y ; an-y ; sill-y. § 257. 
 Aryan -ISKO, -sko ; A.S. -isc, E. -ish, -sh, ~ch ; heathcn-ish. 
 Engl-ish, Dan-ish, Ercn-ch, Welsh, Brit-ish, &c; fre-sh, 
 mar-sh, ra-sh. Aryan -is-TO, whence the E. superl. -est. 
 § 258. Adverbial Suffixes ; -ly, -meal, -ward, -wards, -way. 
 -ways, -wise. § 259. Suffixes, -s, -se, -ce ; else, needs, once, twice. 
 
xxvi 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 pagp; 
 
 Suffix -er\ ev-er, nev-er, yest-er-day. Suffix -om ; whilom, seld- 
 om. Suffix -l-ing, -l-ong ; head-l-ong, dark-l-ing. § 260. 
 Verbal Suffixes. Suffixes -en, -n ; fatt-en, length-en, &c. ; 
 glist-en, op~en ; daw-n, drow-n, faw-n, lear-n, ozv-n. § 261. 
 Suffix -k; har-k, hir-k, scul-k, smtr-k, stal-k, ival-k. § 262. 
 Suffix -/*, -/ ; babb-le, rumb-le, &c. ; dragg-le, dazz-le, &c. ; draw-/, 
 mew-l, wau-l. Suffix -er ; giimm-er,flutt-er, glitt-er, weli-er. Cf. 
 also crumb-le, knee-l, &c. Also gird-le,fett-er. § 263. Suffix -se; 
 cleanse, rinse ; clasp, grasp ; lisp .... 2 6i 
 
 Chapter XV.— Derivations from Roots. § 264. Definition 
 of a root. § 265. Discussion of roots. § 266. Affixes are due 
 to roots. § 267. Examples of roots ; care is to be exercised in 
 discriminating the vowel-sound found in a root. A list of fifty 
 roots. § 268. How to discover the root of an E. word ; ex- 
 emplified in the case of the word listen, from the root KLEU. 
 § 269. Other words derived from the same root. § 2/0. Results 
 of the two preceding sections; listen, loud, lumber, client, glory, 
 slave, are all from the same root. § 271. The root GHEU, to 
 pour ; whence GHEUD and GHEUS. Hence are chyme, chyle, 
 alchemy ?, chemist ?, fuse, con-found, re-fund, fut-ile, confute, 
 refute, foison, found ; gut, in- got ; geys-ir, gush; Bill-i-ter 
 Lane. § 272. The root sek, to cut, with its derivatives ; 
 sec-ant, seg-ment, bisect, insect, scion, sickle, &c. § 273. The 
 root SKAD, to cut ; sched-ule, shing-le, scatt-er, shatt-er. § 274. 
 The root SKID, to cut; schism, schist, zest, squill, abscind ; 
 shed, shide, sheath, skid; cces-ura, circum-cise, &c. ; chis-el, 
 sciss-ors. § 275. The root skap, kap, to cut ; apo-cope, syn- 
 cope, comma, cap-on; shape, shave, shaft, scab, shabby, chop, 
 chip, chump. § 276. The root SKER, to shear ; shear, share, 
 shore, short, shirt, shard, score, scaur, skerry, skirt ; scar-ify, 
 char-acter ; cuir-ass, s-cour-ge. § 277. The root skel, to 
 divide ; scale, shell ; scall, skull, skill; shale. § 278. The root 
 SKARP, to cut; sharp, scarp, scarf, scrape, scrap, scrip; ex- 
 cerp-t, s-car-ce; harv-est. § 279. The root skalp, to cut; 
 scalp-el, sculp-ture, scallop, scalp ; shelf § 280. The root skur, 
 to cut ; cur-t ; scru-ple, scrutiny ; shroud, shred, screed ; scro-ll. 
 § 281. Remarks on the tracing of roots .... 280 
 
 Chapter XVI.— Modern English Spelling. § 282. Arch- 
 bishop Trench's remarks on 'etymological' spelling. Fallacy 
 of the argument. Neglect of phonetic considerations. § 283. 
 History the only true guide to spelling; importance of pho- 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 xxvii 
 
 netics. § 284. Account of the symbols employed in English. 
 The Celtic alphabet. The Anglo-Saxon alphabet. § 285. 
 Value of the A.S. symbols ; especially of c, g,ge,f, r, s. Double 
 values of f and s. § 286. The A. S. vowel-system ; use of 
 accent to denote vowel-length. The A. S. system of writing was 
 intended to be purely phonetic. § 287. A.D. 1 150-1300. Changes 
 in spelling ; new use of y ; use of k, ), gh ; u as a consonant, v as 
 a vowel ; introduction of ch, sch, y as a consonant, qu, wh ; new 
 use of p, o\ Disappearance of ce, ea, eo. Introduction of the 
 Anglo-French system of spelling ; the English language is re- 
 spelt by scribes accustomed to Anglo-French. Hence qu, c as s, 
 u and y as consonants, ay, ey, v, w, ch, i as j t &c. Change of 
 A.S. a to oa, 00. § 288. Symbols in use about 1300; ch (or 
 he), ph, sch, th, wh ; ai, ay, au, aw, ea, ei, ey, eo, ie, oa, oi, oy, 
 on, ui, eu, ew ; kk, cch, sc. § 289. A.D. 1 300-1400. Further 
 changes in spelling ; use of gh, aa, ee, 00, y for long i ; French 
 eo. § 2 ( J0. About A.D. 1400. Spelling of Chaucer (Ellesmere 
 MS.; see Appendix A). § 291. List of Symbols in 1400; 
 vowels ; diphthongs ; consonants ; digraphs ; doubled letters ; 
 biform digraphs ; initial and final combinations. § 292. 
 Changes since A. D. 1400 ; loss of the final -e in the spoken lan- 
 guage. § 293. History of the spelling of the words bone, stone ; 
 shewing how the final e (mute) came to be used to indicate the 
 length of the preceding vowel. History of the spelling of the 
 French word cone; with a similar result. § 294. Origin of the 
 spellings ride, white, tell. § 295. Spelling of words derived 
 from French. Use of ge for j, and of ceiox s. § 296. History of 
 the plural suffix -es, both in English and French words. § 297. 
 Use of a double consonant to indicate that the preceding vowel 
 is short. Why the medial consonant is not doubled in manage, 
 matins, bigot, metal, colour, busy, canon, &c. The spelling 
 tollerate. Use of gge for final jj. Doubling of r and of final s, 
 § 298. a. l). 1 400-1 500. Caxton's spelling in 1471. Use of 
 idle final -e in impossible places. § 299. Caxton's use of vowels, 
 diphthongs, and consonants. Origin of the symbol /. Use of v 
 consonant. 5 confused with z. Caxton's use of digraphs, and of 
 y for p. Explanation of initial ff. Biform digraphs ; origin of 
 tch ; disuse of thth. Initial combinations. § 300. Review, 
 shewing that the old spelling was meant to be phonetic. Con- 
 fusion between the close and open 0, and the close and open e. 
 Anglo-French words introduced in the Anglo-French spelling. 
 Borrowing of French words from the French of Paris. § 301. 
 Invention of Printing. Origin of the Tudor-English oa to denote 
 
xxviii 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 open o, and ea to denote open e. Other changes. § 302. Effect 
 of the loss of final e. Origin of final bs, bt, cs, gs, &c. § 303. 
 Revival of learning. Attempt to be consciously etymological. 
 Different treatment of native words and of those of Latin or Greek 
 origin. The new spellings doubt, debt, fault, victuals, advance. 
 Innovations in spelling made on a false principle. § 304. Stu- 
 pidity of the pedantic method. Blunders of the pedants; sylvan, 
 style, tiro, Syren-, verbs in -ize ; aneurism; scent; tongue. 
 § 305. Changes made since the time of Shakespeare. Error in 
 writing have for hav, and stiff for stif. Uniform spelling (about 
 1690). Marked and violent changes in pronunciation; abate, 
 beet. Results. § 306. Summary of the preceding investigation 294 
 
 Chapter XVII. — Phonetic Spelling. § 307. Unsatisfactory 
 character of the so-called i etymological ' spelling. Absurdity of 
 the spellings scythe, tongue, sieve, rhyttie, scent. § 308. The 
 ' glossic ' system of Mr. Alexander J. Ellis ; useful for repre- 
 senting English dialects. § 309. Outline of the 'glossic' system, 
 as applied to ordinary English. § 310. The ' romic ' system of 
 Mr. H. Sweet. Advantages of this system. Vowels as repre- 
 sented by Mr. Sweet. § 311. Consonants as represented by 
 Mr. Sweet. § 31*2. Specimen of 'romic' spelling, with some 
 modifications. § 313. Utility of the 1 romic ' spelling exemplified. 
 List of the chief vowel-sounds and diphthongal sounds in Anglo- 
 Saxon, Middle English, and Modern English, as exhibited in twenty- 
 eight characteristic words. § 314. Some other sounds, found in 
 Tudor- English. § 315. Great value of the works by Ellis and 
 Sweet. Note : various modifications of the 1 romic ' system ; 
 with illustrations 334 
 
 Chapter XVIII.— English Consonants. § 316. Classification 
 of consonants ; gutturals, dentals, labials, &c. § 317. Voiceless 
 and voiced consonants. Why k is voiceless, but g is voiced. 
 Why s is voiceless, but z is voiced. Voiceless letters : k, ch, t, 
 th (in thin), p, f, s, sh, wh. Voiced letters : g,j,d, th (in thine), 
 b, v, z, zh, w. § 318. Importance of the above distinction. 
 Affinity of voiceless consonants for other such, and of voiced con- 
 sonants for other such. Illustrations. § 319. Voiced conso- 
 nants are nearer than the others to the nature of vowels. 
 Liability of voiceless letters to become voiced. § 320. Substitu- 
 tion of one voiceless (or voiced) letter for another of like kind. 
 Illustrations. §321. Origin of consonantal changes. Economy 
 of effort. External influence, due to mental association. Ex- 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 xxix 
 
 amples of this. § 322. Principal methods by which conso- 
 nantal change is effected in English. § 323. Examples of 
 palatalisation {k > ch) ; voicing (k > g) ; vocalisation (g > y) ; 
 assimilation f kd > kt) ; substitution (k > /) ; metathesis {sk > 
 &r) ; abbreviation (A. S. fugol > E. fowl) ; unvoicing > /) ; 
 addition (excrescent &c.) ; symbol-change (c > k) ; mis- 
 apprehension (5 > z) ; doubling of consonants ; consonantal influ- 
 ence (er > ar) ; confluence. § 324. Examples of palatalisation. 
 § 325. History of K. A"> r/j ; initially, as in chaff, char-woman, 
 charlock, &c. ; finally, as in ache, beech, bench, &c. § 326. kk 
 > M. E. cch > E. tch\ as in bitch, flitch, itch, &c. § 327. 
 Voicing ; k > ch >j; as in a-jar, jowl, jole. § 328. k > 
 
 jr/r?^-, trigger. Final >£ lost ; j^/j, barley, I, every. § 329. 
 Substitution ; £ > / ; ap7'icot, bat, mate, milt, k > />>/>; 
 lobster. § 330. > j£; ashes, ash, dish,flsh, &c. Initially, as 
 in shake, shame. Sk > &r = .r ; Mf'x*, _j'£.r, a*, &c. § 331. 
 Aw = cw > A";? > gn or N ; knave, knead, &c. ; gnarled, 
 gnash, gnaw, nibble, nap. § 332. History of H. When 
 sounded initially; misuse of //. hi > /; hn > ft; //;- > r; as 
 in ladder, nap, rather, &c. § 333. Final //, now ^/j ; borough, 
 bough, &c. The combination ough explained. § 334. Final 
 ht; now ght, § 335. Loss of // ; finally, as in fee, lea; medi- 
 ally, in trout, not ; initially, in it. Loss of A S. // ; ear (of corn), 
 see, tear, s., Welsh. § 336. Hw > wh ; wh for w, in whit, 
 whelk, whortleberry. § 337. History of G; gear, get, giddy, 
 &c. Ge > y ; as in jv<z, yes ; also in yard, yare, &c. 67 
 >j/, as in yard (rod), yearn, &c. Mid. E. 3. A. S. > y- 
 or A. S. ge > e in e-f tough. G lost in //", M&fr. § 338. 
 Final and medial g: g > gh, in neigh', g> y or *, in </tfy, 
 gray, key, ail, blain, &c. ; g> w or 07c, in bow, fowl, &c, and in 
 morrow, &c. ; ^ > in dwarf ; is lost in steward, nine, tile. 
 Ng> nge in ffjqgr, stingy, g is lost in § 331). Double^; 
 
 A. S. cg> M. E. or gge > E. fljjr, in bridge, edge; is vocal- 
 ised in /ay, 6^ r or g final preserved in Scand. words, 
 as in egg, v., egg, s. § 340. History of T. T > d, in proud, 
 pride, clod; t> th, in swarthy, lath. 7" lost in anvil, best, last, 
 ado, Sec. § 341. Excrescent after ;/ or s. Dissimilated gemi- 
 nation. Exx. ; against, amidst, &c. ; anent. § 342. History of 
 TH. Voiceless th (]>) ; voiced th ($) ; iS > d, in afford, burdetk, 
 could, &c. ;)>>/, in height, nostril, &c. ; ths > j\s-, in bliss, 
 lissom. Th lost, in worship, wrist, &c, and in -whittle, whack. 
 § 343. History of t). Verner's Law. Z) > <S ; hither, thither, 
 &c. ; d > in #/vW, cuttlefish, tilt (of cart) ; iw*/, &c. ; 
 
XXX 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 § 344. Loss of d, as in answer, gospel. Excrescent d ; after n, in 
 bound (to go), dzvindle; after /, in alder, elder; ds > ss, in bless, 
 gossip. § 345. History of N. N > m, in hemp, wimberry, 
 &c. ; n > /, in flannel, periwinkle (fish). § 346. N lost in A. S. ; 
 also lost in spider, Thursday ; and in inflexions. Initial n 
 lost in adder, auger; an- lost in drake. § 347. Intrusive n; 
 newt, nuncle, nightingale ; bittern, ??ia7'te?i, stubborn. Nd > nn, 
 in winnow. § 348. History of P. P > />, pebble, dribble, 
 wabble, cobweb. P>f{v), in knave. Excrescent p after as in 
 empty. § 349. History of F. Often sounded as v. Use of ff. 
 F > v initially, in vane, vat, vi?iewed, vixen ; finally, in lives, 
 calves, calve. T^lost in hast, hath, had, head, lord, lady. Fm > 
 mm, in lemman, Lammas, woman. § 350. History of B. B 
 > p, in gossip, unkempt. Excrescent b, after m ; in embers, &c. 
 § 351. History of M. M lost in five, ousel, soft; m > n in ant, 
 Hants, aunt. § 352. History of Y. Aryan Y preserved \nye, 
 yea, yes, year, &c. § 353. History of R. R > /, in s/noulder; 
 rr > dd, in paddock ; r lost in speak, speech ; r intrusive in 
 bridegroom, hoarse, surf. Metathesis of r, as in bird, burn, &c. 
 § 354. History of L. L lost in each, which, such, as, England ; 
 not sounded in calf; It > //, in totter. § 355. History of W. 
 A. S. -we > -ow, in arrow. A. S. -w absorbed in tree, knee. W 
 lost in ooze, cud, lark, aught, soul ; and in initial wl, thw, tw, 
 sw. Hw > wh. Wr. H^wh, in whole, whoop. § 356. 
 History of S. S written ce, finally; s > c, in cinder; s > sc, 
 in scythe; s > z, in adze, bedizen, with which cf. rise, besom. 
 Voicing of s. S > sh, in gush ; s > ch, in li7ich-pin, hench- 
 man. § 357. S > r, by Verner's Law, as in are, were, lorn, &c. 
 § 358. -5* lost, finally, in burial, riddle, pea. Origin of s in 
 skates, bodice, eaves. § 359. Sp > p, in paddle (small spade). 
 S intrusive, in island. S prefixed in squeeze. S < f in sneeze ; 
 lost in neeze. § 360. History of SK. Sk (sc) > sh, in shame, 
 shine ; exceptions. The word schooner. St > ss, in blossom, 
 &c. Metathesis of sk and sp. § 361. Table of Principal Con- 
 sonantal Changes ........ 344 
 
 Chapter XIX. — Various Changes in the Forms of Words ; 
 Phonology. § 362. Palatalisation ; Voicing of voiceless 
 letters ; Vocalisation of voiced letters ; Assimilation ; Substi- 
 tution ; Metathesis. § 363. Abbreviation. Aphesis defined. 
 Loss of initial consonants, as in nip, nibble, &c. § 364. Loss 
 of medial consonants, as in drown, ear, &c. § 365. Loss of 
 final consonants, as in barley, every, &c. Loss of final n, 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 xxxi 
 
 especially in inflexions. Loss of final w in glee, knee ; loss of 
 final s in burial, &c. § 366. wSyncope ; as in eer for ever. 
 Loss of medial as in nail. Loss of a medial vowel, as in adze, 
 ant, &c. Examples of violent contraction. Vowel-shortening. 
 § 367. Apocope. Loss of genders in English. Final a lost, in 
 ass, bow, s. ; final e lost, in croiv, e?id ; final o lost in heat, eld ; 
 final u lost in door, son, wood ; final se lost in alms ; final en 
 lost in le7it, kindred; &c. § 368. Unvoicing of voiced con- 
 sonants, as in abbot, want (mole), gossip, purse. § 369. 
 Addition. Vowel-insertion ; whisper, besom, &c. The E. suffix 
 -yer, -ier, in bowyer, brazier, &c. Origin of the suffix -ier. 
 Insertion of o before 7U, as in wallow. Addition of inorganic 
 mute e. § 370. Consonantal insertions. H wrongly prefixed, 
 as in yellow-hammer. Wrong insertion of h, in whelk, rhyme ; 
 and of n, in newt. N suffixed, as in bittern. Y prefixed, in 
 yew, you. R inserted, in bridegroom, hoarse, surf, swarths. L 
 inserted in could. W inserted, in whole, whoop, woof. S in- 
 serted in island. Excrescent letters. § 371. Graphic changes ; 
 c > k ; cch > tch ; h > gh ; cw > qu ; hw > wh ; &c. § 372. 
 Misuse of symbols. List of symbols that are most often 
 confused. § 373. Errors of editors and of early printers. 
 The word cnveiy. The ' phrase 1 chek yn a tyde. Ghost-words 
 (see foot-note). § 374. Doubling of consonants to denote 
 vowel-shortening. Needless use of c in acknowledge ; needless 
 doubling of f'm afford, affright. § 375. Vowel-changes due to 
 consonantal influence. Effect of //. § 376. The same ; effect 
 ofg. § 377. The same; effect of n or m. § 378. The same: 
 effect of nd in lengthening i. Effect of § 370. Effect of m 
 or n upon a preceding o. § 380. Effect of nd in lengthening u, 
 § 381. Effect of r on the preceding vowel. Loss of trill of r. 
 Er> ar\ examples. § 382. Effect of / upon a preceding 
 vowel. § 383. Effect of w, wh, and qu upon a following 
 vowel; ag> aw. § 884. Change of wi to u; and of iw to 
 ew. § 385. Confluence of forms. Definition of 1 confluence.' 
 Examples ; three words spelt sound ; barse and bass ; wilk and 
 whelk ; &c. § 386. Homonyms. Homographs and homo- 
 phones defined. Examples of homographs. § 387. Further 
 examples. § 388. Examples of homophones ; ale, ail; beat, 
 beet; &c 384 
 
 Chapter XX. — Doublets and Compounds. § 389. Dimor- 
 phism. Definition of doublets. § 3'.>0. Doublets sometimes 
 due to a difference of dialect, as ridge, rig; or to borrowed 
 
xxxii 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 words from abroad, as in the case of deck, a doublet of thatch. 
 § 391. One of the pair may be Scandinavian, as in the case of 
 dale, doublet of dell, &c. § 392. One of the pair may be 
 French or Latin ; examples. Both forms may be Latin ; exam- 
 ples. § 393. Compound Words. § 394. Substantive com- 
 pounds. Adjective Compounds. Verbal Compounds. § 395. 
 List of Compounds, of native origin, in which the origin has 
 been more or less obscured. § 396. Petrified forms. § 397. 
 Hybrid forms ......... 414 
 
 Chapter XXI. — Early Words of Latin origin. § 398. 
 Latin of the First Period. Chester. Street, wall. Wine, wick, 
 port, pool, mile, pine, v. § 399. Latin of the Second Period. 
 Words such as A. S. sanct are not to be included. Two sets of 
 such words. § 400. List of Words of pure Latin origin, found 
 in Anglo-Saxon, and still in use ; including those of the First 
 Period. § 401. List of unoriginal Latin words found in Anglo- 
 Saxon, and still in use. § 402. Classification of Words found 
 in the two preceding Lists. § 403. Remarks. Notice of some 
 Latin words found in Anglo-Saxon that have been supplanted by 
 French forms 432 
 
 Chapter XXII. — The Celtic element. § 404. Difficulty of 
 the subject. Welsh has frequently borrowed words from Middle 
 English. § 405. Most Celtic words have been borrowed at 
 a late period. § 406. Words of Irish origin. §§ 407-409. 
 Words of Scotch-Gaelic origin. § 410. Words of Welsh origin. 
 § 411. Words possibly of early Celtic origin. § 412. Anglo- 
 Saxon words of Celtic origin 443 
 
 Chapter XXIII. — The Scandinavian or Scandian element. 
 § 413. Period of the borrowing of Scandian words. § 414. 
 Language of the Northmen. Scandian defined. § 415. Ice- 
 landic ; its archaic form. It may be taken as the best type of 
 Scandian. § 416. The Icel. long a > E. long 0 ; as in both. 
 Examples. § 417. The Icel. long e > E. ee ; as in kneel, lee. 
 § 418. The Icel. long i > E. ee, as in leech ; or i, as in grime. 
 Examples. § 419. The Icel. long 0 > E. 00, as in bloom, loon, 
 root, scoop, loom ; or E. 0, as in bowline ; or ou, as in bow (of a 
 ship ) I, plough, slouch. § 420. The Icel. long u > E. 00, as in 
 booth, droop, hoot, pooh ; or E. ou, as in bound (ready), cow, v., 
 cower, Sec. § 421. Icelandic vowel-mutation. § 422. The 
 Icel. long y > E. i ; as in fie, mire, shy, sky, suite, v. § 423. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 xxxiii 
 
 The Icel. long ce > E. ea, as in scream ; or E. ee, in seemly, 
 sneer ; or E. z, as in eider-duck, fry (spawn), sly ; or E. ai, in 
 wail. § 424. The Icel. au; whence E. loose, stoop, s., gawky, 
 fluster. § 425. The Icel. ei > E. ai, as in bait ; or ea, in weak, 
 queasy ; or oi in groin. § 426. The Icel. ey appears in gey sir ; 
 cf. also die, v., steep, v., tryst, s. § 427. The Icel. j6, jii ; cf. 
 E. shealing, meek. § 428. Mutation ; a > . . e, as in ^r^r, 
 0 > . . y y whence drip, filly, flit, lift ; u> . .y, whence 
 skim. U-mutation of a; bark (of a tree), brindled, ledge. 
 § 429. Gradation. Verbal derivatives formed by gradation. 
 Strong verbs of Scand. origin ; fling, rive, take, thrive. Other 
 verbs of Scand. origin. The pp. rottcti. § 430. Aryan suffixes 
 exemplified in words of Scand. origin. § 431. The suffixed 
 of the neuter gender ; athwart, scant, thwart, toft, want, wight. 
 § 432. The suffix -sk in bask, busk. The suffix -tcr in sis-ter. 
 The suffix -st in trust, tryst. § 433. Verbal suffixes ; -en, -n, as 
 in batten, fawn-, -k, as in lurk; -ch, in filch ; -le or -el, as in 
 bungle, grovel ; -/, as in kneel ; -er, as in blunder ; -se, as in 
 rinse. The verb gasp. § 434. Palatalisation rare in Scand. 
 words ; sk is often preserved. Final g is also commonly pre- 
 served ; large number of Scand. words ending in g, gg, or con- 
 taining gg. The sb. egg. Final sk > sh, as in dash ; -sk remains 
 in whisk, bask, busk; final s > sh, in gush, flush. § 435. 
 Voicing of voiceless letters. Various examples. § 436. Vocalis- 
 ation of voiced letters ; fawn, bow (of a ship), gain, how (hill), 
 low, adj., low (flame), roe ; flaw, fraught. § 437. Assimila- 
 tion ; brad, gad, s., ill, odd, &c. § 438. Substitution ;/->/, 
 as in nasty ; s > sh, in gush. The word sledge. § 439. Meta- 
 thesis; gasp, dirt. § 440. Contraction. Loss of initial letter, 
 as in lee; of a medial letter, as in bask, whirl; of a final letter, 
 as in roe (of a fish). § 441. Unvoicing of voiced consonants; 
 blunt, shunt. § 442. Additions ; excrescent b and The 
 words whisk and windlass. § 443. Graphic changes. Pecu- 
 liarities of Icelandic spelling. § 444. Misuse of / for f 
 § 445. Vowel-changes due to consonantal influence or other 
 cause. Vowel-lengthening. Change of en to in ; hinge, fling. 
 § 446. List of Compound Words, of Scandian origin, in which 
 the origin has been more or less obscured. Note on words bor- 
 rowed from modern Icelandic, Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian 453 
 
 Chapter XXIV. — The Old Friesic and Old Dutch ele- 
 ment. § 447. Scarcity of Information. § 448. Borrowings 
 from Dutch have taken place at various dates. Many sea-terms 
 VOL. I. C 
 
xxxiv 
 
 TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 are Dutch ; examples. § 449. Many cant terms are of Dutch 
 origin ; examples. § 450. Dutch words borrowed in the time 
 of Elizabeth. List of Dutch words in Shakespeare. § 451. 
 Introduction of Dutch words into Middle English. Difficulty of 
 the enquiry. Examples. § 452. Imperfection of the remains of 
 
 Anglo-Saxon . . 481 
 
 Chapter XXV. — Effects of the English Accent. § 453. 
 Shortening of long vowels often due to accent. § 454. Rule 1. 
 A long vowel is often shortened by accentual stress, when a word 
 is augmented by an additional syllable. Examples : (a) words 
 augmented by a suffix ; words augmented by composition, 
 the vowel being followed by two or more consonants ; (r) com- 
 pound words, in which the vowel is not clogged by consonants. 
 § 455. Rule 2. In dissyllabic compounds, a long vowel in the 
 latter syllable may be shortened by the want of stress. Examples. 
 (Note that, by Rules 1 and 2, both the vowels in A.S. Di'mstdn 
 are short in modern English.) § 456. Rule 3. In dissyllabic 
 words, the vowel of the unaccented syllable, if short, may dis- 
 appear; hence 1 crushed forms,' such as licm for heron ; lo?ie for 
 alone. § 457. Rule 4. In trisyllabic words, the middle (un- 
 accented) vowel or syllable may disappear ; hence 1 crushed 
 forms/ such as fortnight for fourteen-night. § 458. Effect of 
 emphasis; differentiation of to and too ; <?/*and off. Loss of h in 
 unemphatic it. Voicing of final s in plurals of substantives, &c. 
 § 459. Syllabic division ; vowel-lengthening. § 460. Free and 
 enclosed vowels. § 461. Short accented vowels. § 462. Vowel- 
 lengthening. § 463. Lengthening of e and 0. § 464. Words in 
 //, ld % nd. § 465. Lengthening of a, e, i } 0, u. § 466. Length- 
 ening of vowels in A. S. monosyllabic nouns. Formulae for close 
 
 and open long e and 0 in Middle-English. 491 
 
 Notes 507 
 
 Appendix A. Further Illustrations of §§ 60-65 . . . 509 
 
 Appendix B. Specimens of Spelling 515 
 
 Index of English Words 519 
 
 General Index of Principal Matters Discussed . 545 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 Page 103, last line of text. Shift the former 4 so as to follow 
 birddar 
 
 „ 136, 1. 16. For *dhugitar read *dhugiter 
 
 „ 164, L 9. For parasiti read parasitic 
 
 „ 187, L 16. Insert comma after reodan 
 
 „ 189, L 9. Insert comma after shook 
 
 >> 338, note 2, last line. For ewans 9 read 'wans' 
 
 „ 385, L 8 from bottom. Omit one of the commas after d<p€<ris 
 
 „ 440, 1. 10 from bottom. For ra-q-ns read tcm^s 
 
ENGLISH ETYMOLOGY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Introductory. 
 
 § 1. It will assist me in explaining the scope of the pre- 
 sent book if I first of all make a few remarks upon a given 
 passage of English literature. For this purpose, I open 
 Booth's reprint of the celebrated ' First Folio' edition of 
 Shakespeare's plays, first printed in 1623. ^ n 1 Actus Tertia 
 of The Taming of the Shrew, Gremio thus speaks of 
 Petruchio : — 
 
 Tut, (he's a Lambe, a Doue, a foole to him : 
 
 He tell you fir Lucentio ; when the Priefl 
 
 Shoulde aske if Katherine mould be his wife, 
 
 I, by goggs wooncs quoth he, and fwore so loud, 
 
 That all amaz'd the Pried let fall the booke, 
 
 And as he floop'd againe to take it vp, 
 
 This mad-brain'd bridegroome tooke him such a cuffe, 
 
 That downe fell Priefl and booke, and booke and Priefl, 
 
 Now take them vp quoth he, if any lift.' 
 
 Those who are accustomed only to modern print and 
 spelling will at once notice slight variations between the old 
 and modern methods of printing this well-known passage. 
 Thus the use of / to represent the affirmative aye has 
 certainly a peculiar look ; and few people would now make 
 use of such an expression as * if any list.' This will at once 
 help us to see that our language has a history, and that it 
 alters from time to time. The importance of studying our 
 
 VOL. I. *| B 
 
2 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 [Chap. I. 
 
 language historically can hardly be over-estimated. A 
 student who is unacquainted with the older forms of it, is 
 in no wise qualified 1 to give opinions upon the derivation of 
 English words, unless the word be derived from Latin or 
 Greek in so obvious a manner that the derivation cannot 
 easily be missed by such as have received a fair education 
 in those languages ; and even then, if the word has come to 
 us indirectly, through the French, he is very likely to miss 
 some important point concerning it. 
 
 § 2. Glancing once more at the above quotation, let us 
 consider the various points about it which call for special 
 attention and study. First of all, we naturally ask, who was 
 the author, and at what time did he live? What kind of 
 literary work is here exhibited, in what relation does it stand 
 to other works by the same writer, and what is the exact 
 date of its composition ? These are questions which chiefly 
 belong to what is called the history of English literature, and 
 to literary history in general. Looking at it once more from 
 another point of view, we may ask, in what language is this 
 written, and at what period ? What were the peculiarities of 
 the language at that period, as regards the pronunciation, 
 the spelling, the method of printing and punctuation, the 
 grammar, and the nature of the vocabulary ? These are 
 questions which belong to the history of the English lan- 
 guage, and to the history of language in general. 
 
 § 3. With a view to limiting the field of observation and 
 erquiry as far as possible, I propose, in the present work, to 
 consider chiefly the vocabulary, and further to limit this, for 
 the most part, to the vocabulary of our language as it is 
 current at the present day. And further, as regards the 
 vocabulary, I propose to deal mainly with the etymology of 
 
 1 I have frequently heard such grossly false statements concerning 
 English so confidently uttered by supposed 1 scholars ' that any hint of 
 contradiction was hopeless. Nothing was left but to listen in silent 
 shame. 
 
COMPOSITE NATURE OF ENGLISH. 
 
 3 
 
 the words which go to compose it ; so that the precise sub- 
 ject of our enquiry is, in fact, the etymology of words 
 current in modern English. At the same time, it must be 
 carefully borne in mind, that all the points mentioned above 
 are more or less intimately connected with the subject. We 
 shall certainly make a great mistake unless we are always 
 ready to accept such help as may be afforded us by con- 
 sidering the literary use of words, the phonetic history of 
 their changing forms, the dates at which certain changes 
 of form took place, the dates at which certain words (pre- 
 viously unknown) came into current use, and the changes to 
 which words are subject in consequence of their grammatical 
 relation to each other in the sentence. Whilst, on the one 
 hand, we limit the subject as far as possible in order to 
 master the essential principles with less effort, we are often 
 obliged, on the other hand, to make use of all the aid that 
 can be afforded us by proper attention to chronology and 
 linguistic history ; and we often find ourselves compelled to 
 seek for aid from all the resources which comparative philo- 
 logy can yield. Inasmuch, however, as the vocabulary and 
 grammar of every language can be, to some extent, con- 
 sidered independently, I propose to leave the grammar in 
 the background, and to refer the reader, for further informa- 
 tion concerning it, to Morris's ' Historical Outlines of Eng- 
 lish Accidence/ and Matzners 'Englische Grammatik/ of 
 which there is an English translation by C. J. Grece. Another 
 highly important work is the ' Historische Grammatik der 
 englischen Sprache' by C. F. Koch, which, like the work 
 by Matzner, contains a great deal of valuable information 
 about the vocabulary as well as the grammar. To these 
 three books I shall have occasion to refer particularly, and 
 I have frequently drawn upon them for illustrative examples. 
 
 § 4. The most remarkable point about the vocabulary of 
 modern English is its composite nature. Certainly no 
 language was ever composed of such numerous and such 
 
 B 2 
 
4 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. 
 
 diverse elements. The sentiment of the old Roman — ' homo 
 sum : humani nihil a me alienum puto 1 ' — has been fully 
 accepted by the Englishman, with a very practical effect 
 upon his language. This important subject, of the various 
 sources whence our language has been supplied, will form 
 the subject of Chapter II ; and the succeeding Chapters of 
 the present volume will deal with what may be called the 
 native element or the primary source of modern English. 
 I also take into consideration Latin words found in Anglo- 
 Saxon, and early words of Celtic and Scandinavian origin. 
 The secondary sources, including the very important French 
 element, will be dealt with in another volume. 
 
 1 4 1 am a man, and nothing which relates to man can be a matter of 
 unconcern to me ; ' Terence, Heautontimorwnenos, i. I. 25. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 The Sources of the English Language. 
 
 § 5. Chronology. In considering the various sources 
 from which the vocabulary of modern English has been 
 drawn, our most important help is chronology, A strict 
 attention to chronology will often decide a question which 
 might otherwise be somewhat obscure. A single example 
 may suffice to shew this, and may furnish further instruction 
 by the way. Johnson's Dictionary, in treating of the word 
 surloin, under the spelling sirloin, refers us to the 5th sense 
 of sir, under which we find, accordingly, that sirloin is 1 a 
 title given to the loyi of beef, which one of our kings 
 knighted in a good humour/ This is one of those famous 
 and abundant falsehoods which the general public, who 
 usually have no special linguistic experience, applaud to the 
 echo and believe greedily ; but any student who has had but 
 a moderate experience of the history of language cannot but 
 feel some doubts, and will at once ask the very pertinent 
 question, who was the king? Turning to Richardson's 
 Dictionary, we are told that surloin is 1 the loin of beef, so 
 entitled by King James the First.' Not the slightest evidence 
 is offered of this historical event, nor is any hint given as to 
 the author who is responsible for such a statement. But in 
 an account of some expenses of the Ironmongers' Company, 
 in the time of Henry VI, quoted by Wedgwood from the 
 Athenaeum of Dec. 28, 1867, we find the entry — 'A surloyn 
 beeff, vii d! Thus chronology at once tells us that the word 
 was in use at least a century before King James I was born, 
 and effectually disposes of this idle and mischievous invention. 
 
6 
 
 SOURCES OF ENGLISH. 
 
 [Chap. II. 
 
 In fact, our loin is merely borrowed from the French longe 
 (formerly also spelt logne), and our surloin from the French 
 surlonge 1 . In Littre^s French Dictionary is a quotation 
 shewing that sur longe was already in use in the fourteenth 
 century, which carries the word's history still further back. 
 Hence we learn the very necessary lesson, that etymology 
 requires scientific treatment, and does not consist in giving 
 indolent credence to silly guesses ; and we at once establish 
 the value of chronology as a helpful guide to the truth. 
 
 § 6. Additions to the Vocabulary. The vocabulary 
 of the English language has, for many centuries, been 
 steadily increased by the constant addition of new words 
 borrowed from extraneous sources. It is true that many 
 words, being no longer wanted, or having their places 
 supplied by more convenient or more popular expressions, 
 have from time to time become obsolete ; but the loss thus 
 occasioned has always been more than counterbalanced by 
 additions from without. In some cases we are able to tell 
 the exact date at which a word has been introduced. Two 
 examples of this may be readily given. The verb to boycott 
 was first used in 1880, being suddenly brought into use by 
 the peculiar circumstances of the case. Captain Boycott, of 
 Lough Mask House, in Mayo (Ireland), was subjected to a 
 kind of social outlawry by the people among whom he lived, 
 and to whom he had given offence. Such treatment was 
 called boycotting, and the use of the word may be readily 
 understood by help of the following extract from the Scotsman 
 newspaper of Dec. 4, 1880: — ' They advise that men who 
 pay full rents shall be Boycotted ; nobody is to work for 
 
 1 Thus surloin is really the upper part of the loin ; from F. sur, 
 above, and O. F. logne, lo?ige, the loin. Again, the F. sur is from 
 Lat. super, above ; and longe represents a Lat. fern. adj. lumbea> formed 
 from lumbusy a loin. In many cases I shall not give the details of such 
 etymologies, as they can be found in my Etymological Dictionary, or 
 in the epitome of it, called the Concise Etymological Dictionary, both of 
 which are published by the Clarendon Press. 
 
§ ADDITIONS TO THE VOCABULARY. J 
 
 them, nobody is to sell them anything, nobody is to buy 
 anything of them/ Further, the people who acted against 
 Captain Boycott were called Boycotters, and the Echo news- 
 paper of Dec. 7, 1880, even ventured to speak of 'the latest 
 victim of Boycottism V Here is a case still fresh within the 
 memory of most of us, which at once shows how readily 
 a new verb can be formed to express a new kind of 
 social oppression : whilst the date of its introduction is so 
 well determined, that it would be useless to search for 
 examples of it earlier than 1880. The other example to 
 which I allude is the word mob, which is a mere contraction 
 of the Latin mobile or ?nobile vulgus (the fickle crowd or 
 multitude), first introduced as a convenient form for common 
 use, and afterwards retained because of its convenience. 
 This word can be dated, without much risk of error, about 
 1688. In Shadwell's Squire of Alsatia, 4to., 1688, the word 
 is spelt mobile on p. 3, but mob on p. 59. (See Notes and 
 Queries, 6th S. xii. 501.) In Dryden's Don Sebastian, written 
 in 1690, we find the word mobile in Act i. sc. 1, whilst in Act iii. 
 sc. 3 it is shortened to mob. In 1692, he again uses mob, in 
 his preface to Cleomenes. I have given, in my Dictionary, 
 examples from the Hatton Correspondence, of the use of 
 mobile in 1690, but mob in 1695. We shall not be likely to 
 find many examples of the use of mob before 1688, nor of 
 mobile long after 1690. 
 
 § 7. Changes introduced unceasingly but silently. 
 These constant additions to our language are seldom much 
 noticed by any of us. They usually creep in unobserved ; 
 or if, as in the case of boycott, they are so curious as to 
 force themselves upon our attention, the novelty soon wears 
 off, and we soon come to employ them without much re- 
 gard to the manner or time of their introduction. ' In this 
 matter of language/ says Archbishop Trench, 'how few 
 aged persons . . . are conscious of any serious difference 
 
 1 The word is well explained and illustrated in the New E. Dictionary. 
 
8 
 
 SOURCES OF ENGLISH. 
 
 [Chap. II. 
 
 between the spoken language of their early youth, and that 
 of their old age ; are aware that words and ways of using 
 words are obsolete now, which were usual then ; that many 
 words are current now, which had no existence at that time ; 
 that new idioms have sprung up, that old idioms have past 
 away. And yet it is certain that so it must be. . . . But there 
 are few to whom this is brought so distinctly home as 
 it was to Caxton, who writes — " our language now used 
 varieth far from that which was used and spoken when I 
 was born l " ' It will thus be seen that it is best to fix an 
 absolute date for the period of the language under discus- 
 sion; and I therefore take the year 1885 as our starting- 
 point, being the year in which this work was commenced. 
 
 § 8. Sources of the Language. Before we can discuss 
 the etymology of any word employed in modern English, it 
 is necessary to be quite certain, if possible, as to the source 
 whence the word has come to us. It would be useless to 
 try to explain such a word as elixir by the help of Latin or 
 Dutch, because, as a matter of fact, it is a term of alchemy, 
 and, as such, is due to the Arabic el-iksir. Here el (al) is the 
 definite article, and Hsir, i. e. essence or ' the philosopher's 
 stone/ is not a true Arabic word, but borrowed from the 
 Greek ^poV, dry or dried up, a term applied to the residuum 
 left in a retort 2 . Archbishop Trench gives a long list of 
 words which have found their way into English from various 
 sources 3 , but I have since given a fuller and more exact list 
 in the Appendix to my Dictionary 4 . In the attempt to settle 
 this question of ' distribution ' of our words according to the 
 languages whence they are derived, we always receive great 
 
 1 Trench ; * English Past and Present/ lect. 1 ; 9th ed., pp. 8-10. See 
 the whole passage. 
 
 2 Explained in the Supplement to my Etymological Dictionary, p. 801. 
 
 3 * English Past and Present,' lect. 1. See also Morris, Eng. Accidence, 
 § 29. 
 
 4 ' Distribution of Words/ at p. 747 of the larger edition, or p. 603 
 of the Concise edition. 
 
SOURCES OF ENGLISH. 
 
 9 
 
 help from chronology and history. Hence the following 
 ' Canons for Etymology ' are of primary importance. Before 
 attempting an etymology, ascertain the earliest form 
 and use of the word, and observe chronology. If the 
 word be of native origin, we should next trace its 
 history in cognate languages. If the word be bor- 
 rowed, we must observe geography and the history 
 of events, remembering that borrowings are due to 
 actual contact. We may be sure, for example, that we did 
 not take the word elixir directly from the Moors, but rather 
 obtained it through the medium of Latin, in which language 
 alchemical treatises were usually written. 
 
 § 9. Enumeration of these sources. The various sources 
 of English may be thus enumerated \ Taking English to 
 represent the native speech of the Low-German conquerors 
 of England, the earliest accessions to the language, after 
 a. d. 450, were due to borrowings from the Celtic inhabitants 
 of our island. Latin occupies the curious position of a lan- 
 guage which has lent us words at many different dates, from 
 a period preceding historical record 2 down to modern times. 
 Many Scandinavian words were introduced at an early date, 
 chiefly before the Norman Conquest in 1066, although most 
 of them cannot be traced much further back than 1200, or 
 even somewhat later. Owing to an almost constant trade 
 or contact with Holland, Dutch words have been borrowed 
 directly at various periods ; the chief of these being, in my 
 opinion, the reign of Edward III and Elizabeth. A con- 
 siderable number of words have been borrowed from Greek, 
 many of which belong purely to science or literature rather 
 
 1 For fuller details, see Morris, English Accidence, ch. iii. 
 
 2 Several Latin words were known to the Teutonic tribes before the 
 Saxon invasion of England. Such words are camp, cascrc, mil, pin, 
 street (camp, Caesar, mile, pine, i.e. punishment, street); ' Dialects and 
 Prehistoric Forms of Old English,' by H. Sweet ; Phil. Soc. Trans. , 
 1876, p. 543. Some, such as port (harbour), wall, &c., may have been 
 learnt from the Britons. 
 
IO SOURCES OF ENGLISH. [Chap. II. 
 
 than to the spoken language. Such as have been borrowed 
 directly may mostly be dated from a period not earlier than 
 the reign of Edward VI, when the revival of the study of 
 Greek took place owing to the teaching of Sir John Cheke 
 and others at Cambridge \ Before that period, many Greek 
 words found their way indeed into English, but only in- 
 directly, through the medium of Latin or French; such 
 words commonly refer to ecclesiastical affairs or to the art 
 of medicine. The Norman conquest opened the way for 
 the introduction of French words into English, but this in- 
 troduction was at first very sparing, so that the number of 
 them extant in English writings before the year 1300 is by 
 no means large. After that date, the influx of them was 
 immense, especially during the fourteenth century ; so much 
 so that by the end of that century the composite character of 
 our language was completely established. One great cause 
 of this was certainly the influence of the law-courts, which 
 notoriously retain to the present day many old French words 
 that have dropped out of current use, or have never found 
 their way into our daily speech. Besides these sources, there 
 are no others of importance much before 1500, with the sole 
 and curious exception of the Semitic languages, Hebrew and 
 Arabic. The Hebrew words are due to the influence of the 
 Hebrew Scriptures, which rendered such words as seraph and 
 sabbath familiar to Greek, Latin, and French authors at an 
 early period. Arabic words came through contact with 
 Eastern commerce, or were due to some acquaintance, either 
 through the medium of Latin or by way of France and 
 Spain, with the Moors who had established themselves in 
 the latter country. 
 
 But about the year 1500, our language entered upon what 
 
 1 1 Thy age, like ours, O Soul of Sir John Cheek, 
 Hated not learning worse than toad or asp, 
 When thou taught'st Cambridge, and King Edward, Greek.' 
 
 Milton ; Sonnet vi. 
 
MODERN STAGE OF ENGLISH. 
 
 II 
 
 may be definitely called its modern stage. Not only did the 
 discovery of America render possible the gradual introduction 
 of a few native American words, but English was brought 
 into closer contact with Spanish and Portuguese, owing to 
 the stimulus thus given to foreign travel and trade, and the 
 increased facilities for them. At the same time, the French 
 language began to borrow largely from Italian, especially 
 during the reigns of Francis I (15 15-154 7) and Henry II 
 (1 547—1559) ; and we frequently borrowed Italian words, 
 not only indirectly, through the French, but directly also. 
 Wyatt and Surrey studied and imitated Italian, and already 
 in 1545 we find Ascham, in his Preface to Toxophilus, com- 
 plaining that many English writers use ' straunge wordes, as 
 latin, french, and Italian' \ see Arber's reprint, p. 18 \ The 
 end of the sixteenth century, and the century succeeding it, 
 made our travellers familiar with such foreign languages as 
 German 2 , Russian, Turkish, and Persian; and later still, words 
 have been introduced from many others, including various 
 Indian languages, and the diverse tongues scattered over the 
 continents of Asia, Africa, and America, the remoter parts of 
 Europe, and the distant islands of Polynesia. We have also 
 borrowed Spanish words indirectly, through the medium of 
 French, from the time of Henry IV of France (1589-16 10) ; 
 and even directly, from a somewhat earlier date. It may 
 be remarked that the influence of French upon English has 
 now lasted for more than five centuries. 
 
 § 10. The Modern Period begins about 1500. It 
 will thus appear that a tolerably distinct, though arbitrary, 
 line of separation may be drawn by taking the date 1500 3 
 
 1 See an essay on 'The Influence of Italian upon English Literature/ 
 by J. Ross Murray; 1886. 
 
 a The number of words directly derived from German is very small. 
 A considerable number were derived from Old or Middle High German 
 through the medium of French. The common popular delusion about 
 the 1 derivation 9 of English from German is refuted below. 
 
 3 Some prefer to take the date 1485, i.e. the date of the accession of 
 
12 
 
 SOURCES OF ENGLISH. 
 
 [Chap. II. 
 
 as indicating the commencement of a new stage in the his- 
 tory of our language. Roughly speaking, and with very 
 few exceptions, this date separates the earlier stages of the 
 language from nearly all contact with such languages as 
 Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, Greek (as used in 
 science or as an immediate source), Turkish, Russian, and 
 Hungarian in Europe, and (with the exceptions of Hebrew, 
 Arabic, and, to a slight extent, of Persian) from nearly every 
 tongue not spoken within the European continent. If, 
 therefore, we ascertain that a given word was already in 
 common use in the fifteenth century, or earlier, the range of 
 our search is much limited. Words of Eastern origin are, 
 in general, easily detected and set aside; and when these 
 are disposed of, the choice is usually limited to English, 
 Low German, Scandinavian, or Dutch on the one hand, or 
 to French, Latin, or Greek (in a Latin or French form) on 
 the other. The Celtic words stand apart from these, and 
 often present much difficulty; and there are doubtless some 
 cases in which a word borrowed from French turns out to 
 be ultimately of Celtic origin. Owing to this gradual 
 narrowing down of the number of original sources as we 
 recede from modern to more ancient times, the question of a 
 word's origin frequently resolves itself into the tolerably simple 
 form — is it native English, Scandinavian, Latin, or French ? 
 These four sources are all of primary importance, and will 
 each of them be considered hereafter ; but (with the excep- 
 tion of words borrowed before the Norman Conquest) only 
 the two former fall within the scope of the present volume. 
 
 § 11. Foreign things denoted by foreign words. The 
 best way to set about the enquiry into the etymology of a 
 given word is, as I have said, to find out the earliest example 
 of its use. Yet even without this aid, our general knowledge 
 
 Henry VII, as the date of the commencement of the modern period. 
 Nothing is gained by it. The discovery of America did not take place 
 till 1492, and the very year 1500 is famous for the discovery of Brazil. 
 
§u.] FOREIGN WORDS FOR FOREIGN THINGS. 1 3 
 
 of history and geography will often indicate the true source, 
 by telling us something about the thing which the word 
 indicates. 
 
 Examples of this may be seen in Trench's ' English Past 
 and Present/ lect. i. The mere mention of ho/land suggests 
 Dutch ; whilst geography tells us that Holland contains the 
 town of Delft, whence our del/] as well as the province of 
 Gelderland, whence our guelder-rose^. The geysir suggests 
 Icelandic, and meerschaum German. Such words as cla?i, 
 claymore, gillie, loch, pibroch, slogan, whisky, can hardly be 
 other than Gaelic. Such musical terms as allegro, a?idante, 
 duet, opera, pianoforte, solo, sonata, soprano, trio, are of course 
 Italian ; and so are canto, cicero?ie, doge, incognito, intaglio, 
 lava, macaroni, mezzotinto, stanza, stiletto, vermicelli, vista. 
 The very forms of the words at once betray their origin. 
 Similarly the student of Spanish easily recognises the words 
 armada, armadillo, don, duenna, flotilla, grandee, hidalgo, junta, 
 lasso, matador, mosquito, negro, peccadillo, primcro, quadroon, 
 real (as the name of a coin), tornado, vanilla ; and even 
 those who have no acquaintance with that language naturally 
 associate armada, don, duenna, grandee, hidalgo, matador with 
 Spain, and lasso, negro, quadroon, with the Spanish colonies. 
 We cannot mention a drosky, a rouble, a steppe, or a verst 
 without thinking of Russia, nor such words as amazon, am- 
 brosia, antistrophe, asphodel, episode, Hades, ichor, myriad, 
 myth, nepenthe, panoply, strophe, tantalise, threnody, without 
 being reminded of the glorious poetry of ancient Greece. 
 Tales of Persian origin or accounts of travels in that country 
 are sure to introduce us to the bazaar, the carava?i, the 
 divan ; the shah, the pasha, and the dervish will not go un- 
 mentioned ; nor will the Eastern imagery be complete without 
 the ghoul, the houri, and the peri. It is the Malay who calls 
 his sword a creese, and who runs amuck ; the Chinese who 
 grows tea ; the Thibetan who acknowledges a supreme lama, 
 1 The spelling guelder- is due to the French spelling Gueldre. 
 
14 
 
 SOURCES OF ENGLISH. 
 
 [Chap. II. 
 
 while the Tartar calls his chief lord a khan, and the Russian 
 a czar \ Bantam is in Java ; gamboge is only a French 
 spelling of Cambodia. Australia possesses the kangaroo and 
 the wombat; the inhabitant of Tahiti tattooes himself. Guinea 
 is on the west coast of Africa, and the Canary islands have 
 given a name to a bird, a wine, and a dance. Stories about 
 the North American Indians speak of the moose, the opossum, 
 the racoon, and the skunk ; of the warrior with his moccassins, 
 tomahawk, and wampum, and his squaw in the wigwam. 
 These instances may suffice for the present ; I propose to 
 give other examples in due course. 
 
 § 12. Useful dates. The following dates are all of them 
 more or less important in relation to the changes which 
 have taken place in the English language. 
 
 First landing of Caesar in Britain . . . B.C. 55 
 Agricola builds his line of forts, and reduces Britain 
 
 to a Roman province a.d. 81 
 
 Christianity introduced into Britain . . . about 180 
 Hengest founds the kingdom of Kent . . . 449 
 Augustine converts /Ethelberht .... 597 
 Northumberland submits to Ecgberht . . . 829 
 Ecgberht defeats the Danes .... 836 
 The Danes winter in Sheppey .... 855 
 Peace of Wedmore ; between Alfred and Guthorm 878 
 Danish invasions begin again .... 980 
 
 Ascendancy of Cnut 1016 
 
 Battle of Hastings 1066 
 
 English proclamation of Henry III. . . . 1258 
 
 First parliament of Edward 1 1275 
 
 Year-books of Edward I. (Reports of cases in Anglo- 
 French) I 292- 1 306 
 
 Edward III. invades France .... 1339-40 
 Pleadings first conducted in English, though recorded 
 
 in Latin 1362 
 
 1 Not, however, a true Russian word ; but a Slavonic modification of 
 Ccesar. Similarly the knout is denoted by a word borrowed from Swedish, 
 and allied to E. knot. 
 
§ 13.] HISTORICAL SURVEY. 15 
 
 English first taught in schools .... A.D. 1385 
 
 Wars of the Roses 1455-71 
 
 Introduction of Printing into England . . 1477 
 
 Columbus discovers San Salvador . . . 1492 
 
 Modern stage of English begins .... about 1500 
 Ariosto publishes his Orlando Furioso. (Beginning 
 
 of Italian influence) 15 16 
 
 Tyndale's New Testament first printed . . 1525 
 
 Sir John Cheke teaches Greek at Cambridge . 1540 
 
 The Netherlanders resist Spain .... 1566 
 Battle of Ivry. (Beginning of frequent borrowings in 
 
 French from Spanish ) 1590 
 
 Authorised version of the Bible .... 161 1 
 
 First folio edition of Shakespeare . . . 1623 
 
 Civil War 1642-9 
 
 Proceedings at law recorded in English . . 1730 
 
 Clive gains the battle of Plassey . . . . 1757 
 
 Captain Cook's discoveries in the Pacific Ocean 1769 
 Goethe's i Sorrows of Werter' translated into English 1779 
 Carlyle translates Goethe's 'Wilhelm Meister' . 1824 
 
 § 13. Historical Survey. A few remarks will make 
 clear the bearings of these events upon our language. When 
 Julius Caesar arrived in Britain, the inhabitants of the south 
 were speaking a Celtic dialect, but the reduction of the 
 island to a Roman province under Agricola gradually in- 
 troduced a knowledge of Latin, which led in its turn to 
 a knowledge of Christianity. After the Romans withdrew 
 from the island, it fell an easy prey to English invaders, who 
 founded in it various kingdoms, the oldest of which was that 
 of Kent. Ecgberht's acquisition of Northumberland brought 
 the whole of England under one ruler; whilst the mission 
 of St. Augustine brought in Christianity amongst the pagan 
 English. Ecgberht's defeat of the Danes only marks the 
 beginning of a long struggle of two centuries 1 . Their in- 
 cursions still continued, so that in 855 they spent the whole 
 
 1 The Danes, in small numbers, had invaded England even earlier, in 
 787 and 832 ; see Morris, Eng. Accidence, § 23. 
 
i6 
 
 SOURCES OF ENGLISH. 
 
 [Chap. II. 
 
 winter in Kent, instead of retreating homeward for that 
 season, as they had been wont to do. The peace of Wed- 
 more brought with it some cessation, but at the close of the 
 tenth century we find them again aggressive, until a Danish 
 kingdom was at last established under Cnut. Thus we 
 already see that there must have been a considerable fusion 
 of English with Latin and Scandinavian before the Norman 
 conquest, whilst a few terms had probably been borrowed 
 from the vanquished Britons, who spoke Celtic dialects. 
 Edward the Confessor's relations with Normandy first in- 
 troduced a slight acquaintance with French, and the battle 
 of Hastings rendered that language and Latin almost para- 
 mount for a time. But English remained so much the 
 language of the people that the knowledge of it was never 
 lost, and on one solitary occasion Henry III actually issued 
 a proclamation in the native language, on the 18th of October, 
 1258 *. Throughout his reign and that of Edward I all the 
 Statutes and Reports of cases in the law-courts were in 
 French or Latin; but there was always a succession of 
 various literary works in English 2 . The wars of Edward III 
 brought us into closer relation with French as spoken in 
 France, which by this time differed considerably from 
 the Anglo-French into which the original Norman-French 
 had passed, along a path of its own. Trevisa, an English 
 writer born in Cornwall, records the interesting fact that, in 
 the year 1385, children left off translating Latin into Anglo- 
 French, of which many of them scarcely knew a word, and 
 were wisely allowed by their masters to express themselves 
 
 1 Edited by A. J. Ellis, in the 'Transactions of the Philological Society.' 
 Another copy of it was edited by myself for the same society in 1882. 
 
 2 This succession of English writings may most easily be seen by 
 consulting, in order, the four following works in the Clarendon Press 
 Series : viz. Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader ; ' Specimens of English from 
 1 1 50 to 1300/ ed. Morris; 'Specimens of English from 1298 to 1393/ 
 cd. Morris and Skeat ; 'Specimens of English from 1394 to 1579,' 
 de. Skeat. 
 
HISTORICAL SUMMARY. 
 
 *7 
 
 in their native tongue *. This circumstance, together with 
 the permitted use of English in the law-courts, marks the 
 period when, after a long struggle, English had completed 
 its ascendancy over Anglo-French, though not without 
 borrowing from the latter a large number of words. Down 
 to the time of the Wars of the Roses we find three distinct 
 and well-marked literary dialects of English, the Northern, 
 Midland, and Southern ; but the result of that struggle gave 
 the ascendancy to the Midland dialect, which then became 
 the standard literary dialect and has ever since so remained. 
 The introduction of printing gradually brought about an 
 enormous difference in the principle of spelling words. Before 
 that date, none but phonetic spelling was in use, every word 
 being written as pronounced by the scribe, and sometimes 
 according to a rule of his own, thus producing considerable 
 variety. This variety was gradually lessened, till at last it 
 became uniform ; but this gain in uniformity to the eye 
 was accompanied by a far greater loss, viz. the absence of 
 phonetic truth in representing the sounds, so that the un- 
 phonetic and indeed unsystematic spelling of modern English 
 is truly deplorable. 
 
 § 14. Modern Period. The discovery of America gave 
 an enormous impetus to foreign commerce and travel, not 
 only opening out a new world, but making us better 
 acquainted with distant regions of the old world also. 
 Tyndale's New Testament marks the period of a great 
 reformation in religion, and of a large advance towards 
 freedom of thought. The teaching of Greek had much 
 influence upon the revival of 'classical' learning. The 
 marriage of Henry II of France with Catharine de Medici 
 made Italian popular at the French court ; whilst Wyatt 
 and Surrey again introduced among us the study of Italian, 
 which had fallen into neglect since the days of Chaucer 
 
 1 For this curious passage, see Specimens of English, 1 298-1393, 
 p. 241. Or see p. 31 of the present volume. 
 VOL. I. C 
 
i8 
 
 SOURCES OF ENGLISH. 
 
 and Lydgate , . The revolt of the Netherlands against Spain 
 induced many English volunteers to serve in the Low 
 Countries against the Spaniards, and brought us into 
 closer contact both with Dutch and Spanish ; the latter 
 also became partially known in France during the wars 
 of Henry IV (of Navarre). Our sailors frequently obtained 
 some knowledge of Spanish and Portuguese, besides gain- 
 ing words from the new lands which they visited. The 
 influence of the Authorised Version of 1611 and of the plays 
 of Shakespeare requires no comment. It is remarkable that 
 great changes in English pronunciation seem to have taken 
 place about the time of the Civil War 2 ; but some obscurity 
 still rests upon this difficult subject. In 1730 a national 
 reproach was taken away by the tardy confession that Eng- 
 lish was a fit language in which to record proceedings at 
 law. The victories of Clive opened up to us the great 
 resources of India ; and the discoveries of Captain Cook 
 largely extended both our geographical knowledge and our 
 territory. Perhaps the most remarkable fact of all is the 
 almost total ignorance of the German language among 
 Englishmen down to 1824 ; even to this moment the marked 
 neglect of German in our English schools proves an amazing 
 lack of wisdom on the part of parents and teachers. Still there 
 has been a great advance of late years towards a more general 
 admission of its value ; and this hopeful sign of progress 
 bids us not to despair of the coming of a time when not only 
 German, but even English itself, will be considered worthy 
 of careful and scientific study in our schools and colleges. 
 
 1 These authors were acquainted with Italian literature, but they in- 
 troduced into English no Italian words, unless we credit Chaucer with 
 introducing ducat. 
 
 2 Some very important changes took place still earlier, soon after 
 I5°°- 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Native element : Dialects of Middle English. 
 
 § 15. It is worth while to consider whether there is any 
 test whereby words of native English origin may be known 
 from others. It is here that even a small knowledge of 
 grammar is of great service. With all our word-borrowing, 
 nearly the whole framework of our grammar was English 
 at the beginning, and has so remained ever since. Borrowed 
 words have usually been made to conform to English gram- 
 mar, irrespective of their source. Thus the Latin plural of 
 index is indices, but the use of the form indices is not to be 
 commended. The English plural indexes is much better, 
 and will sooner or later prevail. For a list of pure English 
 words, see Morris, English Accidence, § 31. It may suffice 
 to say here that all the commonest prepositions, conjunc- 
 tions, and adverbs of time and place belong to this class ; all 
 strong, auxiliary, and defective verbs ; all pronouns and 
 demonstrative adjectives ; adjectives that form their degrees 
 of comparison irregularly ; most substantives ending in -dom y 
 -hood, and -skip ; all the cardinal numerals except million, 
 billion, &c. ; all the ordinal numerals except second, millionth, 
 billionth^ &c. ; and finally, a large number of substantives 
 expressing the most homely, familiar, and necessary ideas. 
 It is quite easy to form sentences that shall contain no word 
 that is not purely English; see e.g. the first four verses of 
 St. John's Gospel in the Authorised Version. Pure English 
 words are often characterised by strength, pith, and brevity, 
 
 c 2 
 
20 
 
 MIDDLE-ENGLISH DIALECTS. 
 
 [Chap. III. 
 
 being frequently monosyllabic 1 . They form, in fact, the 
 backbone of the language, and give it vitality. Words from 
 other languages are annexed and, as it were, subjugated, 
 being usually made to conform to the native words in 
 their inflexions and grammatical use 2 . This is remark- 
 ably exemplified in the case of borrowed verbs, which 
 (with the exception of the Scandinavian take, rive, thrive) 
 invariably form the past tense in -ed, -d, or -/. Thus the 
 F. claim and Lat. adapt make the past tense claim-ed, 
 adapt-ed; and the verb to boycott (see sect. 6) makes the 
 past tense boycott-ed. 
 
 § 16. By way of further example, I here repeat (but in 
 modern spelling) the quotation from Shakespeare already 
 given at p. i, and print in italics all the words that may be 
 considered as purely English. 
 
 i Tut (?), she's a lamb, a dove, a fool to him : 
 Pit tell you, sir Lucentio ; when the priest 
 Should ask, if Katharine should be his wife, 
 Aye, by Gog's wounds, quoth he, and swore so loud, 
 That all ^-mazed the priest let fall his book, 
 And, as he stoop' d again to take it up, 
 This mad-brained bride-groom took him such a cuff, 
 That down fell priest and book, and book and priest ; 
 Now take them up, quoth he, if any list J 
 
 This result is not a little remarkable, but might perhaps 
 have been expected, when the force of the passage is con- 
 sidered. As for the words left in roman type, it may be 
 remarked that fool, sir, are French ; priest is a Latin word 
 (of Greek origin), borrowed in the Anglo-Saxon period ; 
 aye, take (pt. t. took), cuff, are Scandinavian; a-mazed is a 
 
 1 The chief exceptions are commonly French ; as air, hour ; fruit, 
 grain, grape, juice ; beast, vein, chair, fork, dress, robe, cap, boot, &c. 
 Some are Scandinavian. See Morris, Eng. Accidence, § 31. 
 
 2 For a list of some foreign words which keep their original plurals, 
 see Morris, Eng. Accidence, § 84. 
 
§ 1 7-] 
 
 CHANGES IN PRONUNCIATION. 
 
 21 
 
 hybrid word, the root being Scandinavian, while the prefix a- 
 is English ; Lucentio is an Italian name of Latin origin, 
 whilst Katharine may be considered as Greek. 
 
 § 17. Changes in pronunciation. The difference be- 
 tween the above passage in its original spelling, and the 
 same in modern English, is so slight as to cause but little 
 trouble to any one who tries to read the former. But there 
 is really a concealed difference between the two of the most 
 startling character ; one which hundreds of readers would 
 never suspect, and which many who are ignorant of phonetics 
 will hardly credit. The researches of Mr. Ellis 1 have proved, 
 past all controversy, that the pronunciation of words in the 
 time of Shakespeare differed so widely from that now in use, 
 that Shakespeare himself, if he could now be heard, would 
 scarcely receive a patient hearing, but would probably be at 
 once condemned as speaking a kind of foreign language, or, 
 at least, a kind of bad broad Scotch. Such is the prejudice 
 due to mere custom, that scarcely one of his hearers would 
 care to consider the question — is our modern pronunciation, 
 after all, a happier habit ? But the scientific student of 
 language knows perfectly well that the difference is really a 
 source of trouble to us. We have, in fact, so modified and 
 altered the old vowel-sounds, that modern spelling, as com- 
 pared with the sound of the words, is a mere chaos of con- 
 fusion. The vowel-sounds expressed by our written symbols 
 now differ from those of every nation in Europe, however 
 closely they once agreed, as they certainly did, with the 
 continental system. A single example will illustrate this. 
 We now pronounce tea so as to rime with he, we, she; 
 but no other nation ventures on a pronunciation so extra- 
 ordinary. The F. the, G. and Du. thee, Swed. and Dan. te, 
 approach more nearly to an E. toy, riming with day, fay, 
 gay. It is not long ago since we said toy ourselves ; as is 
 
 1 1 Early English Pronunciation,' by A. J. Ellis. 
 
22 
 
 MIDDLE-ENGLISH DIALECTS. [Chap. III. 
 
 witnessed by the famous lines of Pope 1 . I have frequently 
 met with people who were entirely unaware that the third 
 line of Cowper's poem of Alexander Selkirk, ending in sea, 
 gives a perfect rime to survey, and that the same pronun- 
 ciation of sea (as say) reappears in the third line of his hymn 
 beginning with the words — 
 
 1 God moves in a mysterious way.' 
 
 Sea, in fact, was in Middle English spelt see, and was pro- 
 nounced with the ee like a in Mary, not far removed from 
 the ee in the Dutch zee, G. See. The A. S. sd 2 , though dif- 
 ferently spelt, was pronounced just the same. Whence we 
 deduce the perplexing result, that the A. S. see, M. E. see 3 , ex- 
 pressed precisely the same sound by different symbols ; whilst 
 Tudor-English and Modern English express, on the contrary, 
 different sounds by the same spelling sea. This ought to shew 
 that some study of Middle-English and Anglo-Saxon pro- 
 nunciation should precede all our attempts to trace back- 
 wards the etymology of English words ; otherwise we, literally, 
 cannot pretend to say that we know what word it is that we 
 are talking about. For the real word is, of course, the uttered 
 sound, not the written symbol by which it is truly (or falsely) 
 represented. 
 
 § 18. Since, however, it is only with the written symbols 
 that I can easily deal in a book like the present, I propose to 
 trace chiefly the variations in spelling from time to time ; and 
 in quoting words from foreign languages, I shall quote them 
 as they are written, without at the same time indicating their 
 pronunciation. It may, nevertheless, be clearly understood, 
 that the difficulty of ascertaining the pronunciation is far 
 
 1 * Here thou, great Anna, whom three realms obey, 
 Dost sometimes counsel take — and sometimes tea? 
 
 Rape of the Lock, iii. 8 (171 2). 
 - A. S. = Anglo-Saxon, the dialect of Wessex before the Conquest. 
 3 M.E. = Middle English; from about A.D. 1100 to 1500. 
 
§ I9-] 
 
 MIDDLE-ENGLISH VOWELS. 
 
 *3 
 
 greater in the case of English than of any other language, 
 especially in the case of the vowels. Nearly all the con- 
 tinental languages, including Latin — the usual Southern- 
 English pronunciation of which is simply execrable — agree 
 in a uniform system of simple vowels, and usually employ 
 the symbols a, e, t\ o, u, to represent (nearly) the sounds 
 heard in E. baa, bail, beet, boat, boot. The fact that old 
 French words were introduced freely and in great number 
 into Middle English without any change of spelling, is quite 
 enough to shew that the pronunciation of M. E. did not 
 materially differ from that of Anglo-French ; for the spelling 
 at that date was still phonetic. This enables us to say, 
 definitely, that, in the time of Chaucer, the symbols a, e, i, o, u 
 had their modern (and ancient) continental values l . 
 
 § 19. Middle-English Vowels. The student who has 
 as yet made no special study of Middle English may, at any 
 rate, gain some clear notion of it by making this his starting- 
 point. That is, he may take the words baa, bait, beet, boat, 
 boot as mnemonics for remembering the sounds indicated by 
 a, e, i, o, w, and he should at once learn these five words by 
 heart. This will give him, approximately, the sounds of 
 the long vowels ; and some idea of the short ones may 
 be gained by an attempt to shorten them. Thus the 
 M. E. cat, but, were pronounced like caat, boot, but with the 
 vowels somewhat shortened. There are plenty of Northern 
 Englishmen who pronounce them so still ; for the speech of 
 the North is much more archaic, in many respects, than the 
 clipped, affected, and finical pronunciation of the South- 
 erner, who has done his worst, only too successfully, in his 
 attempts to ruin our pronunciation. 
 
 From what has been here said, it will be manifest that, 
 
 1 It is quite certain that Celtic, English, and French scribes all ob- 
 tained their symbols from the Latin alphabet ; and employed them, at 
 the first, with nearly the same powers. Our insular position has altered 
 our pronunciation, and rendered their values uncertain. 
 
24 
 
 MIDDLE-ENGLISH DIALECTS. 
 
 [Chap. III. 
 
 if we wish to choose good symbols for the representa- 
 tion of sounds, and especially if we wish them to be in the 
 least degree understood by foreigners, such symbols as at, ee, 
 oa, oo (in bait, beet, boat, boot) are the worst possible to take. 
 It is owing to this consideration that Mr. Ellis has founded 
 the alphabet which he calls palccotype, upon the old 1 or 
 foreign values of the vowel-symbols; and Mr. Sweet has 
 similarly constructed the alphabet which he calls Romic*. 
 As the subject presents some difficulty, I shall not now 
 further pursue it; but I must remind the reader that he 
 will never clearly understand what Middle English was like, 
 unless he will at least take the trouble to read some passages 
 of Chaucer with attention. If he will do this, he will find 
 the selections in the Clarendon Press Series of great use. 
 The best and clearest explanation of the pronunciation of 
 Chaucer's English is that by Mr. Ellis, which will be found 
 near the beginning of the introduction to my edition of 
 Chaucer's 1 Man of Law's Tale.' 
 
 § 20. Chaucer's spelling. Midland Dialect. In order 
 to exemplify the spelling of Chaucer's time, consider the 
 following passage from the Man of Law's Tale, lines 281- 
 287. 
 
 'Alias ! vn-to the Barbre nacioun 
 I moste gon, sin that it is your wille ; 
 But Crist, that starf for our sauacioun, 
 So yeue me grace, his hestes to fulfille ; 
 I, wrecche womman, no fors though I spille. 
 Wommen ar born to thraldom and penance, 
 And to ben vnder mannes gouernance.' 
 
 In modern English this would be spelt as follows : — 
 
 ' Alas ! unto the Barbar 3 nation 
 I must go, since that it is your will ; 
 
 1 Palceo-type, i. e. old type, old symbol. See Ellis's Early English 
 Pronunciation. 
 
 2 Romic, i. e. according with the Roman values of the symbols. See 
 Sweet's Handbook of Phonetics. 3 Barbarian. 
 
§ 20.] 
 
 A PASSAGE FROM CHAUCER. 
 
 15 
 
 But Christ, that starved 1 for our salvation, 
 So give me grace 2 , his hests to fulfil ; 
 I, wretch 3 woman, no force 4 though I spill 5 ; 
 Women are born to thraldom and penance, 
 And to be under man's governance.' 
 
 The reader will at once perceive that one of two alter- 
 natives must be true. Either Chaucer had no ear for 
 melody, and wrote very bad poetry ; or else his English 
 must have materially differed in accent and pronunciation 
 from that now in use. The former of these alternatives is not 
 found to be true. A careful examination of Chaucer's metre 
 shews that he had an unusually delicate ear for melody, and 
 that his versification exhibits surprising regularity. There 
 is also reason to believe that poetry, at least, was then 
 pronounced with an utterance more deliberate and measured 
 than we should now use. The word na-ci-oun had three 
 full syllables, and sa-va-ci-onn had four. But the most 
 remarkable points are (1) that the pi. suffix in -es (now -s) 
 formed a distinct syllable, as in the dissyllabic hest-es ; (2) 
 that the same is true of the genitive singular, as mann-es ; 
 and (3) that in many instances the final -e also formed a 
 distinct and separate syllable. Hence there are two syllables 
 in most-e, will-e, wrecch-e, spill-e) three syllables in ful-fill-e, 
 pen-dn-ce \ and four in gov-er-ndn-ce. Observe also the 
 secondary accent on the final syllables of nd-ci-oun, sa-vd- 
 ci-oun ; and on the penultimate syllable of gov-er-ndn-ce. 
 Lastly, note that the accent of pen-dn-ce was, at that date, on 
 the latter part of the word, not (as now) at the beginning 6 . 
 If the reader will now take the trouble to read the above 
 passage aloud rather slowly, at the same time bearing in 
 
 1 Died. 2 I. e. may He give me such grace. 
 
 3 Wretched. 4 It is no matter. 5 Perish. 
 
 6 English has a way of throwing back the accent nearer the beginning 
 of the word. Thus the Ital. balcdne has actually, in modern English, 
 become bdlcony, though first introduced as balcdny. We even have dntic 
 as a variant of antique', and August as well as august. 
 
2,6 MIDDLE-ENGLISH DIALECTS. [Chap. III. 
 
 mind the above hints, he will, even with the modern (very 
 wretched) pronunciation, gain a faint notion of its melody. 
 
 § 21. Another lesson may be drawn from the same passage, 
 by printing it so as to shew, by the use of italics, the words 
 of native origin. With this understanding, it appears as 
 follows : — 
 
 1 Alias ! vn-to the Barbre nacioun 
 I moste gon, sin that it is your willej 
 But Crist, that star/ for our sauacioun, 
 So yeue me grace, his hestes to fulfille ; 
 I, wrecche womma?i, no fors though I spille ; 
 Wonwien ar born to thxal-dom and penance, 
 A?id to ben vnder mannes gouernance. 5 
 
 Here once more there is a remarkable preponderance of true 
 English words, which may be thus grammatically distributed. 
 Definite article: the. Pronouns: I, me, it, his; our, your \ 
 that, no. Substantives : wille, womman ; genitive, mannes ; 
 plural, hestes, wommen. Adjective : wrecche. Auxiliary and 
 anomalous verbs : moste ; ben, is, ar. Strong verbs : starf 
 
 yeue, bom. Weak verbs : gon, fulfille, spille. Adverb : so. 
 Preposilions : unto, for ; to, under. Conjunctions: sin, that, 
 but, though, and. Of the remaining words, one is of hybrid 
 formation, viz. thral-dom ; its first syllable is Scandinavian, 
 but the suffix is English. Barbre and Crist are French 
 spellings of words which are ultimately Greek. The re- 
 maining words are all French ; nacioun, savacioun, grace, fors, 
 
 penance, governance, being substantives, while alias ! is an 
 interjection. All these French words are of Latin origin. 
 The remarks in § 15 lead us to expect, in general, that 
 words of foreign origin are likely to be substantives, adjectives, 
 adverbs, or weak verbs. W r e may indeed go a little further, 
 and expect the weak verbs to be of Scandinavian, French, or 
 Latin origin ; whilst words from remoter languages are com- 
 monly mere names, that is, nouns substantive. 
 
 § 22. Changes in spelling. As regards the spelling of 
 
§ 22.] 
 
 THE THREE MAIN DIALECTS. 
 
 27 
 
 the English words in this passage, we may first remark that 
 the use of v for initial u in vn-to, vnder, has merely a sort of 
 graphic value, being used in MSS. for distinctness. It lasted 
 for many centuries ; indeed, we have already seen the 
 spelling vp for up (twice) in the extract from Shakespeare 
 on p. i. This use is not found in Anglo-Saxon, the MSS. 
 of which have the same spellings of un-to, under, up, as we use 
 now. The word moste is not only dissyllabic (as already 
 noted), but is remarkable for having the o long. The A. S. 
 word was moste ( = most-e), also dissyllabic, where the accent 
 denotes the length of the vowel. We thus see the word's 
 history clearly enough. It was at first moste, the past tense 
 of an obsolete present mot) but the present being lost, the 
 same form was used for both present and past. Then the 
 final e dropped off, giving most, riming with host) next the 
 vowel-sound altered till it rimed with roost) after which, 
 the vowel-sound was shortened, and altered in character by 
 what Mr. Sweet calls ' unrounding/ till it rimed with rust, as 
 at present. These changes were slow and regular, and can be 
 explained by analogy with other words. This is indeed the 
 chief object of this present work, viz. to exhibit so many 
 examples of regular changes in the vowel-sounds as to enable 
 the student to observe some of the phonetic laws for himself, 
 or at least to understand them clearly. And it may be 
 remarked, by the way, that the comparative lateness of the 
 discovery of printing was in one respect a great gain, since 
 we now have an abundance of MSS. written before that date, 
 in which the spelling was free and phonetic. In fact, the 
 Englishman who hastily rushes to the silly conclusion that 
 Chaucer's MSS. are remarkable for their 'bad spelling' will 
 some day discover, if he cares to take the pains and happens 
 to be open to conviction l , that the spelling of the thirteenth 
 and fourteenth centuries is, in general, fairly good. As a 
 
 1 Our very familiarity with modern English is a source of much foolish 
 prejudice. 
 
28 
 
 MIDDLE-ENGLISH DIALECTS. [Chap. III. 
 
 guide to the sounds of words, it is vastly superior to that of 
 the present day, which is utterly untrustworthy as indicating 
 the sounds which the symbols mean. It is not for us 
 moderns to talk of ' bad spelling/ 
 
 § 23. The fact that will-e is, in Chaucer, dissyllabic, is 
 due to the fact that the A. S. willa was the same. Here 
 again, the word's history is easy. The A. S. form was 
 will-a ; the final a was weakened or dulled into an obscure 
 sound denoted by a final -e; after which this light syllable 
 dropped off, giving the modern will) just as the A. S. 
 spill-e is now spill. The word starf is interesting gram- 
 matically. The M.E. infinitive sterven (usually written 
 sleruen l ) meant to die. The verb was a strong one, forming 
 its past tense as starf and its past participle as storven or 
 y-storven (written storuen, y-sloruen), often shortened to 
 storv-e or y-siorv-e by dropping the final n. But in course 
 of time the true past tense and past participle were lost sight 
 of, and sterven became the modern weak starve, pt. t. and 
 pp. starved. At the same time, the general sense of the 
 word was narrowed, so that it no longer means to die in any 
 manner, but only to die by famine ; or more frequently takes 
 the causal sense, to make to die by famine. These curious 
 changes in the form and sense of words are full of interest 
 to the student of language. Of the remaining words in this 
 passage, I shall say no more at present. 
 
 § 24. The three main Dialects. In the thirteenth and 
 fourteenth centuries, and in the former part of the fifteenth 
 century, there were three distinct literary dialects, the North- 
 ern, Midland, and Southern. Roughly speaking, the Hum- 
 ber and the Thames formed a part of the boundary-lines 
 between them. The Northern dialect occupied the land to 
 the north of the Humber, including a considerable part of 
 Scotland, and extending as far north as Aberdeen, of which 
 
 1 The symbol u is sounded as v when a vowel succeeds it. 
 
THE SOUTHERN DIALECT. 
 
 2 9 
 
 town John Barbour, author of the poem of 1 The Bruce/ was 
 a native. The Southern dialect occupied the country to the 
 south of the Thames ; and the Midland dialect, the district 
 between the other two l . These are only the main divisions ; 
 sub-dialects are found which frequently combine some of 
 the characteristics of two of the above dialects. The Mid- 
 land district contained the very important city of London, 
 built on the north side of the Thames ; and Chaucer, as 
 a Londoner, employed this dialect. It is a curious reflec- 
 tion that, if London had been built On the other side of the 
 river 2 , the speech of the British empire and of the greater 
 part of North America would probably have been very 
 different from what it is. It might have abounded with 
 Southern forms, and we might all be now saying vox for 
 fox ; as indeed, curiously enough, we actually say vixen 
 instead of fixen. 
 
 § 25. The Southern Dialect. By way of exemplifying 
 this Southern dialect, and illustrating the whole question of 
 dialects still further, I now quote a part of the famous pas- 
 sage from the translation of Higden's Polychronicon made 
 by John of Trevisa, a Cornishman, in 1387 3 . 
 
 1 As hyt ys yknowe hou3 4 meny maner people bu}> 5 in j>is 
 ylond, j?er buj) also of so meny people longages and tonges ; 
 noj>eles Walschmen and Scottes, )>at bu)> no3t ymelled wij> 
 oj>er nacions, holde|> wel ny^ here furste longage and speche, 
 bote-^ef 4 Scottes, \dX were som tyme confederat and wonede 
 
 1 For more exact information, see Specimens of English, ed. Morris 
 and Skeat ; introd. sect. 6. 
 
 2 This supposition is merely made for the sake of illustration. Practi- 
 cally, it is absurd. No sane men would have placed a town on the less 
 convenient side of a river. 
 
 3 See Morris and Skeat, Specimens of English, pt. ii, p. 240. The 
 date shews that Trevisa was precisely Chaucer's contemporary. In 
 translating from Higden, he adds several remaiks of his own. 
 
 4 The symbol ) (except when initial) indicates a guttural sound, and 
 is now usually written gh, though the true sound is lost. As an initial 
 letter, it means y ; thus }cf ' = yef. 
 
 5 The symbol J> is now supplanted by th ; read buth, this. 
 
3° 
 
 MIDDLE-ENGLISH DIALECTS. 
 
 [Chap. III. 
 
 wi)> )>e Pictes, drawe somwhat after here speche. Bote j>e 
 Flemmynges, }?at wone)> in J>e west syde of Wales, habbej> yleft 
 here strange speche, and speke)> Saxonlych ynow. Also Eng- 
 lysch men, J>ey} hy hadde fram J)e begynnyng )>re maner speche, 
 Souf>eron, Norjieron, and Myddel speche (in }>e myddel of J?e 
 lond) as hy come of \>re maner people of Germania ; noj>eles, 
 by commyxstion and mellyng, furst wi)> Danes and afterward 
 wij> Normans, in menye j?e contray-longage ys apeyred, and 
 som vse}> strange wlaffyng, chyteryng, harryng and garryng, 
 grisbittyng. 
 
 pis apeyryng of }>e burj>-tonge ys by-cause of twey jnnges : — 
 on ys, for chyldern in scole, a3cnes 1 j>e vsage and manere 
 of al oj>er nacions, buj> compelled for to leue here oune 
 longage, and for to construe here lessons and here J)inges a 
 Freynsch, and habbef), sujrthe J)e Normans come furst in-to 
 Engelond. Also, gentil-men children hu\ ytau^t for to speke 
 Freynsch fram tyme j>at a bu}> yrokked in here cradel, and 
 connej) speke and playe wij> a child hys brouch ; and oplondysch 
 men wol lykne ham-sylf to gentil-men, and fondej? wij> gret 
 bysynes for to speke Freynsch, for to be more ytold of/ 
 
 § 26. In modern English, this will run as follows : — 
 
 'As it is known how many manner (of) people be in this 
 island 2 , there be also, of so many people, languages and tongues. 
 None-the-less, Welshmen and Scots, that be not mixed 3 with 
 other nations, hold [i. e. preserve] well nigh their 4 first language 
 and speech, but-if [i. e. except that the] Scots, that were (at) 
 some time confederate and dwelt 5 with the Picts, draw somewhat 
 after their speech. But the Flemings, that dwell 8 in the west 
 side of Wales 6 , have left their strange speech, and speak Saxon-ly 
 
 1 Here ^ begins the main part of the word, a- being a mere prefix. It 
 therefore represents^'. Read a-yenes. 
 
 2 The modern s in island is due to confusion with F. isle. The right 
 spelling is rather i-land ; so that Trevisa's is well enough. 
 
 3 Lit. ' melled/ or meddled. 
 
 4 Here for their is Southern ; from A. S. hira, of them, gen. pi. of 
 he, he. 
 
 5 From A. S. wunian, to dwell ; the pp. wuned is the M. E. woned> 
 mod. E. wont. 
 
 6 This is an interesting notice of the colony of Flemish weavers in 
 Wales. 
 
§ 26.] 
 
 THE SOUTHERN DIALECT. 
 
 3 1 
 
 enough. Also Englishmen, though they 1 had from the begin- 
 ning three manners (of) speech, Southern, Northern, and 
 Middle-speech (in the middle of the land), as they came of 
 three manners (of) people of Germany — none-the-less, by com- 
 mixture and mingling, first with Danes and afterward with 
 Normans, in many (of them) the country-language is impaired 2 ; 
 and some use strange babbling, chattering, growling and snarl- 
 ing, (and) gnashing (of teeth). This impairing of the birth- 
 tongue is because of two things: — one is, for (i.e. because) 
 children in school, against the usage and manner of all other 
 nations, be compelled for to leave their own language, and for 
 to construe their lessons and their things in French, and have 
 (done so), since the Normans came first into England. Also, 
 gentlemen's children be taught for to speak French from (the) 
 time that they be rocked in their cradle, and can speak and 
 play with a child's 3 brooch; and uplandish men 4 will (i.e. 
 desire to) liken themselves to gentlemen, and try 5 with great 
 business (i.e. diligence) for to speak French, for to be more 
 told of (i. e. held in higher estimation).' 
 
 The remainder of the passage is also of such importance 
 that I here subjoin the general sense of it in modern 
 English °. 
 
 'This predilection for French was common before the first 
 pestilence of 1349, but was afterwards somewhat changed. For 
 John Cornwall, a master of grammar, changed the mode of 
 teaching in his grammar-school, and substituted English for 
 French construing; and Richard Pencrich learnt that kind of 
 teaching from him, and other men from Pencrich ; so that now, 
 in the year of our Lord 1385, in all the grammar-schools of 
 England, the children leave French and construe and learn in 
 English, whereby they have an advantage in one way and a 
 disadvantage in another. The advantage is, that they learn 
 
 1 A. S. hi, hig, they ; pi. of he, he. 
 
 2 A-peircd and im-paircd merely differ in the prefix. 
 
 3 Lit. child his, which is an idiom not found earlier than the twelfth 
 century. The A. S. is cildes, mod. E. child 1 s. 
 
 4 I. e. country people. 
 
 5 A. S.fafidian, to endeavour, try; orig. lo try to find, as it is a de- 
 rivative oijindan, to find. 
 
 6 For the original, see Specimens of English, 1 298-1 393, p. 241. 
 
32 
 
 MIDDLE-ENGLISH DIALECTS. [Chap. III. 
 
 their grammar in less time than they used to do ; the disad- 
 vantage, that now children from the grammar-school know no 
 more French than does their left heel, which is a loss to them if 
 they have to cross the sea and travel in strange lands, and in 
 many other cases. Moreover gentlemen have now much left off 
 teaching their children French . . . Also, as regards the afore- 
 said Saxon tongue that is divided into three and has remained 
 here and there with a few country people l , it is a great wonder ; 
 for men of the east agree more in pronunciation with men of the 
 west, being as it were under the same part of heaven 2 , than men 
 of the north with men of the south. Hence it is that the 
 Mercians, that are men of the Middle of England, being as it 
 were partners with the extremities, better understand the side- 
 languages, Northern and Southern, than Northern and Southern 
 understand each other. All the language of the Northumbrians, 
 and especially at York, is so sharp, slitting, grating, and 
 unshapen, that we Southerners can scarcely understand that 
 language 3 . I believe it is because they are nigh to strangers 
 and aliens that speak strangely, and also because the kings of 
 England always dwell far from that country. For they turn 
 rather towards the South country; and, if they go northwards, 
 go with a great army. The reasons why they live more in the 
 South than in the North may be, that there is better cornland 
 there, and more people ; also nobler cities, and more profitable 
 havens.' 
 
 § 27. This passage contains many points of interest. By 
 Welshmen and Scots, Trevisa means, of course, those who 
 retained the old Celtic dialects. The remark that English- 
 men came of three kinds of people of Teutonic race, may be 
 true. In the North, the Angles prevailed ; in the Midland 
 district, the Angles and Saxons 4 ; in the South, the Saxons 
 and Jutes. There was also certainly a considerable number 
 
 1 This statement is Higden's ; it is certainly too strongly put. 
 
 2 I. e. under the same parallel of latitude. 
 
 3 This is Trevisa's own statement ; men dislike any dialect that is 
 unfamiliar to their own ears. 
 
 4 Or, possibly, the Frisians ; we should then have three chief races, 
 Angles, Frisians, and Saxons, the Jutes being limited to Kent and the 
 Isle of Wight. 
 
THE SOUTHERN DIALECT. 
 
 33 
 
 of Frisians, but it is hard to say in what part they were 
 located ; they were probably distributed over the Midland 
 and Southern rather than the Northern part of the island, 
 Trevisa also distinctly recognises the mixture of English with 
 Scandinavian and French, and bears witness to the great, 
 but unsuccessful efforts, made to replace English by French ; 
 the latter being in especial favour with the upper classes l . As 
 regards the linguistic points of the passage itself, it may first 
 be remarked that the grammatical inflexions in Southern 
 English are more numerous and elaborate than in the 
 Midland, whilst in the Northern dialect, on the contrary, 
 they are fewer and simpler. In this respect, modern English 
 shews more of the Northern than the Southern manner. 
 Especial characteristics of the Southern dialects are the use 
 of bup, a variety of beth, i. e. be ; the use of the suffix -eth (-ej?) 
 in the plural of the present indicative, as in holdep, wonep, 
 habbep ; the frequent use of the prefix_j/- before past participles 
 as in y-knowe, y-melled 2 , etc. We should also notice the 
 use of hy (A. S. hig) as the plural of he, where modern English 
 employs the Northern they, which is of Scandinavian origin ; 
 also the curious use of a, once with the sense of 4 in/ as in a 
 Freynsch, and once with the sense of 1 they/ as in pat a bup 
 yrokked. One more remark of great importance may be 
 made here, viz. that it is the Southern dialect which agrees 
 more closely than either of the others with what is called 
 Anglo-Saxon. Turning to the consideration of the vocabu- 
 lary, we notice that the French words in this passage are 
 rather numerous, viz. maner, people, longage, y-melled (where 
 the prefix^- is the A. S.ge-), nations, strange, meUyng (with an 
 
 1 Anglo-French was the court-language. I suppose that, even down 
 to nearly the end of the fourteenth century, many of the nobles habitually 
 spoke nothing else. 
 
 2 The Midland dialect sometimes employs this prefix, and sometimes 
 drops it. The Northern dialect, like modern English, drops it always. 
 But in Barnes's (modern) Dorsetshire poems, we find a-zent for sent 
 (M. E. y-sent), a-gonc (or gone. 
 
 VOL. I. D 
 
34 MIDDLE-ENGLISH DIALECTS. [Chap. III. 
 
 E. suffix), contray, apeyr-ed, apeyr-yng (both with E. suffixes), 
 vs-eth (with E. suffix), cause, vsage, lessons, genlil, brouch. As 
 Trevisa is translating from the Latin, he keeps several of the 
 Latin words of his original ; these are confederal, commyx- 
 stioun, scole, compelled, conslrue; see the original Latin in 
 the note to Specimens of English, p. 344. The word rokked 
 is Scandinavian. Cradel is found in A. S. as cradol, but is 
 probably of Celtic origin. The remaining words are English. 
 
 § 28. The Northern Dialect. It has just been remarked 
 that the Northern dialect dispenses with inflexional suffixes 
 more than either of the others. This it did at so early a 
 period that poems in this dialect often present a curiously 
 modern appearance, and would do so to a still greater extent 
 if it were not for the frequent introduction of Scandinavian 
 words, many of which are now obsolete in our modern 
 literary language. In other words, the difference between the 
 Northern English of the Middle period and the English of 
 the present day lies rather in the vocabulary and in the 
 pronunciation than in the grammar. Barbour s Bruce is as 
 old as the poetry of Chaucer, but has a more modern ap- 
 pearance l . By way of exhibiting a short specimen of the 
 Northern dialect, I here quote Hampole's description of 
 heaven written about 1340 2 . 
 
 'Alle maner of ioyes er in that stede, 
 Thare es ay lyfe with-outen dede ; 
 Thare es yhowthe ay with-outen elde, 
 Thare es alkyn welth ay to welde ; 
 Thare es rest ay, with-outen trauayle ; 
 Thare es alle gudes that neuer sal fayle ; 
 Thare es pese ay, with-outen stryf ; 
 Thare es alle manere of lykyng of lyfe ; 
 
 1 It was written in 1375. Unluckily, the MSS. are a century later; 
 but this is not the real cause of the difference. On the other hand, the 
 extract from Trevisa has a more archaic appearance, and this may be 
 taken as a general rule. That is, Northern poems look later, and 
 Southern writings earlier, than they really are. 
 
 2 See Specimens of English, 1 298-1393, p. 124. 
 
THE NORTHERN DIALECT. 
 
 35 
 
 Thare es, with-outen myrknes, lyght ; 
 Thare es ay day and neuer nyght ; 
 Thare es ay somer fulle bryght to se, 
 And neuer mare wynter in that contre. 5 
 
 Here it should be particularly noted that the scribe's 
 spelling is somewhat faulty 1 ; he probably added a final e to 
 many words from habit, but they are not to be pronounced, so 
 that lyfe, in 1. 8, is a mere monosyllable, and rimes with the 
 w r ord stryf, which is correctly written. In modern English, 
 the passage is as follows : — 
 
 ' All manner of joys are in that stead ; 
 There is aye life without(en) death 2 ; 
 There is youth ay without(en) eld 3 , 
 There is all-kind wealth aye to wield. 
 There is rest aye, without travail ; 
 There is all goods that never shall fail ; 
 There is peace aye, without(en) strife ; 
 There is all manner of liking 4 of life ; 
 There is, without(en) murkness 5 , light ; 
 There is aye day and never night. 
 There is aye summer full bright to see, 
 And nevermore winter in that country.' 
 
 1 I subjoin a more phonetic spelling of the above passage : — 
 
 Al maner of ioys er in that sted, 
 
 Thar es ay lyf with-outen ded ; 
 
 Thar es youth ay with-outen eld, 
 
 Thar es alkin welth ay to weld. 
 
 Thar es rest ay, with-outen trauail ; 
 
 Thar es al guds that neuer sal fail ; 
 
 Thar es pees ay, with-outen stryf; 
 
 Thar es al maner of lyking of lyf ; 
 
 Thar es, with-outen mirknes, lyght ; 
 
 Thar es ay day and neuer nyght ; 
 
 Thar es ay somer ful bryght to se, 
 
 And neuer mar winter in that contre. 
 ■ Ded is still a provincial English form of death ; it answers, not to 
 A.S. deaft {dealli), but to the Dan. and Swed. dad. 
 
 3 Eld, old age, used by Shakespeare and Spenser. 
 
 4 Pleasure ; lyking of lyfe, pleasure in life. 
 
 5 Darkness; we still use the adj. murky, and the sb. murki-ncss. 
 
36 
 
 MIDDLE-ENGLISH DIALECTS, [Chap. III. 
 
 The great characteristic of this dialect is the absence of 
 final e as an inflexion in the spoken language, at least 
 in the fourteenth century. The words which exhibit the 
 final e should rather have been written A I, sled, Thar, lyf 
 ded, youth, eld, weld, trauayl, fay I, pees, maner, lyf ful, mar. 
 A characteristic form is sal, for shall ; this is never found ex- 
 cept in Northern works. Another characteristic mark of this 
 dialect is the use of a for mod. long o, as in mar, more. As 
 regards the grammar, there is little to call for remark beyond 
 the use of es (is) for er (are) before alle gudes ; this is really 
 due to the use of the preceding word Thare (there), just as 
 Shakespeare has, 1 There is no more such masters/ Cym- 
 beline, iv. 2. 371 ; see Abbott's Shakesp. Gram. 3rd ed. 
 § 335- As regards the vocabulary, the French words are 
 maner, wyes, trauayle, fayle, pese, contre, all of which are 
 of Latin origin. Stryf (O. Fr. est r if) is a French form 
 of a Scandinavian word (Icel. strid). The forms er (are), es 
 (is), dede (death), ay (aye), sal (shall), are specifically Anglian 
 or Scandinavian, as distinct from Anglo-Saxon. The rest 
 are ordinary English. 
 
 § 29. East-Midland Dialect of Robert of Brtmne. 
 Now that the three main dialects have been thus illustrated, 
 it is worth while to add one more example, which in some 
 respects comes even nearer to modern English than does' 
 the language of Chaucer, though written before he was 
 born. We have already seen that modern English belongs to 
 the Midland dialect, and has a somewhat closer affinity with 
 Northern than Southern. We find, further, that it is fairly 
 represented in the dialect employed by Robert Mannyng, 
 of Brunne (Bourn), in Lincolnshire, who translated William 
 of Wadyngton's ' Le Manuel des Pechiez ' into English in 
 1303, with the title of ' Handlyng Synne V He tells a story 
 about Pers (or Piers) the usurer, who never gave away 
 
 1 See Specimens of English, 1298-1393, p. 51. 
 
THE EAST-MIDLAND DIALECT. 
 
 37 
 
 anything in charity. One day he was standing near his 
 door, when an ass came to it, laden with loaves of bread. 
 At the same time a beggar approached him : — 
 
 'He sagh Pers come 1 ther-with-al ; 
 The pore 2 thoght, now ask I shal. 
 " I ask thee sum good, pur charite, 
 Pers, yif thy wille be." 
 Pers stood and loked on him 
 Felunlich 3 , with y-en 4 grim. 
 He stouped down to seke a stoon, 
 But, as hap was, than fond he noon 5 . 
 For the stoon he took a loof, 
 And at the pore man hit droof. 
 The pore man hent hit vp belyue G , 
 And was therof ful ferly 7 blythe. 
 To his felaws y fast he ran, 
 With the loof, this pore man. 
 " Lo ! " he seide, " what I haue 
 Of Pers yift 9 ; so God me saue ! " — 
 " Nay," they swore by her 10 thrift, 
 Pers yaue neuer swich a yift u . — 
 He seid, " ye shal weil vnderstonde 
 That I hit had at Pers honde ; 
 That dar I swere on the halidom 12 
 Heer before yow echoon l V ' 
 
 Of this passage it is hardly necessary to give a modern 
 English rendering, although we have now traced some 
 English words back to the very beginning of the fourteenth 
 century. As regards the grammar, we may chiefly notice 
 the grammatical use of the final -e. Thus com-e is short for 
 com-en (A. S. cum-an), the infinitive mood of the verb. The 
 
 1 I mark with two dots such final e\ as are to be distinctly pronounced. 
 I also amend the faulty spelling of the MS. 
 
 2 The poor one (understand man). 3 Felon-ly, angrily. 
 
 4 Eyne, i. e. eyes. 5 Then found he none. 6 Caught it up quickly. 
 7 Wonderfully. 8 Fellows, companions. 9 Gift. 
 
 10 Their. 11 Gave never such a gift. 12 Holy relics. 
 
 13 Each one. 
 
3» 
 
 MIDDLE-ENGLISH DIALECTS. [Chap. III. 
 
 por-e has a final -e, because the adjective is what is called 
 definite, that is, is used with the definite article preceding it. 
 An adjective is also definite, if preceded by a demonstrative 
 or possessive pronoun; hence this por-e likewise. Will-e is 
 from A. S. will-a, as has been explained once before (p. 28). 
 The ioxm y-en (dissyllabic) answers to the A. S. e'ag-an, eyne ; 
 for which we now use eyes. In the seventh line, to seke is a 
 gerund, and should take the final -e; but it happens to be 
 elided before the following vowel. Belyv-e stands for A. S. 
 be lif~e, lit. by life, but here meaning ' with life/ in a lively 
 way, quickly. Blyth-c is from the A. S. dissyllabic blid-e 
 (blith-e). Seid-e is the past tense of a weak verb (A. S. 
 sa?gd-e), and is dissyllabic ; but the final -e, in such a case, is 
 often dropped, as in seid four lines below. Swor-e is the 
 pt. t. pi. of a strong verb (A. S. swor-en). Vnderstond-e is an 
 infin. mood (A. S. under stand- an). Hond-e is a dat. case 
 (A. S. hond-e, hand-a, dat. of hond or hand). Befor-e is short 
 for befor-en (A. S. befor-an). All the grammatical forms, in 
 fact, are easily explained from Anglo-Saxon. As regards 
 the vocabulary, the French words are few, viz. Pers (from 
 Lat. Petrus, originally Greek) ; the adj. pore (O. F. povre) ; 
 the phrase pur charite {pour charite), for charity ; the sb. 
 felun in fdun-lich\ and the verb save. Five words are 
 Scandinavian, viz. hap, took, felaws, thrift, and halidoin. 
 The rest are English. 
 
 § 30. East-Midland different from West- Midland. 
 We have thus seen that the standard literary language 
 agrees more closely with the Old Midland dialect than 
 with either the Northern or the Southern. It is worth 
 enquiring if we can find out any limits of it as we pass from 
 East to West. This is a more difficult question; yet we 
 find that the Midland dialect can be subdivided into East- 
 Midland and West-Midland, and that it is the former of 
 these that comes nearest to our current speech. It is not 
 easy to define the limits of these dialects, but perhaps we 
 
§ 3o.] THE EAST-MIDLAND DIALECT 39 
 
 may say that the West-Midland included Shropshire, Staf- 
 fordshire, a part of Derbyshire, Cheshire, and South Lan- 
 cashire 1 . As concerning the area from which the chief 
 characteristics of our modern literary language are drawn, 
 we can hardly do more than define it as one of irregular 
 shape, bounded more or less exactly by the German Ocean, 
 the Humber, the Trent (?), the Severn (?), and the Thames; 
 and we can only assign to the dialect the general name of 
 East-Midland. It is tolerably certain that it contained numer- 
 ous subdivisions, so that it can hardly be said to present any 
 perfectly uniform type, until the time came when it at last 
 began to supersede the others and to spread beyond its 
 original borders. We can, however, safely draw these con- 
 clusions, viz. (1) that it contained fewer Scandinavian words 
 than the Northern dialect, but more than did the Southern ; 
 (2) that its grammar was somewhat more complex than that 
 of the Northern dialect, but much less so than that of the 
 Southern ; and (3) that, as Trevisa says, it was tolerably 
 intelligible to men of all parts of England. These facts 
 would be quite sufficient to suggest the probability of its 
 ultimate ascendancy, and the matter was entirely settled by 
 the importance of London as the centre of traffic and the 
 seat of government. To which considerations we may 
 perhaps add yet another, that both the universities of Oxford 
 and Cambridge lie within the Midland area. 
 
 1 Introd. to Allit. Poems, ed. Morris, where West-Midland is used to 
 signify the dialect which Garnctt called Mercian. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Native Element : the oldest dialects. 
 
 § 31. In the last Chapter specimens have been given of the 
 three principal dialects of the Middle-English, and one of 
 these, that from Robert of Brunne, takes us back almost to 
 the beginning of the fourteenth century. We now proceed 
 to push back our enquiries a little further. There are 
 sufficient specimens to enable us to do this during the 
 thirteenth century and a little earlier *, but at the earliest 
 period the extant monuments of the language relate almost 
 exclusively to one dialect only, the Southern ; whereas we 
 should be extremely glad of more information concerning 
 the Midland dialect. For the period before 1200, we still 
 find traces of the same three dialects, but (especially before 
 1 1 00) they are called by different names. The Northern, 
 Midland, and Southern, as found in the earliest period, are 
 called Northumbrian, Mercian, and Wessex or Anglo-Saxon 2 . 
 It is a common mistake to suppose that the terms ' Anglo- 
 Saxon ' and ' Old English ' (or 1 Oldest English ') are con- 
 vertible terms ; for ' Anglo-Saxon ' only accounts for a third 
 part of Old English. Yet the mistake does not lead to much 
 confusion in practice, owing to the unfortunate and deplorable 
 scantiness of the materials representing the other two dialects, 
 We can only deal with what we happen to possess ; so that, 
 
 1 The Middle English of the period from 11 50 to 1300 is sometimes 
 called Early English, a name which is convenient, when required. 
 
 2 I here omit, for the sake of clearness, the Kentish variety of Southern 
 English ; though its forms are fairly well marked. 
 
§ 32.] OLD NORTHERN AND OLD ME R CLAN. 41 
 
 in the absence of works written in Northumbrian and Mercian, 
 we are very thankful to accept such evidence as can be 
 obtained from the very considerable remains of the Wessex 
 dialect 1 that have come down to us. It will clear the way 
 for future consideration to enumerate the sources of our 
 information. 
 
 § 32. Old Northern Dialect : Old Mercian. The old 
 
 Northumbrian literature must, at one time, have been con- 
 siderable. The great historian Beda usually wrote in Latin, 
 but. we are told that he was 1 doctus in nostris carminibus/ 
 i. e. learned in our native songs, and five lines have been 
 preserved of a poem written by him in the Northumbrian 
 dialect 2 . He also tells us the famous story of Caedmon, a 
 monk of Whitby, who composed, in that dialect, a long poem 
 concerning many events recorded in the Old and New- 
 Testaments, beginning with the history of the Creation. Of 
 this poem only the first nine lines have been preserved 3 , 
 although there is a later poem, also frequently attributed to 
 Caedmon 4 , upon similar subjects. These thirteen lines form, 
 unfortunately, the sum total of the remains of the Old North- 
 umbrian poetry, with the exception of the ' Leiden Riddle,' 
 printed by Mr. Sweet in his Oldest English Texts, p. 149, 
 and the Northumbrian Runic Inscription upon the Ruthwell 
 Cross, printed in the same, p. 125. The incursions and 
 
 1 To which we may add the extant remains of Kentish. The Old 
 Northumbrian was the dialect of the Angles, and was thus a kind of 
 ancient Danish. The Wessex dialect was the dialect of the Saxons. It 
 is well known that great numbers of Frisians accompanied the Saxons ; 
 and I throw out the suggestion, for what it is worth, that the Mercian 
 dialect was partly of Old Frisian origin. 
 
 2 See the edition, by Mayor and Lumby, of Books III and IV of 
 Beda's Ecclesiastical History, p. 177 ; Earle, A. S. Literature, p. no ; 
 Sweet, Oldest Eng. Texts, p. 149. 
 
 3 Earle, A. S. Literature, p. 101 ; Sweet (as above). 
 
 4 It is, however, a different version, with a different, though similar, 
 beginning. It is only necessary to say here, that it is not in the 
 Northumbrian, but the Wessex dialect. See Earle, A.S. Lit., p. III. 
 
42 
 
 THE OLDEST DIALECTS. 
 
 [Chap. IV. 
 
 ravages of the Danes swept it all away, so that king Alfred 
 feelingly deplores the almost total decay of learning in 
 England caused by their devastations 1 . Fortunately, how- 
 ever, we possess somewhat more of the old Northumbrian 
 prose. The famous copy of the four Latin Gospels, known 
 sometimes as the Lindisfarne MS., sometimes as the Durham 
 book 2 , contains Northumbrian glosses, or explanations of the 
 Latin words, throughout. The MS. known as the Durham 
 Ritual, edited by Stevenson for the Surtees Society in 1840, 
 also abounds in Northumbrian glosses of the Latin prayers 
 contained in it 3 . Another copy of the Latin Gospels, known 
 as the Rushworth MS., is also glossed throughout 2 . In this 
 copy, the glosses or explanations are in the Northumbrian 
 dialect throughout the Gospels of St. Mark 4 , St. Luke, and 
 St. John 6 , but the glosses upon the words of St. Matthew's 
 Gospel are in the Mercian or Midland dialect, and were 
 formerly supposed to furnish the only extant specimen of this 
 dialect before the Norman conquest. But in Mr. Sweet's 
 Oldest English Texts, published for the Early English Text 
 Society in 1885, we find some additional and highly im- 
 portant examples of Mercian, the principal being (1) the 
 ' Vespasian Psalter and Hymns/ i. e. a copy of a Latin 
 Psalter and Hymns with Mercian glosses, extant in MS. 
 
 1 See Earle, A.S. Literature, p. 190. 
 
 2 See the Northumbrian and A. S. Gospels, synoptically arranged, 
 published by the Pitt Press, ed. Kemble and Skeat. (The Gospel of 
 St. Matthew was reprinted in 1887.) The Lindisfarne MS. is in the 
 British Museum, marked ' MS. Cotton, Nero, D. 4/ The Rushworth 
 MS. is in the Bodleian Library. 
 
 3 The glosses are not very correctly printed. See my Collation of the 
 Durham Ritual, published for the Philological Society in 1879, Appendix, 
 P- 5i*. 
 
 4 The glosses to St. Mark, chap, i, and chap, ii, verses 1-15 are some- 
 times said to be Mercian, but this is a mistake. The handwriting 
 changes in the middle of v. 15 of St. Mark, chap, ii ; but the dialect 
 changes at the very beginning of that gospel. 
 
 5 Excepting, strangely enough, the glosses to the first three verses of 
 chop, xviii, which are Mercian. 
 
§ 33-] 
 
 OLD MERCIAN. 
 
 43 
 
 Cotton, Vespasian A. i, in the British Museum, and (2) the 
 ' Corpus Glossary/ i. e. a collection of Latin words with 
 Mercian glosses extant in MS. No. 1 44 in the library of Corpus 
 Christi College, Cambridge. These scanty remains are all that 
 we possess of the Northumbrian and Mercian dialects, and are 
 not such as to give us much help. We can never judge of a 
 dialect so well from mere glosses as we can from a connected 
 and original composition. What we most desire, viz. a fair 
 specimen of what the Mercian dialect was like before the 
 conquest, is precisely the thing which is almost unattainable. 
 Being thus deprived of the very great help which might have 
 been obtained from fuller information concerning the Mercian 
 and Northumbrian dialects, we are almost entirely thrown 
 back upon the extant specimens of the Southern, or Wessex 
 dialect, usually called ' Anglo-Saxon V Fortunately, these are 
 abundant, or we should be badly off indeed. For specimens 
 of this dialect, see Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Primer and Anglo- 
 Saxon Reader. 
 
 § 33. Modern Literary English derived from Old 
 Mercian. It ought, then, to be carefully borne in mind, 
 that, when we say a word is ' derived ' from the Anglo- 
 Saxon, we commonly mean that it is derived from an Old 
 Mercian form, which in some cases probably coincided with 
 the recorded A. S. form, but in other cases certainly did not. 
 This is an obscure point, especially as the Mercian glosses 
 which we possess do not always exhibit the dialect very 
 distinctly, but rather shew some slight variations from the 
 Wessex (A. S.) dialect. Still the following table (compiled 
 solely from the Mercian glosses upon a Latin text of St. 
 Matthew's Gospel) may be of some slight interest, as furnish- 
 
 1 Some call it ' Old English 1 ; but ' Anglo-Saxon ' is best retained 
 as being generally understood. Besides, it has a special technical mean- 
 ing, viz. the old southern dialect of Wessex. It does not in the least 
 follow that the people of ancient England, or even of the South of it, 
 ought to be called 1 Anglo-Saxons.' They should be called ' English.' 
 
44 
 
 THE OLDEST DIALECTS. 
 
 [Chap. IV. 
 
 ing examples in which the modern English form seems closer 
 to the Mercian than to the A. S. type. 
 
 Modern. 
 
 O. Mercian. 
 
 Wessex (A. S.). 
 
 all. 
 
 all, 5. is 1 . 
 
 eall. 
 
 are. 
 
 arun, 19. 28. 
 
 (not used). 
 
 betwixt. 
 
 betwix, 27. 56. 
 
 betweox. 
 
 cheek. 
 
 ceke, 5. 39. 
 
 ceace. 
 
 cold. 
 
 cald, 10. 42 2 . 
 
 ceald. 
 
 eke. 
 
 ek, 5. 39. 
 
 eac. 
 
 eleven. 
 
 enlefan, 28. 16. 
 
 endlufon. 
 
 eye. 
 
 ege, 5. 29. 
 
 e'age. 
 
 falleth. 
 
 falle)?, 10. 29. 
 
 feallej). 
 
 fell, pt. t. pi. 
 
 fellun, 7. 25. 
 
 feollon. 
 
 fee. 
 
 feh, 27. 6. 
 
 feoh. 
 
 -fold (^/^tenfold).-fald, 19. 29. 
 
 -feald. 
 
 gall, sb. 
 
 galla, 27. 34. 
 
 gealla. 
 
 half, sb. 
 
 half, 20. 23. 
 
 healf. 
 
 halt, adj. 
 
 halt, 11. 5. 
 
 healt. 
 
 heard, pt. t. 
 
 (ge)herde, 2. 3. 
 
 (ge)hferde. 
 
 lie (tell lies). 
 
 ligan, 5. 11. 
 
 leogan. 
 
 light, sb. 
 
 liht, 5. 16. 
 
 leoht. 
 
 light, adj. 
 
 liht, 11. 30. 
 
 leoht. 
 
 narrow. 
 
 nam, 7. 14. 
 
 nearu. 
 
 old. 
 
 aid 3 , 9. 16. 
 
 eald. 
 
 sheep. 
 
 seep, 25. 32. 
 
 scdap. 
 
 shoes. 
 
 scoas, 10. 10. 
 
 sceos, scy. 
 
 silver. 
 
 sylfur, 10. 9. 
 
 seolfor. 
 
 slept, pt. t. pi. 
 
 sleptun, 13. 25. 
 
 slepon [strong form). 
 
 sold, pp. 
 
 said, 10. 19. 
 
 seald. 
 
 spit, v. 
 
 spittan, 27. 30. 
 
 speetan. 
 
 wall. 
 
 wall, 21. 33. 
 
 weall. 
 
 yard (rod). 
 
 ierd, 10. 10. 
 
 gyrd. 
 
 yare (ready). 
 
 iara, 22. 4. 
 
 gearo. 
 
 yoke. 
 
 ioc, 11. 29. 
 
 geoc. 
 
 youth. 
 
 iugu^, 19. 20 4 . 
 
 geoguS. 
 
 1 The references are to the Chapters and Verses of St. Matthew's 
 Gospel ^Rushworth Gloss). 
 
 2 The scribe has miswritten galdes for caldes, an obvious blunder ; 
 the Lindisfarne MS. has cald. 
 
 3 The accent is marked in the MS., though the vowel was not 
 originally long. 
 
 4 Several of these Mercian forms agree nearly with O. Frisian. Cf. 
 
BROKEN VOWELS. 
 
 45 
 
 § 34. Anglo-Saxon 1 broken 9 vowels. Even a glance 
 at this comparative table will reveal a peculiarity of the 
 Wessex dialect which properly belongs neither to the Mer- 
 cian dialect 1 nor to modern English. This is the use of ea 
 for a before the letters /, r, h, x. The symbol ea denotes 
 that the vowel was, to speak technically, 'broken/ i.e. was 
 resolved into the diphthong e-a, the two vowels being pro- 
 nounced in rapid succession 2 . Hence such forms as eall, 
 ceald, feallej?, -feald, gealla, healf, healt, nearu, eald, sea/d, 
 weall, gearo, where the Old Mercian dialect preserved the 
 old vowel a in its purity, and the modern English has partly 
 done the same, though with the slight change of cald, -fald, 
 aid, salde, to cold, -/old, old, sold. In all these words the 
 Southern ' breaking ' is due to the influence of the follow- 
 ing / or r. Similarly, we notice the Southern use of the 
 'broken' sound eo, substituted for i, in the words beiweox, 
 seolfor, where modern English has kept the original sound. 
 Still more marked and curious are the cases in which the 
 Southern dialect has ea, eo, diphthongs in which the former 
 element is long 3 . These would require fuller explanation, 
 which I pass over for the present. It is sufficient to notice 
 that our standard modern English follows the Mercian 
 dialect here also, and knows nothing of ' broken ' vowels in 
 such instances as those above 4 . 
 
 O. Fr. allc, all ; keke, cheek ; elleva, eleven ; falla, to fall ; -fald, -fold ; 
 half; halt; herde, heard; licht, adj. light; liaga, to lie; aid, old; 
 selover, silver, silver ; wal, wall ; ierde, a rod. 
 
 1 The scribe of the Rushworth glosses sometimes inconsistently writes 
 ea for a ; he doubtless knew that the Southern scribes used the symbol, 
 and needlessly followed their example. 
 
 2 For an account of A.S. pronunciation, see Sweet's A. S. Primer, or 
 A.S. Reader. 
 
 3 In my Etym. Diet., I have unfortunately placed the accent, or mark 
 of length, upon the latter element. This was the method formerly in 
 vogue, but it is probably less correct. 
 
 4 But they are found in the dialects. Barnes, in his Dorsetshire poems, 
 writes medke for make, s heady for shady, leddy for lady, &c. 
 
4 6 
 
 THE OLDEST DIALECTS. 
 
 [Chap. IV. 
 
 § 35. Chronology. The necessity of paying due regard 
 to chronology is just as great when we deal with Anglo- 
 Saxon writings as in any other case. Strange mistakes have 
 arisen from neglect of it. Our materials are abundant, and 
 some of them are of very early date. We have MSS. con- 
 taining Latin words, with ' glosses ' or explanations in Anglo- 
 Saxon, going back at least to the eighth century. We have 
 MSS. of the time of iElfred, who died in 901, and many 
 homilies by JElfric, which, in round numbers, may be 
 dated a little earlier than the year 1000. Other late A. S. 
 MSS. were certainly not written till after the Conquest. One 
 copy of the celebrated A. S. Chronicle records events of the 
 year 1154. It is obvious that MSS. ranging over three and 
 a half centuries ought not to be treated as if they were all 
 contemporaneous. Some change in the language might be 
 expected to take place during that time, and such is found 
 to be the case. Curiously enough, the Anglo-Saxon of the 
 dictionaries is generally given according to the spelling of 
 the later period, i.e. of the eleventh century or the latter 
 part of the tenth, merely because the MSS. of that period 
 were most accessible and first received attention. This 
 stage of the language was taken as the standard, and any- 
 thing that differed from it was looked upon as 1 dialectal.'* 
 A curious example of this occurs in Dr. Bosworth's edition 
 of JElfred's translation of Orosius, the preface to which 
 exhibits much painstaking and care. The editor gives an 
 accurate description of the two extant MSS., one of which, 
 called the Lauderdale MS., is proved by him to be consider- 
 ably older than the other, or Cotton MS. He next proceeds 
 to prove that the Lauderdale MS. is the original, and the 
 Cotton MS. simply a late copy of it. He truly says: ' It is 
 not only the antiquity of the Lauderdale MS. for which it is 
 distinguished, but for its use of accents, its grammatical forms, 
 and important readings. ... It is more accurate than the 
 Cotton MS., in distinguishing the termination of -an and -on 
 
§36.] ANGLO-SAXON (WESSEX DIALECT). 47 
 
 both in nouns and verbs. In the Cotton MS., there is 
 great confusion in these terminations ; whilst in the Lauder- 
 dale MS., they are generally correct/ He even goes so far 
 as to say that 6 there are so many instances of great careless- 
 ness in the scribe of the Cotton MS. as to lead a casual 
 observer to say, it is the work of an illiterate scribe/ After 
 this explanation, it is clear that, in editing the work, the 
 correct course would have been to take the older MS. as the 
 basis of the text. Curiously enough, this was not done, the 
 reason for the other course being thus assigned. 'The 
 Cotton MS. was made the basis of the text, as its style and 
 orthography have more the appearance of pure West- Saxon 1 
 than the Lauderdale, which, though older than the Cotton, 
 has a more northerly aspect/ Mr. Sweet, however, has since 
 edited the earlier MS. for the Early English Text Society, 
 and we now know that the peculiar spellings of the Lauder- 
 dale MS. are due solely to its superior antiquity 2 . 
 
 § 36. Specimen of Anglo-Saxon. A simple specimen 
 of late Anglo-Saxon is here subjoined. It is taken from an 
 A. S. version of St. Matthew (xiii. 3-8), made in the tenth 
 century, as extant in MS. Corp. Chr. Coll., No. 140. 
 
 ' S6)>lice 3 tit e'ode se s£dere his s£d to sdwenne. And )>a j>a* 
 he' sdow, sume hig feollon wi}> weg, and fuglas comun and £ton 
 }>a\ S6]>lice sume feollon on st£nihte, )>&r hit nasfde micle eor)>an, 
 and hrsedlice up sprungon, for j>dm )>e hi'g nsefdon )>£re eorj)an 
 
 1 I. e. the West-Saxon of the dictionaries. I owe so much to the 
 bounty of Dr. Bosworth that I wish to clear him from blame in this 
 matter. Writing in 1859, m ore than a quarter of a century ago, he had 
 not sufficient confidence to make what would then have been condemned 
 as an innovation. His arguments really go to shew that he would have 
 preferred the bolder course. 
 
 2 Mr. Sweet has lately published some 1 Extracts from Alfred's 
 Orosius,' in a very cheap form ; so that the spelling of this famous MS. 
 can be easily studied. 
 
 3 The p denotes th, as in M. E. The accent indicates that the vowel 
 is long ; thus 6 would be marked o, if we adopted the notation of the 
 Latin grammar. 
 
4 8 
 
 THE OLDEST DIALECTS. 
 
 [Chap. IV. 
 
 d^pan ; so})lice, up sprungenre sunnan, hig ddruwudon and 
 forscruncon, for )>am }>e hig naefdon wyrtrum. S6J)lice sume 
 feollon on J?ornas, and j?a j>ornas weoxon, and forj?rysmudon 
 Sume so}>lice feollon on gode eorJ>an, and sealdon weastm, sum 
 hundfealdne, sum si'xtig-fealdne, sum }?rittig-fealdne V 
 
 Notwithstanding the unfamiliar and strange appearance of 
 the spelling and grammar, a large number of the words in 
 this passage are only old forms of words still in use. The 
 word forprysniudon soon perished, and has been obsolete for 
 many centuries, but to most of the others there is some clue. 
 In very literal modern English, the passage runs thus : — 
 
 ' Soothly, out went 2 the sower his seed to sow. And when 
 that he sowed 3 , some, they fell'with (i.e. beside the) way, and 
 fowls came and ate them. Soothly, some fell on stony (places), 
 where it had-not (lit. nad=ne had) mickle earth, and quickly 4 
 (they) up sprung, for that that they had-not of-the earth depth ; 
 soothly, up-sprung sun, they dried-away and for-shrunk (i. e. 
 shrunk extremely), for that that they had-not root 5 . Soothly, 
 some fell on thorns, and the thorns waxed, and choked them. 
 Some soothly fell on good earth, and produced (lit. sold) fruit 6 , 
 some hundred-fold, some sixty-fold, some thirty-fold.' 
 
 § 37. So important is the study of Anglo-Saxon to such 
 as are interested in modern English, that some good and 
 useful lesson might be learnt from nearly every word of the 
 above passage. As regards our grammar, for example, such 
 words as fugl-as=fowl-s, porn-as= thorns, at once shew 
 that the modern English plural commonly ends in -s because 
 a considerable number of A. S. plurals ended in -as. This 
 -as was weakened to -es, as in the M. E. foul-es, thorn-es, and 
 
 1 Compare Sweet, A. S. Primer, p. 62 ; where the spelling is some- 
 what normalised. 
 
 2 M. E. yede, went ; now obsolete. 
 
 3 The true modern equivalent is sew, the verb being once strong. In 
 Cambridgeshire, they say 1 1 sew the field,' and ' I mew the grass.' 
 
 4 Lit. rathly ; from rath, soon, whence rather, sooner. 
 
 5 Compare E. wort. 
 
 6 Lit. growth ; allied to wax, i. e. grow. 
 
§ 37-] ANGLO-SAXON [WESSEX DIALECT), 
 
 49 
 
 then these dissyllabic words were crushed into monosyllables, 
 with loss of the indistinct sound denoted by e. Leaving 
 such things to the grammarian, we may turn to the vocabu- 
 lary, and the first word tells us two facts. The first is, that 
 the adverbial suffix -ly was once spelt -lic-e (two syllables), 
 an extension of -lie, which is nothing but an unaccented 
 form of the adj. lie, like ; so that sooth- ly is sooth-like, i. e. in 
 a manner like sooth or truth. The second is of far greater 
 importance, because it concerns phonology. It is, that the 
 A. S. long o 1 (as in sod) came to be written oo (as in sooth), 
 the doubling denoting length. After this, a change came over 
 the pronunciation, but the symbol remained the same ; the result 
 is, that oo no longer denotes the sound of oa in boat, but the 
 sound of oo in boot, or ou in soup. This latter sound is strictly 
 represented, according to the Italian method, by long u, or u, 
 whereas the original sound is strictly represented by d. We 
 see, then, that as far as the written symbol is concerned, the 
 A. S. 6 has (at least in this instance) been replaced by oo, 
 whilst the sound indicated has shifted from d to u . The period 
 at which this shifting took place seems to have been between 
 1550 and 1650; see Sweet, English Sounds, p. 56. If the 
 reader follows this explanation, which is not difficult, let him 
 at once learn this example by heart, and treasure it up. 
 Whoever knows this fact, has laid hold of a great general 
 principle, some of the bearings of which will be shewn in 
 the next Chapter. 
 
 1 Pronounced nearly as oa in boat, but without any after-sound of u ; 
 exactly as oh in G. Sohn. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 English Long Vowels. 
 
 § 38. Returning to the consideration of the comparison of 
 A. S. sod with E. soothe the first question we naturally ask is, 
 whether this is an isolated instance of a changed pronuncia- 
 tion, or are there other words in the same predicament ? 
 We find that it is no isolated instance, but only a particular 
 example of a general law. If we look to the older forms of 
 such words as cool } stool, tool, tooth, goose, soon, moon, noon, 
 broom, doom, gloom, brood, mood, rood, and even look (in which 
 the vowel has been shortened), we shall find that the M. E. 
 scribes wrote these words sometimes with a double o, but 
 sometimes also with a single one ; in the latter case, they 
 meant the long sound all the same, but this sound was to 
 them a long o, not a long //. Strange as it may seem, it 
 is certain that many millions of Englishmen have for years 
 accepted the symbol oo (plainly a long 6) as expressing the 
 sound of the Italian long u, without ever stopping to wonder 
 how they came to employ so extraordinary a spelling ! To 
 return to the consideration of the words cited above, it may 
 next be observed that the words moon and soon were formerly 
 dissyllabic, written moon-e or mon-e, and soon-e or son-e; 
 whilst the verb look took, in the infinitive, the suffix -e, earlier 
 -ic n, and appeared as look-e, lok-ien. Hence, the A. S. forms 
 of the above words are, with perfect regularity, as follows : 
 col, slot, lot, top, gos 1 , son-a, mon-a, non 2 , brom, dom, glom, 
 
 1 The final e in the mod. E. goose is a mere (late) orthographic expe- 
 dient (i. e. a phonetic spelling), in order to shew that the s is hard, 
 or (technically) voiceless ; if written goos, it might be read as gooz. So 
 also in the case of horse, M. E. and A. S. hors. 
 
 2 The A. S. ndn is borrowed from Lat. nona, i. e. nona hora, ninth 
 
§ 39-1 SHIFTING OF VO WE I- SOUNDS. 
 
 51 
 
 brod, mod, rod, locian. This A. S. 6 will be again discussed 
 hereafter, when some apparent exceptions to the law will 
 receive attention (§ 45). 
 
 § 39. Shifting of vowel-sounds. Another important 
 result is this. Such a change of pronunciation as that from 
 long 0 {pa in boat) to long u (00 in boot) could not have 
 taken place without a general shifting of pronunciation all 
 along the line. If in the series baa, bait, beet, boat, boot, we 
 disturb one of the set, we run the risk of upsetting the whole 
 scheme. This is precisely what took place ; the whole of 
 the long-vowel scheme fell, as it were, to pieces, and was 
 replaced by a new scheme throughout, the net result being 
 that the A. S. sounds of a, e, i, 6, u, (as in baa, bait, beet, boat, 
 boot) have been replaced by the modern English sounds de- 
 noted phoneticalty by 6, i, at, 6, au (sounded as in boat, beet, bite, 
 boot, bout). Three of the old sounds, i, 6, 6, are shifted ; 
 two of the old vowels, /, 6, are developed into diphthongs, 
 whilst the remaining A. S. sounds a, e (as in baa, bait) seem 
 to disappear 1 . From this brief account, it will be at once 
 seen that the investigation of the old sounds of modern 
 English vowels requires great care, and must be conducted 
 on regular principles, each sound deserving to be studied 
 separately. This is even the case, as we have seen, with the 
 long vowels, which are the easiest to trace ; the short vowels 
 require even more attention, and should therefore, in my 
 opinion, be studied afterwards, when the changes in the long 
 vowel-sounds have become familiar. 
 
 Meanwhile, it will prove useful to commit to memory the 
 fact that the A. S. sounds, as occurring in baa, bait, beet, boat, 
 
 hour, originally 3 p.m., but afterwards shifted to midday. This drives 
 home the fact that the A. S. 6 = Lat. 0. 
 
 1 The word baa is merely imitative, and the pure sound of the Italian 
 a is rather scarce in English, father being the stock example of it, and 
 the words balm, calm, &c, being of French origin. The sound in bait 
 is common, but answers to A. S. a, a, ea, e, or a>, not to any of the above 
 series of A.S. long vowels. 
 
 E 2 
 
5* 
 
 ENGLISH LONG VOWELS. 
 
 [Chap. V. 
 
 boot, have most commonly been replaced by the modern 
 English sounds heard in boat, beet, bite, boot, bout 1 . The 
 easiest way of remembering this is by the help of simple 
 examples, such as these that follow. 
 
 1. A. S. bat (pronounced baaf), is our mod. E. boat. 
 
 2. A. S. bet-e 2 (pronounced nearly as bait-y, or as bait-er 
 with quiescent r), is our mod. E. beet. 
 
 3. A. S. bit-an (pronounced beet-ahn), is our mod. E. bite. 
 
 4. A. S. bot (pronounced nearly as boat) is our boot, in the 
 sense of advantage, as in the phrase ' to boot/ 
 
 5. A. S. d-butan (pronounced ah-boot-dhn), is our a-bout. 
 All this has been learnt from a full consideration of the 
 
 first word SSfilice of the A. S. extract in § 36 above. This 
 may serve as a faint indication of the lessons to be obtained 
 from a study which has fallen into so great neglect. 
 
 § 40. English should be traced downwards as well 
 as upwards. Hitherto my object has been to prepare the 
 way by tracing English words backwards from the present 
 time to the period before the Conquest, when the literary 
 monuments which have come down to us were mostly written 
 in the Southern dialect, commonly called Anglo-Saxon. This 
 course is a natural one to take, because we thus pass from 
 what is familiar to what is less known. Yet this is clearly 
 not the scientific course, because it reverses the order of 
 succession. Hence, when we have obtained the A. S. form, 
 we ought to return over the same ground once more, as we 
 can then more easily account for, or at any rate record, all 
 changes of pronunciation, and we are in a better position to 
 explain results that appear to be anomalous. This is the 
 course pursued by Mr. Sweet, in his History of English 
 
 1 This general rule has several exceptions, some of which are noted 
 below. The present account is merely general or popular. For scientific 
 details see the article by Mr. Wells, noticed at the end of § 40. 
 
 2 This is an excellent example, because the A. S. bete is not an English 
 word, but merely borrowed from Lat. beta, where the e was pronounced 
 nearly as at in bait, or (sLrictly) as e in F. ete, but longer. 
 
SHIFTING OF VOWEL-SOUNDS. 
 
 53 
 
 Sounds \ and I now extract several examples from his book 
 in order to complete the history of the English long vowels, 
 as we are now in a position to understand it. I beg leave 
 also to draw attention to an admirable article ' On the 
 Development of Old English Long Vowels/ by B. H. Wells, 
 which appeared in the German periodical called * Anglia/ 
 vol. vii. pp. 203-219. Mr. Wells gives the results of his 
 investigations in the following words : — 1 We find that the 
 extreme A. S. vowels t and u have, by a sort of guna, been 
 brought nearer to Ital. a, the one becoming at [mod. E. z] 
 and the other au [mod. E. ou, ow\ 2 . The other long vowels 
 on the contrary, shew exactly the opposite tendency, for 
 A. S. e, ie, ie, e'a, e'o, d>, have become 1 [mod. E. ee], while d 
 has become 0, and 0, u. Wherever, then, the vowels could 
 move toward the extremes of the vowel-scale [given by 
 Ital. u s 0, a, e, z'], they did so; where this was not possible, 
 they formed diphthongs. Such is the development when 
 undisturbed by consonantal influence/ He adds that 1 the 
 only consonants which exercise a general modifying power 
 are tv 9 r, g (h), but the mutes c, d, t, and the labials f, m, 
 have a modifying influence on special vowels with which 
 their articulation is related. A following syllable also tends 
 to weaken the preceding vowel/ He proceeds to examine 
 these disturbing causes in careful detail. 
 
 § 41. It is found that vowel-sounds are often affected in 
 their quality by the consonant that follows them 3 . So much 
 is this the case when this consonant is r, that it alters the 
 quality of nearly every vowel. The vowel-sounds in bat, 
 
 1 Published for the Philological Society and for the English Dialect 
 Society. 
 
 2 As to the nature of this change, see Ellis, On Pronunciation, i. 233 : 
 1 In each case the change simply consists in commencing the vowel with 
 a sound which is too open (i.e. with the tongue not sufficiently raised, 
 and, as it were, correcting that error in the course of utterance.* 
 
 3 Also by a preceding consonant, chiefly in the case of w or qn. 
 Compare wan, quantity, with can, ran, pan. 
 
ENGLISH LONG VOWELS. 
 
 [Chap. V. 
 
 bet, bit respectively, are not the same as in bar, berth, bird. 
 This must be carefully borne in mind, and shews why Mr. 
 Sweet arranges his examples according to the consonant 
 which follows the vowel. Fortunately, r has comparatively 
 little influence upon the long vowels, which we shall take first. 
 
 We now proceed to enquire into the fortunes of the A. S. 
 a, or long a, pronounced as aa in baa, or the interjection ah ! 
 
 § 42. The A. S. & (long a). The rule is, that A. S. a 
 came to be written as long o in M. E., and in mod. E. such 
 words are pronounced with a sound which we should now 
 also call long o. But this M. E. long o was probably an 
 intermediate sound between aa and oa, and commonly pro- 
 nounced nearly as an in naught, according to Mr. Sweet ; or 
 as oa in broad. Thus A. S. bat is M.E. boot, pronounced 
 nearly as mod. E. bought, which gradually passed into E. boat', 
 so that the order of sounds is given (nearly) by baat, bought, 
 boat. The M. E. sound is given still more closely by the or 
 in border. 
 
 Examples are as follows, rd, a roe ; la, lo ! sld, sloe ; 
 wd, woe ; nd, no ; gd, I go ; da, a doe ; td, toe. In the word 
 swd, the w was dropped, giving the M. E. soo, so, E. so. But 
 there are two words in which a w preceded the vowel, and 
 exercised a modifying influence upon it, causing it to pass 
 through two stages. Thus it passed into the modern long o 
 sound even in M. E., and instead of stopping there, it shifted 
 again, because the M. E. d often shifted into long u ; com- 
 pare M. E. cool, col (pronounced as coal) with mod. E. cool 
 (§ 45). And further, the w, after producing this modifica- 
 tion, dropped out ; so that the A. S. hwd is now who (pron. 
 as hoo in hoot), whilst the A. S. twd is now two (pron. as too) l . 
 See Sweet, Hist. Eng. Sounds, p. 54. 
 
 The guttural sound denoted by h, and pronounced as the 
 mod. G. ch in Macht, has modified A. S. dhte into E. ought ; 
 probably by preserving very nearly the sound which the diph- 
 1 This influence of a preceding iv is discussed in § 383. 
 
§ 4 2.] THE ANGLO-SAXON LONG A. 55 
 
 thong had in Middle English. Similarly, ndht has become 
 naught or nought, whence (with a suffix -y) the word naught-jy. 
 By constant use, naught was often 1 widened ' to not, which 
 has now established itself as an independent word. 
 
 hdl, whole ; mat, mole (a blemish, spot) ; ddl 1 , dole. Also 
 hdlig, holy ; a derivative of hat, whole. 
 
 dr, oar ; hdr, hoar ; rdr-ian, to roar ; lar, lore ; sdr, sore ; 
 mdr-e, more ; gdr-a, gore (of a garment) ; gedra 2 , yore ; bar, 
 boar. (Note how the r modifies the preceding vowel, and 
 tends to preserve the M. E. sound.) 
 
 dp, oath ; wrap, adj., wroth, but also wrath ; and simi- 
 larly clap, cloth, in which the M. E. sound of 0 has 
 been preserved ; lap, loath ; lad-ian 3 , to loathe ; cldd-ian, 
 to clothe. 
 
 drds, arose ; das, those ; gdsl, ghost (in which the intro- 
 duction of the h is quite unmeaning). A very curious and 
 difficult word is has, M. E. hoos, also hoors, now written 
 hoarse ; as far as the modern Southern E. sound is con- 
 cerned, the r is not trilled, and the vowel hardly differs, if at 
 all, from that which we have already found in cloth, from 
 A. S. clap \ It probably retains very nearly the M. E. sound. 
 
 prdw-an, to throw ; sdw-an, to sow ; mdw-an, to mow ; 
 crdw-an, to crow ; cndw-an, to know ; bldw-an, to blow. In 
 all these the A. S. w accounts for the modern spelling, but 
 the w is nearly lost, being represented by a faint after-sound 
 of u. So also in sndw, snow ; sdwel, sdwl } soul. An ex- 
 ceptional word is pdw-an, to thaw (instead of /how 5 ) ; here 
 
 1 It appears as ge-ddl. The A. S. prefix ge- is all-abundant, and makes 
 no difference to the word. 
 
 2 The A. S. ge-, as occurring here before d, represents the sound of 
 mod. E.y ; at any rate, it did so in late A. S. 
 
 3 I keep ft to represent the mod. E. th in clothe, whilst ]> represents 
 the mod. E. th in cloth. A. S. uses both symbols confusedly. 
 
 4 The sound varies. I here give my own pronunciation, which is like 
 that of horse. Many people sound the oa in hoarse as a diphthong. 
 
 5 Thow, says Dr. Peile, is the pronunciation in North Cumberland, 
 where it rimes with snow. 
 
56 
 
 ENGLISH LONG VOWELS. 
 
 [Chap. V. 
 
 the dw has preserved the M. E. sound, like that of au in 
 naught. Compare naught, cloth, wrath, above. 
 
 hldf, loaf (h being dropped) ; drdf, drove (the final f in 
 A. S. (and in Mercian ?) being probably pronounced as v). 
 
 A most important word is an, M. E. oon (riming at first 
 with daivn, later with bone), but now riming with bun. In the 
 fifteenth century, a parasitic w sprang up before the initial 
 vowel, which by that time may have become like o in bone ; 
 this would produce a form woon : then the w modified the 
 long o into long u f after which the u was shortened and 
 ' unrounded V giving the curious E. one, in which the initial 
 w is only written by comic writers, who (correctly enough) 
 write wun. The spelling won is found as early as in Guy of 
 Warwick, ed. Zupitza, note to 1. 7927. The word is doubly 
 interesting, because the compounds on-ly, al-one, l-one (short 
 for al-one), l-one-ly (short for al-one-ly)., at-one, all preserve 
 the sound into which it would have passed according to the 
 usual rule. Besides this, the A. S. an, when used as the 
 indefinite article, soon lost its length of vowel, and became 
 an with short a. Hence our modern an, or (with loss of 
 final ?/) a. An-on is short for an-oon. N-one, short for 
 ne one, not one, has followed the fortunes of one, on account 
 of its obvious connection with it. Other examples are scan, 
 shone, past tense 2 ; stdn, stone; grdn-ian, to groan; ban, 
 bone. 
 
 ham, home; lam, loam ; /dm, foam ; clam, prov. E. cloam, 
 used in Devonshire to mean earthenware. 
 
 lag, lah, low (the final guttural being dropped); fag, f ah, 
 foe ; dag, ddh, dough : so dg-an, to own ; dg-en, own (i. e. 
 one's own). 
 
 1 ' Rounding is a contraction of the mouth-cavity by lateral com- 
 pression of the cheek-passage and narrowing of the lip-aperture ' ; Sweet, 
 Phonetics, § 36. Unrounding means the relaxation of the muscular 
 effort required for rounding. 
 
 2 Properly shoan ; but often shortened to shon. 
 
§43-1 
 
 THE ANGLO-SAXON LONG E. 
 
 57 
 
 dc, oak ; strdc-ian, to stroke ; spdc-a, spoke of a wheel ; 
 tdc-en, token. 
 
 rdd, road ; lad, lode (a vein of ore, course) ; wad, woad ; 
 gad, goad ; fad, toad ; dbdd, abode. But brad, M. E. brood, 
 has absolutely retained its M. E. vowel-sound, and is spelt 
 broad, because that sound was represented by oa in Eliza- 
 bethan English \ The A. S. suffix -had became M. E. -hood, 
 -hod, which, owing to its non-accented position in compound 
 words, has been shifted and shortened into E. -hood, as in 
 man-hood, child-hood, maiden-hood. The O. Friesic form of 
 this suffix was -he'd, and in the Laud MS. of the A. S. 
 Chronicle, under the year 1070 (ed. Earle, p. 209, L 6 from 
 bottom) it appears as -hed ; this accounts for the variant 
 -head, as in Godhead, maidenhead. 
 
 dt-e, an oat, pi. dt-an, oats ; wrdt, wrote ; gat, goat ; bat, 
 boat. But hat, M. E. hoot (pronounced as haught- in 
 haught-y), has been 1 widened ' to hot; and ic wdt, M. E. / 
 wool (pron. want), has been similarly altered to / wot. 
 
 rap, rope ; sdp-e, soap ; grdp-ian, to grope ; pdp-a, the 
 pope. In the last case, the A. S. word is merely borrowed 
 from the Lat. papa, a word of Greek origin, signifying 
 £ father/ Here the very vowel sound and spelling of the 
 mod. E. word are quite sufficient to prove, without recourse 
 to history, that the word was borrowed from Latin before the 
 Conquest. Otherwise, we should have borrowed it from the 
 F. pape, and we should all be saying pape, as if it rimed with 
 ape. Compare pap-al, pap-ist, pap-acy, all words of F. 
 origin. And compare pole, A. S. pal, Lat. palus. 
 
 § 43. The A. S. 6 (long e). The A. S. e had the sound 
 of Ital. long e, or the French e in ete (but longer), or nearly 
 that of ai in bait ; the M. E. usually preserved this sound ; 
 it has since shifted into the sound of ee in beet' 1 . 
 
 1 'In one word, the M. E. bb \_ = aw in awe] has been preserved up to 
 the present day, viz. in the adj. drbbd;' Sweet, Eng. Sounds, p. 61. 
 
 2 See Sweet's Hist, of Eng. Sounds, p. 61. 
 
58 
 
 ENGLISH LONG VOWELS. 
 
 [Chap. V. 
 
 Examples. he, he ; de, thee ; we, we ; me, me ; ge, ye. 
 
 The A. S. he'h presents some difficulty ; in M. E., the final 
 guttural was sometimes kept, and sometimes lost ; the vowel- 
 sound was sometimes kept, and sometimes shifted ; and 
 hence such varying forms as hegh, heigh, hey, hy. The 
 shifted form prevailed, becoming at last hy (pronounced as 
 E. he), out of which was regularly developed a mod. E. hy 
 (riming with by). But we still preserve in our spelling a 
 reminiscence of the final guttural, and spell the word high. 
 In just the same way the A. S. ne'h is our nigh. 
 
 her, here ; ge-her-an, to hear ; we'r-ig, weary. The pt. t. 
 ge-he'r-de, lit. heaved, is shortened to heard', such examples 
 as this, in which the shortening is obvious, are of some 
 value. See § 454. 
 
 he I, heel ; ste'l, steel ; fel-an, to feel. 
 
 te'fi, teeth. 
 
 ge-lef-an, to be-lieve 1 ; slef~e, sleeve ; the A. S. (and 
 Mercian? )/ between the two vowels being probably sounded 
 
 as v. 
 
 scene, adj., E. sheen, lit. showy, but now used as a sb. 2 ; 
 wen-an, to ween ; gre'n-e, green ; cen-e, keen ; cwen, queen. 
 But the A. S. ten has preserved its long vowel only in the 
 compounds thir-teen, four-tee7i, &c. ; when used alone it is 
 shortened to ten. 
 
 sem-an, to seem ; dem-an, to deem ; tem-an, to teem. 
 
 eg-e (Mercian eg-e, § 33) is an occasional form of A. S. 
 eage, eye. Strictly, the word belongs to the group containing 
 the long diphthong ea. This ege became M. E. eye, egh-e, 
 ey-e, the symbol 3 (when not initial) being used to represent 
 a gh or y. But the vowel-sound was frequently shifted ; 
 Chaucer constantly uses the dissyllabic ioxmy-e, pronounced 
 
 1 The simple verb lieve was common in M. E. as leuen. 
 
 2 Evidently from a popular delusion that it is etymologically derived 
 from the verb to shine, with which it has no connection. Curiously 
 enough, the adj. sheer really is connected with shine, but popular etymo- 
 logy does not suspect it. 
 
THE ANGLO-SAXON LONG E. 
 
 59 
 
 as ee in beet, followed by a light vowel, with a light interven- 
 ing j/-sound, such as is heard between ee and ing in mod. E. 
 see-ing. Then the final -e dropped, and the M. E.jy or long 
 i developed regularly into the mod. E. diphthongal sound 
 which we write t. Yet we still keep, in our spelling, the 
 form eye, representing a sound which has been obsolete for 
 many centuries. It is this unlucky and unreasonable con- 
 servatism which has brought our modern spelling into such 
 dire confusion. The history of eye is parallel to that of high 
 and nigh, discussed above. 
 
 ec-an, to eke ; re'c, reek (smoke) ; lec (substituted for le'ac), 
 a leek; se'c-an, to seek; Mercian cec-e(see § 33), A. S. eeac-e, 
 cheek ; bfc-e, beech (tree) ; bre'c, breek, an old plural form, 
 afterwards made into the double plural breeks (hence also 
 breech, breeches). The mention of this word breeches occurs 
 opportunely ; it reminds us that the mod. ee really means 
 Italian long i, and consequently that, when shortened, the 
 short form of it is short % ; whence it is that breeches is pro- 
 nounced britches. With this hint, we see that A. S. hrec 
 (substituted for hreac), became M. E. reek (reek), later reek 
 (riik), which, by shortening, gave us E. rick \ 
 
 he'd-an, to heed ; re'd-an, to read ; ste'd-a, steed ; sped, 
 speed ; fe'd-an, to feed ; ne'd, need ; ??i/d, meed ; gled, gleed 
 (a burning coal) ; bred-an, to breed ; bled-an, to bleed ; 
 cred-a l , creed. 
 
 swe't-e, sweet ; see/ (for sceai), sheet ; fe't, feet ; me't-an, to 
 meet ; gret-an, to greet ; be't-e, beet. 
 
 w/p-an, to weep ; crep-el, lit. one who creeps, a creeper, 
 M. E. crep-el, later creeple 3 , but now shortened to cripple. Cf. 
 tick above. 
 
 1 ' Reek, a Mow or Heap of Corn, Hay, &c.' — Bailey's Diet., ed. 
 1745. 
 
 2 Borrowed from the first word of the Latin creed, viz. cred-o, I be- 
 lieve. Hence the A. S. </= Lat. e, as above. 
 
 3 1 In them that bee lame or creepelles 1 ; (1577) J. Frampton, Joyfull 
 
6o 
 
 ENGLISH LONG VOWELS, 
 
 [Chap. V. 
 
 § 44. The A. S. 1 (long i). The A. S. long i was 
 sounded as ee in beet. In course of time, a sound resembling 
 aa in baa was developed before it [see p. 53, note 2,] so that it 
 is now pronounced as a diphthong, which would most cor- 
 rectly be represented by at) viz. a sound composed of the 
 Ital. a rapidly succeeded by ItaL t\ The principal inter- 
 mediate sound through which it passed is one which may 
 be represented by Ital. ez, very nearly the sound of a in name. 
 
 Examples, bz, by 1 ; zr-en, iron ; wzr, wire. 
 
 wzl-e, wile ; hwzl, while ; mil, mile. In the last case, the 
 word is not English, but borrowed from the Lat. milia pas- 
 szium, a thousand paces. Here is a clear case in which the 
 A. S. { = Lat. i 2 . 
 
 lzd-e, lithe ; ivrzd-an, writhe ; blid-e, blithe. 
 
 zs, ice, where the spelling with ce is a mere orthographic 
 device for shewing that the s is hard, or voiceless ; rzs-an, to 
 rise ; wis, wise ; the t is shortened in the derivative ivzs-dom, 
 wisdom, by accentual stress. 
 
 slz-weard, M. E. sli-ward (Havelok, 1. 666), should have 
 become sty-ward, in accordance with its etymology, but the 
 coalescence of z with w has resulted in a diphthong, whence 
 E. steward. In precisely the same manner the A. S. spzw-a?i 
 is now spew or spue ; and the A. S. hzw is now hue. 
 
 Izf life; scrzfan, to shrive, which may have been 
 borrowed from Lat. scrzbere ; cnzf, knife ; wzf, wife ; drzf-an, 
 to drive ; fzf-e, five. But in the compound fzf-tig (lit. 
 five-ty), the z is shortened by accentual stress, whence E. 
 fifty. Similarly the A. S. wzf-men, later form wimmen (by 
 assimilation of fm to m?n), is still pronounced as if written 
 wimmen. It is, however, always spelt women, in order to pair 
 
 Newes out of the Newe Founde Worlde, fol. 52, back. 'Croked^- 
 pillis" \ York Plays, p. 255, 1. 36. 
 
 1 E. final i is written y ; as in by, my, thy, any, many. 
 
 2 Compare line ; for, whether we derive line from the A. S. lin-e, a 
 cord, or from F. ligne, either way we are led back to Lat. linea, a de- 
 rivative of linu?n, flax. 
 
§ 44-1 THE ANGLO-SAXON LONG /. 6 1 
 
 off with the (more corrupt) singular woman ; see Woman in 
 my Etym. Dictionary. 
 
 din, thine ; swin, swine ; scin-an, to shine ; serin, shrine, 
 not an English word, but borrowed from Lat. scrinium ; win, 
 wine, borrowed from Lat. uinum, and actually preserving the 
 original sound of Lat. u (—w); mln, mine ; twin, twine ; pin, 
 pine-tree, borrowed from Lat. pinus. The Lat. poena was 
 transferred into A. S. in the form pin, whence the verb 
 pin-an, to pine, to pine away. In French the same poena 
 became peine, whence E. pain, 
 
 rim, rime ; now almost invariably spelt rhyme, by a need- 
 less and ignorant confusion with the unrelated word rhythm, 
 which is of Greek origin, whereas rim is pure English. 
 Curiously enough, the word really entitled to an h is now 
 spelt without it ; I refer to the A. S. hiim, hoar-frost, now 
 spelt rime by loss of initial h. A considerable number of 
 A. S. words beginning with hr, hi, hn, all lost the initial h 
 even in the M. E. period. The A. S. Urn, lime, is pure 
 English, but allied to the cognate Lat. l'im-us, mud; slim, 
 slime ; tim-a, time. 
 
 stige, stye, sty ; stig-el, a stile, lit. a thing to climb over, 
 from stig-an, to climb ; s tig-rap, sti-rap, a ' sty-rope/ or 
 rope to climb on a horse by, now shortened (from steerup) to 
 stirrup. 
 
 lie, like ; as a suffix, -ly (by loss of the last letter) ; siric-an, 
 to strike ; sic-an, M. E. sik-en, now sigh, by loss of the final 
 letter as in the suffix -ly from like, though the spelling with 
 gh preserves a trace of the lost guttural. The A. S. snic-an, 
 E. to sneak, presents an extraordinary example of the pre- 
 servation of the original vowel-sound \ To these we must 
 add rice, rich, not borrowed from French, though existing as 
 riche in that language, which borrowed it from a Frankish 
 source ; the M. E. riche was regularly developed from A. S. 
 
 1 Compare the prov. E. (Cumberland) stee, a ladder ; from A. S. 
 sti-gan, to climb. 
 
62 
 
 ENGLISH LONG VOWELS, 
 
 [Chap. V. 
 
 rice by the usual change of A. S. ~ce into M. E. -eke, and the 
 ty at first long, is now shortened. The A. S. die, a dike, was 
 a masculine substantive, with a genitive dic-es ; but it was 
 also used as a feminine, with a genitive and dative dic-e. The 
 latter case-forms regularly produced a M. E. dich-e, used in 
 all cases of the singular ; hence mod. E. dich l , now always 
 written ditch, with needless insertion of a /. Here again, the 
 i has been shortened. 
 
 id-el, idle ; rid-an, to ride ; sid-e, side ; slid-an, to slide ; 
 wid, wide ; glid-an, to glide ; cid-an, to chide ; fid, tide ; 
 Md-an, to bide ; brid-el, a bridle. 
 
 smit-an, to smite ; writ-an, to write, in which the initial w 
 is no longer sounded ; hwit, white ; Ml-an, to bite. 
 
 rip-e, ripe ; grip-an, to gripe, the form grip being due to 
 F. gripper, a word of Teutonic origin. 
 
 The words of Latin origin above mentioned, viz. mile, 
 shrine, wine, pine (tree), are of importance, as proving that 
 the A. S. i was really the Latin long i, and therefore pro- 
 nounced as mod. E. ee. 
 
 § 45. The A. S. 6 (long o). The A. S. 6 was sounded 
 nearly as oa in boat, and preserved the same sound in M. E. 
 But in the modern period the sound was shifted, having been 
 ' moved up to the high position 2 ' of long u. 
 
 Examples, sco, shoe ; do, I do ; to, too, to. 
 
 toh, tough. Here the final guttural has been changed to f ; 
 whilst the vowel-sound has been shortened and ' unrounded V 
 The spelling with ou indicates that the A. S. 6 had been 
 regularly reduced to the sound of ou in you before the 
 shortening and ' unrounding ' took place. 
 
 m6r, moor. But in sw or, swore ; flor, floor, the long o has 
 been preserved, though altered in quality by the following r. 
 
 1 'A Dich, or dike' ; Minsheu's Diet., ed. 1627. 
 
 2 Sweet, Hist, of Eng. Sounds, p. 56. The date assigned for the 
 change is A.D. 1550-1650. 
 
 3 See note above, viz. p. 56, note 1. 
 
§ 45-] THE ANGLO-SAXON LONG 0. 63 
 
 slot, stool ; col, cool ; lot, tool. 
 
 sod, sooth ; tod, tooth ; oder, M. E. oother, other, first be- 
 came what we should now write oother, after which the long 
 u was shortened and ' unrounded/ giving E. other. So also 
 brodor is brother. The modern spelling is consistent, after a 
 sort ; for if it be once accepted as a rule that 00 shall stand 
 for the sound of long u, it ought to follow that 0 may repre- 
 sent (even unrounded) short u. Cf. doth, son, govern, &c. 
 
 gos, goose ; but gosling has been shortened to gosling, bosm, 
 bosom, in which the former 0 has at present a variable pro- 
 nunciation ; in Ogilvie's Dictionary it is marked as having the 
 sound of 00 in boot, whilst in Webster, it is marked as having 
 the sound of 00 in foot. The longer sound is in accordance 
 with the rule ; the shorter is that which I am accustomed to 
 hear, hrosl, roost, sb., h being lost. In blostma, blosma, 
 blossom, the 0 has been shortened without shifting to u. In 
 moste, I must, the #-sound has been modified precisely as in 
 other, brother, above ; the only difference is that it is now 
 spelt phonetically. 
 
 row-an, to row ; hlow-an, to low, as a cow ; flow-an, to 
 flow ; grow-an, to grow ; blow-an, to blow, or flourish as a 
 flower. In all these the w is preserved to the eye, and the 
 attentive ear will detect a slight after-sound of u. 
 
 hof, hoof ; be-hof-ia7i, to behove, which preserves its long 
 0 ; glof, glove, with the same changes as in other, brother. 
 
 son-a, soon ; non, noon (from Lat. nana) ; m6n-a, moon ; 
 mon-ad, month, with the same changes as in brother ; Afon- 
 an-dcrg, Monday, like the preceding ; ge-don, don, done, pp., 
 like the same. To these add spon, a chip, E. spoon. 
 
 glom, gloom ; dom, doom ; brom, broom ; blom-a, bloom. 
 Also gom-a, pi. gom-an, the gums, parallel to moste, must. 
 
 sloh, slew (M. E. slow) ; wog-tan, to woo ; drog, drew 
 (M. E. drow). But ge-nog is mod. E. e-nongh, just as toh 
 (already explained) is now tough. The word boh took the 
 form bough even in M. E., and occurs, e. g. in Chaucer, 
 
6 4 
 
 ENGLISH LONG VOWELS. [Chap. V. 
 
 Cant. Tales, 1. 1982. This M. E. ou had the French sound 
 of ou in soup ; and the result of this early shifting was that 
 the sound shifted yet once more in the modern period, thus 
 becoming E. bough (see § 46), in which the final guttural 
 sound, though preserved to the eye, is entirely lost to the ear. 
 
 woe, woke, has preserved the long 6 ; in every other in- 
 stance, words in -oc now end in -00k ; and owing to the hard 
 all of them are now pronounced with the short 00 of foot, not 
 the long 00 of boot. Hence hroc, a rook ; loc-ian, to look ; 
 scoc, shook ; coc, a cook ; boc, book ; broc, brook ; koc i a hook ; 
 forsoc, forsook. No such form as A. S. croc for 1 crook ' has 
 as yet been found, but it is highly probable that it existed ; 
 cf. Icel. krokr, Swed. krok. Similarly, the Icel. tSk has given 
 the M. E. took. 
 
 fod-a, food ; mod, mood; brod, brood. But the old #-sound 
 has been shortened in stod, stood ; god, good ; and still further 
 changed 1 in jlod, flood ; modor, mother ; blSd, blood. The 
 history of the A. S. rod is curious ; it not only produced, 
 according to rule, the mod. E. rood' 1 , but also the mod. E. 
 rod, in which the 0 is shortened from an older (M. E.) pro- 
 nunciation such as raud (riming with gaud) 3 . 
 
 fot, foot ; bot, boot, i. e. advantage, profit 4 . 
 § 46. The A. S. u (long u). The A. S. long u answers 
 exactly to the Lat. u in the words mul, a mule, borrowed 
 from Lat. mu/us, and mur, a wall, borrowed from Lat. murus 5 . 
 
 1 1 In modern English, we have a very anomalous case of unrounding 
 of the back-vowel u, but [riming with foot] becoming bdt [riming with 
 cut] ' ; Sweet, Hist. Eng. Sounds, p. 43. At the same time, the vowel has 
 been ' lowered from high to mid.' 
 
 2 Rood in rood-loft and rood ;of land) are the same word. 
 
 3 The lengthened sound of E. short 0 is heard in the not uncommon 
 use of daivg for dog. 
 
 4 Mr. Sweet adds hivop-an, to whoop. But the A. S. kwdpan means 
 ' to threaten.' The w in whoop belongs to Tudor English. The M. E. 
 form is houpen, from F. houper. 
 
 5 Observe that A. S. miil (from mfilus) would have become mowl in 
 mod. E. But mule was re-borrowed from French at a later period. 
 
THE ANGLO-SAXON LONG U. 
 
 65 
 
 Examples of these words are given by Grein and Ett- 
 muller. 
 
 The history of the A.S. H (sounded as oo in boot) is parallel 
 to that of the A.S. i. Just as the latter was developed into 
 Ital. at, mod. E. long i, so the former was developed into 
 Ital. au, mod. E. ou in bout. Moreover, the change took 
 place much about the same time, viz. in a. d. i 550-1 650. 
 To this may be added, that just as a final long i is orna- 
 mentally written as y, as in by, my, thy, &c, so likewise the 
 final ou is often ornamentally written ow, as in cow, how, 
 now, and in a few words the same spelling prevails even 
 when the sound is not final, as in owl, shower, town. 
 
 Examples, hu, how ; dH, thou ; nH, now ; cu, cow ; bru, 
 brow. 
 
 tir-e, our ; stir, sour ; sctir, shower ; bUr, bower. In 
 ne'ah-ge-btir , neigh-bour, the 6 has simply lost its accent and 
 length, and the sound has become indefinite l . 
 
 M-e, owl ; /HI, foul. 
 
 stiff, south ; mu*3, mouth ; imcud, uncouth, which has pre- 
 served its old sound. In ctid-e, the u has been preserved, 
 but has been shortened ; the mod. E. is coud (riming with 
 good), always carefully misspelt could, in order to satisfy the 
 eye that is accustomed to would and should. 
 
 hiis, house ; Ms, louse ; mus, mouse ; pusend, thousand. 
 
 dun, down ; tun, town ; bru*n, brown. 
 
 rum, room, has preserved its old sound, but is now a sb. ; 
 originally, it was an adj., meaning c spacious ' or ' roomy.' 
 
 bug-an, to bow ; ruh, rug, rough, has changed its final 
 guttural to f y whilst the vowel was first shortened to the 
 sound of 00 in foot, and then altered by f unrounding/ 
 
 bruc-an, to brook ; this word, being mostly used in poetry, 
 has kept its old sound, but in a shortened form. 
 
 1 Mr. Sweet derives E. boor from A. S. ge-bi'ir, with the same sense. 
 But boor is a purely modern word, borrowed from Du. boer. The A. S. 
 bur would have become bower, as in fact ^in another sense) it did. 
 
 VOL. I. F 
 
66 
 
 ENGLISH LONG VOWELS. 
 
 [Chap. V. 
 
 hlud, loud ; scrud, shroud. 
 
 ut, out; clut, clout; d-but-an, about; prut, proud (with 
 change of / to d). 
 
 § 47. The A. S. y (long y). Now that examples have 
 been given of the A. S. long vowels a, e, i, 6, u, it is worth 
 while to explain the long vowel denoted in A. S. by y. This 
 is nothing but a lengthened form of the A. S. vowel denoted 
 by y. The Romans adopted this letter from the Greek Y, 
 in order to represent the sound of the Greek u (y) in words 
 borrowed from that language. The Latin had originally 
 neither the symbol nor the sound ; hence the very spelling 
 of such words as abyss, anodyne, apocalypse, asylum, &c, at 
 once reveals their Greek origin. It is further believed that 
 the sound of the Greek v (and therefore of the Latin and 
 A. S. y) was that of the German ii in zibet. Hence also, the 
 sound of A. S.y was that of the long German ii in Gemuth, 
 griin. 
 
 There can hardly be a doubt as to this fact, yet we are, 
 practically, independent of it as far as modern English is 
 concerned. For it is quite certain that this sound was lost 
 at rather an early period, and that long y and long i were 
 confused, and merged into the common sound correctly 
 denoted by the latter symbol. That is, the sound of y was 
 identified with that of M. E. /, the sound now denoted by ee in 
 beet. Hence the symbols i and y became convertible, and 
 the M. E. bi was often written by, as at present ; and con- 
 versely, the word pryde was often written pride. The history 
 of y since the Middle-English period is precisely the same as 
 that of i, already explained in § 44 \ 
 
 Examples, hwy, why; cy, ky 2 , the old plural of cow, 
 whence the mod. E. ki-ne, by the addition of the same plural- 
 suffix as that seen in ey-ne, the old form of eyes. 
 
 1 We find confusion of y with i even in Icelandic. Thus Icel.^rzV 
 was often written firir ; see fyrir in the Icel. Dictionary. 
 
 2 We find Kie for 1 cows' in Golding's translation of Ovid, fol. 26, 
 1. 23 (1603). Burns has kye in The Twa Dogs, 1. 5 from end. 
 
§ 4 8.] THE ANGLO-SAXON LONG yE. 
 
 6 7 
 
 hyr, hire, sb. ; fyr, fire. 
 
 ge-fyl-an, to file 1 , an old word now only used with the 
 unnecessary addition of the French prefix de-, and therefore 
 spelt defile. In the A. S. fylp, filth, the t has been simply 
 shortened from the old z'-sound, without diphthongisation. 
 
 hyd, a hithe, or haven. 
 
 lys, lice, pi. of Ms, louse ; mys, mice, pi. of mus, mouse. 
 But the old /-sound has been simply shortened in fysl, 
 fist; wysc-an, to wish. 
 
 hyd, hide, i. e. skin ; hyd-an, to hide ; bryd, bride ; pryt-e, 
 pride. 
 
 § 48. The A. S. se, 6a, 60. Other long sounds are de- 
 noted in A. S. by d, e'a, e'o. The examination of these may 
 be deferred for the present, especially as they may be 
 studied in Mr. Sweet's book. It is, however, worth observing 
 that there are a large number of instances in which all three 
 sounds answer to mod. E. ee. The A. S. d was pronounced 
 like the long or drawled sound of a in man; or, according 
 to Sievers, like the G. long d. 
 
 The following are regular examples :— 
 
 sd, sea ; far, fear ; rdr-an 2 , to rear ; beer, bier. 
 
 dl, eel ; mdel, meal ; hdcl-a?i, to heal ; dcel-an, to deal. 
 
 hcep, heath; hdbd-en, heathen; sedp, sheath; wrd:b, 
 wreath. 
 
 tds-an, to tease ; tds-el, tds-l, a teasle. 
 df-en, even, evening ; Idf-an, to leave. 
 hldn-e, lean, adj.; cldn-e, clean; mdn-an, to mean; ge- 
 mdn-e, mean, adj., in the sense of £ common 9 or 1 vile.' 
 
 \hwdg, whey ; hndg-an, to neigh ; grdg, gray, grey ; cldg y 
 
 1 'For Banquds Issue haue I fiVd my Minde ; ' Macb. iii. 1. 65 (cd. 
 1623). 4 Their monrnefull charett, filed with rusty blood;' Spenser, 
 F. Q. i. 5. 32. 
 
 2 Mr. Sweet distinguishes between the close and open sounds of (k; and 
 the distinction is real. In many cases, however, the mod. E. ec results 
 from both alike. I therefore venture, for the present, to combine his 
 two sets of examples. 
 
 F 2 
 
68 
 
 ENGLISH LONG VOWELS. [Chap. V. 
 
 clay. But here the g became a vocalic y, and a diphthong 
 resulted.] 
 
 tec-e, leech, (i) a physician, (2) a worm; sprdc, speech, 
 (with a curious loss of medial r) ; rdtc-an, to reach ; tdec-an, 
 to teach ; bldc-an, to bleach. 
 
 zfl<&/, weed, i. e. garment, chiefly in the phrase 1 a widow's 
 weeds ' ; sdtd, seed ; grazd-ig, greedy ; dad, deed ; naid-l, 
 needle ; rdtd-an, to read ; l&d-an, to lead. 
 
 strdt, street, not an A. S. word, but borrowed from the 
 Lat. strata, in the phrase strata uia, a laid or paved road. 
 The representation of the Lat. a by A. S. d is unusual ; there 
 was probably an older form sir at. See Prof. Cook's edition 
 of Sievers' Old English Grammar, § 57. blazt-an, to bleat; 
 hctt-o, heat ; hwdt-e, wheat. So also slafp, sleep. 
 
 § 49. A. S. 6a (•long ea). The A. S. ea was a ' broken' 
 vowel, i. e. the two elements were separately pronounced in 
 rapid succession, with a stress on the former element. It is 
 nearly imitated by sounding payer or gayer without the 
 initial p or g. 
 
 flea, flea (see examples of this spelling in Bosworth and 
 Toller's A. S. Diet.). 
 
 e'ar-e, ear; sear-ian, to sear; near, near, originally an 
 adverb in the comparative degree (from niah, n/h, nigh); 
 gear, year ; tear, tear. 
 
 east, east; east-or, east-re, Easter. 
 
 be-reaf-ian, to bereave ; leaf, leaf ; sceaf, sheaf. 
 
 bean, bean, seam, seam ; steam, steam ; stream, stream ; 
 gleam, gleam ; drfam, dream ; team, team ; bea?n, beam. 
 
 beac-en, beacon, neat, neat, sb. ; beat-an, to beat. 
 
 heap, heap ; hleap-an, to leap ; ceap, sb., whence E. cheap, 
 adj. 
 
 § 50. A. S. 60 (long eo). The A. S. e'o was a ( broken ' 
 vowel like the above, composed of the elements / and 0 ; 
 sounded nearly as Mayo without the initial M and no sound 
 of y. 
 
§ 5iJ SUMMARY OF RESULTS. 69 
 
 prto, three ; ic seo, I see ; seo, she ; //oh (Mercian /eh, 
 § 33)? f" ee ; /rfo> free; gl/o, glee ; ic bto, I be ; beo, a bee. 
 
 hi/or, a cheek, whence was formed the E. verb to leer ; de'or, 
 deer ; d/or-e, dear ; dreor-ig, dreary ; b/or, beer. 
 
 hw/ol, wheel ; cM, keel of a ship. 
 
 siod-an, to seethe, /r/os-an, to freeze ; preost, priest. 
 
 cne'ow, cneo, knee ; tr/ow, trio, tree. 
 
 //^ lief, i. e. dear ; peo/ thief ; cleo/-an, to cleave, split. 
 
 be-tw/on-an, between ; /eond, fiend. 
 
 ^rdW, a reed ; w/od, a weed ; neod, need. 
 
 jtf/tf/, a ship, hence a yfo?/ ; cre'op-an, to creep ; deep. 
 
 The number of words omitted, as not giving exactly the 
 mod. E. ee, is not at all large. 
 
 § 51. Summary. Now that we have noted some of the 
 principal results respecting the A. S. long vowels, a brief 
 summary of the whole may prove useful. 
 
 The A. S. long vowels a, i, 6, 6 were sounded nearly as 
 the vowels in E. baa, bait, beet, boat, boot. They corre- 
 sponded exactly to the Latin a, e, 1, 0, u ; as may be seen 
 from the following (amongst other) examples. 
 
 The A. S. papa, a pope, was borrowed from Lat. papa ; 
 A. S. bet-e, beet, from Lat. beta) A. S. serin, a shrine, from 
 Lat. scrinium ; A. S. non, noon, from Lat. nona ; A. S. mul, a 
 mule, from Lat. mulus \ 
 
 The mod. E. sounds to which they respectively correspond 
 are those heard in boat, beet, bite, boot, (a)bout, as may be 
 seen from the A. S. forms of those words, viz. bat, bete, In tan. 
 bot, dbutan. See § 39. 
 
 The A. S. y or long y was sounded like the Greek lon<; 
 u (y) or the mod. G. u in griin. At a rather early period 
 it was confused with long i and followed its fortunes ; hence 
 mod. E. mice from A. S. mys, used as the plural of mouse, 
 A. S. mus. See § 47. 
 
 1 A. S. mtil (as already noted) would have become mod. E. moul ; 
 the later E. mule was borrowed from O. F. mule in the 13th century. 
 
7o 
 
 ENGLISH LONG VOWELS. 
 
 [Chap. V. 
 
 The sounds denoted by A. S. d, /a, fo, have all been most 
 frequently replaced by the mod. E. ee. See §§ 48-50. 
 
 In the course of many centuries, whilst these changes were 
 taking place, it is hardly surprising that some words suffered 
 changes not quite in accordance with the general rules. 
 Some of the more important of these exceptions have been 
 discussed, with the following results. 
 
 1. Under words containing the A. S. a, we must also in- 
 clude : so, swd; who, hwd ; two, twd ; ought, dhte ; naught, 
 not, ndht ; wrath, adj., wrap ; cloth, clap ; hoarse, has ; thaw, 
 pdwan ; one, an, a, dn ; none, nan ; shone, scan ; broad, 
 brad ; -hood, -head (suffixes), -had ; hot, hat ; wot, wdt. 
 We find among these such sounds as 00 in boot, due to a 
 preceding w ; also au in gaudy, which was probably the 
 sound of the M. E, 00; 0 in not ; &c. See § 42. 
 
 2. Under words containing the A. S. we must include: 
 high, heh (heah) ; nigh, neh (neah) ; eye, ege (/age) ; rick, 
 hrec (hreac); cripple, crepel\ ten, See § 43. 
 
 3. Under words containing the A. S. 1 we must include : 
 wisdom, wisdom ; fifty, f if tig ; women, wifmen, and even 
 woman, wifvian ; stirrup, stir dp ; rich, rice ; ditch, dic(e\ 
 Also: steward, stiweard; spue, spiwan; hue, hiw ; in which 
 the vowel is affected by w. Also : sneak, snican ; with 
 unaltered vowel. See § 44. 
 
 4. Under words containing the A. S. 6 we must include : 
 swore, swor, floor, flor, which remain little altered except 
 by the loss of the trilling of the r ; behove, behofian, woke, 
 woe, which keep the A. S. sound. Also : tough, toh ; other, 
 6ber ; brother, brocfor ; mother, modor ; flood, flod\ blood, 
 bl6d\ g\oxz,glof) gums,gdman; must, mdste; month, monad ; 
 Monday, monan dceg ; done, don ; enough, gendh. Also : 
 bosom, bdsm; stood, stdd ; good, god; shook, scoc (with other 
 words in -00k) ; foot, fot. Also : gosling, gosling ; blossom, 
 bldslma; rod, rod. Also: bough, boh. See § 45. 
 
 5. Under words containing the A. S. we must include : 
 
§ 5 i.] NOTE ON SHORT VOWELS. 
 
 71 
 
 neighbour, neah{ge)bHr ; rough, run; could, c£8e\ brook, v., 
 brilcan. Also : uncouth, uncufi, room, rum, which preserve 
 the A. S. sound. See § 46. 
 
 6. Under A. S. j^-words : filth, fylp; fist, fyst\ wish, 
 wyscan; all with an alteration from the sound of ee in beet 
 to that of i in bit. See § 47. 
 
 Note on the Short Vowels. 
 
 For the history of the Short Vowels, I must refer the 
 reader to Mr. Sweet's History of English Sounds ; especially 
 as even the above sketch of the history of the Long Vowels 
 is very imperfect, and requires to be supplemented and 
 modified by reference to that work. I may note, however, 
 that the symbols e, i, and 0, frequently remained unchanged, 
 so that the words net, in, oft, on, for example, are spelt in 
 A. S. precisely as they are spelt now. 
 
 The A. S. short a in man, a man, was pronounced as in 
 the mod. G. Mann ; but in mod. E. the pronunciation of 
 man is peculiar, and may conveniently be denoted, phone- 
 tically, by the spelling man. The A. S. ce had this very 
 sound, so that the A. S. gleed was pronounced exactly as 
 its mod. E. equivalent glad. Curiously enough, this is not 
 a case of survival, for the M. E. glad was pronounced with 
 the sound of the G. a in Mann or glatt, which accounts for 
 the modern spelling. 
 
 The A. S. short u had the sound of 00 in book ; so that 
 sun-ne, the sun, was pronounced nearly as the mod. E. sooner 
 would be, if the 00 of soon were altered to the 00 of book. 
 The sound of u in the mod. E. sun differs considerably from 
 this, having been both 1 unrounded ' and ' lowered.' In 
 Middle-English, the A. S. u, when next to n or //, was often 
 represented by 0 by French scribes ; as in A. S. sunn, M. E. 
 sone, mod. E. son. Hence the modern son and sun are pro- 
 nounced alike. Similarly, the A. S. luf-u, M. E. lou-e (with u 
 for v), is the mod. E. love. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Teutonic Languages Cognate with English. 
 
 § 52. Value of the Vowels. In the last Chapter, some 
 account has been given of the sounds of the English long 
 vowels, for the particular purposes of shewing that a scientific 
 study of etymology must take phonology into account, and 
 also of emphasising the fact that the study of vowel-sounds 
 in particular is of great importance. It was rightly objected 
 against the reckless 1 etymologists 9 of a former age that they 
 paid hardly any regard to the consonants, and to the vowels 
 none at all. Scientific etymology requires that great attention 
 shall be paid to the consonants, but still greater to the 
 vowels. For after all, it is precisely the vowel-sound which 
 gives life and soul to the word. The combination rn signifies 
 nothing ; but, if between these two letters, we insert vowels 
 at pleasure, we obtain quite different results. By insertion of 
 a or u, we obtain different parts of the same verb ; ran being 
 a past tense, and run & present tense or an infinitive mood. 
 By other insertions, we obtain words denoting totally different 
 and unconnected ideas, such as rain, rein, roan, or rune 1 ; 
 and it is somewhat extraordinary that the first and second of 
 these words sound precisely alike, and can only be differen- 
 tiated or distinguished to the ear by the context in which 
 they are used. They are distinguished to the eye by a 
 
 1 The guessing etymologists delight in ignoring the vowels. They 
 would tell us that a rein guides a horse in running, or that runes are so 
 called because the runic verses run or flow easily, &c, &c. Such ab- 
 surdities are still uttered, I fully believe, almost every day, at least in 
 England. 
 
§54-1 
 
 ENGLISH AND GERMAN, 
 
 73 
 
 casual and unmeaning difference in spelling, which has only 
 been obtained by altering the spelling of M. E. rein to rain. 
 The etymological distinction is obtained only by the dis- 
 covery that rain is of English origin, whilst rein is French. 
 
 § 53. English not derived from German. We have 
 also seen in the last Chapter that the history of the vowel- 
 sounds of many purely English words can be carried back, 
 practically, to about the eighth century. We thus find, for 
 example, that the sound of o in stone has descended from 
 that of d in stdn. The next question for consideration is 
 plainly this : what do we know about this A. S. a? Can we 
 by any means trace back its history still further ? We have 
 no English records that can help us here ; it only remains to 
 see if any help can be obtained from any external source. 
 This leads us at once to a previous question — is English an 
 isolated language, or are there other languages related to it ? 
 The usual answer that generally occurs to the popular mind 
 is one that ignores about six-sevenths of the truth, and is, in 
 the main, grossly misleading. All that many people can tell 
 us is that, by some occult process, English is ' derived from 
 German/ 
 
 § 54. This mistake is due to a strange jumble of ideas, 
 and has done immense harm to the study of English ety- 
 mology. Yet it is so common that I have often heard 
 something very like it, or statements practically based upon 
 this assumption, even from the lips of men whose course of 
 1 classical ' studies should have taught them better. Ask what 
 is the etymology of the English bite, and not unfrequently 
 the reply will be, expressed with a contemptuous confidence, 
 that 'it comes from the German beissen' as if there, at any 
 rate, is an end of the matter! It does not occur to some 
 men to enquire by what process a / has been developed out 
 of a double s\ nor is any account made of a possible affinity 
 
 1 As a fact, the development is the other way, the German ss being 
 due to the original Teutonic /, which again answers to an Aryan d. 
 
74 
 
 TEUTONIC LANGUAGES, [Chap. VI. 
 
 of the word with Latin and Sanskrit. It is easy to see how 
 this singular idea arose, viz. from the persistent use by 
 Germans of the word Germanic to express what I here 
 call ' the Teutonic group of languages/ By a confusion 
 natural to half-knowledge, the English popular mind has 
 rushed to the conclusion that what has thus been called 
 Germanic is all one thing with what we now call 6 German/ 
 whereas the two things implied are widely different. A little 
 attention will preserve the reader from making this mistake 
 himself. 
 
 § 55. The Teutonic Group of Languages. A careful 
 comparison of English with other languages shews that it 
 does not stand alone, but is closely related to many others. 
 Our modern foot, A. S.fot, is expressed in Gothic by fotus, in 
 Old Friesic and Old Saxon by fot, in Swedish by fot, in 
 Danish by fod, in Icelandic by fotr, in Dutch by voet, in Low 
 German (Bremen) by foot, and in German by fuss. Accord- 
 ingly, all these languages and dialects are, in this case, 
 obviously allied to each other, and we might hence infer 
 (correctly, as it happens) that the fundamental base of the 
 word is obtained by combining f, long o, and t; omitting 
 for the present the question as to whether any older form of 
 the word can in any way be traced. We might also infer that 
 Danish has a habit of turning final / into d, that Dutch has a 
 habit of turning initial f into v, and that German has a habit 
 of turning final / into ss. But if the modern German has a 
 habit which so obscures a word's true form, and so disguises 
 its original type, surely it must be but a poor guide, and indeed, 
 the most misleading of the whole set. A similar examina- 
 tion of a large number of words will deepen this impression ; 
 and it may, for the purposes of English philology, be fairly 
 laid down that, amongst the whole series of Teutonic lan- 
 guages, German (in its modern form) is practically the worst 
 guide of all to the uninitiated, though it can be put to excel- 
 lent use by students who know how to interpret the modern 
 
EAST TEUTONIC. 
 
 75 
 
 forms which its words assume 1 . According to the latest 
 method of division, the Teutonic languages have been divided 
 into two branches, viz. the East and West Teutonic 2 . The 
 East Teutonic languages are Gothic (now extinct) and those 
 of the Scandinavian group. This group contains two sub- 
 divisions, viz. the eastern, comprising Swedish and Danish, 
 and the western, comprising Icelandic and Old Norwegian. 
 The West Teutonic branch includes all the rest, viz. English 
 with its older forms, such as Northumbrian, Mercian, and 
 Anglo-Saxon ; Frisian (which, together with English, seems to 
 form a separate branch) ; Saxon or Low German ; Frankish 
 (including Dutch); and Upper German or High German. 
 There were numerous other dialects which have died out 
 without leaving sufficient materials for their linguistic classifi- 
 cation. A few words concerning the principal languages of 
 this group may be useful 3 . 
 
 § 56. East Teutonic Gothic. Gothic, or, as it is also 
 called, Mceso-Gothic, being the extinct dialect of the Western 
 Goths of Dacia and Mcesia, provinces situated on the lower 
 Danube, is the oldest of the group, and the most perfect in 
 its inflexional forms. This must be only taken as a general 
 statement, for it is not uncommon for other languages of the 
 group to exhibit older forms in special instances. The 
 literary documents of Gothic reach back to the fourth 
 century, and are of very great linguistic value. The chief 
 work in Gothic is a translation of parts of the Bible, made 
 about a.d. 350 by Wulfila, bishop of the Mceso-Goths, better 
 
 1 I continue to receive letters asserting that our Whitsunday is de- 
 rived from the modern German Pfingsten. I am told, practically, that 
 the history of the word and phonetic laws ought certainly to be neglected, 
 because it is an obvious fact which ought on no account to be con- 
 tradicted. All proof is withheld. 
 
 2 Called East and West Germanic by German writers, because Ger- 
 man is, with them, coextensive with Teutonic. 
 
 3 Compare Morris, Outlines of Eng. Accidence, § 9 ; and particularly 
 The History of the German Language, by H. A. Strong and K. Meyer, 
 1886. 
 
7 6 
 
 TEUTONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 [Chap. VI. 
 
 known as Ulphilas, though this form is merely a Greek 
 corruption of his Gothic name. The most important of the 
 MSS. dates from the sixth century. The great antiquity of 
 Gothic gives it a peculiar value, and the student of English 
 etymology can hardly do better than gain some acquaintance 
 with it as soon as possible. It is by no means difficult to an 
 Englishman, owing to the very close relationship in many 
 fundamental particulars between the two languages l « 
 
 Swedish and Danish. These are national and literary 
 languages, best known in their modern form. Neither of 
 them possess monuments of any remarkable antiquity. 
 
 Icelandic. The numerous remains of the early Icelandic 
 literature are of the highest value and interest to Englishmen, 
 and the language itself is still in full activity, having suffered 
 but very slight change during many centuries, owing to its 
 secure and isolated position. Its great interest lies in the 
 fact that it does not greatly differ from, and, for practical 
 purposes, fairly represents the language of the old Danes who so 
 frequently invaded England during many centuries before the 
 Conquest, and who thus contributed a considerable number 
 of words to our literary language 2 , and many others to our 
 provincial dialects, especially Lowland Scotch, Yorkshire, 
 and East Anglian. With a few important exceptions, the 
 extant MSS. are hardly older than the fourteenth century, 
 but the forms of the language are very archaic. One great 
 value of Icelandic is that it comes in to supply, especially as 
 regards the vocabulary, the loss of our old Northumbrian 
 literature. The old Danish (as preserved in Iceland) and 
 our own Anglian or Northumbrian must have had much in 
 
 1 See my edition of the Gospel of Saint Mark in Gothic (Clarendon 
 Press Series), intended as an elementary book for beginners. And see, 
 on the whole subject, Lecture V in Max Muller's Lectures on the Science 
 of Language. 
 
 3 The people who derive all English from German shudder at the 
 idea of deriving English words from Icelandic. Here they are wrong 
 again. 
 
WEST TEUTONIC. 
 
 77 
 
 common. The Icelandic has often been called Old Norse, 
 but Norse is a name which strictly means Norwegian, and 
 should be avoided as likely to lead to ambiguity. 
 
 § 57. West Teutonic. Anglo-Saxon. This has been 
 explained already, as exhibiting the oldest form of English 
 in the Southern or Wessex dialect. The MSS. are numerous ; 
 many are of great importance, and the oldest go back to 
 the eighth century at least. Old English comprises the 
 scanty remains of Old Northumbrian and Old Mercian as 
 well as the abundant remains of Anglo-Saxon. 
 
 Old Friesic. This language is closely allied to Anglo- 
 Saxon ; perhaps still more closely to the Old Mercian. 
 ' The Frisians of the continent,' says Max Miiller, * had a 
 literature of their own as early, at least, as the twelfth cen- 
 tury, if not earlier. The oldest literary documents now- 
 extant date from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries/ 
 Notwithstanding this comparative lateness of date, the forms 
 of the language are often very archaic. 
 
 Old Saxon. This is the name usually given to the old 
 dialect of Westphalia, in which the oldest literary document 
 of continental Low-German is written. It is called the 
 Heliand, i.e. the Healing one, the Saviour, and it is a poem 
 founded upon the Gospel history. It is 'preserved to us/ 
 says Max Miiller, ' in two MSS. of the ninth century, and 
 was written at that time for the benefit of the newly con- 
 verted Saxons/ 
 
 Dutch. This is still ' a national and literary language/ 
 and ' can be traced back to literary documents of the 
 thirteenth century/ Closely allied to Dutch is the Flemish 
 of Flanders; and not very far removed from this is the 
 dialect of Bremen, which is worthy of particular mention 1 . 
 
 German. The particular language now usually called 
 
 1 In my Dictionary, I have used the term ' Low-German ' in a special 
 sense, as has long been usual, with reference to the work known as the 
 Bremen Worterbuch, printed in 1767, in five volumes. 
 
7 8 
 
 TEUTONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 [Chap. VI. 
 
 German is commonly called High German by philologists. 
 It was formerly considered as standing apart from all 
 other languages of the Teutonic group, because of its 
 remarkable diversity from the rest as regards the consonants 
 which it now employs. The remarkable formula of con- 
 sonantal sound-shiftings usually called ' Grimm's Law ' pre- 
 supposes that the High German occupies a class by itself. 
 But this apparent diversity is really delusive, because it is 
 only the more modern form of the language which exhibits 
 such characteristic variations. In the eighth century, or at 
 any rate in the seventh century, the German consonantal 
 system agreed sufficiently closely with that of the other 
 Teutonic languages; but this is no longer the case in the 
 modern stage of the language. ' If we compare English 
 and modern German, we find them clearly distinguished 
 from each other by regular phonetic changes 1 / One would 
 think the difference is so marked that it cannot well be 
 mistaken ; yet it is a curious example of the force of popular 
 error, that many students who are perfectly aware of this 
 material difference between the two languages at once forget 
 the fact as soon as ever English etymology is discussed, and 
 go on deriving bile from the modern German beissen just the 
 same as ever 2 . The High German is subdivided, chronolo- 
 gically, into three stages— Old High German, from the seventh 
 to the eleventh century; Middle High German, from the 
 twelfth to the fourteenth century ; Modern High German (or 
 German), from the end of the fourteenth century to the 
 present time. 
 
 § 58. Teutonic types. By comparing all the above 
 varieties of Teutonic, we can practically construct, at least 
 as far as relates to the forms of many words, an original 
 
 1 Morris, Hist. Outlines of E. Accidence, § io. 
 
 2 In the Christian World of July 9, 1885, a correspondent complains 
 that a reformed spelling would loosen ' the ties that bind our language 
 to the German whence it comes.' 
 
§58.] 
 
 TEUTONIC TYPES. 
 
 79 
 
 Teutonic vocabulary which shall represent and include the 
 whole series. The forms thus obtained are called ' Teutonic 
 types 1 or * stems/ and are of high value for the purposes of 
 etymology. In constructing them, we must take into account, 
 not merely the monosyllabic base 1 of each substantive, such 
 as fot for foot) but the vowel-suffix which determined the 
 character and manner of its declension. The type of a 
 substantive, thus obtained, may be called its stem. I define 
 a stem of a substantive as the (usually monosyllabic) base 
 with the addition of the suffix which determines the character 
 of its declension 2 . The exact meaning of this is best seen 
 from an inspection of the modes of substantival declension 
 in Gothic, which, on account of its antiquity and general 
 adherence (in many particulars) to the earliest Teutonic 
 word-forms, may frequently be taken as the standard to 
 which the others may be reduced. By way of further ex- 
 planation, I quote the following (slightly amended) from 
 my Introduction to St. Mark's Gospel in Gothic, p. xxxv : — 
 'The stem 3 or crude form of a substantive is the supposed 
 original form of it, divested of the case-ending. To this 
 stem the case-ending has been added, after which the case 
 has frequently suffered degradation, and appears in a 
 weakened form. Thus the stem fiska signifies 'fish,' whence 
 was formed the nominative fiska-s, afterwards contracted to 
 
 fish! This word fish belongs to what is called the A-form, 
 or A-declension of substantives 4 . The word foot, Goth. nom. 
 
 fotu-s, belongs to the U-form, so that the true stem of the 
 
 1 I define the base of a word to be that part of it which is left when 
 divested of suffixes. Thus the base of Lat. pisc-is, a fish, is pise-, 
 
 2 Thus, in the Lat. nom. piscis, a fish, pise- is the base, pisci- is the 
 stem, and -s is the case-ending denoting the nominative case. These 
 may not be the best terms, but I find them useful. 
 
 3 Called base in the passage here quoted. (I have since found it con- 
 venient to reverse the use of ste?n and base as formerly given by me.) 
 
 4 Such is the account usually given in Gothic grammars. The de- 
 clension might more exactly be called the o-declension, and the stem 
 described as fisko. Cf. the nom. pl.fisko-s (=fis/co-es\ 
 
8o 
 
 TEUTONIC LANGUAGES. [Chap. VI. 
 
 word is fotu, which may be taken as the primitive Teutonic 
 type of the word foot. A large collection of Teutonic types, 
 both of substantives and verbs, is given in the very valuable 
 work of Fick, entitled ' Vergleichendes Worterbuch der 
 Indogermanischen Sprachen.' This book is especially ser- 
 viceable to the student of Teutonic philology. Generally 
 speaking, the English forms are tolerably close to these 
 archaic types, whilst the modern German frequently deviates 
 from them in some remarkable way. It follows from this, 
 as a matter of course, that whilst it is contrary to all true 
 principles to derive one modern Teutonic language from 
 another, it would practically cause less error to derive Ger- 
 man from English than conversely. Those who think it 
 praiseworthy to derive bite from the German beissen 1 would 
 do much better if they were to say that the German beissen 
 is from the E. bite ; and if they were to take into account an 
 older form of English, and so derive the G. beissen from the 
 A. S. bitan, they would do better still. In fact, Fick actually 
 gives bitan 2 as the Teutonic type of the infinitive mood of 
 this verb. 
 
 § 59. Teutonic dental sounds. The phonetic changes 
 by which German is distinguished from English were at the 
 outset few, but afterwards became even more numerous than 
 they are now. Modern German has given up a few of the 
 old distinctions, thus practically returning, in such respects, 
 to the ancient type. It will therefore be simpler to leave out 
 of sight, for the present, such distinctions as no longer 
 exist in spelling, and to give examples only of such as still 
 remain. 
 
 The most important of these changes are exhibited in 
 
 1 I feel obliged to continue to protest against this childish error be- 
 cause I find, by experience, that it is deeply rooted, widely spread, and 
 extremely mischievous. 
 
 2 The circumflex over the I denotes length, i. e. it has precisely the 
 same value as the accent over i in bitan. 
 
§62.] TEUTONIC DENTAL SOUNDS, 
 
 8) 
 
 such words as begin 1 , in English, with the dental sounds 
 d, /, or /h 2 . In such words, it is the English which pre- 
 serves the original Teutonic dentals, and the German which 
 has changed them into something else. Thus German has 
 changed d into / ; / into z (if / be initial ; otherwise it gener- 
 ally employs ss medially, and z, /z, ss or s finally, making 
 four varieties of the changed /) ; and th into d. 
 
 § 60. Teutonic d becomes German t. Initially; as in 
 E. death, G. Tod. Medially; as in E. idle, G. eitel. Finally; 
 as E. bed, G. Bett; E. red, G. ro/h 3 . In further illustration 
 of these changes, see the numerous examples collected in 
 Appendix A. 
 
 § 61. Teutonic t becomes German z, initially ; or ss, 
 medially; or z, tz, ss, or s finally. Initially; E. tame, 
 G. zahm (pronounced tsaam). Medially ; E. water, G. 
 Wasser ; E. nettle, G. Nessel. Finally (chiefly after /, r) ; E. 
 salt, G. Salz ; E. heart, G. Herz ; or (chiefly after a short 
 vowel), E. net, G. Neiz ; or (chiefly after a long vowel), E. 
 white, G. weiss ; or (rarely) E. that, G. das. But the final / 
 is not changed when preceded by E. gh,f, or s; as in E. 
 fight, G.fech/-en ; E. oft, G. oft; E. guest, G. Gas/. Initial / 
 remains when followed by r; as in E. /read, G. ire/en. For 
 further examples see Appendix A. 
 
 § 62. Teutonic th becomes German d. Initially ; E. 
 /hank, G. dank-en. Medially ; IL.fea/her, G. Feder. Finally ; 
 E. pa/h, G. Pfad. But O. H. G. dusunt, answering to E. 
 /housand, is now /ausend. It is amusing to find that beginners 
 frequently found their ideas of the resemblance of English to 
 German upon the word buiier, G. Butter; but it happens 
 that this is a non-Teutonic word, being of Greek origin. 
 
 1 Similar changes often take place when the dental letter is not initial ; 
 see examples at pp. 503-4. 
 
 2 This is a simple sound, awkwardly denoted by the use of two 
 symbols. 
 
 3 The G. th is (now, at any rate) nothing but a /, and is so pronounced. 
 Modern German spelling-reformers write rot for roth, very sensibly. 
 
 VOL. I. G 
 
82 
 
 TEUTONIC LANGUAGES. [Chap. VI. 
 
 Further illustrations will be found in Appendix A. The 
 remarkable exceptions to the general law which are pre- 
 sented by the E. father and mother (G. Vater, Mutter) are 
 discussed below in Chapter IX. 
 
 § 63. Teutonic labial sounds. The changes in the 
 dental letters d, /, t/i, which distinguish German from English 
 spelling, are thus seen to be tolerably regular and complete. 
 Less complete are the changes in the labial letters, viz. b, p, 
 f (v). For a Teutonic b, the O.H.G. often has as in 
 pruoder, brother; but this distinction is not made in the 
 modern language. German often turns p into pf as in E. 
 path, G. Pfad\ E. apple, G. Apfel) but most English words 
 beginning with p, and most German words beginning with 
 pf are non-Teutonic. The most regular change is in the 
 substitution of German y for the Teutonic p final. 
 
 Examples: deep, tie/) heap, Haufe\ leap, lauf-en l ; 
 sharp, scharf) sheep, Schaf; sleep, v., schlafen; thorp, 
 Dorf\ up, auf. Occasionally the _/is doubled; as in hope, 
 hoff-en ; ship, Schiff. 
 
 § 64. The Teutonic f when initial, usually remains as f 
 in German. The Old High German frequently has v for 
 initial f and a few archaic forms still preserve this peculiarity 
 of spelling, though the v is pronounced precisely as IL.f 
 
 Examples : father, Vater ; fee, Vieh. The English f 
 when final, usually represents a Teutonic v, and appears as 
 G, b\ as in E. deaf, G. taub. See Appendix A. 
 
 § 65. Teutonic guttural sounds. The Teut. guttural 
 sounds g, k, h usually appear unchanged in modern German. 
 The O. H. G. has k for g, as in kans, cognate with E. goose ; 
 but this distinction is no longer made. The M. E. (obsolete) 
 guttural sound still represented by gh in our modern spelling 
 answers to G. ch ; as E. light, s., G. Licht. We may notice 
 
 1 The M. E. lefen, A. S. hleapan, often means 1 to run/ like the G. 
 laufen. 
 
§6o.] 
 
 ENGLISH AND GERMAN. 
 
 83 
 
 some instances in which Teut. final k becomes G. ch ; as 
 in E. break, G. brech-en ; see Appendix A. 
 
 § 66. English and German. It will probably have 
 been observed that, in some words, two changes have taken 
 place. Thus, in the word thorp, the initial th has become d 
 in German, whilst the final / has become f\ the German 
 form being Dor/. But, as these changes are in accordance 
 with rule, no difficulty arises. There is a matter of more 
 importance, viz. the question of vowel-sounds, upon which I 
 have already endeavoured to lay much stress. It is easy to 
 see the relation between thorp and Dorf, because the identity 
 of the vowel-sounds is obvious. But let it be noted that, in 
 every pair of equivalent English and German words quoted 
 above, it is absolutely essential that the original identity of 
 the vowel-sounds must be capable of being established 1 . 
 If, for example, the G. Fuss is really equivalent to the E. 
 foot, it is not enough to say that the change from / to ss is 
 regular; we must further investigate the meaning of the G. 
 long u. By tracing the word backwards, the O. H. G. forms 
 are found to be fuoz 2 , fuaz, foaz, foz, so that the vowel was 
 once a long 0 ; and as the A. S. for foot is fot, the vowel- 
 sounds are equivalent. In precisely the same way it may be 
 shewn that E. do = A. S. don, whilst O. H. G. shews the 
 changed or ' shifted 9 form ton, also written toan, tuan, tuon, 
 mod. G. thun ; and again, that an original Teutonic long 0 is 
 the vowel-sound common to the following pairs of words, 
 viz. E. blood, G. Blut ; E. brood, G. Brut ; E. hood, G. Hut ; 
 E. rood, G. Bulh-e; E. _/ other 3 , G. Fuder ; see § 74. In all 
 
 1 There are some exceptions, due to what is called vowel-gradation. 
 But there are rules in this case also. The subject will be resumed when 
 vowel-gradation has been explained. 
 
 2 Notice the final *, which is the most regular German substitution 
 for E. t. The G. z is, in fact, sounded as ts, and is nothing but a kind 
 of / to which a parasitic sibilant sound has been added. 
 
 3 The mod. E. /other is almost obsolete ; however the 0 may now be 
 sounded, it was once long, the A. S. form being foder. 
 
 G 2 
 
8 4 
 
 TEUTONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 [Chap. VI. 
 
 other similar cases, certain relations between E. and G. vowel- 
 sounds can be established by investigating the sounds in A. S. 
 and O. H. G. When this has been done, so that the ultimate 
 and original identity of the E. /bo/ with G. Fuss has been 
 fully demonstrated, we can then say that either of these words 
 is cognate 1 with the other, i. e. ultimately identical, or at 
 least very closely related, at a remote (and indeed a pre- 
 historic) period. This is a point which must be very clearly 
 understood before any true ideas as to the relationship of 
 words can be formed. If we say that the E. foot is derived 
 from the G. Fuss (as is actually said by many), we are then 
 talking nonsense,, and contradicting all history; if we say 
 that the G. Fuss is derived from the E. foot (as is never said 
 by any, because Englishmen dare not say so, and Germans 
 know better), we are talking a trifle more sensibly, and con- 
 tradicting history a little less. We must, however, use neither 
 phrase ; we must drop the term * derived ' altogether, and 
 employ the term ' cognate.' It follows that English and Ger- 
 man are sister-languages, as they are rightly called. Though 
 originally of twin birth, time has treated them differently; 
 we might say that English has preserved the features of the 
 mother more exactly than German has done. Similar re- 
 marks apply to all the other languages of the Teutonic 
 group. They are all sisters ; but the features of German are 
 more altered than those of the rest. Such cognation or 
 sisterly relationship is a totally different thing from derivation ; 
 for the latter term implies an actual borrowing. 
 
 § 67. English words borrowed from German. It 
 is true, however, that English has actually borrowed a few 
 words from German in quite modern times. This is 
 altogether a different matter, and in such cases the word 
 ' derived ' can be correctly employed. As this matter is one 
 of considerable interest, and it wiU greatly clear up the whole 
 
 1 A term of Lat. origin, meaning 'co-born,' or sprung from the same 
 source ; related as brothers or sisters are. 
 
COGNATE WORDS. 
 
 85 
 
 matter to shew the nature of these borrowed or derived 
 words, I here subjoin the whole list of E. words directly 
 derived from German, copied from my Etymological 
 Dictionary. The list is as follows : — Bismuth, camellia, 
 Dutch, feldspar, fuchsia, fugleman, gneiss, hock (wine), huzzah, 
 landau, maulstick, meerschaum 1 , mesmerise (with French suffix), 
 plunder, poodle, quartz, shale, swindler, trull, wacke, waltz, 
 wheedle (?), zinc. To these may be added veneer, a French 
 word in a Germanised form; and a few Dutch words, viz. 
 dollar, rix-dollar, etch, wiseacre, borrowed by Dutch from 
 German. 
 
 This is a very remarkable list, as the words are all of 
 modern date. No less than five of them, feldspar, gneiss, 
 quartz, shale, wacke, are terms of modern geology; bismuth, 
 zinc, are metals; hock, landau, are mere place-names; 
 camellia, fuchsia, mesmerise, are from personal names. There 
 is not a single word in the whole of the English language that 
 can be shewn to have been borrowed directly from German 
 before a. d. 1550. There are, however, some which have 
 been borrowed indirectly, through French, from various 
 German dialects; this is merely because several French 
 words are of Frankish or old Danish origin, having been 
 imported into France by Teutonic invaders and conquerors, 
 as will be duly explained when we come to treat of French. 
 The real use of the cognate German forms is that they help 
 us in the construction or investigation of primitive Teutonic 
 types and ' bases/ 
 
 § 68. Cognate words. The occurrence of consonantal 
 changes in German words, whereby they exhibit deviation 
 from the Teutonic types, is called shifting, or in German, 
 Lautverschiebung (sound-shifting). Thus, in the Teut. type 
 
 1 Pronounced meershum, with ee as in beet (Ogilvie N ; whereas the 
 G. ee resembles at in bait. The fact, that we can thus alter a German 
 sound almost at once, helps us to understand that we have altered 
 Middle English sounds in the course of centuries. 
 
86 
 
 TEUTONIC LANGUAGES. [Chap. VI. 
 
 fotu, TL.foof, the / has, in German, shifted to z, later ss; the 
 German word being Fuss. As the English so frequently 
 preserves the Teutonic consonant intact, it is in this respect 
 more primitive than German. But we cannot say that 
 German words are ' derived ' from English, because it often 
 happens, on the contrary, that modern German preserves the 
 original vowel-sound intact, where the English has altered it. 
 Thus the E. heap (A. S. heap) answers to a Teutonic type 
 haupo (Fick, iii. 77), O. H. G. hauf, houfe, mod. G. Haufe; 
 and in many other cases the German vowel-sound is more 
 primitive than the English. By such considerations the true 
 sisterly relationship of English to German is fully established ; 
 i. e. we can only, in general, consider pairs of related words 
 as being cognate. 
 
 § 69. In precisely the same way, we can only say that the 
 IL.foot and Gothic fotus are cognate ; we must not talk about 
 English words as being ' derived ' from Gothic. Yet Gothic 
 is so archaic, that it often preserves the original Teutonic 
 type correctly, as in this very word fotu-s, where is merely 
 the suffix peculiar to the nominative case. It must also be 
 remembered that modern German is the only Teutonic 
 language which shews a shifting of consonants (such as d, /, 
 th, &c.) from the original Teutonic type. The other Teutonic 
 languages commonly resemble both English and Gothic in 
 their use of consonants ; the chief exceptions being that, in 
 Danish, a final k, t,p,f, are commonly 'voiced 1 / and appear 
 as g, d, b, and v 2 ; whilst initial th commonly appears as / in 
 Danish and Swedish, and as d in Dutch 2 . Hence most other 
 Teutonic languages present, to the eye, a more familiar 
 appearance than German does. Yet few notice this, because 
 they seldom make the comparison till they have partially 
 
 1 Consonants are either 'voiceless/ as k, t,p,f, Sec. ; or 'voiced.' The 
 meaning of this distinction will be explained hereafter. 
 
 2 As in E. book, foot, deep, deaf; Dan. bog,/od, dyb, dbv. E. thorn; 
 Swed. tome ; Dan. torn \ Du. doom. 
 
TEUTONIC A I. 
 
 8 7 
 
 learnt German, and at the same time neglected the rest. If 
 an Englishman were to learn Dutch or Danish first, he would 
 find either of them easier than German, as he could more 
 often guess at the meanings of the words. Surely the Dutch 
 and Danish daad are more like our deed than is the G. That. 
 
 § 70. If the reader will kindly refer to the beginning of 
 this Chapter, he will see (§ 53) that the original question 
 with which we started was this, viz. What can we find out 
 about the A. S. d, or about any other of the A. S. long vowel- 
 sounds ? This problem has not been lost sight of for a 
 moment, but it was absolutely necessary to consider other 
 questions by the way. We have now considered these 
 sufficiently to enable us to proceed with it. By way of 
 digression, in sections 54-69, we have seen (1) that English 
 is not derived from German except in a few modern in- 
 stances of word-borrowing; (2) that German is neither the 
 sole other Teutonic language, nor our easiest guide; (3) 
 that we ought rather to consult, first of all, such languages as 
 the extinct Gothic, the monuments of Old Friesic and Old 
 Saxon, and the modern or old forms of Dutch, Icelandic, 
 Swedish, Danish ; (4) that German is distinguished from all 
 the rest by certain curious consonantal shiftings, which have 
 been sufficiently exemplified ; (5) that, from a comparison of 
 all the Teutonic languages, primitive Teutonic types of words 
 can be, and have been, deduced ; and (6) that the relation of 
 English to all the other Teutonic languages is, speaking 
 generally, that of a sister to sisters ; English being a language 
 which, so to speak, has fairly well preserved many of the 
 more striking features of the primitive Teutonic mother- 
 tongue. We now proceed to consider the value of the A. S. 
 long a, or d. 
 
 § 71. A. S. a = Teut. ai (rarely §). 
 
 (a) To take a special instance, the E. stone answers to A. S. 
 stdn; see § 42. Other forms are these : Goth, stains, nom. ; 
 Du. steen ; Icel. steinn ; Dan. sten ; Swed. sten ; G. Stein. From 
 
88 
 
 TEUTONIC LANGUAGES. [Chap. VI. 
 
 a comparison of all these forms, and consideration of a large 
 number of other A. S. words containing the same symbol d, 
 and by calling in the aid of phonology l , it has been con- 
 cluded that the primitive Teut. sound was that of Ital. a 
 followed by Ital. t\ thus producing the diphthong at, the 
 sound of which is not very far removed from that of mod. E. 
 long t\ as heard in line, mine, thine; though perhaps the 
 tf^-sound should be heard a little more clearly. The primi- 
 tive Teutonic type is staino, it being a masculine substantive 
 of the ^-declension ; cf. Fick, iii. 347. Judging from this 
 example, we should expect to find, at least in many cases, 
 that the A. S. a corresponds to Goth, at, Du. ee, Icel. ei, Dan. 
 e (long), Swed. e (long), G. ei; and we shall find that these 
 equivalent vowels occur, in the various languages, with sur- 
 prising regularity. I give half-a-dozen examples : — 
 
 1. E. whole, A. S. Ml, Goth, hails 2 , Du. heel, Icel. heill, 
 Swed. hel, Dan. heel, G. heil: Teut. type hailo (Fick, 
 iii. 57) 3 - 
 
 2. E. dole, A. S. ddl, Goth, dail-s 2 , Du. deel, Icel. deila, 
 Swed. del, Dan. deel, G. Theil: Teut. type dailo (id. iii. 
 142). 
 
 3. E. oath, A. S. dp, Goth, ailh-s 2 , Du. eed, Icel. eidr, 
 Swed. ed, Dan. ed, G. Eid : Teut. type aitho (id. iii. 4). 
 
 4. E. hot, M. E. hoot, A. S. hat, Goth, (missing), Du. heet, 
 Icel. heitr, Swed. het, Dan. hed, G. heiss. Here, though the 
 Gothic is missing, it would clearly have been *hait-s : Teut. 
 type haito (id. iii. 75). 
 
 5. E. / wot, M. E. wool, A. S. wdl, Goth, wait, Du. weet, 
 
 1 Phonology deals with the history of the sounds which, in each lan- 
 guage, the written symbols denote. It is all-important, but it is easier 
 to deal, in an elementary treatise, with the written symbols. 
 
 2 The -s is merely the nom. case suffix. 
 
 3 Fick gives the types in the forms haila, daila, &c. ; but the final 
 vowel of the Teut. type is now usually taken to be O ; see Sievers. 
 Hence the types should rather be written as hailo, dailo, aitho, 
 
 HAITO, WAIT, RAIPO. 
 
TEUTONIC LONG E. 
 
 8 9 
 
 Icel. veit, Swed. vet, Dan. veed, G. weiss : Teut. type wait 
 (id. iii. 304). 
 
 6. E. rope, A. S. rap, Goth, raip (in the comp. skauda-raip, 
 a shoe-tie, latchet of a shoe), Du. Icel. reip, Swed. r^/>, 
 Dan. G. Reif (a hoop, ring, sometimes a rope) : Teut. 
 type raipo (id. iii. 247). 
 
 It is easy to see from these examples that the Teutonic 
 vowel-sounds can often be exactly analysed, and we are 
 generally able to account for any slight deviation from 
 regularity. Thus the E. home, A. S. ham, Goth, haims, should 
 answer to Dan. hem or heem ; but the Dan. form is hjem, 
 where the j is plainly an insertion, indicating a parasitic 
 sound of short 1 introduced before the long e. 
 
 (b) Teut. e. But there are other cases in which the sounds 
 corresponding to A. S. d are so different that the original Teu- 
 tonic sound cannot have been at. Such a case is seen in E. 
 boat, A. S. bit (no Gothic form), Du. boot, Icel. bdtr, Swed. bat, 
 Dan. baad (the G. Boot being borrowed from Dutch) : Teut. 
 type bato (Fick, iii. 200), though it should rather be written as 
 b£to ; cf. Sievers, O. E. Grammar, § 57, where he instances 
 A. S. mdgas, pi. kinsmen, as compared with Icel. mdg-r, 
 Swed. mag, Dan. maag, Goth. megs. Here the A. S. d 
 answers to Teut. e (long e) ; but the history of this word is 
 obscure, its origin being quite unknown. But certainly the 
 most usual original value of A. S. d is Teut. ai. 
 
 § 72. A. S. e commonly arises from Teut. 6 (long o), 
 unless it is due to contraction. 
 
 (a) Certain A.S. words containing long e require individual 
 investigation ; the long e seeming to arise from contraction. 
 Thus E. we=A. S. w/, answers to Goth, wet's, a fuller form. 
 
 (b) In other cases, / occurs as a variety of a more usual 
 ea ; as in heh, high, usually heah ; neh, nigh, usually ne'ah : 
 such words are best considered together with those that 
 contain e'a. (Here, ea precedes h, x, c, or g.) 
 
 (c) Putting such special instances aside, the A, S. /most 
 
9 o 
 
 TEUTONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 [Chap. VI. 
 
 frequently arises from a changed form of original 6, as in fe't, 
 feet, pi. of fot, foot. This peculiar change is due to what is 
 specifically called mutation (in German umlaut), a subject of 
 such importance that it will be specially considered after- 
 wards. By way of example, we may notice fe't (as above), 
 pi. of fot, foot ; tep, teeth, pi. of tod, tooth ; ges, geese, pi. of 
 gSs, goose ; dem-an, to deem, derived from the sb. dom, 
 doom ; bled-an, to bleed, from the sb. blSd, blood ; gUd, 
 gleed, a glowing coal, from the verb glowan, to glow. 
 Similar examples are rather numerous. Comparing the E. 
 feet with other languages, we find that Gothic and Dutch 
 keep the 6- vowel unchanged, as in Goth, fotjus, pi. of fotus ; 
 Du. voeten, pi. of voet. But Icel. fStr has pi. fcstr (written 
 for foctr) ; Swed. fot has pi. f otter ; Dan. fod has pi. fodder ; 
 G. Fuss has pi. Fusse. Hence, in this instance, A. S. / is 
 equivalent to Icel. <x (ce), Swed. and Dan. o, G. ii, mutations 
 respectively of Icel. 6, Swed. and Dan. o, G. u. 
 
 § 73. A.S. i = Teut. i ; unless it is due to contraction. 
 
 (a) The A. S. i is commonly an original sound, represent- 
 ing ee in beet. In Gothic, it is written ei, but the same sound 
 is meant. Dutch denotes the long i by ij\ mod. German 
 denotes it by ei; but English, Dutch, and German have all 
 altered the original sound, with the same final result. That 
 is to say, the Du. tj and G. ei are now sounded like E. i in 
 mile, but the original sound was like the A. S. i in mil, i. e. 
 as in E. meal. This parallel development of sound in three 
 separate languages is curious and interesting. Meanwhile, 
 the Scandinavian languages have preserved the old sound; 
 the Icel. i, Swed. and Dan. long i being still pronounced 
 as ee in beet. 
 
 Three examples may suffice. 
 
 i. E. while, A. S. hwil, Goth, hweila, Du. wijl, Icel. hvila 
 (only in the special sense of rest, or a bed), Swed. hvila (rest), 
 Dan. hvile (rest), G. weile (O. H. G. hwila) ; Teut. type hwilo 
 (Fick, iii. 75). 
 
TEUTONIC LONG 0. 
 
 91 
 
 2. E. writhe, A. S. wridan, (not in Gothic,) Icel. rida 
 (initial w being lost), Swed. vrida, Dan. wide (not in Dutch 
 or German); Teut. type writhan (Fick, iii. 309). 
 
 3. E. rhyme, which should be spelt rime, A. S. rim, Du. 
 rijm, Icel. rima, Swed. rim, Dan. riim, G. Reim ; Teut. type 
 
 RIM0. 
 
 (b) An interesting instance in which long i arises from 
 contraction is seen in E. five, A. S. fife, f if , Du. vijf Com- 
 paring this with G. fiinf O. H. G. finf Goth, fimf, we see 
 that a liquid has been lost. In consequence of this loss, the 
 short t] as seen in O. H. G. finf Goth, fimf has been 
 lengthened by what has been called the principle of com- 
 pensation ; the length of the vowel-sound making up, as it 
 were, for the loss of the consonant. It is a general rule that 
 simple contraction commonly produces long vowels. Such 
 contraction may arise either from the loss of a consonant, or 
 by the contraction of a diphthong into a pure long vowel. 
 
 § 74. A. S. b — Teut. 6 (long o) or e (long e) ; or is 
 due to loss of n in on (for an). 
 
 (a) The A. S. 6 commonly represents an original Teutonic 
 6, which appears in Gothic as o 1 , in Dutch as oe, in Icelandic 
 as 0, in Swedish and Danish as 0, and in German as long u 
 (sometimes written uA), Three examples may suffice. Com- 
 pare § 45. 
 
 1. E. stool, A. S. stSl, Goth, stol-s, Du. stoel, Icel. sloll, 
 Swed. and Dan. slot, G. Stuhl (O. H. G. stuol, stool) : Teut. 
 type stolo (Fick, iii. 341). 
 
 2. E. hoof, A. S. hof (not in Gothic), Du. hoef Icel. hofr, 
 Swed. hof, Dan. hov, G. Hnf\ Teut. type hofo (id. iii. 80). 
 
 3. E. brother, A. S. broSor, Goth, brothar, Du. broeder, 
 Icel. broffir, Swed. and Dan. broder, G. Bruder : Teut. type 
 brothar (id. iii. 204). 
 
 (b) A. S. 6, before a following n, sometimes stands for 
 
 1 The Gothic 0 needs no accent, as (like the Goth, e) it is always 
 long. 
 
g2 TEUTONIC LANGUAGES. [Chap. VI. 
 
 West-Teut. a, or general Teut. e ; see Sievers, O. E. Gram. 
 § 68. For the values of Teut. e in different languages, see 
 
 § 71 Kb). 
 
 1. E. spoon, A. S. spon (properly a chip of wood), Du. 
 spaan, Icel. spdnn, sponn, Swed. span, Dan. spaan, G. Span 
 (with long a), Spah?i (a chip, splinter) : Teut. type speni 
 (Fick, iii. 352). 
 
 2. In the pp. of the verb to do, the A. S. don, done, answers 
 to Du. ge-daan, G. ge-than, where the original West-Teut. 
 vowel was plainly a (from common Teut. e). 
 
 (c) A. S. 6 also results from the lengthening of a short 0, 
 by compensation for the loss of n in the combination on, 
 originally an. This happens when the an is followed by s 
 or p (th). Thus gos, a goose, is for *gons, a changed form of 
 gans 1 , as shewn by Du. and G. gans, a goose ; Teut. type 
 gansi (Fick, iii. 99). So also top, a tooth, is for */onp, changed 
 form of tanth ; cf. Du., Swed., Dan. tand ; Teut. type tanthu 
 (id. iii. 113). And thirdly, E. other, A. S. 63er, is for *onffer, 
 changed form of ahSer, as shewn by Goth, atithar, Du. and 
 G. ander: Teut. type antharo (id. i. 16). 
 
 § 75. A. S. u = Teut. H (long u) ; or is due to loss of 
 n in un. 
 
 (a) The A. S. H answers to Goth., Du., Swed., Dan., and 
 G. u, Icel. u; all long. See § 46. 
 
 Example : E. now, A. S. nu, Goth, nu, Du. nu, Icel. nu, 
 Swed. and Dan. nu, G. nun (from O. H. G. nu) : Teut. nu. 
 
 (l>) We find also Du. ui, Dan. uu, G. au. 
 
 Example : E./ou/, A. S./ut, Goth./uls, Du. vuil, lce\./u/l, 
 Swed./w/, Dan.yW, G.faul: Teut. fulo (Fick, iii. 186). 
 
 (c) The A. S. H also arises from loss of n in un followed 
 by s or th ; compare the loss of n in on ( = an) in § 74. 
 Thus E. z/.r, A. S. us, is for as shewn by Goth, and G. 
 
 uns, Du. ons. Also E. mouth, A. S. is for *??iunth, as 
 
 1 A. S. an is constantly replaced by on ; we often find lond for 
 &c. 
 
§ 77-1 
 
 TEUTONIC AU. 
 
 93 
 
 shewn by Goth, munths, Dan. and G. Mund, Du. mond: 
 Teut. type muntho (Fick, iii. 231). So also E. could, mis- 
 written for coud, A. S. cude, is for *curi3e ; cf. Goth, kuntha, 
 Du. konde, Swed. and Dan. kunde, G. konnte; and, in fact, 
 the n is preserved in the present tense can. And E. south, 
 A. S. suS, is for *sunth ; cf. O. H. G. sund, south, now sud; in 
 fact, the word south means the sunny quarter, and is a deri- 
 vative of sun. 
 
 § 76. A. S. y commonly arises from Teut. u (long u). 
 
 (a) The A. S. y, like the A. S. / (see § 72), arises from 
 mutation, but is modified from ti instead of from long 6. 
 Thus the pi. of mus, mouse, is mys, mice. 
 
 Similar modifications are seen in Icel. mus, pi. myss, Swed. 
 mus, pi. moss ; G. Maus, pi. Mduse ; which shew that the 
 A. S.y, in this case, is equivalent to Icel.y, Swed. 0, G. du. 
 
 Another interesting example is A. S. cy, pi. of c6, a cow ; 
 Dan. koer, pi. of ko\ G. Kiihe, pi. of Kuh. Here A. S.y 
 answers to Dan. o, G. Cf. E. ki-ne (p. 66, note 2). 
 
 (6) It may also be observed here, that the A. S. y also 
 arises from a modification of e'a or e*o ; but it will be found 
 hereafter, that these represent Teut. au and eu respectively ; 
 see §§ 77, 78. The net result is that y always arises from an 
 original long u or from a diphthong containing u. 
 
 § 77. A. S. 6a commonly represents Teut. au. This 
 is an important and interesting fact, as it enables us to trace 
 the derivation of many words which contain A. S. /a ; see 
 § 49. To take an example ; E. stream, A. S. stream, (no 
 Gothic form.) Du. stroom, Icel. straumr, Swed. and Dan. 
 strdm, G. Strom (O. H. G. straum, stroum) : Teut. type 
 straumo (Fick, iii. 349). We shall further find, hereafter, 
 that -mo in strau-mo is a suffix, and that the Teut. au 
 arises from what is called a 1 gradation 1 ' or variation of a 
 primitive eu ; this would shew that strau-mo is founded 
 
 1 The term gradation will be fully explained hereafter. See Chap- 
 ter X. 
 
94 
 
 TEUTONIC LANGUAGES. 
 
 [Chap. VI. 
 
 upon a Teut. root streu, which certainly meant ' to flow'; so 
 that strea-m merely means ' that which flows.' I subjoin 
 three other examples. 
 
 E. heap, A. S. heap, (no Gothic,) Du. hoop, Icel. hopr, 
 Swed. hop, Dan. hob, G. Hanfe\ Teut. type haupo (Fick, 
 iii. 77). 
 
 E. east, A. S. /as/, Du. <%tf/ 5 Icel. anstr, Swed. b'st(an), Dan. 
 G. ft?/, Osl(en) : Teut. stem aus-ta- (Kluge *, s. v. Osten) : 
 from the root us, to burn, shine brightly. 
 
 E. cheap, A. S. ceap, s. barter, Du. koop, s. a bargain, Icel. 
 kaup, s., Swed. A^, s. Dan. kiob 2 , s., G. Kanf, s. : Teut. type 
 kaupo ; Gothic has the verb kaupon, to traffic, bargain. 
 
 § 78. A. S. 6o commonly represents Teut. eu (Goth. 
 iu) 3 . 
 
 E. lief (dear), A.S. le'of, Goth, liub-s, Du. lief, Icel. ljufr, 
 Swed. Ijnf G. (O. H. G. Hup) : Teut. type leubo (Fick, 
 iii. 278). 
 
 E. freeze, A.S. fre'os-an, Du. vriez-en, Icel. frjos-a, Swed. 
 frys-a, Dan. frys-e, G. frier-en : Teut. type freus-an (Fick, 
 iii. 192). 
 
 § 79. A.S. se commonly arises from a mutation of 
 A.S. a; or corresponds to Gothic long e. 
 
 (a) This will be more fully treated of hereafter; it may 
 suffice to say here that A. S. h&lan, to heal, is a derivative of 
 hdl, whole; and that examples of this mutation, or modifica- 
 tion of vowel, are numerous. 
 
 (b) In some cases, d appears instead of d, even though 
 the ordinary rules for vowel-mutation do not apply. Thus 
 E. sea, A.S. see, answers to Goth, saiws, sea; though the 
 Goth, ai commonly appears as A. S. a. Sievers (Gram. § 90) 
 thinks that the mutation here points to the fact that saiws 
 must, originally, have belonged to the /-declension. 
 
 1 See Kluge, Etymologisches Worterbuch der deutschen Sprache, 1889. 
 
 2 Dan kiob is for kob ; the prefixed i is due to a parasitic i slipped in 
 before the 0. Cf. Dan. hjem, p. 89. 
 
 3 There are various (somewhat troublesome) exceptions. 
 
§8o.] 
 
 TABLE OF RESULTS. 
 
 95 
 
 (c) In other cases, the A. S. de corresponds to Goth, long e, 
 Icel. a ; as in E. meal (time), A. S. mil, Icel. mdl, Goth, met 
 (= me I). 
 
 § 80. Results. As the results above arrived at with regard 
 to the long vowels in the Teutonic languages will often be 
 found to be useful, I here subjoin a table exhibiting the 
 various forms of some of the most characteristic words. It 
 must not be considered as exhaustive, nor as exhibiting all 
 the possible varieties ; it merely exemplifies such varieties as 
 are most common. Special words often present peculiarities 
 which require special treatment. I quote Low-German forms 
 first, then the High-German, next, the Scandinavian and 
 Gothic, and lastly the Teutonic types in capital letters. 
 
 In giving these examples, I have re-arranged the order of 
 the vowel-sounds. Hitherto, I have treated of a, e\ i, 6 y u, y 
 in alphabetical order, adding e'a, e'o, & at the end. A more 
 scientific order is obtained by taking them in four groups : 
 (1) d (=Teut /), 6 (=Teut i)\ (2) { (=Teut. /), d 
 (= Teut. at, gradation of f) t ce (modification of d = at) ; 
 (3) 6 (= Teut. 6), e' (modification of 0); (4) ii (=Teut. 6\ 
 do (= Teut. eu), /a (= Teut. au), y (modification of ^, e'o, 
 ea). I use < to denote 1 derived from/ and . . to denote 
 'mutation'; so that < .. denotes 4 derived by mutation 
 from/ All the vowels cited are long. 
 
 
 A.S. d = t. 
 
 6 = t. 
 
 /=i. 
 
 = AI. 
 
 £C<.. AI. 
 
 English 
 
 boat 
 
 moon 
 
 while 
 
 whole 
 
 heal 
 
 Anglo-Saxon 
 
 bat 
 
 mSna 
 
 hwil 
 
 hdl 
 
 hcelan 
 
 Dutch 
 
 boot 
 
 moan 
 
 wijl 
 
 heel 
 
 heelen 
 
 German . . . 
 
 
 Mond 
 
 Wcile 
 
 heil 
 
 hcilen 
 
 Danish 
 
 baad 
 
 maanc 
 
 hvile 
 
 heel 
 
 hcle 
 
 Swedish ... 
 
 bat 
 
 mane 
 
 hvila 
 
 hel 
 
 hela 
 
 Icelandic ... 
 
 bdtr 
 
 mdni 
 
 hvila 
 
 heill 
 
 heila 
 
 Gothic 
 
 
 mena 
 
 hweila 
 
 hails 
 
 hail j an 
 
 Teutonic. 
 
 BETO 
 
 MENO 
 
 HWf LO 
 
 HAILO 
 
 HAILIAN 
 
9 6 
 
 TEUTONIC LANGUAGES. [Chap. VI. 
 
 
 6=6. 
 
 /< . . 6. 
 
 ti = \j. 
 
 y<. . . ti. 
 
 English 
 
 foot 
 
 feet 
 
 motise 
 
 mice 
 
 Anglo-Saxon 
 
 fdt 
 
 fit 
 
 mus 
 
 mys 
 
 Dutch 
 
 voet 
 
 vocten 
 
 muis 
 
 muizen 
 
 German 
 
 Fuss 
 
 Fusse 
 
 Maus 
 
 Mduse 
 
 Danish 
 
 fod 
 
 fodder 
 
 muus 
 
 muus 
 
 Swedish . . . 
 
 fot 
 
 fitter 
 
 mus 
 
 moss 
 
 Icelandic ... 
 
 fotr 
 
 fatr 
 
 7)1 us 
 
 myss 
 
 Gothic 
 
 fotus 
 
 fotjus 
 
 MUSI 
 
 
 Teutonic. 
 
 f6tu 
 
 
 ea = AU. 
 
 English 
 Anglo-Saxon 
 Dutch... 
 German 
 Danish 
 Swedish 
 Icelandic 
 Gothic 
 Teutonic. 
 
 GENERAL TABLE OF LONG VOWELS AND 
 DIPHTHONGS. 
 
 Teutonic. . 
 
 
 i 
 
 AI 
 
 6 
 
 tr 
 
 EU 
 
 AU 
 
 English 
 
 0 
 
 00 
 
 i 
 
 5 
 
 ea 
 
 00 
 
 
 ee 
 
 ou 
 
 
 i 
 
 ie 
 
 ea 
 
 Anglo-Saxon 
 
 d 
 
 6 
 
 { 
 
 a 
 
 <k 
 
 6 
 
 
 e 
 
 u 
 
 
 y 
 
 eo 
 
 ea 
 
 Dutch 
 
 00 
 
 aa 
 
 if 
 
 ee 
 
 ,ee 
 
 oe 
 
 
 oe 
 
 ui 
 
 
 ui 
 
 ie 
 
 00 
 
 German 
 
 a 
 
 0 
 
 ei 
 
 ei 
 
 ei 
 
 u 
 
 
 u 
 
 au 
 
 
 du 
 
 ie 
 
 0 
 
 Danish 
 
 aa 
 
 aa 
 
 i 
 
 ee 
 
 e 
 
 0 
 
 
 0 
 
 uu 
 
 
 uu 
 
 y 
 
 0 
 
 Swedish 
 
 a 
 
 a 
 
 i 
 
 e 
 
 e 
 
 0 
 
 
 0 
 
 u 
 
 
 0 
 
 JU 
 
 0 
 
 Icelandic ... 
 
 d 
 
 a 
 
 i 
 
 ei 
 
 ei 
 
 6 
 
 
 OS 
 
 u 
 
 
 y 
 
 pi 
 
 au 
 
 Gothic 
 
 e 
 
 e 
 
 ei 
 
 ai 
 
 ai 
 
 0 
 
 
 0 
 
 11 
 
 
 u 
 
 IU 
 
 au 
 
 Note. — It must be remembered that the modern English spelling 
 is very variable. Thus Teut. EU is also E. ee in deep, A. S. deop. The 
 above table only tells us what correspondences we should, in general, 
 expect. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Classical Languages cognate with English : Grimm's 
 
 Law. 
 
 § 81. Latin forms compared with English. If any 
 
 Englishman were asked the question, whence are the words 
 paternal, maternal, and fraternal derived, he would probably 
 at once reply — from Latin. As a fact, it is more likely that 
 they were derived from French, and that the spelling was 
 modified (from -el to -at) to suit the Latin spelling of the 
 originals, viz., paternalis, maternalis, /raternalis. Be this as 
 it may, the answer is sufficiently correct; for the French 
 words, in their turn, are of Latin origin, and the ultimate 
 result is the same either way. We should further be told, 
 that these adjectival formations are due to the Latin substan- 
 tives pater, father, mater, mother, and /rater, brother. On 
 this result, however, we may found a new enquiry, viz. how 
 comes it that father, mother, brother have so curious a re- 
 semblance (yet with a certain difference) to pater, mater, 
 /rater ? Are we to say that /ather is derived from the Lat. 
 pater ? Such a belief was no doubt once common ; indeed it 
 was only a century ago, in 1783, that Mr. Lemon wrote a 
 Dictionary to prove that all English is derived from Greek. 
 But there is some hope that such a fancy as that of deriving 
 /ather from pater is fast becoming obsolete. If we compare 
 the words a little carefully, we can hardly help being struck 
 with something strongly resembling the consonantal shifting 
 which we observed above in considering the spelling of 
 German. In § 63, we found that the E. p is sometimes 
 shifted, in German, to/"; so that E. sharp is cognate with 
 vol. 1. H 
 
9 8 
 
 GRIMM" S LAW, 
 
 [Chap. VII. 
 
 G. scharf: but here we have an apparent shifting from a Latin 
 p to an E.y^ In § 64, we find that an E. /"may answer to 
 G. b, so that E. half is cognate with G. halb ; but, on com- 
 paring Lat. frater with E. brother, we have an apparent 
 shifting from a Latin f to an E. b. In all three cases, viz. 
 Lat. pater, mater, frater, as compared with E. father, mother, 
 brother, there is the same apparent shifting from / to th \ In 
 the case of English and German, we found that the languages 
 are cognate ; are we to conclude, as before, that, in the case 
 of such words as are not absolutely derived from Latin, 
 English and Latin are cognate languages, with certain 
 fundamental differences of spelling due to sound-shifting? 
 A comparison of a large number of native English words 
 with their corresponding Latin equivalents proves, beyond all 
 doubt, that such a statement of the case is the true one 2 , and 
 that English is allied to Latin, as it is to German, in a sisterly 
 relation. This proposition only holds, of course, with respect 
 to the true native part of the language, so that it is neces- 
 sary, in instituting the comparison, to choose such English 
 words as are of proved antiquity, and can be found in 
 Anglo-Saxon forms. 
 
 § 82. Early borrowings from Latin. We know, how- 
 ever, from history, that the introduction of Christianity into 
 England brought with it a knowledge of Latin, so that even 
 in the earliest historical times, words began to be borrowed 
 from that language by the English. But pure English words 
 frequently have equivalents in nearly all the Teutonic lan- 
 guages, and can usually be thus known ; and a comparison 
 of such words with their equivalents (if any) in Latin soon 
 
 1 Curiously, it is only apparent in the case of father, mother (A. S. 
 fader, mdder), where the shifting is really to d. The third case (A. S. 
 br66or) is right enough. 
 
 2 There is, however, a fundamental difference in the nature of the 
 shifting. The O. H. German usually exhibits sounds shifted from Low 
 German ; but the Low German sounds are shifted, not from Latin or 
 Greek, but from the original Aryan speech. 
 
§83-] 
 
 COGNATE WORDS. 
 
 99 
 
 shews us, clearly enough, that the consonantal shifting which 
 marks off English from Latin is much more regularly and 
 fully carried out than it is between English and German. 
 There is found to be a fairly complete shifting, not only of 
 the dental letters, as before, and (partially) of the labial 
 letters, but of the guttural letters as well. This circumstance 
 in itself provides us with a partial test for telling whether 
 an English word is really of Latin origin or not. When 
 such is the case, there is no sound-shifting; but when the 
 words are only cognate, we can often at once observe it 1 . 
 Paternal is (ultimately) derived from pater, but father is 
 cognate with it. Or, to take a few examples of words found 
 in Anglo-Saxon, our candle (A. S. candet) is from Lat. candela, 
 a candle, because a Latin c would be shifted in cognate 
 words ; our dish (A. S. disc) is from Lat. discus, because d 
 would else be shifted ; and even in other cases, we can often 
 tell these borrowed words by the very close resemblance they 
 have to their Latin originals. In practice, there is seldom 
 any difficulty in detecting these borrowings at once. 
 
 § 83. Greek, Sanskrit, and other languages. If we 
 next extend the area of our enquiries over a wider field, we 
 shall find, in like manner, that E. father is cognate with Gk. 
 naTTjp, and that the Greek language (as far as it is original) 
 is cognate both with English and Latin. The same is true 
 of Sanskrit, in which the vocative case of the word for father 
 is pilar 11 , the connection of which with Gk. nar^p and Lat. 
 pater cannot be doubted. It is certain that no event has 
 given such an impetus and such certainty to the study 
 
 1 Not always, because several Latin letters, viz. /, m, n, r, s, v, never 
 shift at all. Again, a few borrowed words, such as hemp, were borrowed 
 at so early a period that they actually exhibit sound-shifting. 
 
 a The nominative case drops r, and lengthens the vowel, thus pro- 
 ducing pita. Sanskrit substantives are quoted, in my Dictionary, in the 
 forms called bases. These bases are theoretical forms, on which the 
 mode of declension depends. The 1 base 1 of pita is pitii, or piix, the 
 final letter being a vocal r. 
 
 H 2 
 
IOO 
 
 GRIMM'S LAW. 
 
 [Chap. VII. 
 
 of philology as the discovery of the relation which exists 
 between Sanskrit and such languages as Greek and Latin. 
 This discovery is just a century old. See the account of San- 
 skrit philology given in Max Miiller's fourth lecture on the 
 Science of Language, where we find, at p. 181 of the eighth 
 edition, the statement that ' the history of what may be 
 called P'uropean Sanskrit philology dates from the founda- 
 tion of the Asiatic Society at Calcutta, in 1784/ When the 
 true relation of Sanskrit to other languages was once under- 
 stood, it was not long before it was perceived that the 
 number of languages w ith which it is cognate is considerable. 
 It so happens that Sanskrit often exhibits extremely ar- 
 chaic forms 1 ; hence the mistake was at first made — (and it 
 is often made still by those who have not studied the subject 
 with sufficient care) — of supposing that Greek, Latin, and 
 other languages are derived from it ; which would deprive all 
 such languages of much of their individual peculiarities of 
 form and grammar. This is now understood not to be the 
 case. Sanskrit is at most only an elder sister 2 among the 
 sister languages ; and we also know that the languages 
 which obviously stand in a sisterly relation to it are those 
 which have been called the Indian, Iranian, Lettic, Slavonic, 
 Hellenic, Italic, and Keltic groups, or 'branches/ of lan- 
 guages 3 , none of which exhibit any marked consonantal 
 shifting; but it also stands in the same relation to the Teu- 
 tonic group of languages (spoken of in the last chapter). 
 The only difference between the Teutonic languages and the 
 rest is that all of them (except modern German) exhibit a 
 
 1 Sanskrit exhibits an extremely regular system of formation and 
 inflection, of which other languages seem to leave only traces. But this 
 regularity is sometimes late, and due to analogic influence. 
 
 2 Greek really shews an older vowel-system, a fact which is now be- 
 coming better understood. 
 
 3 Morris, Hist. Outlines of E. Accidence, § 12. Sievers calls them the 
 Indian, Iranian, Baltic, Slavonic, Greek, Albanian (mentioned by Morris 
 under Hellenic), Italic, and Celtic groups ; and adds Armenian. 
 
THE ARYAN LANGUAGES. 
 
 IOl 
 
 shifting of some of the original consonants, whilst the modern 
 German partially exhibits a double or repeated shifting. We 
 have already seen that the shifting seen in German consonants 
 as compared with English is no bar to their being considered 
 as sister languages; and just in the same way, the shifting 
 seen in English as compared with Latin, Greek, &c, is no 
 bar to their having a similar relation. 
 
 § 84. Aryan family of languages. The whole set of 
 languages which are thus found to have a sisterly relation to 
 each other are usually called Aryan, or languages of the 
 Aryan family. Another name is Indo-P^uropean, because 
 they contain the most remarkable languages of India and 
 Europe; but this is a clumsy name on account of its 
 length. I prefer Aryan, because there is no doubt as to its 
 conventional meaning, and it is sufficiently brief. A third 
 name is Indo-Germanic, but this has led to much misunder- 
 standing, and indeed inadequately substitutes Germany for 
 nearly all Europe. It is a name which does not mislead 
 students who clearly understand it, but it feeds the English 
 popular mind with false notions, and is probably in part 
 responsible for the silly notion about the derivation of English 
 from German. It originated, of course, in Germany. If the 
 study of comparative philology had been pushed forward in 
 England as it has been in Germany, some English teacher 
 might have spoken of the Indo-English family of languages. 
 Fortunately, no one has ventured on this, and the time for 
 coining such a word has passed by; meanwhile, the term 
 Aryan suffices for all needs. Among the Aryan languages, 
 we may mention some of the best known. 
 
 The Indian group contains Sanskrit, now a dead language ; 
 modern dialects, sprung from dialectal forms of it, such as 
 Hindi, Bengali, and even much of the true Gipsy speech ; and 
 others l . The Iranian group contains modern Persian (i. e. as 
 
 1 See Morris's Accidence for the full list ; also Pcile's Primer of 
 Philology, chap. iii. 
 
102 
 
 GRIMM* S LAW. 
 
 [Chap. VII. 
 
 far as it is original, for nearly half the language is borrowed 
 from Arabic, which is a Semitic or non-Aryan language) ; the 
 so-called Zend, or language of the old Persian sacred writings ; 
 the language in which the very interesting cuneiform inscrip- 
 tions are written ; and others. Of the Lettic or Baltic group, 
 the most interesting is the Lithuanian, spoken in parts of 
 Eastern Prussia, and remarkable for extremely archaic forms. 
 The Slavonic group contains Russian, Polish, Bohemian, 
 Servian, &c. ; the most important, from a purely philological 
 point of view, being the Old Bulgarian, or as it is sometimes 
 called, Church-Slavonic, being the language 'into which 
 Cyrillus and Methodius translated the Bible, in the middle of 
 the ninth century 1 / The Hellenic group contains various 
 forms of Greek. In the Italic group, the most famous 
 language is the widely known Latin, which is not even yet 
 extinct in its fixed literary form ; but beyond this, it is famous 
 as being the main source of the so-called Romance lan- 
 guages, viz. Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Provencal, 
 the Roumansch of the canton Grisons in Switzerland, and 
 the Wallachian of Wallachia and Moldavia. These Ro- 
 mance languages are, in fact, totally different in character 
 from English, in that they are really derived languages, bor- 
 rowing all their words from something else, and chiefly, as 
 has been said, from Latin. English, on the other hand, with 
 all its borrowings, has a native unborrowed core, and has only 
 borrowed words in order to amplify its vocabulary. Next, 
 the Keltic group contains Welsh, Cornish (now extinct), 
 Breton, Irish, Gaelic, and Manx ; of these, the most im- 
 portant, philologically, is the Old Irish. Lastly, the Teu- 
 tonic group contains English, Dutch, German, &c, in the 
 Western division, and Danish, Swedish, Icelandic, and Gothic 
 in the Eastern ; as already explained. 
 
 § 85. The three sets. Inasmuch as the Teutonic lan- 
 guages alone exhibit consonantal shifting, it will be found 
 1 Max Miiller, Lectures, 8th ed., i. 227. 
 
§85.] THE THREE SETS. 1 03 
 
 extremely convenient to use some common name for all the 
 languages of the Aryan family that lie outside the Teutonic 
 group. A very convenient name is ' the classical languages/ 
 because the term classical is naturally associated by us with 
 Greek and Latin, and perhaps I may add with Sanskrit. I 
 shall, accordingly, henceforth use the term ' classical ' in this 
 sense, to denote all the Aryan languages except those of the 
 Teutonic group. I shall also temporarily divide all the Aryan 
 languages into three new sets, for the sole and special purpose 
 of examining the phenomena of consonantal shifting more 
 exactly. These sets are : (1) the classical languages ; (2) the 
 Low German, Scandinavian, and Gothic languages, of which 
 English may here be taken as the type, both from its in- 
 trinsic importance and because it is the one which we most 
 wish to discuss ; and (3) the High German language, in a 
 class by itself, though it has no real claim to such a position. 
 Before proceeding to discuss this shifting, it may be as well 
 to point out three examples in which the 1 classical ' languages 
 all keep, in reality, to the same unshifted sounds. Thus, for 
 father we find the Sanskrit pilar (base pitr ] ), Old Persian 
 pilar 2 , Gk. nar^p, Lat. paler, Old Irish athir, alhair 3 ; but the 
 word is lost in Russian and Lithuanian. Again, for brother we 
 find the Skt. bhrdtar 4 , O. Pers. brdtar 4 , mod. Pers. birddar, 
 
 1 Sanskrit not only possesses a symbol for the consonant r, but also 
 a pair of symbols for the short and long vocalic r. These are denoted 
 in Benfey's Dictionary by ri and ri. In my Dictionary, I have denoted 
 them by it and it, putting the r in Roman type. But it is now usual to 
 print t (without i) for the short sound, and to put an accent above it to 
 represent the long one. 
 
 2 Mod. Teis.ptdar, with / weakened to d. This is a case of weakening, 
 not of shifting in the particular sense to which I now wish to confine it. 
 
 3 The Old Irish drops the initial p; the M ( = / + /*) is very different 
 from the English ///, and is really a / that has been afterwards aspirated, 
 so that there is no real shifting. In Irish characters, it is written as 
 a dotted t ; we might print it aU'r, aiair. 
 
 4 In these words the aspirated bh has been weakened to b, or, as some 
 think, an original b has been aspirated so as to produce bh ; it is not a 
 1 shifting ' in the narrow sense in which I am now using the word. 
 
104 
 
 GRIMM'S LAW. 
 
 [Chap. VII. 
 
 Gk. (ppdrrjp, Lat. /rater. Old Slavonic bratru \ Russian 
 brate 1 , Polish brat, Old Irish brdthir (brdtir), Lithuanian 
 brotelis, contracted into brolis. So also mother corresponds 
 to Skt. mdtar, Zend mdtar (mod. Pers. mddar, with d 
 weakened from /), Gk. mttjp, Lat. mater, Church Slavonic 
 mati, Russ. mate, Lithuanian mote (rarely motere), Irish ma- 
 thair (where the th is an aspirated or dotted /). Whilst we are 
 discussing these three words, it may be interesting to shew 
 the forms which they assumed in the unoriginal languages- 
 which we term Romance. The Latin accusatives 2 patrem, 
 matrem, /ratrem, became respectively Ital. padre, madre, 
 /rate (now only used in the sense of /riar, the word for 
 brother being the diminutive form /raiello) ; Span, padre, 
 madre, /raile (only in the sense of /riar) 3 ; Port, pai, mai, 
 J'rade (only in the sense of /riar); French pere, mere,/rere ; 
 O. Provencal paire, maire,/ratre or /raire (friar) ; Roumansch 
 /rer (brother), Wallachian /rate (brother) 4 . 
 
 § 86. Grimm's Law : the dental series. We are now 
 in a position for clearly understanding what is meant by the 
 famous scheme of consonantal shifting, or regular interchange 
 of consonants, which goes by the name of ' Grimm's Law 1 ; 
 though I suppose that the first person to draw attention to 
 it was Erasmus Rask, the celebrated Danish philologist. The 
 English reader will find a full explanation of the law in Max 
 Muller's Lectures on the Science of Language, Series II, 
 Lect. V. I here give a similar explanation in slightly 
 different words, as far as relates to the dental series of E. 
 letters, viz. d, t, and th. First of all, let us divide the 
 
 1 See note 4, p. 103. 
 
 2 We must take the accusative as the Romance type, as will be seen 
 hereafter. 
 
 3 The Span, for 'brother' is hermano, from Lat. germanus. The word 
 fraile stands for an older fraire, derived from the Lat. accusative 
 fratrem, by loss of /. 
 
 4 The Roumansch has bap, mamma, for father and mother; the Walla- 
 chian has tate, mame. 
 
§86.] 
 
 TRIPLE SOUND-SHIFTING. 
 
 Aryan languages into three sets or groups: (i) the 'clas- 
 sical ' languages, as defined above ; (2) the Low German ; 
 (3) the Old High German, being the oldest form of the 
 present German. Next, let us provisionally call the sounds 
 denoted by dh l in Sanskrit, 6 in Greek, and th in Eng- 
 lish by the name of Aspirates ; the sound denoted by d y 
 Soft 2 ; and that denoted by /, Hard. Then it is found that 
 where the first group of languages usually has Aspirates, the 
 second has a Soft sound, and the third a Hard sound. This 
 fact is what is called Grimm's Law, and may be thus ex- 
 pressed in a tabular form. 
 
 (1) Classical Languages .... DH 
 
 (2) Low German (English, Sec.) . . . D 
 
 (3) Old High German . . . T 
 
 This succession, of Aspirate, Soft, and Hard, may be ex- 
 pressed by the memorial word ASH 3 . 
 
 Further, the same succession of shifted sounds occurs, if, 
 instead of beginning with Aspirates, we begin with a Soft 
 sound ; only we should be careful to denote the Teutonic 
 Aspirate by TH rather than DH 4 . We then get the suc- 
 cession Soft, Hard, Aspirate, which may be expressed by 
 
 1 The Skt. has a dh, or aspirated d, a sound which also belongs to the 
 oiiginal Aryan. * By an aspirate is nitant a momentary consonant fol- 
 lowed by a slight /j-sound, not so distinct as in back-house, ant-hill 
 \?nad house\ &c, but of the same nature. These sounds, however, are 
 found only in Sanskrit and Greek ; in the other languages they are 
 represented by the corresponding continuous consonants — h, ch (^Ger- 
 man), th, z,/. y — Peile, Primer of Philology, p. 162. 
 
 ■ I prefer the term 'voiced' or f sonant.' The meaning of 'voiced* 
 will be explained hereafter. Hard sounds are 4 voiceless.' 
 
 3 Peile, Primer of Philology, Appendix, p. 162. 
 
 4 It makes a great difference. If DH be loosely accepted as repre- 
 senting the Teut. aspirated dental sound, it would then appear as if the 
 succession of sounds is DH, D, T ; D, T, DH ; and T, DH, D ; or 
 briefly DH, D, T, DH following each other as in a circular order. The 
 more correct succession DH, D, T, TH does not bring us back to our 
 starting-point, but leaves, as it were, a gap in the circle. 
 
io6 
 
 GRIMM'S LAW. 
 
 [Chap. VII. 
 
 the memorial word SHA. This may be expressed, in a 
 tabular form, as follows. 
 
 (1) Classical languages . . . . D 
 
 (2) Low German (English, &c.) . . . T 
 
 (3) Old High German . . . . TH 
 
 Lastly, if we begin with Hard sounds, we get the succession 
 Hard, Aspirate, Soft, which may be expressed by the me- 
 morial word HAS ; or, in a tabular form, as follows. 
 
 (1) Classical languages . . . T 
 
 (2) Low German (English, &c.) . . . TH 
 
 (3) Old High German . D 
 
 The single word ASH will enable us to remember the 
 order of succession,, as we can change this into SHA by 
 shifting A to the end, and again change SHA into HAS by 
 shifting S to the end of the second form. 
 
 Expressed in a single table, the formulae are as follows : — 
 
 (1) Sanskrit, &c. 
 
 . DH 
 
 D 
 
 T 
 
 (2) English, &c. 
 
 . D 
 
 T 
 
 TH 
 
 (3) Old High German 
 
 . T 
 
 TH 
 
 D 
 
 § 87. Meaning of the Symbols DH, D, T, TH. Before 
 we can apply the above law usefully, we must first observe 
 that the letters DH, D, T, TH, are here used as mere symbols, 
 which require to be interpreted according to the peculiarities 
 of the particular language which is being considered. All 
 the languages use D and T ; but the sounds and symbols 
 answering to DH and TH vary. For DH, Sanskrit com- 
 monly has dh \ Greek has 6 ; Latin has f initially, and d or 
 b medially. For th, Anglo-Saxon scribes use the symbols J> 
 and S indiscriminately; but it is convenient to restrict the 
 symbol \ to the sound of th in thin, and S to the sound of th 
 in thine. The original Teutonic th was probably J> only, 
 
 1 There is also a (rarer) Skt. th, which need not be considered in the 
 present connection. 
 
§87-] 
 
 THE SYMBOLS DH, D, T, TH 
 
 107 
 
 which is still the only sound used in Icelandic when occurring 
 at the beginning of a word. In English, the original \ has 
 given way to S initially in the case of a few words in very 
 common use, viz. in all words etymologically connected with 
 the (as that, this, they, them, there, thence, thither, &c.) or with 
 thou (as thee, thine, thy). In the middle of a word, p has 
 been weakened to S between two vowels ; compare breath 
 with breathe (M. E. bretheri). Smooth is only an apparent 
 exception, for the M. E. form was smooth-e, which was 
 dissyllabic. 
 
 It is also important to observe that the Old High German 
 sound of aspirated / was not th (or ]>), but ts, which was 
 denoted by the symbol z ; the German z is pronounced as 
 ts still \ Hence we may otherwise express the law as 
 follows. 
 
 DH (Skt. dh, Gk. 9, Lat./O/, b)). D (Skt., Lat. d, Gk. 5). 
 
 D (A.S. d). T (A.S. /). 
 
 T (G. /). TH (O.H G. z, G. 1, ss). 
 
 T (Skt., Lat. t, Gk. t). 
 
 TH (A. S. > (S), E. th). 
 
 T (G. /). 
 
 A few examples will be interesting, and are here given ; 
 beginning from DH. 
 
 Initial DH ; Skt. duhitar (put for * dkughiter) 2 , daughter ; 
 Gk. OvyaTTjp; E. daughter; G. Tochter. Skt. dha, to put, 
 place, Gk. tl-Stj-^ll (for * 61-6^-^), I put; E. do; O. H. G. 
 tuon, M. H. G. tun, mod. G. thun (with th sounded as /), or 
 tun (in reformed spelling). Skt. dih (put for * dhigh) to 
 smear, Gk. Oiyydvciv, to touch, handle, Lat. finger m e, to mould ; 
 Goth, deigan, to mould, knead, whence daigs, dough, E. 
 dough ; G. Teig, dough. 
 
 1 So also in O. French, the word chantez was once pronounced chantets, 
 which at once explains its derivation from the Lat. ca?itatis, by loss 
 of i. The O. F.fiz, son, is now written fitz, to preserve the old sound ; 
 and assez is, in English, assets. 
 
 3 When an asterisk is prefixed to any word, it means that its form is 
 theoretical. As to Skt. duhitar for *dhugiter, see p. 116, 1. 7. 
 
io8 
 
 GRIMM *S LAW. 
 
 [Chap. VII. 
 
 Medial DH ; Skt. rudhira, blood, Gk. i-pv6p6s, red, Lat. 
 ruber (= * rudher), Irish ruadh\ E. ra/, Du. rood, Dan. and 
 Swed. ra/, Goth, rauds ; O. H. G. mod. G. (with th 
 sounded as /), or rot (in reformed spelling). 
 
 Initial T ; Skt. tvam (thou), Gk. ru (Attic o-v), Lat. tu, 
 Irish fu s Welsh H\ A. S. du, E. Icel. pil, Goth. /^«; 
 
 G. du. Skt. /ri, three, Gk. rpel?, Lat. /r^, Russian ifri, 
 O. Irish tri ; A.S. J?r/o, E. three, Ice\. J>rir, Goth, threzs ; 
 G. dra*. 
 
 Medial T ; Skt. antara, other ; Lithuanian antras, Lat. 
 tf//Vr (for * ankr) ; Goth, anthar, A. S. <?&?r (for * onder = 
 
 * ander, by loss of #), E. <9//2<?r ; G. ander. 
 
 D. Skt. dacan (ten), answers to Gk. 8e*a, Lat. dforf/rc ; 
 E. ten, Goth, taihun ; G. z^7/;z. Skt. (two), Gk. 8vo, Lat. 
 
 Russ. r/z><z, Irish da ; E. /zew, A. S. twd, Icel. /z^zr, Goth. 
 twai) G. £Z£;«'. Skt. danta, Gk. acc. o-Soi/r-a, Lat. acc. dent-em, 
 Welsh dant ; E. tooth, A. S. Dan. tand ; G. ztf^tf (for 
 
 * zand). As an example of medial D, we may take 
 Skt. ad, to eat, Gk. ed-€iv, Lat. ed-ere ; A. S. et-an, E. 
 Du. et-en, Icel. Goth. ; O. H. G. ez-an, ezz-an, mod. 
 G. ess-en (used for ets-en, by assimilation of ts into the easier 
 sound of ss). 
 
 § 88. Exceptions to Grimm's Law. If we examine 
 the E. words brother, father, mother, and compare them with 
 the above law, we obtain some startling results. In the first 
 place, the forms of brother are fairly regular, viz. Skt. 
 bhrdtar, Lat.y c rater A. S. brodor, G. Bruder. Similarly, beside 
 the Lat. pater, mater, we should expect to find A. S. * fader, 
 mod or, and G. * Fader, * Muder ; but, as a fact, we find A. S. 
 feeder, moder (with d), and G. Vater (for * Fatcr), Mutter 
 (with /). We may be sure that there must be some reason 
 for this apparent anomaly ; and it was from this convic- 
 tion that Verner discovered what is now known as Verner's 
 Law, which explains the apparent anomalies in the operation 
 of Grimm's Law ; and actually extends it. This important 
 
§ 89.] LABIAL AND GUTTURAL SERIES. 109 
 
 matter is treated of below, in a separate chapter ; see 
 Chapter IX. 
 
 § 89. Grimm's Law ; labial and guttural series. 
 
 I have purposely confined the examples of Grimm's Law to 
 the dental series of letters, DH, D, T, TH. Rask and 
 Grimm made the Law more general by trying to include the 
 labial series of letters BH, B, P, PH, and the guttural series 
 GH, G, K, KH. But the law is imperfectly carried out in 
 these cases, as will best appear from a consideration of a few 
 of the usual examples which are adduced to illustrate it. I 
 purposely keep some of the more difficult points in the 
 background. 
 
 BH (Gk. Lat. /). Gk. fay-os, Lat. fag-us, beech-tree ; 
 E. beech, allied to A. S. Mr, a beech-tree, a book) Swed. 6ok 9 
 Du. beuk, beech. The O. H. G. is puochd, also buochd, mod. G. 
 Buche. Here the change from Gk. BH 1 to Low German 
 B is regular; and so is the change, from Low German B 
 to German P in O. H. G. puochd. But we cannot ignore the 
 fact that puochd is only an occasional form, which modern 
 literary German does not recognise ; and the same is true 
 in other cases. Hence there is, practically, 110 regular second 
 shifting from Low G. b to High G. />. 
 
 P. Skt. pad, foot; Gk. wwt (gen. rrob-os), Lat. pes (gen. 
 ped-is)) E. fool, Goth, folus, Swed. fot\ O. H. G. fdz, fuoz, 
 mod. G. Fuss (with ss for z). Here there is a shifting from 
 P to Low G. PH (as f) ) but there is no second shifting from 
 Low German PH to High German B. 
 
 B. Gk. KuvuaPis, Lat. cannabis, hemp ; A. S. hancp, henep, 
 E. hemp ; O. H. G. hanaf he?ief G. Hanf. Here we have a 
 shifting from b to /, and again from p to f the aspirated form 
 of p. But the example is somewhat unsatisfactory, because 
 the Teutonic forms are merely borrowed from Latin, which 
 again is borrowed from Greek. The chief point here gained 
 is the observation that the law of sound-shifting may even 
 1 The Gk. <p answers to Sk. bh in general. 
 
TIO 
 
 GRIMM'S LAW. 
 
 [Chap. VII. 
 
 apply to the case of a borrowed word, but only if that word 
 was borrowed at an extremely early period. Such cases are 
 very rare. The reason for choosing this example is that 
 instances in which a % classical ' B is shifted to a Low German 
 P are extremely scarce. See, however, § 120, p. 137. 
 
 GH *. Gk. xh v , a goose ; Lat. anser (the initial guttural 
 being wholly lost) ; E. goose, A. S. gos (for *gons), Du. gans, 
 Icel. gas (for *gans) ; O. H. G. gans, occasionally cans ; G. 
 Gans. Here the shifting from GH to Low German G is 
 regular ; but the O. H. G. cans is an occasional form, and 
 there is no regular second shifting to German K. The E. g is, 
 in fact, also a German g ; cf. E. go, good, goat, with G. gehen, 
 gut, Geiss. 
 
 K. Gk. Kapdla, heart ; Lat. cor (stem cordi-), O. Irish cride ; 
 E. heart, A. S. heorte) O. H. G. herzd, G. Herz. Here the 
 shifting from K to KH (weakened to h) is regular ; but there 
 never was at any time a second shifting to a German G. 
 
 G. Gk. yiv-os, race, Lat. gen-us ; E. kin, A. S. cynn, race, 
 tribe, Icel. kyn, Goth. kuni\ O. H. G. chunm\ khunni, kimni, 
 race. Here the shifting from G to Low German K is regular ; 
 but the apparent shifting to O. H. German KH (kh, ch) is 
 delusive. This, again, is a mere occasional form ; and, as a 
 fact, there is in general no second shifting. The E. k is also 
 a German k ; cf. E. king, kiss, cow, with G. Konig, Kuss^ 
 Kuh. 
 
 § 90. Needless complication of Grimm's Law. 
 
 The net result is, therefore, that the second shifting breaks 
 down, for practical purposes, even in the specially selected 
 instances, and in two cases (see under P and K above) there 
 is absolutely no trace of it. If to these two cases we add 
 those in which occasional O. High German forms have to be 
 selected (see under BH, GH, G) in order to make the law 
 operate, we may say that it practically breaks down, as far as 
 High German is concerned, in five cases out of nine. If to 
 
 1 Gk. x answers to Skt. gh for the present purpose. 
 
§9 1.] NEEDLESS COMPLICATION. Ill 
 
 this we again add the case (noticed under B above) of which 
 there are but few good examples, these five cases are increased 
 to six. In other words, Grimm's law is only useful, as far 
 as the High German is concerned, in the case of the dental 
 series of letters DH, D, T, and TH. It was quite a mistake 
 to force it beyond its true value, merely in order to drag in 
 the Old High German forms. Such an attempt greatly 
 limits the choice of examples, which have to be selected with 
 a special view to the Old High German, without any real 
 gain 1 . It is not only simpler, but what is of more conse- 
 quence, much more accurate, to leave the High German 
 forms out of sight, and to confine our attention to the other 
 Teutonic forms. This would enable the Law to be stated 
 much more simply, for we have already seen that the 
 shiftings from the ' classical' forms to Low-German are 
 carried out with sufficient regularity. Even the case noticed 
 above, under B, only breaks down for mere lack of examples ; 
 there is nothing to contradict it. There is no example, for 
 instance, of a word containing a Latin or Greek b in 
 which the corresponding letter of the cognate native English 
 word is also b. 
 
 § 91. Simpler form of Grimm's Law. It would seem 
 to follow that, if we omit the High-German forms, we may 
 state Grimm's Law by simply saying that in the series DH, 
 D, T, TH, a classical DH corresponds to a Low German D, 
 a classical D to a Low German T, and lastly a classical T to 
 a Low German TH. This we can easily remember by 
 writing down the symbols DH, D, T, TH, in succession, 
 and saying that the sound denoted by each ' classical ' 
 symbol (whether DH, D, or T) is shifted, in ' Low German,' 
 to the sound denoted by the symbol which next follows it. 
 
 1 1 That the O. H. G. shifting is historical and recent was, it is true, 
 admitted by Grimm, but he liked to lose sight of the fact whenever he 
 wanted to magnify the law. His framework is much too big for the 
 facts.' — H. C. G. Brandt, in Amer. Journal of Philology, i. 153. 
 
112 
 
 GRIMM'S LAW. 
 
 [Chap. VII. 
 
 This is true, and is well worth remembering ; but when 
 we come to apply similar methods to the labial and guttural 
 series, certain difficulties occur, especially in the latter case. 
 In other words, Grimm's Law requires to be simplified, and 
 re-stated, with necessary corrections. The endeavour to 
 do this will occupy the next chapter. 
 
 § 92. Old High German: value of Grimm's Law. 
 We may, however, with respect to the Old High German, 
 say that the shifting which it exhibits took place, as far as it 
 was carried out, in the same direction as the former shifting - , 
 but not to the same extent. It was obviously a much later 
 development, due to similar causes, whatever they may have 
 been. The old theory, that the imperfect Old High German 
 shifting took place simultaneously with the more complete 
 shifting seen in Low German, is no longer tenable, and it is 
 not easy to see how it arose, except from an exaggerated 
 idea of the value of the Old High German forms. It is not 
 only inexplicable, but can be disproved. Yet even in its old 
 and imperfect form, the statement known as Grimm's Law, 
 is of the highest value, and has been the real basis of all 
 later improvements and discoveries. We must remember 
 that the great object of applying it is to enable us to detect 
 the cognation or sisterly relationship of words. We see, for 
 example, that the Lat. f rater can very well be the same word 
 as the E. brother, because, although it looks unlike it at first 
 sight, it really corresponds to it, letter for letter, all the way 
 through. The Lat.^ answers to the symbol BH, which shifts 
 regularly into E. b. The Lat. a is long, answering to Teu- 
 tonic long o, Goth, long o, i.e. the A.S. 6 in brSdor. The 
 symbol T (Lat. /) shifts regularly to A, S. afterwards 
 weakened to (5, E. th. Lastly, the suffix -ler is found in a 
 varying form -lor at a very early period ; and the common 
 Aryan suffix -ter becomes -ler in Latin, and -for, -dor, 
 in A. S. There is not only an enormous gain in detecting 
 these real equalities which are concealed under apparent dif- 
 
§93-] THE ARYAN TYPE, 1 13 
 
 ferences, but we also get rid of the absurdity of deriving native 
 English words from Latin or Greek, and we at once put 
 them on their true level as being equally from the same 
 ultimate Aryan type. 
 
 § 93. The Aryan type : simpler form of Grimm s 
 Law re-stated. We must pause for a moment, to con- 
 sider what this Aryan type was like. In trying to gain an 
 idea of the Aryan type or original form of each word, we 
 need not consider the Old High German, which may well 
 be, and in fact was, a mere development from an archaic 
 Teutonic type which exhibited only Low German charac- 
 teristics. We then have to consider whether the ' classical ' 
 or the Low German consonants approach more nearly to 
 those of the parent speech. For it is obvious that a 
 word like brother may have originated in two ways ; either 
 the original type was Teutonic, viz. brather, and the 
 classical type bhrater was developed from it ; or the case 
 was reversed. In the former case, the Aryan type resembled 
 brather ; in the latter case, it resembled bhrater. The 
 latter theory is the one universally adopted l . Perhaps the 
 decision in this direction was at first due to an innate respect 
 for such languages as Greek and Latin, and, in particular, to 
 the notion that Sanskrit is the language which approaches 
 most nearly to the Aryan type, though this position may be 
 more fairly claimed, in many respects, for Greek. But 
 the decision really rests upon other grounds, viz. that the 
 ' classical ' languages are far more numerous and more 
 divergent than the Teutonic languages; and it is far 
 easier to suppose that the shifting took place with respect 
 to a single group which was spread over a small area, 
 than with respect to all the other groups of the whole 
 family. It is from such considerations that we may more 
 safely accept the guidance of the ' classical ' than of the 
 
 1 There is yet a third theory, which may be the true one, viz. that the 
 oldest form was brater ; but I shall not here discuss it. 
 VOL. 1. I 
 
114 
 
 GRIMM *S LAW. 
 
 [Chap. VII. 
 
 Low German types in estimating the forms of the original 
 Aryan parent speech. It may therefore be safely assumed 
 that the ' classical ' type is also the Aryan type, or comes 
 most near it, and that the Low German or Teutonic 1 types 
 are formed, by a tolerably regular shifting, not really from 
 the ' classical ' type, but from the original Aryan which the 
 latter exactly, or nearly, represents. All that is now needed, 
 is to read ' Aryan ' in place of ' Classical languages in § 86 ; 
 and we may also, if we please, substitute ' Teutonic ' for ' Low 
 German ' without any fear of error, merely remembering 
 that the High German forms can be obtained from the 
 general Teutonic forms whenever they are wanted. We can 
 then state the Law thus, nearly as in § 91, with respect to 
 the dental letters, and it will be shewn hereafter to be 
 equally true (with necessary modifications) for the labial 
 and guttural series. 
 
 Write down the symbols DH, D, T, TH in suc- 
 cession. It is found that the Aryan sound corre- 
 sponding to each of these symbols (except the last), 
 is shifted, in cognate Teutonic words, to the sound 
 corresponding to the symbol which next succeeds it. 
 This is the law of consonantal shifting, as regards the letters 
 in the dental series. 
 
 The extension of the Law to the labial and guttural series 
 of consonants will be considered in the next Chapter. 
 
 1 Henceforth, I assume the Low German type to be identical with the 
 Teutonic ; and regard the O. H. German as a development from it. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Simplified Form of Grimm's Law. 
 
 § 94. In order to treat the facts correctly, it will be neces- 
 sary to consider the dental, the labial, and the guttural sets 
 of letters separately; and to take them, for the present, in 
 this order. At the end of the last Chapter we obtained the 
 following statement, which may conveniently be here repeated. 
 Write down the symbols DH, D, T, TH, in succession. 
 It is found that the Aryan sound corresponding to 
 each of these symbols (except the last), is shifted, in 
 cognate Teutonic words, to the sound corresponding 
 to the symbol which next succeeds it. Teutonic is 
 here used in the sense of original Teutonic, to the exclusion 
 of High German forms l . I now propose to look at this Law 
 a little more closely, explaining the varying values (if any) 
 of the symbols, giving numerous examples, and noting ex- 
 ceptions. 
 
 § 95. Aryan : Dentals. The Aryan Dental Sounds are 
 DH, D, T. It is here most convenient -to consider them in 
 the order D, T, DH ; and I shall accordingly (W\ so. 
 
 D. The Skt. d is a stable sound ; so*also is the Gk. 6\ 
 In Latin, d is common, but occasionally D appears as /. 
 Thus lacrima, a tear, was once dacrima, according to Festus, 
 and is cognate with Gk. ddicpv, E. tear ; lingua, a tongue, was 
 
 1 As to the unoriginal character of the Old High German second 
 consonantal shifting, see Chapter IX, § 123. 
 
 I 2 
 
Il6 GRIMM'S LAW, [Chap. VIII. 
 
 once dingua, and is cognate with E. tongue ; ol-ere, to smell, 
 is allied to od-or, smell l . 
 
 T. The Skt. / is sometimes aspirated after s, and appears 
 as th, as in sthag, to cover, Gk. o-reyeiv ; sthd, to stand, Lat. 
 std-re. 
 
 The Gk. r is stable ; so is Lat. / (usually). 
 
 DH. The Skt. has dh. If a verbal root begins with dh 
 and ends with another aspirated letter, both of these letters 
 appear in the simple, not in the aspirated form. Thus the 
 Skt. din, to smear, stands for *dhigh. We find other occa- 
 sional instances in which Skt. dh appears as d, as in dvdra, 
 a door, put for *dhvdra ; cf. Gk. 6vpa. 
 
 The Gk. dh is 6. But Gk. allows of only one aspirate in 
 a syllable ; hence we find rpixos for *6pix6s. 
 
 The Latin dh appears initially as_/^ but medially as d or b. 
 Thus Gk. 0vpa, a door, is allied to Lat. p\.for-es, doors, the 
 cognate E. word being door. Gk. i-pv6-p6s, E. red, is in 
 Lat. ruber (for *rudher). Gk. ovBap, E. udder, is in Lat. uber 
 (for *udher) ; whilst E. ividow, L. uidua, answers to Skt. 
 vidhdva. 
 
 The Aryan DH regularly appears as d in Slavonic, Lithu- 
 anian, and O. Irish, as in Russ. dvere, O. Irish dorus, a door, 
 Lith. durys, pi. doors 2 ; cf. Gk. 6vpa. 
 
 § 96. Teutonic : Dentals. T (Aryan D) ; Gothic / (regu- 
 larly) ; and so in A. S., Icel., Swed., Dutch; but in Danish 
 it is weakened (when final) to d, as in fod, foot. 
 
 TH (Aryan T) appears as th in Gothic 3 ; written/ or d in 
 
 1 I do not give all the values of these Aryan symbols, but only those 
 necessary for the present purpose ; thus a d may appear in Latin as r f 
 but not in words cognate with English. For fuller particulars, see Iwan 
 Miiller, Handbuch der Klassischen Altertums-Wissenschaft, Band II ; 
 Nordlingen, 1885. 
 
 2 This change is practically a shifting, and gives the same result. 
 But it differs in this respect, viz. that the Slavonic (and other) races 
 were content to confuse Aryan DH with Aryan D. The Teutonic races 
 were not contented to do so, but distinguished their real D from T. 
 
 3 German editors often write \> for Goth. th. 
 
THE LABIAL SERIES. 
 
 II 7 
 
 A. S. The Icel. initial p is sounded as th in thin, but the 
 medial d as th in thine. In Danish and Swedish the initial th 
 (J?) is sounded as /, and the medial th (3) as d, owing to 
 a difficulty in pronouncing th at all; for a similar reason, 
 Dutch invariably substitutes d ; cf. E. three with Dan. and 
 Swed. tre, Du. drie\ and E. brother with Icel. brodir, Swed. 
 and Dan. broder, Du. broeder. When the Aryan T appears 
 (contrary to the rule) as Goth, d, this phenomenon can be 
 accounted for by Verner's Law; see Chap. IX. For ex- 
 ample, Lat./hzA?r=Goth. brothar, E. brother, regularly; but 
 on the other hand, Lat. fia/er = Goth, fadar (not *fathar), A. S. 
 feeder (not *fceder) i M. E. fader the form father being modern. 
 An Aryan ST remains st in Teutonic ; unless the s is lost, 
 when the T may shift to th. 
 
 D (Aryan DH) appears as Gothic, &c, d, regularly. 
 
 § 97. Numerous examples of English words which are 
 cognate with words in other Aryan languages are given 
 further on. In giving these it is convenient to reverse the order 
 above, i.e. to give the English words before the others; so 
 that instead of saying that the Aryan D becomes a Teutonic 
 T, we say that the Teut. T answers to an Aryan D, which 
 is of course the same thing. It is only a question of con- 
 venience. Similarly Teut. TH answers to Aryan T, and 
 Teut. D to Aryan DH. Taking > as the symbol for 
 ' becomes 1 or c passes into,' and < as the symbol for ' results 
 from/ we see that the series DH > D > T > TH is the same 
 as D < DH ; T < D ; TH < T. And again, these three com- 
 parisons may be taken in the order T<D; TH<T ; 
 D<DH; without at all altering the Law. 
 
 § 98. The Labial Series. If Grimm's Law be equally 
 true for the labial series, it will take the following form. 
 Write down the series of symbols BH, B, P, PH (F). 
 Then the Aryan sound corresponding to each of these 
 symbols (except the last), is shifted, in cognate Teu- 
 tonic words, to the sound corresponding to the symbol 
 
Tl8 
 
 GRIMM'S LAW. 
 
 [Chap. VIII. 
 
 which next succeeds it. This is true, with a certain 
 restriction, viz. that there are no very clear examples of the 
 second of the three changes, viz. of Aryan B answering to 
 Teut. P. The comparison of E. hemp w ? ith Gk. Kawafas 
 is not wholly to the point, as the E. word is only a very 
 early borrowed word ; neither is the Gk. Kawapts an original 
 Greek word, being itself borrowed from the East. The 
 great difficulty, accordingly, is to know with what we are 
 to compare the Teut. P, a problem of which I know no 
 satisfactory solution. It is certain that a great number of 
 words beginning with P in the Teutonic languages are 
 merely borrowed from Latin or Greek; thus E. pit, M. E. 
 put, A. S. pyt (for *puti) is merely borrowed from the Lat. 
 puteus ; and the large number of words in modern English 
 beginning with this letter is in a great measure due to the 
 very free use of the Lat. prefixes, per-, post-, pre-, preter-, pro-, 
 and the Greek prefixes, pan-, para-, peri-, poly-, pros-. Some 
 have even denied that there are any Teut. words beginning 
 with p; but a list of over 100 words has been given of 
 words beginning with p, which cannot be proved to be 
 non -Teutonic l . Besides, it is certain that final / is a suffi- 
 ciently common letter in Teutonic, as in E. heap, hip, hope, 
 hop, and the Icel. happ, chance, whence our hap. One view 
 that might be held concerning the final Teut. p is that, in 
 some cases, it remained unshifted', thus Curtius compares E, 
 leap, Goth. hlaupa7i, with Gk. Kpain-vos, swift J E. lip, lap, with 
 Gk. \dir-T€iv, to lap ; E. shape with Gk. a-Kcnr-reiv, to dig ; and 
 it is extremely difficult to see how E. up can be entirely 
 severed from E. over, Skt. upari. As this is a difficult point, 
 I leave the supposed shifting of Aryan B to Teut. P without 
 further discussion, and pass on the shiftings that still remain, 
 viz. of Aryan P to Teut. PH (F) ; and of Aryan BH to 
 Teut. B. These are real and regular, as will appear. 
 
 1 I have lost the reference to this article. See, however, p. 137. 
 
§ ioi.] 
 
 THE GUTTURAL SERIES. 
 
 II 9 
 
 § 99. Aryan : Labials. 
 
 B (mentioned above) is the Skt. b, Gk. 0, Lat. b. 
 
 P is the Skt. p, Gk. w, Lat, Slav., and Lithuan./ 1 . The 
 Skt. ^ may become ph after ^, and even in Gk. o-7r may be- 
 come o-0. 
 
 BH is the Skt. bh, Gk. <£. The Skt. M may become b, 
 when another aspirate follows, as in bandh (for *b/iand/i), 
 E. In Latin it occurs as f initially, as in fer-re, 
 
 Gk. (f>ep-€iv, Skt. b/iar, to bear, E. bear; and as £ medially, as 
 in am-bo, both = Gk. an-cfxo. It is worth adding that the Latin 
 initial f sometimes appears as h, so that the Old Lat. for- 
 deum, barley, is usually hordeum, or even ordeum, the h being 
 lost. 
 
 § 100. Teutonic : Labials. 
 
 The Teut. B is always b in Gothic ; but appears as (final) 
 f in A. S. See below, § 122. 
 
 The Teut. P is always p in Gothic, &c. An Aryan SP 
 remains as sp, the / being unshifted ; unless s is lost, when 
 the P may become f. 
 
 The Teut. PH is regularly represented by f in the Teu- 
 tonic languages. But there are cases in which the f may 
 pass into b ; these exceptions can be explained by Verner's 
 Law, for which see Chapter IX. Numerous examples are 
 given further on, where, for convenience, I take the E. forms 
 first. The series BH >B > P >PH(=F) is the same as 
 B<BH; P<B; F<P; or, in another order, as P<B; 
 F<P; B<BH. 
 
 § 101. The Guttural Series. If Grimm's Law be 
 equally true for this series also, it will take the following 
 form. Write down the series of symbols GH, G, K, 
 
 1 Latin has two remarkable exceptions, in which p has been turned 
 into c or qu i viz. coquere, to cook, put for *poqucrc (cf. Skt. pack, to cook), 
 and quinque, five, put for *pinque (cf. Skt. pafichan, five). Here the 
 initial letters have been affected by the following qu. The O. Irish 
 initial p disappears ; as in O. Irish ore, a pig, Lat. porcus \ O. Irish 
 iasc, a fish, Lat. piscis. 
 
120 
 
 GRIMM" S LAW. 
 
 [Chap. VIII. 
 
 KH(H). Then the Aryan sound corresponding to 
 each of these symbols (except the last), is shifted, 
 in cognate Teutonic words, to the sound cor- 
 responding to the symbol which next follows it. 
 
 There are, undoubtedly, many cases in which this Law 
 holds ; but, unfortunately, there is an initial difficulty in 
 determining the Aryan values of GH, G, and K, which 
 greatly interferes with the simplicity of it. An English k or 
 hard c ought to answer to Aryan G, as it clearly does when 
 we compare E. kin with Gk. yev-os ; by the same rule, we 
 might expect that the Gk. for cow is yovs, but the actual 
 word found is /3o0y. This suggests that there is some initial 
 difference between the values of the Aryan G (=Gk. y) and 
 G ( = Gk. /3). There are also reasons for supposing that 
 the Aryan K and GH had each two values ; and these facts 
 are now generally admitted. As Mr. Wharton remarks, at 
 p. ix of his Etyma Graeca, ' the Ursprache [parent or Aryan 
 speech] distinguished kv \ gv, ghv (Lithuanian k, g y g, Skt. k 
 or ch, g or /, gh) from k, g, gh (Lithuanian sz, z, z, Slavonic 
 s, z, z, Zend, c, z, z, Skt. c , /, h) ; Greek properly represents 
 the former by 7r, /3, but sometimes instead by y, x, which 
 in other cases stand for original k, g, gh! This important 
 distinction deserves to be considered somewhat more fully. 
 
 § 102. Palatal and Velar Sounds. It appears that 
 there were two varieties of the Aryan G, called the ' palatal ' 
 and ' velar 9 respectively. The former may be considered as 
 resembling the English g, with a te?idency to become palatal ; 
 the latter is a labialized g. 6 The vocal organs may be shifted 
 to form a vowel/ says Mr. Sayce 2 , 'while they are still in 
 the act of forming the consonant. Hence arise mouille and 
 labialized letters. If the front part of the tongue be raised 
 and the lips opened while a consonant is being uttered, a 
 
 1 By kv, gv> ghv are meant kw, gw, ghw. The frequent use of v for 
 w is due to German writers, and is nothing less than a nuisance. 
 
 2 Introduction to the Science of Language, i. 297. 
 
§ I03-] 
 
 THE GUTTURAL SERIES. 
 
 121 
 
 palatalized or mouille letter is the result, of which the Italian 
 gl and gn, the Spanish // and n, or the Portuguese Ih and 
 nh are examples l . . . . Certain consonants are incapable of 
 being mouille) gutturals, for instance, in whose formation 
 the back part of the tongue plays so prominent a part, can 
 only be so by becoming palatals. Labialized sounds are 
 those in which the lips are rounded while the pronunciation 
 of a consonant is in process. Labials and gutturals shew 
 the same fondness for this labialization, or " rounding," that 
 the palatals and dentals do for mouillation ; and a com- 
 parison of the derived languages proves that the primitive 
 Aryan speech must have possessed a row of labialized or 
 " velar " gutturals — kw, gzv, ghw — of which the Latin qu and 
 our own cw, qu [and wh\ are descendants. There is nothing 
 to show that these velar gutturals were ever developed out of 
 the simple gutturals ; so far back as we can go in the history 
 of Indo-European speech the two classes of gutturals exist 
 side by side, and the groups of words containing them 
 remain unallied and unmixed/ I shall denote the Aryan 
 palatal K by K, and the velar K by Q ; where Q denotes 
 a £-sound that is prepared to receive a following u. Similarly 
 I shall denote the palatal G by G, and the velar G by Gw, 
 where the w is added in smaller type to shew that the G is 
 prepared to be followed by it. We shall now see how 
 remarkably these sounds are distinguished in some of the 
 derived languages, including Sanskrit and Lithuanian, and 
 occasionally, but not always, Greek. 
 
 § 103. Aryan G (palatal). This corresponds to Skt./ 
 Lithuanian g, Slavonic z ; in Gk. it always remains y, and in 
 Latin g. It shifts to Teut. K, in accordance with Grimm's 
 Law. Thus Skt. Jdnu, Gk. y6w, Lat.genu, is the Goth, kniu, 
 E. knee. The Skt. jnd, to know, Gk. yi-yvu-aKtiv, Lat. 
 (g)no-scere, Lithuan. Zinoti, Russ. zna-/e, is E. know. 
 
 1 These sounds resemble the E. Hi in million and m in minion. 
 
122 
 
 GRIMM'S LAW. 
 
 [Chap. VIII. 
 
 Aryan Gw (velar). This is more difficult, as it exhibits 
 two varieties, which may be marked as (a) and (b). In the 
 first, the Gk. y remains unchanged ; in the second, it appears 
 as j8. 
 
 (a) This corresponds to Skt. j or g, Lithuanian g, Gk. y, 
 Lat. g. It shifts to Teut. K, as before. Thus Skt. janas, 
 Lith. gamas, Gk. yeW, Lat. genus, is E. kin. Skt. yugam, Gk. 
 (vyov, Lith. jungas, Lat. iugum, is E. yoke. We may notice 
 that it is chiefly distinguished from the palatal G by the 
 Lithuanian use of g instead of z. 
 
 (b) This corresponds to Skt. j or g, Lith. g, Gk. 13, Lat. 
 b, v. It shifts to Teut. K, followed by u or w ; we often find 
 qu in English. Thus Skt. go, Gk. fiovs, Lat. bos, Lettish 
 guwis, is the A. S. cu, E. cow. The Skt. jiv, to live, is allied 
 to Gk. fiios, life, and to Lat. uiu-tis (=*guiit-us), living, 
 Lithuan. gywas, Old Slavonic zivu (Russ. jivoi), living; 
 also to Goth, kwi-us (=z*kwiw-us), stem kwiwo, living, and 
 to A. S. cwi-c, E. qui-ck, living. The A. S. cwic also took 
 the (later) form cue (with u for wi); hence the prov. E. 
 couch-grass, otherwise called quitch-grass, quick-grass, i. e. 
 live grass, a term applied to a weed (Triticum repens) which 
 it is very difficult to eradicate. 
 
 § 104. Aryan K (palatal). This remains as k in Greek, 
 and c (sounded as k) in Latin ; but in Skt. it usually appears 
 as c (i. e. a sound that has been changed from k to s), and in 
 Lithuanian as sz. In Teutonic it shifts to GH, represented 
 in Gothic, &c, by a strongly aspirated h, except in cases 
 where the h is changed to g in consequence of Verner's 
 Law ; for which see Chap. IX. Thus E. hund-red, A. S. 
 hund, is Aryan kento \ Skt. cata, Gk. i-Karov, Lith. szimtas, 
 Old Slav, suto (Russ. sto), O. Irish cet (Irish cead), Welsh 
 cant. 
 
 Aryan Q (velar) had, from the beginning, a tendency to 
 
 1 More strictly kmto, where the M is vocal ; the accent being on the 
 latter syllable. 
 
§ io5.] THE GUTTURAL SERIES. 1 23 
 
 a parasitic w following it. There are two cases : (a) where 
 the tendency is lost in some of the languages, so that the 
 q remains as k in Skt. and Lithuanian ; and (6) where Skt. 
 has ch y Lat. has qu, and Gk. either retains *, or has it (before 
 o) or t (before 1, e). With the latter case we may rank the 
 examples in which Skt. alone has ch, but all the other 
 languages have k. The Aryan Q shifts regularly to Teut. 
 KHw, i. e. hw, E. wh or h (or even f). Examples of (a) 
 are : Aryan qo or qi, who ; Skt. kas, Lith. kas, Gk. to, Lat. 
 qui (for *quoi), qm's; Goth, hwas, A. S. hwd, E. who. Also 
 Aryan wlqos, 1 a wolf, Skt. vvkas, Gk. Xvkos (for fhvKos), Lat. 
 lupus (for *ivluquus), Lith. wilkas, Russ. volK ; in this case the 
 Goth, hw is replaced by f, corresponding by Grimm's Law to 
 the Lat. p, thus giving Goth, wulfs and E. wolf. Examples 
 of (6) are : Aryan qetwar, four ; Skt. chatvar. Gk. rerrapf?, 
 rea-aapes, Lat. quafuor, O. Irish cefhir, Lith. keturi, Russ. chef- 
 vero, Welsh pedwar ; Goth, fidwor, A. S. feower, E. y^/zr. 
 The Skt. has the root ruch, to shine, corresponding to Aryan 
 reuq 2 ; but other languages keep the k } as in Gk. X(uko?, white, 
 Lat. luc-ere, to shine ; this k becomes Goth, h regularly ; 
 hence Goth, liuh-ts, A. S. le'oh-t, E. ligh-t (where -/ is suffixed). 
 In this case the Skt. alone has preserved a trace of q ; in all 
 the other languages it is k. 
 
 § 105. Aryan GH (palatal). This is represented in Skt. 
 by h, in Gk. by x I in Latin it is h or /"initially, and // (which 
 often -drops out) medially, or g (after a consonant). The 
 Lith. is £. By regular shifting, it becomes G in Teutonic. 
 Examples : Gk. x^ 1 ^^ winter, answers to Lat. hiems ; Skt. 
 hamsa, swan, answers to Gk. xh v > goose, Lat. anser (for 
 *hanser), Lith. zdsis, Russ. gus\ A. S. gSs, E. goose. Gk. 
 X0XJ7, gall, is Lat. fel, E. gall. Skt. agha, sin, is allied to 
 Gk. ax-os, anguish, Lat. ang-or ; and to Goth, agis, fear, 
 
 1 The L is vocalic, becoming vocal r in Sanskrit. 
 3 See Root No. 311 in List of Aryan Roots, in my Etym. Diet, 
 p. 741. 
 
124 
 
 GRIMM'S LAW. 
 
 [Chap. VIII. 
 
 Icel. agi, whence the mod. E. awe, a word of Scandinavian 
 origin. 
 
 Aryan GHw (velar). This is represented by Skt. gh 
 or h, Gk. x (occasionally 6, </>), and Lith. g. Latin is very 
 variable, shewing g, h, f initially, and gu, v medially. Thus 
 Lat. gratus is allied to Gk. x™?* 0 * I rejoice ; Lat. hostis, a 
 stranger, enemy, is allied to A. S. gcest, stranger, E. guest. 
 Lat. formus, warm, to Skt. gharma, warmth. Lat. anguis, 
 a snake, is allied to Lithuan. angis, Gk. fytr, Skt. ahi, a 
 snake. Lat. leu-is, light, is for * lehuis, Gk. i-Xaxvs ; and 
 breu-is, short, for * brehu-is, Gk. jSpax-vs. The Teutonic 
 shifts, regularly, to G. 
 
 § 106. Grimm's Law : Guttural Series. It follows 
 from the above explanation that the guttural series G, K, GH, 
 really splits into a double set, viz. G, K, GH (palatal), and 
 Gw, Q, GHw (velar). Hence the Law in § ioi above, which 
 is true if G, K, GH are palatal, requires to be supplemented 
 by the following. 
 
 Write down the following series of velar letters, 
 viz. GHw, Gw, Q, KHw(=Hw); then the Aryan 
 sound corresponding to each of these symbols (except 
 the last) is shifted, in cognate Teutonic words, to the 
 sound corresponding to the symbol which next 
 succeeds it. Numerous examples are given below, where 
 the E. forms come first. The Guttural Series has the double 
 set of formulae K<G; H<K; G<GH; and Q<Gw; 
 Hw<Q; Gw<GHw. 
 
 § 107. In the above statements, only the chief pecu- 
 liarities of particular languages have been noticed; the 
 various consonants are often affected by their peculiar posi- 
 tion in the word or by the neighbouring vowels ; for 
 such variations, books on classical philology must be con- 
 sulted. I believe, however, that I have said enough to 
 enable me to give a table of ' Regular Substitution of 
 Sounds/ similar to that which Curtius gives in his Greek 
 
§ I07-] 
 
 TABLE OF CONSONANTS. 
 
 ^5 
 
 Etymology, tr. by Wilkins and England, i. 158; see also 
 Rhys, Lectures on Welsh Philology, 2nd ed., p. 14. Now 
 that we have gone through the whole series, we need no 
 longer consider the dental series first, but can take them 
 in the usual philological order, viz. (1) gutturals, (2) dentals, 
 (3) labials. 
 
 Table of Regular Substitution of Consonants. 
 
 In the following table, the Aryan symbols are on the 
 left, and the Teutonic on the extreme right. By comparing 
 these, the shifting of the consonantal sound is at once per- 
 ceived. Only the usual corresponding values of the con- 
 sonants are given ; it is impossible to include every case. 
 
 Aryan. 
 
 Skt. 
 
 Gk. 
 
 Lat. 
 
 Lith. 
 
 Slav. 
 
 O. Irish. 
 
 Goth. 
 
 AS. 
 
 Teut. 
 
 G 
 K 
 GH 
 
 i 
 
 f 
 
 h 
 
 7 
 
 K 
 
 X 
 
 g 
 
 hj{g) 
 
 I 
 sz 
 M 
 
 z 
 s 
 
 g 
 c, ch 
 
 g 
 
 h 
 
 g 
 
 h{g\ 
 g 
 
 K 
 A' II {II 
 G 
 
 Gw 
 
 Q 
 
 GHw 
 
 gj 
 
 k, ch 
 gh, h 
 
 y, 0 
 
 7T, T, It 
 
 x, *, e 
 
 g, v, b 
 qu, c, z> 
 
 lCw)J 
 
 g 
 k 
 
 g 
 
 &* 
 k 
 
 g 
 
 b 
 
 c, ch 
 b 
 
 hw, h 
 
 g 
 
 cw, c 
 hw, h 
 g 
 
 \KHw 
 \dlw) 
 Gw (Cr) 
 
 D 
 T 
 DH 
 
 d 
 t 
 
 dh 
 
 s 
 
 T 
 
 e 
 
 d j 
 
 f, (4 *) 
 
 d 
 t 
 d 
 
 d 
 t 
 d 
 
 d 
 t, th 
 d 
 
 th\d\ 
 d 
 
 d 
 
 T 
 
 Til 
 D 
 
 B 
 P 
 BH 
 
 b 
 
 P 
 bh 
 
 P 
 
 K 
 
 <P 
 
 b 
 P 
 
 f, h (/>) 
 
 b 
 
 P 
 b 
 
 b 
 
 p 
 b 
 
 b (m) 
 
 /M 
 
 b 
 
 /w 
 
 b 
 
 P? 
 \PH{F, 
 
 I P?) 
 B 
 
 In this table, the Latin sounds within a parenthesis only occur medially. 
 The Goth, and A. S. sounds within square brackets and variations due to 
 Verner's Law. 
 
126 
 
 GRIMM 'S LAW. 
 
 [Chap. VIII. 
 
 It remains to give examples of the above-named corre- 
 spondences of consonantal sounds. These I shall take in 
 the order of the table, but beginning with English, i. e. with 
 the right-hand column. 
 
 § 108. Teut. K (Goth, k, A. S. hard c) < Aryan G (Skt. 
 /, Gk. y, Lat. g, Lith. 2, O. Slav, z, O. Ir.g). See § 103. 
 
 The symbol k is not much used in A. S., which commonly 
 uses c; nevertheless, it appears occasionally even in MSS. 
 written before the Conquest. In the latter part of the A. S. 
 Chronicle it appears frequently, and from about 11 50 to the 
 present day is used before e and 1, because c might other- 
 wise be supposed to have the sound of s ; also before n, 
 where it is noiv silent, though originally sounded. The 
 order of words follows that in Fick's Worterbuch, iii. 38. 
 
 Initially. E. kin, A. S. cynn, Goth, kuni (stem kun-jd) *, 
 Teut. kun-yo 2 , a tribe (formed by 1 gradation ' from the Teut. 
 root ken) ; cf. Lat. gen-ius, in-ge?i-iu??i (whence E. genius, 
 ingenious), Lat. gen-us, race, Gk. yeV-os, Skt. Jan, to beget, 
 generate. Root gen, to beget. 
 
 E. king, A. S. cyn-ing, lit. belonging to the kin, or one 
 of (royal) race ; a derivative of kin (above). 
 
 E. can, now a present tense, but really an old past tense 
 of A. S. cnnnan, to know ; from the Aryan root gen, to know, 
 which is usually altered to gno, as in Gk. yvw-pm, Skt. jnd, 
 to know ; see account of E. know below. 
 
 E. ken, to know, formerly 6 to make to know/ causal de- 
 rivative of can. 
 
 E. know, A. S. cnaivan, Russ. zna-te, to know, Lat. no-scere, 
 old form gno-scere, Gk. yL-yva-o-Keip, Skt. jnd, to know ; 
 Aryan root gno, from an older gen (cf. E. can). 
 
 1 The Goth.y is sounded as E. y. 
 
 2 Teut. types, printed in capitals, are all theoj-etical, but are useful for 
 shewing the right form. So also the Aryan types, also printed in capitals, 
 are likewise theoretical. They are given in Fick's Worterbuch ; but the 
 vocalism, as there given, needs reform, and I do not know that I have 
 always set it right. 
 
§ 109.] 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 127 
 
 E. comb, A. S. camb, a toothed instrument ; allied to Skt. 
 jambha, teeth, jaw, Gk. yap.^, jaw, yopfyos, a peg. 
 
 E. and A. S. corn ; Russ. zern-o, corn ; Lat. gran-um. 
 
 E. crane, A. S. cran, Welsh garan, Gk. yepav-os, a crane, 
 Lithuan. ^ar/z^ 1 , a stork, gerwe, a crane, Lat. gru-s; named 
 from the cry. Cf. Gk. yrjp-veiv, to cry out. And see below. 
 
 E. crow, A. S. crdw-an, to crow as a cock. Cf. Lat. grus 
 (above). 
 
 E. carve, A. S. ceorf-an) Gk. ypafy-eiv, to scratch, write. 
 
 E. ^0/0/, adj., A. S. ceald, Goth, kalds, allied to £-00/, A. S. 
 col ; Lat. gel-id-us, cold, frost. 
 
 E. knead, A. S. cned-an, G. kjiet-en, Russ. g?iet-ate, gne-sti, to 
 press, squeeze. 
 
 E. A. S. from the verb to nip (for 2 ), to 
 
 pinch, bite (hence, cut), Du. knijp-en, to pinch ; Lithuan. 
 znyp-ti, to bite (as a goose), to pinch, as a crab; also 
 Lithuan. gnyb-ti, to nip. 
 
 E. knot, A. S. cnotta ; Swed. (whence the Russ. 
 
 a whip, written knout in E., was borrowed) ; Lat. 
 nod-us (for *gnodus, like nose ere for gtioscere). 
 
 E. Ztz^, A. S. cne^ow, Goth. ; Lat. Gk. yoVu, Skt. 
 
 jdnu, knee. 
 
 E. cleave, to split, A. S. cleof-an, G. klicb-en, Teut. base 
 kleub (Kluge); Gk. y\v(f>-€iv, to hollow out, engrave, Lat. 
 glub-ere, to peel. 
 
 § 109. As the Scandinavian languages are closely allied 
 to English, we naturally find that words of Scandinavian 
 origin can be classed with English as regards their initial 
 letters. Thus E. cast, Icel. and Swed. kast-a, Dan. kast-e, 
 orig. to throw up into a heap (cf. E. cast up a mound), from 
 Icel. kb's, a pile, heap, is allied to Lat. ger-ere, to carry, bring, 
 
 1 I suppose that g nppears instead of z in Lithuanian because the 
 word is imitative. Imitative words frequently shew exceptional forms. 
 
 2 1 Als far as catal, the lang symmyris day, Had in thar pastur eyt 
 and knyp away.' (1513). G. Douglas ; Prol. to xii. bk. of Virgil, 
 1. 94. 
 
128 
 
 GRIMM'S LAW. 
 
 [Chap. VIII. 
 
 whence Lat. ag-ger, a mound, a heap brought together. 
 Ger-ere = * ges-ere, as shewn by the pt. t. ges-si, supine 
 ges-tum. 
 
 § 110. K > CH. Examples in which the A. S. c 
 (before e or i) becomes E. ch. 
 
 E. chew, A. S. ceow-an, G. kau-en ; Russ. Jev-ate, 0. Slav. 
 ziv-ati, to chew. 
 
 E. chin, A. S. cin, Icel. kinn, G. ; Lat. gen-a, cheek, 
 
 Gk. yiv-vs, chin, jaw. 
 
 E. choose, A. S. ceos-an, Goth, kius-an ; Gk. ycu-ofim, I 
 taste ; Lat. gus-tus, taste ; Skt. jush (for to enjoy, 
 
 relish. 
 
 § 111. Final K. In all the above examples the Teut. 
 K occurs at the beginning of the words. It will be useful to 
 add examples in which it occurs at, or near, the end of words. 
 As before, I give only selected examples, and I find myself 
 compelled to give them as briefly as possible. Fuller 
 particulars can frequently be obtained by looking out the 
 words in my Etymological Dictionary ; on which account, it 
 is not necessary to give all the cognate words, nor full 
 details. The order of the examples is the same as that in 
 Fick's Worterbuch. 
 
 Medially and Finally. E. eke, to augment, A. S. eac-an, 
 Goth, ank-an ; Lithuan. aug-ti, to grow ; Lat. aug-ere, to 
 increase. 
 
 The mod. E. / is A. S. ic, Goth, ik ; Lat. eg-o, Gk. iy-co, 
 iy-dov, but the Skt. is aham (as if for * agham). 
 
 E. rook (bird), A. S. hroc, i. e. ' croaker ' ; Goth, hruk-jan, 
 to crow as a cock ; Gk. Kpavy-rj, a screaming *, cf. Skt. kruc, 
 to cry out. 
 
 E. thatch, s., A. S. pcec ; Lat. teg-ere, to cover, Gk. arey-civ, 
 Skt. sthag. The Aryan roots teg and steg, to cover, are 
 merely variant forms. 
 
 1 Here sound-shifting occurs twice, both at the beginning and the end 
 of the word; so also in thatch, think, &c. 
 
§ III.] 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 129 
 
 E. think, A.S. penc-an, from pane, a thought; O. Lat. 
 tong-ere, to think. 
 
 E. thick ; O. Irish tig-e, Irish tigh-e, thickness, fatness. 
 E. bake, A.S. bac-an, pt. t. bde; cf. Gk. <f)<Z>y-eiv, to roast. 
 E. beech, derived from A. S. boc, beech ; Lat. fag-us, Gk. 
 
 E. 3raz>£, A. S. brec-an, pt. t. <5r^ ; Lat. fra(n)g-ere, pt. t. 
 freg-i. 
 
 E. £/tf<r>£, A.S. £tor, orig. blackened by fire ; Lat. flag-rare, 
 to burn ; Gk. <\>\iy-*iv y to scorch. 
 
 E. bleak, pale, A.S. bide, from blic-an, to shine; prob. 
 allied to Gk. cfrXey-civ ; cf. Lith. blizg-eti, to shine. 
 
 E. much, M. E. muche, allied to M. E. muchel, michel, A. S. 
 0M<r-*/ ; Gk. pey-as, great, /xey-aX-77, fern., great. 
 
 E. /rczZfc, s., G. melk-en, to milk, v. ; O. Irish melg, milk ; 
 Gk. d-fi€\y-€Lv, Lat. mulg-ere, to milk. 
 
 E. r/'^, A. S. 77<r-£, powerful ; Lat. rcg-cre, to rule ; Skt. 
 raj -a, a king. We use rajah in E. Here also belongs E. 
 right, A.S. riht (for *ra7) ; cf. Lat. rec-tus (for *rcg-tus). 
 
 E. z^/fl^, A. S. wac-an ; Lat. ueg-ere, to arouse ; fc/^-z'/, 
 wakeful. 
 
 E. wink-le, a shell-fish, winch, a crank ; Lithuan. wing-e, a 
 bend. 
 
 E. zewr£, A.S. weorc, s. ; Gk. epy-01/ (for * fepy-ov) \ 
 E. wreak, A.S. wrec-an, orig. to drive, urge, impel; Lat. 
 urg-ere ( = * uerg-ere, to urge, Gk. *lpy-tiv, Ionic cpy-€iv 
 = {fipy-uv), to impel; Skt. z;r/ (= * zwy), to exclude, orig. 
 to bend ; Aryan werg. Cf. E. «r^, from the Latin. 
 
 E. j//'^, to pierce ; O. Fries, sleka, to pierce ; cf. O. Sax. 
 slak, pt. t. he pierced ; G. slech-en, to pierce, stab ; Lat. 
 in-stig-are, to prick forward, Gk. arl&iv (= * <rriy-jrciv), to 
 prick, o-Tiy-fjia, a mark made by pricking, E. stigma. 
 
 1 This is one of the numerous instances in which English throws light 
 upon Greek. Eng. still preserves the initial w, which Greek lost at 
 least two thousand years ago. The symbol f (di-gamma) means w. 
 
 VOL. I. K 
 
130 
 
 GRIMM *S LAW. 
 
 [Chap. VIII. 
 
 E. strike. The A.S. strtc-an is sometimes used in just the 
 same sense as Lat. stri(n)g-ere, to pass lightly over the sur- 
 face ; cf. Lat. strig-ilis, a scraper for the skin. 
 
 E. speak, for * spreak, A.S. sprec-an (later spec -an) ; Icel. 
 sprak-a, to crackle ; Lithuan. sprag-eti, to crackle, rattle ; 
 Gk. (T(f)dpay-os, a crackling. 
 
 E. slack, lax ; cf. Skt. sxj, to let flow, let loose. 
 
 § 112. I have given rather a full list of the changes from 
 Aryan g to Teut. k in order to shew the principle clearly. 
 The following lists are less exhaustive. 
 
 Teut. KH (Goth, h, g) < Aryan K (Skt. f, Gk. k, Lat. c, 
 Lith. sz). See § 104. 
 
 Initially. E. heath 1 ) Lat. (bu)-cet-um, a pasture for 
 cattle, W. coed ( = * coet), 2l wood. 
 
 E. hen (sing-er) ; cf. A. S. han-a, a cock ; Lat. can-ere, to 
 sing. 
 
 [E. head, A. S. heaf-od is often compared with Lat. cap-ut, 
 but the Goth, form is haubith, and the G. is Haupt, which 
 would require (says Kluge) a Lat. * cauput. Fick is wrong 
 in supposing that the A.S. ea was short, and mistakes the 
 Icel. form, which was originally haufud^\ 
 
 E. heave ; Lat. cap-ere, to hold. (See Kluge, s.v. heben.) 
 
 E. horn ; Lat. corn-u, Irish corn, horn. From the same 
 ultimate root is E. har-t, allied to Lat. cer-uus, a hart. 
 
 E. hard] Gk. Kpar-vs, strong. 
 
 E. harvest, A.S. harf-est', Lat. carp-ere, to pluck, Gk. Kapn- 
 6s, fruit. 
 
 E. haulm, halm, stalk ; Lat. culm-us, Gk. Kakap.-r). 
 E. hazel, A. S. hcesel ; Lat. corul-us (for * cosul-us), Welsh 
 coll. 
 
 E. ho?ne, A. S. ham ; Lithuan. hem-as, a village, and perhaps 
 Gk. Kup-rj ; see Kluge, s.v. Heim. 
 
 E. hide (skin), A.S. hyd) Lat. cut-is, Gk. o-kvt-os. 
 
 1 See Et\m. Diet, for fuller particulars, both as regards this and many 
 other words. 
 
§ "3-] 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 E. hund-red, A.S. hund; Lat. cent-um, W. cant) Gk. k-Kar- 
 6v, Skt. and Zend pz/tf, Lith. szimtas, Russ. Pers. 
 
 E. heart, A. S. heort-e ; Lat. <T0r (stem cordi-) ; Gk. Kapd-ia, 
 Russ. serdtse, O. Ir. m'dte. 
 
 E. r/Va^, A. S. ^n'^ ; Lat. circus, Gk. KpU-os, KipK-os. 
 
 E. Zftz#, v. (for * hlean), A. S. hlinian ; Lat. dinar e, Gk. 
 
 E. (for * hloud), A.S. Lat. in-clut-us, famous, 
 
 Gk. KXvr-of, famous. 
 
 Finally or Medially. E. eight, A.S. eah-ta, Goth. 
 # ; Lat. oc-to, Gk. ok-to>. 
 
 E. ten, Goth, taih-un ; Lat. dec-em, Gk. SeVa, Skt. dacan, 
 W. ^ (=*dec), O. Irish afozr. 
 
 E. z##;t:, to grow, Goth, wahs-Jan ; Skt. z'a&r^ (for * waks), 
 to grow, Gk. av£-dv€iv, to increase. (Here Gk. £=Skt. &r= 
 Goth. As) 
 
 §113. Teut. G (Goth. g)< Aryan GH (Skt. *, Gk. x . 
 Lat. or, after a consonant, ^). See § 105. 
 
 Initially. E. goose, A. S. gds, G. (ztf/w ; Lat. ans-er (for 
 * hans-er), Gk. x^", Lith. &utr, iamsis ; Skt. hams-a, a swan. 
 
 E. ^fl// 5 Lat.y£/, Gk. x oA_, 7> gall. 
 
 E. guest, Goth, gast-s ; Lat. host-is, stranger, guest, enemy. 
 
 Eng. y. The initial E. g also appears as y (for A. S. g 
 when followed by e\ 
 
 E. yearn, A.S. gyrn-an, v., from georn, adj. desirous; G. 
 be-gehr-en, to long for ; Gk. x a P~"> joy, Skt. har-y, to de- 
 sire. 
 
 E. _>>#7t/, A. S. geard, a court ; Lat. hort-us, Gk. x°V> r -°* ; 
 O. Irish £w/, a garden. 
 
 E. yellow, A. S. (acc. geolwe) ; Lat. hchi-us, light 
 
 yellow ; Gk. x* 0 ' -7 ?? young verdure of trees ; cf. Russ. zdenuii. 
 green. 
 
 E. yawn, A.S. gdn-ian, afterwards weakened to M.E. 
 ^dnien, as if for A.S. * gedn-ian ; Gk. x a w~ €lv , to gape. Cf. 
 Gk. x«-°*> yawning gulf, E. chaos ; Lat. hi~are, to gape. 
 
 K 2 
 
132 
 
 GRIMM'S LAW, 
 
 [Chap. VIII. 
 
 E. yester-day, A. S. geostra (yester-) ; Lat. hester-nus, be- 
 longing to yesterday ; cf. Skt. hyas, yesterday. 
 
 Finally and Medially: lost in Mod. E., or represented byw. 
 
 E. awe, a word of Scand. origin, Icel. ag-i, fear; Gk. 
 ax-os, pain, anxiety ; Skt. agh-a, sin. 
 
 E. main, strength, A. S. mceg-en ; Gk. firjx-avrj, means ; Skt. 
 mah (for * magh), to honour (magnify). 
 
 E. lie, A. S. licg-an, pt. t. loeg ; Gk. Xe^-oy, a bed ; Russ. 
 lej-ate, O. Slav. le%-ati, to lie. 
 
 E. wain, A. S. wceg-en ; cf. Lat. ueh-ere, Skt. vah, to carry. 
 
 § 114. Teut. Q (Goth, kw, k; A. S. cw, c)< Aryan Gw 
 (Skt. g, j, Gk. y, 0, Lat. <?, b t Lith. Slav. ^, I, O. Ir. 0). 
 See § 103. 
 
 Initially. E. <t<?z£/, A. S. cti (for *<:z#w ?) ; O. Irish 16, Lat. 
 bos, Gk. Skt. go; Pers. £^z#, bullock. Hence Pers. 
 
 nilgdw, lit. blue cow, written nylghau in English, and used as 
 the name of a kind of antelope. 
 
 E. cack-le, v., allied to quack ; cf. Lith. ge'g-e'le, a cuckoo 
 (dimin. form); Russ. gog-otate, to cackle. An imitative word, 
 and such imitative words often remain unaltered. Cf. Lat. 
 cachinnus, laughter, whence E. cachinnation. The E. gaggle 
 is a mere variation. Very similar is E. tattle, and even babble. 
 All result from such repetitions as ka, ka, ga, ga, ta, ta, ba, 
 ba, qua, qua. Cf. ha ! ha ! to express laughter. 
 
 E. calf, A. S. cealf, Goth, kalb-o ; Gk. Ppeob-os, embryo, 
 young, Skt. garbha, embryo. 
 
 E. coal, A. S. col, G. Kohle, Teut. base kolo (= kwalo ?). 
 Cf. Skt. jval-a, flaming, jvdl-a, flame, jval, to blaze, jvar, to 
 burn. 
 
 E. come, A. S. cum-an, Goth, kwim-an, Lat. uen-ire, Gk. 
 Paiv-eiv (for * fiav-yeiv), to go ; Skt. gam, to go. 
 
 E. queen, A. S. cwe'n 1 , Icel. yfowz, a woman; Gk. yw-»7, 
 
 ; In this case, the / in A. S. cwen is a mutated form of 6 = Teut. 
 long a ; Sievers, O. E. Gram. § 68. Hence queen answers to a Teut. 
 type kwani (Fick, ii. 39). 
 
EXAMPLES. 
 
 J 33 
 
 woman, wife ; Skt. jan-i, a wife ; Pers. zan, a woman ; O. 
 Irish ben, Gaelic bean. From Pers. zan comes the Hindustani 
 zandna, women's apartments, imported into English as 
 zanana, or (less correctly) zenana. From Gael, beans hit h, lit. 
 fairy woman, we have E. banshee or benshee. 
 
 E. quern, a hand-mill, for grinding corn, A.S. cweorn, Icel. 
 kvern, Goth, kwairn-us; Lith. girn-a, the mill-stone in a 
 quern, girn-os, pi., a hand-mill ; Skt. jdr-aya, to grind, from 
 /n, to grow old, to be digested. 
 
 E. quell is a causal form, from A.S. cwel-an (pt. t. cwccl), 
 to die, whence also the sb. quaUm, A. S. cwealm, a pestilence, 
 and the A. S. cwal-u, destruction. Cf. G. Qual, torment ; 
 Lithuan. g/l-a, torment. 
 
 E. quick, living, A.S. cwic, Icel. kvik-r ; a shorter form 
 appears in Goth, kwiu-s, quick, living (stem kwiw-d), answer- 
 ing to Lat. uiu-us (for *guiu-us), Lithuan. gyw-as, Russ. 
 jiv-oi, alive. Cf. Gk. /3/o?, life, Skt.^Vz', to live. 
 
 Medially. E. nak-ed, A. S. nac-od, Goth, nakw-aths, a 
 past participial form. Allied to Russ. nag-oi, Skt. nag-na, 
 naked, O. Irish noch-t, naked. 
 
 'E.yoke, A. S. geoc; "LsX.jug-um, Gk. (vy-6v ; Skt. yug-a. 
 
 § 115. Teut. Hw (Goth. Aw, A, A. S. hw, h, E. wh, h) 
 < Aryan Q (Skt. k, ch, Gk. k, n, r, Lat. qu, c, v, Lith. and 
 Slav. /'). See § 104. 
 
 Initially. E. hew ; Lith. kow-a, battle, kau-ti, to fight, 
 Russ. kov-ate, to hammer ; cf. Lat. cu-d-ere, to beat. 
 
 E. heap, A. S. heap, heap, crowd ; Russ. kup-a, heap, 
 crowd ; Lith. kup-a, heap, crowd ; Lith. kaup-as, heap. 
 
 E. who, A. S. hwd ; Lat. qui, Lith. and Skt. who. 
 
 E. wheeze, A. S. hwes-an ; Lat. quer-i (pp. fues-tus), to 
 complain ; Skt. ^a^, to breathe hard. 
 
 E. while, A.S. Aw//; allied to Lat. qui-es, rest; cf. Gk. 
 Kti-fiai, I lie still, Skt. ft] to lie still. 
 
 Medially. E. light, s., A. S. leoht, Goth, liuh-ath, brightness ; 
 Lat. luc-ere, to shine, Gk. A«;fc-ds, white ; Skt. rwrA, to shine. 
 
1 34 
 
 GRIMM 9 S LAW. 
 
 [Chap. VIII. 
 
 § 116. Teut. Gw, G (Goth, g) < Aryan GHw (Skt. gh, h, 
 Gk. x, <£, Lat. ^, h,f{gu, v), Lith. and Slav.^-). See § 105. 
 
 Medially. E. nail, A.S. nceg-el; Russ. nog-ole, Lith. 
 nag -as ; Skt. nakh-a (for * nagh-a). 
 
 E. j/z'&j A.S. stig-el, from stig-an, to climb; cf. Gk. 
 aT€Lx-€Lv, to go, Skt. j/z^, to ascend. 
 
 § 117. Teut. T (/) < Aryan D (Skt. <f, Gk. 5, Lat. </, /). 
 
 Initially. E. tooth, A.S. (for *ton<J), Goth, tunthus; 
 Lat. acc. dent-em. 
 
 E. /aw* ; Lat. dom-are, Gk. dap-av, Skt. dfr/w, to tame. 
 
 E. timber, Goth. ti?n-r-jan, to build ; cf. Gk. dcp-civ, to 
 build. 
 
 E. /tor, s., Goth, /agr; Lat. lacrima, O. Lat. dacrima, 
 
 Gk. 8aKpv. 
 
 E. /tor, v., Goth. ga-lair-an ; Russ. dzr-0, a rent; Lithuan. 
 rf/r-tf, Gk. dep-eiv, to flay ; Pers. dar-idan, to tear. 
 
 E. /ra, Goth, /r/'tf ; Gk. fy>€-s, 0. Irish afozr, Welsh <fcrz#, 
 oak; Russ. drev-o, tree. 
 
 E. town, A.S. /«//, an enclosure; O. Irish dUn, a walled 
 town, Welsh din (whence din-as, a town). 
 
 E. tie, tow, v., tug\ cf. Lat. duc-ere, to draw. 
 
 E. tongue ; Lat. ling-ua, O. Lat. ding-ua. 
 
 E. Goth, taihun ; Lat. decern, Gk. Se/ca, Skt. dacan. 
 
 E. prep.; Russ. O. Irish to. 
 
 E. trea-d, tra-mp ; cf. Gk. dpa-vat, Skt. ^ra, to run. 
 
 E. A. S. twd ; Lat. Gk. 8vo, Russ. and Skt. 
 Irish da. 
 
 Finally and Medially. E. at, Goth, at; Lat. ad. 
 E. A.S. £/; Skt. ud, up, out. 
 
 E. eat, Goth. /'/-#// ; Lat. ed-ere, Gk. Skt. <z</, to 
 
 eat. 
 
 E. what ; Lat. quod, quid ; Skt. kad, what. 
 7L.foot\ Lat. acc. ped-em, Gk. acc. 71-08-a, Skt. /><z</. 
 E. fleet, float \ Lithuan. plud-au, I float. 
 E. bett-er, Goth. good ; Skt. bhad-ra, excellent. 
 
§ u8.] 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 135 
 
 E. bite) Lat. fi(n)d-ere,\o cleave, pt.t Jid-i, Skt. bhid, to cleave. 
 
 E. wat-er) Russ. vod-a, Gk. vd-cop, Skt. ud-an, water. 
 
 E. ott-er; Russ. vuid-ra, Lithuan. ud-ra, otter; Gk. vd-pa, 
 water-snake, whence E. hydra. 
 
 E. wit, weet, to know ; Russ. vid-iete, to see, Lat. uid-ere, 
 Gk. tS-€iy (for * fi8-civ), to see ; Skt. vid, to know, orig. 
 to see. E. wot = Gk. olh-a. 
 
 E. «/; Russ. sid-iete, Lat. sed-ere, Skt. ,sW, to sit ; Gk. 
 
 efo/xai (= * o-ed-yo-fxai), I sit. 
 
 E. swart, dark, black, Goth, swart-s ; allied to Lat. sord-es 
 (for * sword-es), dirt, whence sord-id-us, dirty ; surd-us, dim- 
 coloured. Cf. E. sordid, surd. 
 
 E. sweet \ Lat. sua-uis (= * suad-uis), pleasant; Gk. ^-vs 
 (= * a-fah-vs), sweet; Skt. svdd-u, sweet. Cf. p. suave. 
 
 E. sweat) Lat. sud-or (= * swid-or), Gk. tS-pa>9 (= * o-fiS- 
 pa)?), sweat ; Skt. to sweat, sved-a, sweat. 
 
 § 118. Teut. TH (Goth. th % d)= Aryan T (Skt. /, Gk. r, 
 Lat. /). See § 96. 
 
 Initial. E. that ; Lat. (is)-tud, Skt. 
 
 E, thatch, A. S. s. ; Lat. teg-ere, to cover ; Gk. rcy-os, 
 roof, arty-civ, to cover. Cf. E. tegument. 
 
 E. ; cf. O. Lat. tong-ere, to think. 
 
 E. /£tW ; Lat. te?i-uis, Russ. tonkii, Skt. thin. 
 
 E. thun-der ; Lat. ton-are, to thunder. 
 
 E. //for;/ ; Russ. /<?'rw^, black-thorn ; Polish tarn, thorn. 
 
 E. thirst ; Irish Skt. tarsha, thirst ; Gk. Tcpa-opai, I 
 am dry. 
 
 E. v. to endure (still in use provincially) ; Lat. tol- 
 erare, Gk. r\r\-vai. Cf. E. tolerate. 
 
 E. thick ; O. Irish tig-e, thickness, Hug, thick. 
 
 E. thou ; Russ. Irish tu, Lat. ; Pers. tu. 
 
 E. //for/ ; Lithuan. trob-a, a dwelling ; O. Irish treb, a 
 settlement, tribe ; G. Dor/. 
 
 E. threat-en ; Lat. trud-ere, to push, urge ; Russ. trud-ite, to 
 urge to work, vex. 
 
136 
 
 GRIMM'S LAW. 
 
 [Chap. VIII. 
 
 E. three ; Irish, Russ., Skt., tri\ Lat. ires, Gk. rpds. 
 
 Final and Medial. E. heath ; Lat. bu-cet-um, cow-pasture. 
 
 E. tooth) Lat. acc. dent-em, Welsh dant. 
 
 E. feath-er ; Gk. ncr-opai, I fly, Skt. pat-ra, feather ; Lat. 
 pen-na (for *pel-sna), a feather, whence E. pen. 
 
 E. murth-er (mur-der), A.S. mord-or, Goth, maurth-r) Lat. 
 acc. mort-em, death. Cf. E. mortal. 
 
 E. scathe-, cf. Skt. kshat-a, wounded. 
 
 § 119. Teut. D (<*)< Aryan DH (Skt. dh, d, Gk. (9, Lat. 
 init.y^ med. d, b, Lith., Slav., Irish d). 
 
 Initial. E. dare, Goth, dars, I dare ; Gk. Oapa-^iv, to be 
 bold, Russ. derz-ate, Skt. dhrsh, to dare. 
 
 E. dough, Goth, dig-an, to knead ; Lat. fing-ere, to mould ; 
 Skt. dfr'A (for * dhigh), to smear. Cf. E. feign, from the 
 French. 
 
 E. daughter ; Gk. Bvydrr^p ; Skt. duhitar (for * dhughitar). 
 
 E. dcwr ; Gk. 0up-a, Skt. dvdr-a (for * dhvdr-a), Russ. ; 
 O. Irish dor-us ; lu2X.for-es, pi., doors. 
 
 E. dp ; Gk. TL-Br)'pL, I set, put, place ; Skt. to put. 
 Hence E. doo-m, Gk. Oc-fus. 
 
 E. ^/r^, to hum; Gk. Oprjv-os, & dirge; Skt. dhran, to 
 sound. 
 
 Final and Medial. E. udd-er; Lat. ub-er (for *udh-er), 
 Gk. o\>6-ap, Skt. tidh-an, tidh-ar. 
 
 E. &zr</; Gk. Kpar-vs, strong ; Ionic Kapr-os, strength. 
 
 E. hide, A.S. hyd; Lat. cut-is, Gk. o-kut-os. 
 
 E. 3zW; Skt. &z#^ (for * bhandh), to bind ; Pers. bandan, 
 to bind ; Aryan bhendh. 
 
 E. red ; Gk. c-pv0-p6s, Lat. r«£-£r (for * rudh-er) ; Skt. 
 rudh-ira, blood ; O. Irish r#tf</, red. 
 
 E. wid-ow ; Lat. uid-ua, Skt. vidh-avd. 
 
 E. Z£w</; Lat. uerb-um (for * uerdh-um). Cf. Eng. verbal. 
 
 E. j/ziafe, A.S. slid-an, to slide, slid-or, slippery; Lith. j/^- 
 wj, slidd-us, shining, slippery. 
 
 But E. j&tftz 7 has d for ; cf. Goth, stath-s. It is allied to Lat. 
 
§ 120.] 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 *37 
 
 stat-io, a station; Skt. sthit-i (for * stit-i), an abode; § 118. 
 For similar examples, see §§ 129, 130. 
 
 § 120. Teut. P (p)< Aryan B (Skt. b, Gk. p, Lat. b)\ 
 See §§ 98, 100. 
 
 Initial. There is no example in which this change occurs 
 initially. 
 
 Final and Medial. E. app-le, A. S. cepp-el\ O. Irish 
 ad-all, ub-all, Lithuan. ob-olys, Russ. iab-loko. 
 
 E. clip, A. S. clypp-an, to embrace ; Lithuan. ab-gleb-li, to 
 embrace. 
 
 E. thorp ; Lith. trob-a, a dwelling, O. Irish a settle- 
 ment, tribe. 
 
 E. deep, Goth, diups ; Lith. dub-us, hollow, deep. 
 
 There seem, however, to be some clear cases in which 
 the Aryan P has practically remained unshifted in English. 
 This fact has been denied ; but I think it should be ad- 
 mitted, though there may be some special cause, such as 
 accent, to account for such exceptions to the general rule. 
 I subjoin examples 2 . 
 
 Initial. E. path, A. S. peed, pad ; Lat. pons, acc. pont-em, 
 a bridge, orig. a path, way ; Gk. ndr-os, a trodden way, path ; 
 Skt.palh-a (for *pal-a), a path. (See however Kluge, s.v. Pfad.) 
 
 Final and Medial. E. up, Goth, iup; Skt. up-a, near, 
 under, up-ari, over 3 . It can hardly be denied that the 
 Skt. upari, over, is allied to E. upper) and it is equally 
 certain that Skt. upari corresponds to Goth, u/ar, E. over. 
 In fact, upper and over are mere variants, and an upper-coat 
 is an over- coat. In the former case, the Aryan P remains 
 
 1 There seem to be also some cases in which Teut. P = Aryan P ; see 
 further. 
 
 3 Some have even asserted that an initial p is impossible in English, 
 and that every E. word beginning with p must be borrowed ! Yet none 
 will deny that / occurs finally in native words, as e. g. in up, sharp, 
 warp, shape ; and if finally, why not initially ? 
 
 3 The ideas of 1 under ' and * over 1 are mixed ; cf. Lat. sub, under, 
 sup-cr, over. Motion from beneath is an apivard motion. 
 
1 3 8 
 
 GRIMM'S LAW, 
 
 [Chap. VIII. 
 
 unshifted; in the latter case, it is shifted regularly. The 
 only reason for assuming that the Aryan P must be shifted 
 lies in the notion that all the nine Aryan sounds — g, k, 
 gh, d, t, th, b, p, bh — must always be shifted in Teutonic. 
 I look on the occasional apparent unshifting of p as a fact, 
 which has only been denied lest Grimm's Law should seem 
 imperfect. Yet we have already seen how very imperfectly 
 the second shifting, from Low to High German, was carried 
 out. See the examples below. 
 
 E. heap, A. S. heap (G. Hauf-e) ; Lithuan. kaup-as, Russ. 
 kup-a, a heap. (Kluge admits this relationship, but notes 
 the irregularity.) 
 
 E. sharp) allied to Lat. scalp-ere, to cut, Gk. a-Kop-rr-Los, a. 
 stinging insect, scorpion. (In this case the shifting is pre- 
 vented by the preceding r or /). See Fick, i. 811. 
 
 E. step ; Russ. slop-a, a foot-step. (Here Kluge assumes 
 double forms for the root, viz. stab and stap.) 
 
 I believe that further instances might be given. I suppose, 
 for example, that our word to shape comes, without shifting, 
 from an Aryan root skap, to cut ; and that our word shave is 
 merely the same word in a shifted form. But here again, 
 double root-forms, skab and skap, are assigned. 
 
 § 121. Teut. PH (Goth. fb)< Aryan P (Skt. p, Gk. ir, 
 L&t.p). Examples are numerous. 
 
 Initial. E. father ; hat. pater, Gk. nar^p, Skt. pilar, Pers. 
 pidar. 
 
 ~E.foot \ Lat. acc. ped-em, Gk. acc. n6d-a, Skt.pdd,pad, Pers. 
 pa, pdi. 
 
 E. feather ; Gk. TVTepov (for * ner-cpov), wing, Skt. palra, 
 wing, feather. 
 
 ~E.falh-om ; cf. Lat pal- ere, to spread, open ; Gk. 7T€T-dwvp.i. 
 E. fare; Gk. 7rop-cvop.cn, I travel, nop-os, 2l way; Lat. 
 ex-per-ior, I pass through, whence E. experience. 
 
 E.for, prep. ; Lat. pro, Gk. npo ; Skt. pra, before, away. 
 E. farrow, from A. S.fearh, a pig; Lat. porc-us (E. pork). 
 
§ 122.] 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 1 39 
 
 E. full ; Russ. pol-nuii, Skt. pur-na, full. Cf. Gk. noX-vs, 
 
 7rXrj-pr)s. 
 
 IL.fell, s., skin ; Lat. pell-is, Gk. 7re'XX-a. 
 
 ~E.foal, A.S.fola; Lat. pull-us, young of an animal, Gk. 
 
 7T(o\-OS. 
 
 E. -fold, as in twofold) cf. Gk. &-7rXa<no? (for * Si-TrXdr^os), 
 
 double, two-fold. 
 
 IL.fall; cf. Lat. (for * sfall-i), to err; Gk. acj)d\\-€tp, 
 to cause to fall, Skt. j^Atf/ (for * spal), to tremble. (Initial j 
 lost.) 
 
 Y,.few m y Lat. pau-cus, few, pau-lus, little. 
 IL.fish; Lat. pisc-is, O. Irish /<2j<r (for * piasc). 
 IL.fou-l; Lat. pu-lid-us, stinking ; Skt. to stink. 
 HL. fire ; Gk. 7r0/). 
 
 IL.fee, Goth, faihu, cattle ; Lat. pecus, Skt. /><7f#, cattle. 
 
 E. friend, Goth, fri-jonds, lit. ' loving ' ; Skt. />/7, to love. 
 
 E. freeze, Goth, frius-an ; Skt. prush, plush, to burn. Cf. 
 Lat. pru-ina, hoar-frost, pru-na, a burning coal. 
 
 IL.fiow; allied to Lat. pluu-ia, rain, Russ. plu-ite, to sail, 
 float ; Gk. 7r\e-civ, Skt. to swim. Cf. E. plover. 
 
 Final and Medial. Note that, in mod. E., the A. S. / 
 usually appears as v. Even <?/* is pronounced ov. 
 
 E. ^ off, A. S. 0/; Goth, af; Lat. tf£ (for * ap\ Gk. qtt-o, 
 Skt. o/>-tf, from. 
 
 E. over, A. S. ofer, Goth. w/frr ; Skt. upari, above. 
 
 E. reave, be-reave, A. S. re'af-ian, to strip, plunder ; allied to 
 Lat. ru{ni)p-ere, pt. t. rup-i, to break ; Skt. lup (for * rup), to 
 break, spoil. Our E. loot, plunder, is a Hindi word of Skt. 
 origin, from Skt. lolra, loplra, plunder, a derivative of lup, to 
 break, also to spoil. 
 
 E. shave, A. S. sceaf-an, Goth, skab-an ; Lith. skap-6ti, to 
 shave, cut ; Gk. a-Kan-reiv, to cut a trench, dig. See remarks 
 at the end of § 120. 
 
 § 122. Teut. B (b) < Aryan BH (Skt. bh, Gk. Lat./ 
 //, b ; Pers., Slav., Irish b). 
 
140 
 
 GRIMM'S LAW. 
 
 [Chap. VIII. 
 
 Initial. E. lane, A. S. ban-a, a murderer ; cf. Gk. (frop-os, 
 death, murder; O. Irish ben-aim, I strike. 
 
 E. beech, book, A. S. boc, beech; fag-us, Gk. <£f?y-os. 
 
 E. beit-er (comparative) ; Goth, bats, good ; Skt. bhad-ra, 
 excellent. 
 
 E. bind', Skt. bandh (for * bhandh), to bind, Pers. band-an, 
 to bind. 
 
 E. bear, v. ; Lat. fer-re, Gk. fop-civ, Skt. 3&zr, to bear ; 
 Pers. bur-dan, to carry ; O. Irish ber-im, I bear. 
 
 E. brother ; Lat. /rater, Gk. <t>paTrjp, Skt. bhrdtar, Russ. 3r<2/', 
 O. Irish brdthir, Pers. birddar. 
 
 E. fo/v, v. ; Y,2X.for-are, to bore, Pers. bur-idan, to cut. 
 
 E. Lat. fi(n)d-ere, pt. tfid-i, Skt. Mztf, to cleave. 
 
 E. beaver) Lithuan. bebrus, Russ. ^ni. fiber. 
 
 E. 3/>rA (tree), Mercian fo'r^, A. S. ; Russ. bereza ; 
 Skt. bhurja, a kind of birch-tree. 
 
 E. A. S. ; Russ. bu-ite, to be, bu-du, I shall be ; 
 Lat.yW*?, to be, fu-i, I was ; Gk. <\>v-eiv, Pers. bu-dan, Skt. 
 to be. 
 
 E. £rra£, Goth, brik-an ; Lat. fra(n)g-ere, pt. t. freg-i, 
 to break. Cf. E. fragment, from the same root. 
 
 E. £r0z#; Russ. brove, Gk. o-<£pvy ; Pers. a-3rz2, Skt. bhrti. 
 
 E. v., A. S. brtic-an, to enjoy; L,a.t.frui, pp.fructus, 
 
 ( = * frug-tus), to enjoy, frug-es, fruit, Skt. (= * bhug, 
 for * bhrug), to enjoy. Cf. Y.. fruit, from the French. 
 
 E. £/0z#, (as wind) ; Lat. fla-re. 
 
 E. A. S. £fer, orig. sense 1 burnt 1 or ' scorched by 
 
 fire ' ; Lat. flag-rare, to burn ; Gk. <f>\ey-€ip, to burn ; Skt. 
 bharg-as, light, brightness. Cf. E. flagrant. 
 
 E. blow (as a flower); Lat. flo-s, a flower, flo-r-ere, to 
 flourish ; O. Irish bld-the, bloom, bldth, a flower. 
 
 Final and Medial. The Teut. final b, preserved in 
 Gothic, is weakened to v (written f) in Anglo-Saxon. In 
 a few words, such as turf, the v is strengthened to f by its 
 position. This A. S.f usually becomes ve in modern English. 
 
§ 122.] 
 
 EXAMPLES, 
 
 141 
 
 E. carve, A. S. ceorf-an, G. kerb-en ; Gk. ypdcp-cw, to scratch, 
 grave, inscribe, write *. Cf. 0. Irish cerb-aim, I cut. 
 
 E. calf ; Gk. Ppty-os (for * ypty-os), foetus, foal, whelp, cub, 
 calf : Skt. garbh-a, foetus. 
 
 E. cleave, to split, A. S. cUofan, Icel. kljuf-a ; Gk. y\v<f>-€iv, 
 to hollow out, engrave, Lat. glub-ere (for * glubh-ere), to peel. 
 (We speak of cleavage with relation to splitting in layers, 
 like peel.) 
 
 E. and A. S. turf; prob. related to Skt. darbh-a, a kind of 
 matted grass. 
 
 E. nave (of a wheel), A. S. nafa, naf-u ; Skt. ndbh-i, navel, 
 nave of a wheel. 
 
 E. beaver, A. S. befer ; Russ. bobr', Lat. fiber ; Skt. babhru, 
 a large ichneumon. 
 
 E. lief, dear, A. S. leof Goth. ; Russ. liob-oi, agreeable, 
 liob-o, it pleases; Lat. lub-et, it pleases; Skt. lubh, to covet, 
 desire. 
 
 E. weave, A. S. wefan ; Gk. ^-17 (for * fefy-n), a web ; 
 Skt. vdbh-is, a weaver, in the comp. urna-vabhis, a spider, lit. 
 ' wool-weaver/ cited by Curtius. 
 
 E. shove, A. S. scof-ian, weak verb, allied to scHf-an, 
 to shove, strong verb ; Skt. kshobh-a (for * skobhd), agitation, 
 kshubh (= * skubh), to become agitated. 
 
 1 Grave and fam seem to be variants from the same root, viz. Aryan 
 skarbh ; carve keeps the K (s being lost) ; whilst A. S. graf-an and 
 Gk. ypa<p-eiv shew a weakening from k to 7. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 « 
 
 Consonantal Shifting : Verner's Law. 
 
 § 123. In Chapter VII I have given Grimm's Law in the 
 usual form. The original notion, as started by Rask and 
 Grimm, seems to have been that, at some extremely early 
 period, the Parent (or Aryan) Speech split up into three 
 systems, well distinguished by three different habits of using 
 the chief consonants. And, in some mysterious way, this 
 happened, perhaps, contemporaneously. It is obvious that 
 nothing of the kind could ever have taken place. All ex- 
 perience shews that sound-changes take place but slowly, and 
 new habits take long to form. Indeed, the assumption that 
 the three systems took their rise contemporaneously is as 
 needless as it is unlikely. Further, it is not a good plan to 
 talk about the shifting of Sanskrit forms into Teutonic ; for 
 it is quite certain that the Sanskrit forms are often themselves 
 of a degraded type. The shifting took place, not from San- 
 skrit or Greek, nor even from the ' classical ' languages con- 
 sidered collectively, but from the Aryan or Parent Speech. 
 At what time the Low German languages shifted the Aryan 
 sounds, we cannot say; but we at least know that it must 
 have been in a very early prehistoric period, since the Gothic 
 of the fourth century shews the shifting almost wholly carried 
 out. It is perfectly safe to say that it took place soon after 
 the Christian era at the latest. On the other hand, the 
 shifting from the Low German sounds to the High German 
 ones was not only much later, but can be historically traced. 
 Many of the oldest High German poems abound with Low 
 German forms. The celebrated ' Strasburgh Oath/ dated 
 
§ 123.1 
 
 CONSONANTAL SHIFTING. 
 
 1 43 
 
 842, has dag (not tag) for May'; godes (not gottes) as the 
 genitive of ' god/ though the nominative is got) thing (not 
 for ' thing/ Otfrid's metrical version of the Gospel 
 history has dohter, daughter, duan, to do, thanken, to thank, 
 t/iurst, thirst, &c. ; yet Otfrid was only born a few years 
 before a. d. 800. As an exact date is hardly possible, it is 
 enough to say that this shifting, begun about a. d. 600, was 
 still going on in the ninth century. I cannot do better than 
 quote the words of Strong and Meyer, in their History of the 
 German Language, 1886, p. 70. 
 
 'The High German language, though belonging to the West 
 Teutonic group, is yet divided from the other members of this 
 group, as well as from those of the East Teutonic, by a process 
 of consonantal sound-shifting which in many respects bears 
 great similarity to that which separates all the Teutonic lan- 
 guages from the other Indo-European languages. It is there- 
 fore sometimes called the second sound-shifting process. This 
 process set in about 600 A.D., originating in the mountains of 
 South Germany, and began thence to spread southwards and 
 northwards, affecting the languages of the Langobards, Alemans, 
 Swabians, Bavarians, and Franks, until it gradually came to 
 a standstill in the regions of the lower Rhine. Taking these 
 sound-changes as a test, we call all Teutonic languages and 
 dialects that were affected by them High German, and all those 
 left unaffected by them we call Low German. 
 
 'This whole sound-shifting process was, however, nowhere 
 consistently carried out. While the dentals are consistently 
 shifted on the entire High German territory, excepting alone in 
 the Middle-Franconian dialect, the shifting of gutturals in an- 
 laut and in auslaut [i.e. initially and finally] after consonants 
 is confined to the so-called Upper German dialects, and that 
 of initial labials ceases to operate in the Rheno-Franconian 
 dialect.' 
 
 It follows that High German was originally, as regards the 
 use of its consonants, in complete accordance with Low 
 German ] , so that its later characteristics are, comparatively, 
 
 1 ' The dialectal separation between South and North German . . . 
 must have begun about the year 600 . . . Dutch, English, Danish, 
 
144 
 
 VERNER'S LAW. 
 
 [Chap. IX. 
 
 of no particular importance to the student of early English. 
 It was natural that Grimm should include it in his scheme, 
 but it would have been better to treat it separately, because 
 the facts had to be forced to try to make the scheme look 
 complete. It is not only more convenient, but absolutely 
 more scientific, to leave it out of consideration in taking a 
 survey of the consonantal system of the Aryan languages. 
 We then have only to deal with one fact, viz. that the Low 
 German languages, or (to speak with perfect exactness) the 
 Teutonic languages generally, shifted the Aryan (not merely 
 the 'classical') sounds according to a formula which may 
 roughly be denoted by the following symbols, viz. GHw> 
 Gw>Q>KHw(Hw); GH >G>K>KH(H) ; DH >D> 
 T>TH; and BH > B > P > PH(F). Let it be noted that 
 the symbol > means ' older than 9 or ' passes into/ in accord- 
 ance with its algebraical value of 1 greater than/ 
 
 § 124. The real discovery made by Rask and Grimm was, 
 briefly, this. They practically said — ' It is not enough to ob- 
 serve that the Latin ires corresponds to E. three, or the Latin 
 tu to the English thou ; these are only special instances of 
 a great general law, that a Latin initial / corresponds to an 
 English initial th, whatever the word may be ; and, similarly, 
 for other letters/ This grand generalisation was an enormous 
 advance, because it sowed the notion that languages have 
 laws, and that there is regular correspondence between such 
 of them as are related. Possibly they may have regarded 
 rather the letters or symbols than the sounds for which they 
 stood ; and, in fact, this is the easiest way of beginning, and 
 the only way that can be perfectly explained to the eye. At 
 the same time, the true philologist must really deal with the 
 sounds themselves, and it only is by a recognition of this all- 
 important truth that most modern advances in the science of 
 
 Swedish, and Norwegian . . . have really kept to the original form of 
 Germanic speech, whilst High German has separated itself from this 
 common foundation.' — Scherer, Hist. Germ. Lit., i. 35. 
 
§ «5.] 
 
 GRIMM'S LAW. 
 
 145 
 
 languages have been made. The symbol is a mere make- 
 shift; the sound is subject to real physiological laws which 
 are of primary importance, and frequently, or as some would 
 say, invariably, act with surprising regularity \ The best plan 
 is to regard the formulae of sound-shifting, in § 107, as fur- 
 nishing a convenient empirical rule, which should, in every 
 case of word-comparison, be carefully considered. The facts 
 themselves are nearly two thousand years old, and Grimm's 
 Law only formulates them conveniently. I have already 
 observed that * the popular notions about Grimm's Law are 
 extremely vague. Many imagine that Grimm made the law 
 not many years ago, since which time Latin and Anglo-Saxon 
 have been bound to obey it. But the word law is then 
 strangely misapprehended ; it is only a law in the sense of 
 an observed fact. Latin and Anglo-Saxon were thus differen- 
 tiated in times preceding the earliest record of the latter, and 
 the difference might have been observed in the eighth century 2 
 if any one had had the wits to observe it. When the differ- 
 ence has been once perceived, and all other A.S. and Latin 
 equivalent words are seen to follow it, we cannot consent to 
 establish an exception to the rule in order to compare a 
 single (supposed) pair of words [such as E. care, A.S. cearu, 
 and Lat. cura, O. Latin coira] which did not agree in the 
 vowel-sound, and did not originally mean the same thing 3 / 
 
 § 125. It is extremely important to observe here that, after 
 all, several of the above supposed shiftings are not really 
 confined to the Teutonic branch of Languages. Take, for 
 example, the word brother, Skt. bhrdtar. Here the Aryan 
 BH is only kept in the Skt. bhrdtar, Gk. ^parrjp, and the Lat. 
 
 1 Exceptions are regarded as due to the external influence of forms 
 which seem to be in the same category. Thus A. S. ware is now wert, 
 because we already had art, shalt, wilt. 
 
 2 Some of the spellings in Alfred's translation of Orosius are not 
 a little remarkable. He writes GatSes for Lat. Gadcs, Media for Media, 
 Athlans for Atlas ; Pidgoras are ' Bulgarians,' Crecas are ' Greeks,' &c. 
 
 3 Pref. to Etym. Diet., p. xxiv. 
 
 VOL. I. L 
 
146 
 
 verner's law. 
 
 [Chap. IX, 
 
 frater ; it is B that appears in Russ. braf (spelt bratru in the 
 Old Church-Slavonic), O. Irish brdthair, Lith. broh's, Pers. 
 birddar (Zend and O. Pers. brdtar) as well as in the Gothic 
 brothar. In this respect the table given in § 107 is very sig- 
 nificant; and, in fact, the weakening of bh to b occurs in 
 Sanskrit itself, as in band/i, for bhandh, to bind. Latin often 
 has d for Aryan DH, and g for GH ; and, in the same way, 
 the E. door goes with Russ. dvere, and O. Irish dorus, as dis- 
 tinct from the Gk. 6vp-a\ whilst the A.S. nag-el, a nail, goes 
 with Russ. nog-o/e, Lithuan. nag-as, a nail, as distinct from 
 Skt. nakh-a, itself a variant for *nagh-a. Certainly, the three 
 shiftings expressed by GH>G, DH>D, and BH>B are 
 natural simplifications which can surprise nobody. For 
 whatever sounds were denoted by GH, DH, BH, it is fair to 
 suppose that they were more difficult of utterance than the 
 sounds denoted by G, D, and B only. Further, the Teutonic 
 symbol KH merely meant h, so that the formula K>KH 
 really represents a change from k to h, and of these two 
 sounds k requires the greater effort. There is, no doubt, 
 some difficulty about such changes as G>K, D>T*; but 
 they were probably due to a striving after distinctness, in 
 order to separate the original G and D from the degraded 
 instances of GH and DH. They are not more won- 
 derful than the Highlander's pronunciation of very good as 
 fery coot. Without pursuing this subject further, I will 
 merely observe that, in Anglo-Saxon, the Greeks are called 
 Cre as quite as often as they are called Gre'cas. The 
 Gothic bishop Wulfila called them Krekos. 
 
 § 126. Verner's Law. Notwithstanding all exceptions, 
 some of which are real and some apparent, the Teutonic- 
 sound-shiftings exhibit, upon the whole, a surprising regu- 
 larity ; and every anomaly deserves careful consideration, 
 because we may possibly learn from it some useful lesson. 
 
 1 I do not here include the change denoted by B > P, which is, in 
 any case, very rare. 
 
§ 127-] 
 
 EFFECT OF ACCENT, 
 
 147 
 
 It was just by taking this scientific view that the remarkable 
 law called ' Verner's Law ' was discovered, which I now pro- 
 ceed to explain and illustrate. The particular anomaly 
 which it explains is well exemplified by comparing the Lat. 
 pater ; mater, f rater, Skt. pitar, mdtar, bhrdtar, with their Teu- 
 tonic equivalents. In modern English we have father, mother, 
 brother y because constant association has given the words the 
 same ending -ther, but this is not the case in Anglo-Saxon, 
 nor even in Middle English 1 . The Chaucer MSS. have 
 fader, moder, brother, in agreement, with A.S. feeder, mddor, 
 brodor, O. Friesic feder, moder, brother, O. Saxon fadar, 
 modar, brothar, Gothic fadar, brothar (the Gothic word for 
 ' mother ' being aithei). I may add, on the authority of Dr. 
 Peile, whose assistance in describing Verner's Law I thank- 
 fully acknowledge, that the dialect of S.W. Cumberland still 
 employs the words fader, mudder, brother, in accordance with 
 Anglo-Saxon. It is quite certain that the true Teutonic types 
 of these three words are fader, moder, brother, whilst Un- 
 true Aryan types are pater, mater, bhrater. The last of these 
 shews the shifting T>TH, whilst the two former shew T >D. 
 Here is something worth investigation. There should be 
 some reason for this ; and the problem is, to discover it. 
 
 § 127. Various answers might be suggested, but the true 
 reason was given by Karl Verner, of Copenhagen, in July, 
 1875, and was published in Kuhn's Zeitschrift, vol. xxiii. 
 p. 97 (1877). Perhaps the first thought that might occur to 
 any one who takes up the problem would be this, viz. that 
 the Lat. pater differs from f rater in having a short vowel in 
 the former syllable, whilst the a in f rater is long. Unluckily, 
 this breaks down at once, because the a in mater is long, 
 which links it with the wrong word. Verner shews that no 
 cause which commonly operates in language is capable of 
 causing these variations except one — and that is accent. If 
 
 1 It is not easy to find examples of father, mother before 1500. Lit 
 (he reader try. 
 
 L 2 
 
i 4 8 
 
 verner's law. 
 
 [Chap. IX. 
 
 we turn to Gk., we find the words to be irarfip 1 firjrrjp, cfrpdrrip 
 (with long a), which still links prjrrjp with ^ar^p, not with 
 rraTrjp ; but the fact is, that the Greek does not in this instance 
 represent the original Aryan accent, though it is often a good 
 guide. Sanskrit, on the contrary, gives the facts rightly, and 
 solves the difficulty. In Sanskrit, the true old nominatives 
 were flila-r, mdla'r, bhrd'tar (first a long), when the dot after 
 a vowel denotes that it was accented. That is to say, pilar 
 and mdtar were accented on the latter syllable, but bhrdtar 
 upon the former. Hence we deduce this tentative or pro- 
 visional rule : — 
 
 If the Aryan K, T, or P immediately follows the 
 position of the accent, it shifts regularly to the Low 
 German h, th, or f ; but if the accent has any other 
 position, it becomes (as it were by a double shifting) 
 g, d, or b. 
 
 To this it must be added, by way of necessary explanation, 
 that the Aryan and Sanskrit (and indeed the Greek) accent 
 was at first, at least predominantly, an accent of pitch, and 
 concerned the tone of the voice, having nothing to do with the 
 length or ' quantity ' of a syllable, nor yet with stress, as in 
 modern English. Verner thinks that the Teutonic accent was 
 one of stress also, not of pitch only ; so that the stress falling 
 upon the vowel of an accented syllable preserved the con- 
 sonant which followed it from further change beyond its first 
 shifting. Otherwise, the consonant following an unaccented 
 syllable suffered further change. Thus the Teutonic bro*- 
 ther, accented on the former syllable, kept its th unchanged ; 
 but the Teutonic fathe'R, accented (in the earliest period) 
 on the latter syllable, suffered a further change of th to d, 
 thus becoming fader. 
 
 § 128. Verner's Law (in the original German). I 
 ought to say that I have only stated Verner's Law, as given 
 above, in a popular way. His own words shall now be given. 
 ' Indogerm. k, l,p, gingen erst iiberall in h, th f f uber ; die so 
 
§ 129.] 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 149 
 
 enstandenen fricativge nebst der vom Indogermanischen 
 ererbten tonlosen fricativa s wurden weiter inlautend bei 
 tonenden nachbarschaft selbst tonend, erhielten sich aber als 
 tonlose im nachlaute betonter Silben/ I. e. 1 The Aryan k, t, 
 p, first of all shifted into h, th, and f ; the fricatives thus 
 produced (together with the voiceless fricative s when in- 
 herited from the Aryan) afterwards became, when medial and 
 in voiced company, themselves voiced [i. e. changed to g, d, 
 b, 0] ; but remained unchanged when following an accented 
 syllable/ It may be added that the z, thus produced from 
 s, further changed into r in Anglo-Saxon. It is also worth 
 observing in this place, that it is precisely because Verner's 
 Law explains the change of s to z as well as the change of 
 k, t, and p to g, d, and b, that his explanation has been ac- 
 cepted without question. 
 
 § 129. Examples. The use of the Law consists in its 
 wide application, and the proof of it lies in the fact that it 
 explains a large number of anomalies that had frequently 
 been noticed, and had never before received any satisfactory 
 explanation. It has already been shewn to explain the differ- 
 ence in form between the A. S. broSor, brother, and the A. S. 
 fader, m6dor, in which the 3 has been further weakened to 
 d, owing to the fact that the original Teutonic accent fell 
 upon the latter syllable of those words, whereas in the case of 
 brofior, it fell upon the former syllable. But it explains a 
 great deal more than this. For example the Skt. a'nlara, 
 other, was accented on the first syllable ; hence the Teutonic 
 form was a'nthero, with the same accent, whence A. S. 63er l , 
 E. other, with th for /, and no further change. On the other 
 hand, the Skt. anta-r, within, was accented on the latter 
 syllable; hence the Teut. form was first anthe-r and 
 
 1 The A. S. form was originally, *anthcr ; but, as A. S. changes an 
 into on, it became *onther ; and again, because A. S. drops n before th, 
 it became 66er, the vowel being lengthened to compensate for the loss 
 of n. Cf. t68, tooth, for * tand, Lat. dent-em. 
 
verner's law. 
 
 [Chap. IX. 
 
 secondly ande'r, whence the A. S. under, E. under, with a slight 
 change of sense. (The G. unter is still often used precisely 
 like the Lat. inter) Grimm's Law would have made the 
 Teut. form anther. Once more, the Skt. cruta- (Gk. kKvtos), 
 heard, from cru, to hear, was accented on the latter syllable ; 
 the corresponding Teut. form was first hlutha*, and secondly 
 hluda', whence A. S. hlud, E. loud. Grimm's Law would 
 have made it louth. Yet again ; the Skt. sphdtv (=spfiali, for 
 * spall), signifying 1 increase/ was accented on the latter 
 syllable ; the corresponding Teutonic word was first spothi*, 
 and secondly spodi*, which (by a rule of vowel-change to be 
 explained hereafter) became the A. S. sped, E. speed. Grimm's 
 Law would have made it speeth. On the other hand, the Skt. 
 drya, venerable, honourable, gives a sb. drya'-ld, honourable- 
 ness, accented on the second syllable, i.e. the accent just pre- 
 cedes the suffix -la. Hence the corresponding suffix in 
 Teutonic was -tha, which usually suffered no further change. 
 This is the suffix so common in English, as in weal-th, 
 lieal- th, streng-th, &c. To take another instance, we may 
 exemplify the curious change of j to 0 and r, as to which 
 Grimm's Law says nothing ; it only occurs where s has been 
 voiced to z because the accent does not precede it. 
 
 Sanskrit causal verbs are formed by adding the suffix -ay a, 
 as in bhar-aya, to cause to bear, from bhv, to bear. This 
 suffix is an accented one, having an accent on the former a. 
 The corresponding suffix in Teutonic is -Jan or -tan, which 
 also originally took the accent, so that causal verbs in Teu- 
 tonic were at first accented on the suffix, not on the root. 
 Hence, from the verb rise, A. S. ris-an \ was formed a causal 
 verb *rds-ian, in which, by Verner's Law, the s became first 
 z and afterwards r; in fact, we meet with it only in the con- 
 tracted form rdr-an, mod. E. rear. Here Verner's Law at 
 
 1 The mark over the i denotes length only. It has nothing to do 
 with the peculiar Teutonic accent here discussed. So also in the case 
 of rds-ian, &c, the mark still denotes vowel-length only. 
 
ANGLO-SAXON GRAMMAR. 
 
 once explains how the E. verb to rear is the correct causal 
 form of the verb to rise ; i. e. the original sense of rear was 
 simply 1 to make to rise/ and the form is quite correct. But 
 there is a still more striking fact yet to come. This is, that 
 the Icelandic often preserves s unchanged, and does not 
 always shift it to r\ Hence, the Icelandic causal verb of 
 rzs-a, to rise, happens to be reis-a 2 , a form which has actually 
 been borrowed by English, and is still in common use as 
 raise (pronounced raiz). In other words, Verner's Law not 
 only accounts for the variation in form between rear and 
 raise, but enables us to trace them to the same Teutonic 
 form raisjan ; in fact, it tells us all we want to know. 
 Instances might be multiplied almost indefinitely ; it is suf- 
 ficent to say that Verner's Law is most admirable and 
 satisfactory, because it fully explains so many cases in which 
 Grimm's Law seems to fail. 
 
 § 130. Points in A. S. Grammar. There are some 
 points in A. S. grammar which Verner's Law explains, and 
 which are too important to be passed over. Thus, among 
 the verbs of the * drive - conjugation ' (see Sweet's A. S. 
 Grammar) is the verb snid-an, to cut (G. schneiden). The past 
 tense singular is ic sndd, I cut, but the past tense plural is 
 we snid-on, we cut, and the pp. is snid-en ; where sm'd-on, 
 snid-en, shew a change from 3 to d. The explanation is the 
 same as before, viz. that the original accent fell on the former 
 syllable of smd-an and on the only remaining syllable of sndd, 
 but on the latter syllable of snidon and sniden. Turning to 
 Sanskrit, this is at once verified. The Skt bind, to break or 
 cleave, has the pt. t. bi-bhe'd-a with accent on the root ; whilst 
 the first person plural of the same tense is bi-bhid-ima\ with 
 the accent on the last syllable. The pp. is bhin-na-, also 
 accented on the final vowel. Precisely in the same way, the 
 
 1 Thus Icel. kjdsa, to choose, has both kosinn and kjdrinn in the pp. 
 
 2 The Icel. s, both in r!sa and reisa, is pronounced as s, not z ; so 
 that it could not pass into r. 
 
152 
 
 VERNER'S LAW. 
 
 4 
 
 [Chap. IX. 
 
 verb ceosan, to choose, has for the first person singular of the 
 past tense the form c/as ; but the plural suffered change, first 
 into *cuzon,- and secondly into cufon; which is the only form 
 found. We can now easily foretell that the pp. was not cosen, 
 but cor en, as was in fact the case ; the modern E. has restored 
 the s (by ' form-association 9 with the infinitive choose), so that 
 we now have chosen. This remarkable r is still preserved in 
 the word forlorn, which has been isolated from the verb to 
 which it belongs. It was once a pp., answering to A. S.for- 
 loren, pp. of for-leosan, where for- is an intensive prefix, and 
 leosan is closely connected with (but not quite the same word 
 as) our verb to lose. Hence for-lorn meant, originally, utterly 
 Jost, left quite destitute. Some other facts which Verner s Law 
 explains, may be also mentioned here. The Gothic infinitive 
 of the verb ' to slay 9 is slahan, contracted in A. S. to sledn ; 
 the A. S. pt. t. (i p. s.) is sloh (with h 1 ), but the plural is 
 slogon, and the pp. slagen (with g), E. slain. Lastly, the 
 Greek accents suffice to help us to the form of the A. S. com- 
 parative. Gk. has rj&vs, sweet, but in the comparative the 
 accent is thrown back (where it can be) upon the root, as 
 seen in the neuter fjdiov (cf. the superlative fjdio-Tos) ; and, in 
 correspondence with this, we find the Gothic comparative 
 from the base bat- (good) is not bal-vsa (with s), but ba'l-iza 
 (with z). Consequently, the A. S. turns the Teutonic suffix 
 -izo into -ira, -era, -ra, as in bet-ra, E. beti-er ; and generally, 
 all our mod. E. comparatives end in -er, whilst the superlatives 
 end in -est, because the s is protected from change by the 
 following /. Cf. Goth, bat-ist-s, best, Gk. fjS-io-T-os, sweetest. 
 
 § 131. Vedic Accentuation. It is a singular result of 
 Verner's Law, that a knowledge of the A. S. conjugational 
 forms will sometimes enable us to give a good guess as to the 
 accentuation of a Sanskrit word in the Rig- Veda ! Let us 
 try an example. We find, in A. S., that the verb Md-an, to 
 
 1 Misprinted slog in the Grammar in Sweet's A. S. Reader ; but the 
 Glossary to the same gives references to sldh. 
 
§ I33J 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 153 
 
 travel, makes the past tense lad, pi. lid-on, pp. lid-en ; and we 
 further find that the past tense of the subjunctive mood takes 
 the form lid-e, pi. lid-en. We should therefore expect that, 
 in the corresponding Sanskrit tenses, the accent falls on the 
 suffix rather than on the root-syllable ; accordingly, we find 
 that, in the first person plural of the second preterite, the 
 accent falls on the last syllable, as in bibhidimcr, we clove 
 (§ 130); and in the perfect potential tense, the accent falls 
 upon the suffix -yam, as in bibhidyd'm, pf. potent, of bhid, to 
 cleave. 
 
 § 132. General Results. The following are the general 
 results given by Verner, with reference to the above Law. 
 They merely state it in a different form. 
 
 1. Even after the occurrence of the first consonantal 
 shifting, the Teutonic languages preserved the original Aryan 
 accentuation. 
 
 2. But in these languages, accent was no longer a mere 
 pitch or tone of the voice, but actual stress, perhaps accom- 
 panied by pitch. 
 
 3. Whenever k, t, p appear in Teutonic sometimes as h, 
 th, f, and sometimes as g, d, b, such variation is due to the 
 old Aryan accentuation. 
 
 4. Whenever s appears in Teutonic sometimes as s and 
 sometimes as z (or r), such variation is due to the same 
 cause. 
 
 We thus see that Verner's Law goes farther than Grimm's, 
 and explains cases in which the latter seems to fail. We 
 may also notice that Sanskrit preserves the original Aryan 
 accentuation, which Greek frequently fails to do. It is also 
 noteworthy that Gothic has frequently levelled, or rendered 
 uniform, its shifted forms, being in this respect a less faithful 
 representative of the original Teutonic than either Anglo- 
 Saxon or Icelandic. 
 
 § 133. Examples. A few examples are added, by way of 
 illustration. 
 
i54 
 
 verner's law. 
 
 [Chap. IX. 
 
 Gutturals. We find g for h in the A. S. pt. t. pi. slog-on, 
 from slean (Goth, slah-an), to slay ; whilst the pt. t. sing, is 
 sloh, regularly. So also in the pt. t. pi. pwog-on of pw/an 
 (Goth, thwah-an), to wash ; whilst the pt. t. sing, is pw6h 
 (Matt, xxvii. 24). So, too, in the pp. of these verbs, we find 
 slag-en, pwag-en, not * slah-en, * pwah-en. 
 
 Dentals. Examples of d for th (p) are more numerous 
 and important. Thus, the Skt. triiya, third, is accented on 
 the second, not the first syllable ; hence the Goth, form is 
 not * pripja, but pridja, with which cf. A. S. pridd-a, M. E. 
 thrid, mod. E. third. This change does not apply to the 
 other ordinal numbers on account of their peculiar forms ; 
 thus we find A. S.fift-a, fifth, sixt-a, sixth, endlyft-a, eleventh, 
 twelfta-, twelfth, all with voiceless / on account of the pre- 
 ceding voiceless f ox s. Such pronunciations as fift and six/ 
 may still be heard in provincial English. Seventh, eighth, 
 ninth, are in A. S. seofopa, eahtopa, ?iigopa, where the original 
 accent just preceded the p ; whilst fourth, A.S. feorpa, was 
 conformed to the analogy of the prevalent form in -pa. 
 
 The d for th in hard is explained by the accent of the Gk. 
 Kpar-vs. E. -hood, common as a suffix, is the A. S. had, 
 Goth, haid-us, cognate with Skt. ketu\ ' a distinguishing 
 mark/ with the accent on the u. E. and A. S. under, Goth. 
 undar, is cognate with Skt. anta-r, within; whilst 1L. other, Goth. 
 anthar, on the contrary, is cognate with Skt. a'nlara, other, 
 with the accent on the first syllable. The Skt. pp. suffix -ta 
 was accented, and for this reason E. past participial forms 
 end in d, not th ; examples are E. lou-d, A. S. hlu-d, cognate 
 with Gk. kXv-tos, renowned, Skt. cru-ta\ heard; E. ol-d, A.S. 
 eal-d, cognate with Lat. al-tus, pp. of al-ere, to nourish ; E. 
 dea-d, A. S. dea-d, Goth, dau-th-s, whilst the allied sb. is 
 dea-th, A. S. de'a-d, Goth, dauth-us ; E. nak-ed, A. S. nac-od, 
 Goth, nakw-aths ; and generally, the E. pp. ends in -d or -ed, 
 whilst the Goth. pp. invariably ends in -th-s. So, too, in the 
 case of causal verbs, the primitive accent on the causal suffix 
 
CHANGE OF S TO R. 
 
 155 
 
 (A.S. -ian, in contracted form -an) lead us to expect d in 
 place of th. Hence we have E. lead, vb., A.S. lad-an ( = */dd- 
 ian), causal of Ud-an, to travel ; E. send, A. S. send-an, Goth. 
 sand-Jan, a causal verb allied to Goth, sinth-s, a journey. 
 Note also the A. S. pt. s. cwcep, quoth, pi. cwad-on ; and the 
 A. S. pp. sod-en, E. sodd-en, from the infin. seod-an, E. seethe. 
 
 Labials. A good example occurs in E. seven, of which 
 the Goth, form is sibun, not * sifan ; cognate with Vedic Skt. 
 sapta'n, Gk. «rrd. It is remarkable, however, that the Teut. 
 b always appears as f in A. S. at the end of a syllable (where 
 it was not sounded asy^ but as v). See § 122. 
 
 The letter r for s. E. hare, A. S. har-a (for *haz-a), G. 
 Has-e ; cognate with Skt. gac~a' (for gas-a'), a hare. E. lore, 
 A. S. lar, together with the causal verb Mr-an, to teach, 
 shew r for s ; cf. the Goth. /ais-Jan, to teach, connected 
 with the pt. s. lais, I have learnt, of which the infin. * kis-an 
 does not appear. So also in the case of all comparatives of 
 adjectives, already mentioned ; as in E. bett-er, A. S. bet-ra, 
 cognate with Goth, bat-iza, better. The A. S. pp. coren, 
 chosen, from ceos-an, to choose, is mentioned above ; as also 
 the old ^.for-lorn. Another interesting example occurs in 
 the A. S. pp. froren, for which mod. E. has substituted frozen, 
 as being more easily associated with the infin. freeze. But 
 country people still complain of ' being from* and we have 
 the authority of Milton for the form frore, which is merely 
 the A. S. froren with the loss of final ;/. 
 
 'The parching air 
 Burns frore, and cold performs th' effect of fire.' 
 
 Par. Lost, ii. 594-5. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 Vowel-Gradation. 
 
 § 134. One of the most important matters in etymology 
 is the consideration of the relationship of some of the older 
 vowel-sounds, which are to a certain extent connected by 
 what is known as ' gradation/ or in German, ablaut. Such 
 a connection is especially noticeable in the case of the strong 
 verbs, which form the past tense and past participle by means 
 of such gradation or vowel-change. Thus the past tense of 
 drink is drank, and the past participle is drunken ; we have 
 here an alteration from r to a, and again to u. It is ob- 
 viously highly important that we should investigate to what 
 extent such alterations are regular, and are capable of being 
 tabulated. It may be noted, by the way, that similar altera- 
 tions in the vowel-sounds are found in other Aryan languages, 
 and are not confined to Teutonic only. Thus, in Greek, we 
 find that the verb XetVeii/, to leave, makes the perfect tense 
 \e-\oL7r-a, and the second aorist e-Xin-ov ; that is, there is a 
 gradation from et to ot, and again to i. Neither is this 
 gradation confined to the verb ; it appears also in various 
 derivatives; thus we have the sb. Xefyis (= *X<fi7t-tis), a 
 leaving; the adj. \0L7r-6s, remaining; and numerous com- 
 pounds beginning with Xwro-, as in XiTro-ypafi/iaros, wanting 
 a letter, whence E. lipogram. In Latin we have fid-ere 
 ( = *feid-ere), to trust; in connection with which are the adj. 
 fid-us, trusty, the sb. Jid-es, faith, and the sb. foed-us 
 ( = *foid-us), a compact, treaty. These shew a gradation 
 
§ I35-] GRADATION IN MODERN ENGLISH. 1 57 
 
 from l (ez) to oe (oz), and again to i. These are merely given 
 as further illustrations ; in the present chapter I shall only 
 discuss gradation as it affects the Teutonic languages, 
 especially Anglo-Saxon and Gothic. 
 
 § 135. Modern English is but an unsafe guide to gradation. 
 A considerable number of the strong verbs, which were once 
 perfectly regular, may now fitly be named ' irregular,' al- 
 though that name is chiefly used to conceal the ignorance of 
 grammarians who are unable to understand the laws of 
 gradation. These ' irregularities 1 have mostly been intro- 
 duced by confusing the form of the past participle with that 
 of the past tense, and so making one form do duty for both. 
 To make the confusion worse, we find instances in which 
 the form of the past tense has been altered to agree with 
 that of the past participle, besides the instances in which 
 the process has been reversed ; and a third set of instances 
 in which a verb has been associated with another which 
 originally belonged to a different conjugation, or with an 
 allied weak verb, or has been altered from a strong verb to a 
 weak one. Thus the verb to bear has the pt. t. bare, and the 
 pp. born, borne. But the pt. t. bare is obsolescent, and is 
 commonly replaced by bore, in which the 0 is borrowed from 
 the pp. The A. S. stand-an, to stand, had the pt. t. stod, and 
 the pp. s/anden; but the form standeyi has disappeared, and 
 the pt. t. stood is also used in the pp. Such a form as 
 spoken shews great confusion ; the A. S. verb was sprec-an, 
 pt. t. sprcec, pp. sprecen, which should have given in modern 
 English, with the loss of r, an infin. speak, with the pt. t. 
 spake, and a pp. *speken ; but it was naturally associated with 
 the verb to break, of which the true pt. t. was brake, and the 
 pp. broken. The result was the use of spoken, as associated 
 with broken ; moreover, the past tenses spake and brake have 
 become archaic, and are usually supplanted by spoke and 
 broke ; where the 0 of broke is borrowed from the true form 
 of its pp. ; but that of spoke from a false form. The verb to 
 
158 
 
 VO WEL- GRADA TION. 
 
 [Chap. X. 
 
 hold made the pt. t. held, and the pp. hold-en, but the latter 
 has been supplanted by the pt. t. ' He was held down ' is, 
 historically, a shamefully incorrect form ; but it is now con- 
 sidered good grammar, and we must not now say anything 
 else \ Again, the old strong intransitive verb to wake made 
 the pt. t. woke, so that it was correct to say / woke) but 
 it was confused with the derived weak transitive verb to wake, 
 so that we may now hear ' I woke him up • instead of ' 1 
 waked him up/ which was the original phrase. Conversely, 
 we find 6 1 ivaked' used intransitively. Many verbs, such as 
 creep, weep, sleep, which were once strong, are now weak. 
 There is even one remarkable instance in which a weak verb 
 has become strong, viz. the verb to wear, pt. t. wore, pp. 
 worn ; simply by association with bare, bore, born. The M. E. 
 weren, to wear, is invariably weak, with a pt. t. werede or 
 wered, and a pp. wered. 
 
 1 Of fustian he wered a gipoun.' 
 
 Chaucer, Prolog, to C. T., 75. 
 
 § 136. It follows from this that the modern English strong 
 verbs cannot be properly understood without comparing 
 them with the Middle English and A. S. forms ; and it is 
 absolutely necessary to the understanding of gradation that 
 we should further consult the Gothic and other Teutonic 
 forms, as well as the Anglo-Saxon. The Middle English 
 and A. S. forms will be found in Morris, Hist. Outlines of 
 E. Gramm., pp. 285-307, and need not be furthur discussed 
 here. Our present object is to discover the original Teu- 
 tonic vowel-gradation, and for this purpose we must compare 
 with one another the oldest known forms of the verbs in 
 the various Teutonic languages. The result is that we can 
 clearly distinguish seven forms of conjugation; and, as the 
 order of them is indifferent, I shall here keep to that which I 
 
 1 Held occurs in our Bibles as a pp. only thrice (Ps. xxxii. 9, Sol. 
 Song vii. 5, Rom. vii. 6) ; but holden occurs eleven times. 
 
§ I37-J 
 
 REDUPLICATING VERBS. 
 
 159 
 
 have already given in the Introduction to Morris's Specimens 
 of English from 11 50 to 1300, p. lxvii (2nd ed.). The 
 seven conjugations are exemplified in modern English by 
 the verbs /all, shake, bear, give, drink, drive, and choose ; 
 which may be remembered by aid of the following doggerel 
 couplet — 
 
 ' If e'er thou fall, the shake with patience bear ; 
 Give", seldom drink; drive slowly; choose with care. 5 
 
 The investigation of the modes of conjugation of these seven 
 verbs will now occupy our attention. 
 
 § 137. Reduplicating Verbs : the Verb 1 to fall/ Verbs 
 of the 'fall' conjugation differ from all the rest in their 
 mode of conjugation. They do not really exhibit gradation 
 at all, but the past tense was originally formed by reduplica- 
 tion, and the vowel of the pp. was never altered. We still 
 have the ^.fall-en from fall, blow-n from blow, grow-n from 
 grow, hew-n from hew, and the obsolescent hold-en from 
 hold. The word fall can be traced back to an Aryan root 
 spal, as seen in the Skt. sphal (for *spal), to tremble ; Gk. 
 a(j)d\\-€Lv (for *o-7ra\X-fiy), to trip up, cause to fall ; whence, 
 by loss of initial s, we have the Lat. fall-ere, to deceive, 
 orig. to trip up, and the E. fall. Both English and Latin 
 words begin with the same letter/^ because of the lost s of 
 the root ; the Lztfallere (for *s/allere) being due to a change 
 of sp to sf (as in Gk. an to acp) ; whilst f is the regular 
 Teutonic substitution for Aryan p by Grimm's Law. Now the 
 Lat. fall-ere makes the pt. t. fefell-i by reduplication; and, 
 in precisely the same way, the Gothic verb hald-an, to hold, 
 makes the pt. t. in the form hai-hald 1 ; i.e. the initial letter 
 of the verb is repeated, followed by short ai (for e). So 
 also we have Goih.fallh-an, to fold, pt. t. fai-falfh ; hait-an, 
 to call, pt. t. hai-hait; laik-an, to skip, pt. t. lai-laik. In a 
 
 1 The Goth, fall-an, to fall, does not happen to occur ; if it did, its 
 past tense would be fai-fall. 
 
i6o 
 
 VO WEL- GRADA TION. 
 
 [Chap. X. 
 
 few cases, the Gothic exhibits a vowel-change from e to o 
 as well as reduplication, as in let-an, to let, pt. t. lai-lol; 
 red-an, to provide for, pt. t. rai-roth. Anglo-Saxon exhibits 
 but very few examples of reduplication ; the principal being 
 heht, Goth, hai-hait, pt. t. of hdl-an, to call; reord, Goth. 
 rai-roth, pt. t. of razd-an, to advise ; hole, Goth, lai-laik, pt. t. 
 of lac-an, to skip ; and the disfigured forms leort, Goth, lai-lot, 
 pt. t. of l&t-an, to let ; and on-dreord, pt. t. of on-dr&d-an, to 
 dread. More commonly, the contraction leads to a com- 
 plete confusion of the reduplicating with the radical syllable, 
 and the product retains a long vowel or diphthong, which is 
 most commonly e'o ; thus, corresponding to the Goth, hat- 
 hald, we have A. S. heold, whence E. held. Similarly, corre- 
 sponding to the theoretical Goth. *fai-fall, we have A. S.feoll, 
 E. fell. For further particulars, see Sievers, O. E. Gram. 
 § 395, &c. 
 
 § 138. It is found that the A. S. strong verbs have four 
 principal stems, to which all other forms may be referred \ 
 These are : 
 
 (1) the present-stem, to which belong all the forms of the 
 present tense. [It agrees with that of the infinitive mood, 
 which I give instead, as it makes no difference for our pur- 
 pose.] 
 
 (2) the first preterit-stem, to which belong only the 1st 
 and 3rd persons of the singular of the preterit indicative. 
 [The 1 st pers. sing, of the past tense is the form which I 
 here select.] 
 
 (3) the second preterit-stem, comprising the 2nd person 
 indicative and the pi. indicative of the same tense, and the 
 whole preterit optative or subjunctive. [I here select the 
 ist pers. pl. of the past tense as the representative form.] 
 
 (4) the stem of the past participle. 
 
 In the word fall these four stems are, in their A. S. forms, 
 8 I copy this account from Sievers, O. E. Gr. § 379. 
 
THE VERB 'FALL! 
 
 161 
 
 as follows: infin. feall-an (0. Mercian fall-an); ist pt. s. 
 fe'oll ; i st pt. p\.feoll-on ; pp. feall-en. It will be observed 
 that the first and fourth of these stems are identical, if we 
 neglect the suffixes ; and that the same is true of the second 
 and third. The mode of formation of these stems needs no 
 further explanation in this case. Full lists of the Principal 
 Stems (or Parts) of the strong verbs will be found further on 
 (§ 153); P. 167. 
 
 § 139. The following are the principal mod. E. verbs 
 which once belonged to the ^//-conjugation ; together with 
 some weak verbs derived from obsolete strong verbs of that 
 conjugation. 
 
 Here belong: (a) verbs still strong, as behold, fall, hang 
 (intransitive), hold, let ; beat ; blow (as wind), blow (as a 
 flower), crow \ grow, know, throw : (b) go, pp. gone, the old 
 pt. t. being lost : (c) verbs now weak (though hewn, mown and 
 sown appear as past participles) : dread, fold, well, wield; walk\ 
 leap, sleep, weep ; flow, glow, low (as a cow), mow, row, sow ; 
 thaw, hew, swoop, wheeze : (d) weak verbs formed from old 
 strong verbs : blend, dye, read, shed, sweep, span. Explanation 
 of the anomalies found in modern English must be sought 
 elsewhere ; thus the verb to hang now makes the pt. t. hung, 
 instead of M. E. heng. The forms mew, sew (for mowed, 
 sowed) are still in use in the East Anglian dialect, and 
 probably in other forms of provincial speech. Finally, 
 the /"^//-conjugation does not at all help us in the matter 
 of vowel-gradation, but is described here for the sake of 
 completeness. 
 
 § 140. The verb * to shake/ The second, or shake- 
 conjugation, is the simplest of all. There are but two forms 
 of the stem, as the pp. resembles the infinitive mood (as in 
 the case above), whilst the vowel of the past tense remains 
 unchanged throughout. The vowel of the first stem is a, 
 
 1 The pp. craiuin occurs in G. Douglas, tr. of Virgil, prol. to Book 
 vii. 1. 114. 
 
 VOL. I. M 
 
VO WEL- GRAB A TION. 
 
 [Chap. X. 
 
 whilst that of the second is 6. This 6 is merely due to the 
 lengthening of a ; cf. E. modor with Lat. mater. In Gothic, 
 the vowel is the same. Hence the stem-vowels are : a, 6, 6, 
 a ; and such verbs are still sometimes found in mod. E., with 
 oo (=6) in the pt. t., and keeping the vowel of the infinitive 
 in the pp. Such a verb is shake, pt. t. shook, pp. shak-en ; 
 A. S. scac-an, later sceac-an, pt. t. scoc, pp. scac-en. 
 
 § 141. Examples in modern English include : (a) verbs 
 still strong — draw, forsake, shake, slay, swear ; (b) verbs with 
 strong past tenses or past participles — stand, wake, awake 
 (pt. t. stood, woke, awoke), grave, lade, shape, shave, wash, 
 wax (pp. graven, laden, shapen, shaven, washen, waxen) ; 
 (c) verbs now wholly weak — ache, bake, fare, flay, gnazv, 
 heave, laugh, scathe, step, wade (and frequently shape, shave, 
 wash, wax) ; also lake, a word of Scand. origin, but con- 
 formed to the conjugation of shake, and therefore wholly 
 strong. 
 
 § 142. The next three conjugations are extremely alike, 
 and were really formed by differentiation from a common 
 type. In Gothic they usually exhibit, respectively, the stem- 
 vowels i, a, e, u, or else i, a, e, z, or thirdly i, a, u, u ; 
 corresponding to primitive Teutonic e (z), a, ce, o (u), or 
 else e (z), a, d, e (z), or thirdly e (z), a, u, u (o) \ The general 
 idea of these changes is not difficult to perceive ; they 
 start from a stem containing e or z, which is modified or 
 ' graded ' in the second stem to a, and in the fourth to o or zi ; 
 unless, as in the second formula, the fourth vowel returns 
 to that of the first stem. The form of the third stem 
 is of comparatively small importance ; in the third formula, 
 it resembles the fourth stem, whilst in the first and second we 
 see an evident attempt to employ a long vowel in the 
 plural number. Omitting the third stem, we find the 
 order to be e (z), a, o (u), which may be usefully compared 
 
 1 The vowels between parentheses are alternative ; i. e. ' e is to 
 be read as '<? or sometimes z'.' 
 
§ I45-] 
 
 THE VERB 'BEAR! 
 
 with the gradation observed in some Greek verbs. Thus 
 the Gk. Tp€<fi-€Lv, to nourish, has the perfect T€-rpo(f>-a, and 
 the 2nd aorist e-rpacp-ov. Even in Latin we find teg-ere, to 
 cover, with a derivative tog-a, a garment ; prec-ari, to pray, 
 whence proc-us, a wooer ; sequ-i, to follow, whence soc-ius, 
 a companion. Thus the conjugational scheme is evidently 
 founded upon the gradation of E to O (Teutonic A), with 
 a third variation which is found to be ultimately due to a 
 loss of accent. 
 
 § 143. The verb ' to bear/ The Gothic stems exhibit 
 i (at), a, e, u (au) ; the A. S. stems exhibit "e (i), ce (a), az (a), 
 
 0 (u), corresponding to Teutonic e, a, A } o. The Teut. E is 
 uniformly weakened to i in Gothic, except when the vowel is 
 followed by r, h, or hiv, when it appears as (short) ai. In the 
 fourth stem, the Teut. o is u in Gothic, except under the 
 same circumstances, when it appears as (short) au. These 
 changes are due to the effect upon the vowel of a succeeding 
 r or h. Examples are: Goth, brik-an, to break; pt. t. 
 Irak, pi. brek-um, pp. bruk-a?is : and Goth, bair-an, to bear 
 (with ai for e before r, as explained above) ; pt. t. bar, pi. 
 ber-um, pp. baur-ans. Anglo-Saxon preserves the e and o, 
 except when a nasal sound follows, when they become 
 
 1 and u respectively. Examples are : ber-an, to bear, pt. t. 
 beer, pi. bc£r-on, pp. bor-en ; and ni?n~an, to take, pt. t. na??i t 
 pi. nam-on, pp. mim-ai. 
 
 § 144. Examples in modern English include (a) bear, 
 break, shear, steal, tear) (b) quail, which is now weak; and 
 (c) come, the form of which is disguised, the Goth, being 
 kwim-an, pt. t. kwam, pi. kwem-ftm, pp. ktvum-ans. Curiously 
 enough, all these verbs (except quail) are still strong, and 
 they have even added one to their number in the verb wear, 
 which was originally weak. See above, § 135; p. 158. 
 
 § 145. The verb 4 to give.' This differs from the fore- 
 going verb to bear only in its fourth stem, in which there is 
 a return to the original vowel of the first stem. This is 
 
 M 2 
 
164 
 
 VO WEL- GRAB A TION. 
 
 [Chap. X. 
 
 observable in the mod. E. give, pt. t. gave, pp. given. Two 
 examples may be given from Gothic, viz. gib-an, to give, pt. t. 
 gaf pi. geb-um, pp. gib-ans; and saihw-an, to see, pt. t. 
 sahw, pi. sehw-um, pp. saihw-ans. Anglo-Saxon commonly 
 preserves the e in the first stem, the chief exceptions being 
 when it takes a weakened form or is contracted. The verb 
 io give is really no exception ; for, though the infinitive is 
 often quoted as gif-an, a better form is giefan, where the e is 
 radical, and the i is a parasitic letter inserted after the g, 
 as when people call a garden a gi-arden. 
 
 § 146. Examples in modern English include : (a) verbs still 
 strong, as eat, forget, get, give, lie, see, sit, speak, stick, tread, 
 weave : (b) verbs now weak, as fret, knead, mete, weigh, wreak : 
 (c) the verb quoth, of which only the pt. t. remains ; and bid, 
 originally to pray, which has entirely superseded the old verb 
 signifying ' command/ which properly belonged to the choose- 
 conjugation. The pt. t. was also belongs here. 
 
 § 147. The verb ' to drink/ The Gothic stem-vowels are 
 1 (ai), a, u (au), u (au), with perfect regularity ; the at and au 
 being written, as explained in § 143, only when the stem- 
 vowel is followed by r, h, or hzv. Examples are : driggk-an, 
 to drink [with ggk pronounced as ngk], pt. t. draggk, pi. 
 druggk-um, pp. druggk-ans ; bairg-an, to keep, pt. t. barg, 
 pi. baurg-um, pp. baurg-ans. 
 
 The A. S. stem-vowels are e (co, i), a (ea, ce), u, 0 (u). Here 
 the eo and ea occur only when the stem-vowel is followed by 
 r, I, or h ; and cc only occurs in fragn, bcerst, pcersc, strccgd, 
 and brcrgd, pt. t. of frign-an, berst-an, persc-an, stregd-an, and 
 brtgd-an. Examples are : berst-an, to burst, pt. t. bcerst, pi. 
 burst-on, pp. borst-en ; ceorf-an, to carve, pt. t. cearf pi. curf-on, 
 pp. corf-en ; drinc-an, to drink, pt. t. drank, pi. drunc-on, pp. 
 drunc-en. Of these, the verb io dri?ik is the most charac- 
 teristic, because the verbs which resemble it are most nu- 
 merous, and are best represented in modern English. The 
 peculiarity of such verbs is the use of i for e in the first stem, 
 
§ I49-] 
 
 THE VERB 'DRINK" 
 
 which is due to the fact that the stem-vowel is invariably fol- 
 lowed by two consonants, one of which is the nasal m or n 
 (or the m or n is doubled in the A.S. form). It may be 
 added that, in all the verbs of this conjugation, the stem- 
 vowel is succeeded (in A. S.) by two consonants, one of which 
 is either m, n, I, r, g, or h, i. e. either a liquid or a guttural 
 letter. 
 
 § 148. Examples in modern English include : (a) swell, the 
 only partially strong verb which retains the vowel e, though 
 the pp. swollen is giving way to swelled : (b) a large number of 
 strong verbs containing in, viz. begin, run (Lowl. Sc. rin), spin, 
 win) bind, find, grind, wind; cling, ring, sing, sling, spring, 
 sting, swing, wring ; drink, shrink, sink, slink, stink ; also 
 fight, swim : (c) the following weak verbs, some of which 
 have obsolescent strong past participles, viz. braid, burn, 
 burst, carve (pp. carven), climb (occasional pt. t. clomb), delve, 
 help (pp. holpen), melt (pp. molten), mourn, spurn, starve, 
 thrash, yell, yield. The verb worth, as in ' wo worth the 
 day ! ' belongs here. The verb to cringe seems to be a 
 secondary form from A. S. cringan. Quench is a secondary 
 form from A.S. cwinc-an, to become extinguished. Other 
 secondary forms are bulge, drench, stint, stunt, swallow, throng, 
 warp l . 
 
 § 149. The verb 'to drive.' We now come to a new- 
 gradation ; where the Goth, has the stem-vowels ei, ai, i (ai), 
 i (ai) ; and the A. S. has the invariable set a, i, i. The 
 Gothic substitution of ai for i is merely due to the presence 
 of r, h, or hw, immediately succeeding the stem-vowel. The 
 Goth, ei is merely the way of denoting the long i (i). The 
 
 1 It is worth while to add here that we find a variation of vowels 
 in reduplicated words, as they are called ; such as chit-chat, dilly- 
 dally, ding-dong (for *ding-dang), crinkle-crankle, pit-pat, &c. In 
 many of these the root-vowel is a, weakened to i in the former syl- 
 lable. It is a meaningless copy of the principle of gradation, and of 
 late date. 
 
1 66 
 
 VO WEL- GRADA TION. 
 
 [Chap. X. 
 
 A.S. a answers to a Teutonic ai. Hence the common 
 Teutonic form appears equally from either set, and is to be 
 written i, ai, i, i. We thus learn that there are two gradations 
 of i. It can either be strengthened to ai, or weakened to i 
 (short). This corresponds to the gradation observed in the 
 Gk. \eL7T-eiv, pt. t. \c-Xoma, 2nd aor. e-Xm-ov, and in the Lat. 
 ftd-ere, to trust, with its derivatives foed-us (=*foid-us), a 
 compact, and fid-es, faith. Gothic examples are : dreib-a?i, 
 to drive, pt. t. draib, pi. drib-um, pp. drib-ans ; ga-teih-an, 
 to point out, pt. t.ga-laih, \A. ga-taih-um, pp.ga-taih-ans. In 
 A. S. we have drif-an, to drive ; pt. t. drdf, pi. drif-on, pp. 
 drif-en. 
 
 § 150. Examples in mod. E. include : (a) verbs still strong 
 or partially strong, as abide, arise, bide, bite, cleave (to adhere), 
 drive, ride, rise, shine, shrive, slide, smite, stride, strike, writhe, 
 write ; to which add rive, thrive, of Scand. origin, and 
 strive, originally a weak verb ; (b) weak verbs, as glide, gripe, 
 reap, sigh, slit, spew, twit. Though we find chode in Gen. 
 xxxi. 36, the A. S. cid-a?i, to chide, is a weak verb, pt. t. cidde. 
 The frequent occurrence of long i in the infinitive will be 
 observed. 
 
 § 151. The verb 6 to choose/ This also introduces a new 
 gradation. Gothic has the stem-vowels iu, au, u (au), u (au) ; 
 where the substitution of au for u is merely due to the effect 
 of the stem-vowel being followed by r, h, or hw. A. S. has 
 the stem-vowels e'o (u), ea, u, 0. The A. S. e'o, ea, invariably 
 represent the Goth, iu, au respectively ; and both sets of 
 stem-vowels answer to an original Teutonic set expressed by 
 eu, au, u, u. We hence learn that the Teut. stem-vowel eu 
 can be strengthened, on the one hand, to au, and weakened, 
 on the other, to u. This closely resembles the Greek 
 gradation *v, ov, v, as seen in i\evcroixai, I shall go, perf. 
 dXrjXovOa, 2nd aor. rfKvQov. Examples in Gothic are : kius-an, 
 to choose, pt. t. kaus, pi. kus-um, pp. kus-ans ; tiuh-an, to pull, 
 pt. t. tauh, pi. tauh-um, pp. lauh-ans. In Anglo-Saxon : ce'os-an, 
 
§ I53-] 
 
 TABLES OF STEMS. 
 
 167 
 
 to choose, pt. t. ce'as, pi. cur-on (for *cuz-on), pp. cor-en (for 
 *coz-en), as shewn in § 130; also bug-an, to bow, pt. t. beah, 
 pi. bug-on, pp. bog-en. 
 
 § 152. Examples in mod. E. include : (a) verbs which still 
 shew strong forms, as choose, cleave (to split), fly, freeze, seethe, 
 shoot ; (b) verbs now weak, as brew, chew, creep, flee, lie (to 
 tell lies), reek, rue (all with orig. e'o in the first stem) ; and 
 bow , brook, crowd, shove, suck, sup (with u in the first stem) ; to 
 which we may add bereave, dive, drip, float, lock, lose, slip, smoke, 
 tug, as being secondary forms immediately derived from strong 
 forms. The A. S. beod-an, to offer, command, is represented, as 
 to its meaning, by mod. E. bid ; but the mode of conjugating 
 this mod. E. verb has been borrowed from that really belong- 
 ing to the old verb bid, to beg, pray, which belongs to the 
 ^'^-conjugation; see § 146. 
 
 § 153. I now give the four stems of the seven conjugations 
 in various Teutonic languages, as they afford much help in 
 comparing the vowels of one language with those of another. 
 The four stems exhibit respectively, the infinitive ; the past 
 tense, 1 person singular ; the past tense, 1 person plural, and 
 the past participle, as already said. 
 
 1. FALL -conjugation. (Conj. VII. in Sievers.) 
 
 
 Infin. 
 
 Past sing. 
 
 Past plur. 
 
 Past part. 
 
 Teutonic... 
 
 FALL-A N 
 
 FE-FALL 
 
 FE-FALL-UM 
 
 FALL-ANO 
 
 Gothic 1 ... 
 
 hald-an 
 
 hai-hald 
 
 hai'hald'Um 
 
 hald-ans 
 
 Anglo-Saxon 
 
 feall-an 
 
 fioll 
 
 fcoll-on 
 
 fcall-en 
 
 English . . . 
 
 fall 
 
 fell 
 
 fell 
 
 fall-en 
 
 Dutch 
 
 vall-en 
 
 viel 
 
 viel-cn 
 
 ge-vall-en 
 
 German . . . 
 
 fall-en 
 
 fiel 
 
 fiel- en 
 
 ge-fall-en 
 
 Icelandic ... 
 
 fall-a 
 
 fell 
 
 fill -urn 
 
 fall-inn 
 
 Swedish ... 
 
 fall-a 
 
 foil 
 
 fioll-o 
 
 fall-en 
 
 Danish 
 
 fald-e 
 
 faldt 
 
 faldt-e 
 
 fald-et 
 
 1 Gothic has not the verb ' to fall I substitute for it hald-an, to hold, 
 which belongs to this conjugation. 
 
1 6 8 VO WEL- GRADA TION. [Chap. X . 
 
 2. SHAKE -conjugation. (Conj. VI. in Sievers.) 
 
 
 Infin. 
 
 Past 
 
 sing. 
 
 Past plnr. 
 
 Past part. 
 
 Teutonic... 
 
 SKAK-AN 
 
 SKOK 
 
 
 SKUKUM 
 
 SKAK-AN 
 
 Gothic 1 
 
 far-an 
 
 for 
 
 
 for-um 
 
 far-ans 
 
 Anglo-Saxon 
 
 scac-an 
 
 sede 
 
 
 sc6c-on 
 
 scac-e7i 
 
 English 
 Dutch 1 
 
 shake 
 
 shook 
 
 
 shook 
 
 shak-en 
 
 var-en 
 
 voer 
 
 
 voer-en 
 
 ge-var-en 
 
 German 1 ... 
 
 fahr-en 
 
 fuhr 
 
 
 fuhr- en 
 
 ge-fahr-en 
 
 Icelandic ... 
 
 skak-a 
 
 skdk 
 
 
 skok-ttm 
 
 skek-inn 
 
 Swedish 1 ... 
 
 far-a 
 
 for 
 
 
 for-o 
 
 far -en 
 
 Danish 1 
 
 far-e 
 
 foer 
 
 
 foer-e 
 
 far-et 
 
 3. BEAR - conjugation. 
 
 (Conj. IV. in Sievers.) 
 
 
 Infin. 
 
 Past 
 
 sing. 
 
 Past plur. 
 
 Past part. 
 
 Teutonic... 
 
 BER-AN 
 
 BAR 
 
 
 BER-UM 
 
 BOR-ANO 
 
 Gothic 2 ... 
 
 bair-an 
 
 bar 
 
 
 bcr-um 
 
 baur-ans 
 
 Anglo-Saxon 
 
 ber-an 
 
 beer 
 
 
 bar-on 
 
 bor-en 
 
 English 
 Dutch 2 ... 
 
 bear 
 
 bare, 
 
 bore 
 
 bare, bore 
 
 bor-n 
 
 brek-en 
 
 brak 
 
 
 brak-en 
 
 ge-brok-en 
 
 German 2 ... 
 
 brcch-en 
 
 brack 
 
 
 brach-en 
 
 ge-broch-en 
 
 Icelandic ... 
 
 bcr-a 
 
 bar 
 
 
 bar-um 
 
 b or -inn 
 
 Swedish 
 
 bdr-a 
 
 bar 
 
 
 bur-o 
 
 bur-en 
 
 Danish 
 
 bcer-e 
 
 bar 
 
 
 bar-e 
 
 baar-et 
 
 4. GIVE - conjugation. 
 
 (Conj. V. in Sievers.) 
 
 
 Infin. 
 
 Past 
 
 sing. 
 
 Past plur. 
 
 Past part. 
 
 Teutonic... 
 
 GEB-AN 
 
 GAB 
 
 
 GEB-UM 
 
 GEB-ANO 
 
 Gothic 
 
 gib-an 
 
 
 
 geb-um 
 
 gib-ans 
 
 Anglo-Saxon 3 
 
 gicfan 
 
 geaf 
 
 
 geaf on 
 
 gifien 
 
 English 
 
 give 
 
 gave 
 
 
 gave 
 
 giv-en 
 
 Dutch 
 
 gev-cn 
 
 fftf 
 
 
 gav-en 
 
 ge-gev-en 
 
 German 
 
 geb-cn 
 
 gab 
 
 
 gab-en 
 
 ge-geb-en 
 
 Icelandic ... 
 
 gef-a 
 
 gof 
 
 
 gdf-um 
 
 gefiinn 
 
 Swedish 
 
 gifv-a 
 
 g°f 
 
 
 gofv-o 
 
 gifv-en 
 
 Danish 
 
 giv-e 
 
 gav 
 
 
 gav-e 
 
 giv-et 
 
 1 In Gothic, Dutch, German, Swedish, and Danish, I give far-an, to 
 travel, instead of ' shake,' which is not used. 
 
 2 In Gothic, the diphthongs ai y au replace the vowels e, o, when r 
 follows ; see p. 163. In Dutch and German I give the verb break. 
 
 3 In the A. S. gi-efan, ge-afi ge-dfon, the gi or ge is a substitution for 
 g ; the vowels are really e, a, d. 
 
§i 5 3.] TABLES OF STEMS. 1 69 
 
 5. DRINK- conjugation. (Conj. III. in Sievers.) 
 
 
 Infin. 
 
 Past sing. 
 
 X CCJ fr- Ul Lit. 
 
 
 nTFTTTnTSTTP 
 
 
 DRANK 
 
 ±J IV LJ 1> Iv \J 1\L 
 
 TTVTC- AVO 
 
 LJ IN. \J -> J\. /\a>VJ 
 
 Gothic 
 
 driggk-an 
 
 draggk 
 
 druggk-um 
 
 druggk-ans 
 
 Anglo-Saxon 
 
 drinc-an 
 
 dranc 
 
 drunc-on 
 
 drunc-en 
 
 English 
 
 drink 
 
 drank 
 
 drank 
 
 drunk 
 
 Dutch 
 
 drink-en 
 
 dronk 
 
 dro?ik-en 
 
 ge-dronk-en 
 
 German 
 
 trink-en 
 
 trank 
 
 trank en 
 
 ge-tnmk-e7i 
 
 Icelandic ... 
 
 drekk-a 
 
 drakk 
 
 drukk-um 
 
 drtikk-inn 
 
 Swedish 
 
 drick-a 
 
 drack 
 
 druck-o 
 
 druck-en 
 
 Danish 
 
 drikk-e 
 
 drak 
 
 drakk-e 
 
 drnkk-et 
 
 6. DRIVE - conjugation. (Conj. I. in Sievers.) 
 
 
 Infm. 
 
 Past sing. 
 
 Past plur. 
 
 Past part. 
 
 Teutonic... 
 
 DR1B-AN 
 
 DRAIB 
 
 DRIB-UM 
 
 DRIB-ANO 
 
 Gothic 
 
 dreib-an 
 
 draib 
 
 drib-um 
 
 drib-ans 
 
 Anglo-Saxon 
 
 drif-an 
 
 drdf 
 
 drif-on 
 
 drif-en 
 
 English 
 
 drive 
 
 drove 
 
 drove 
 
 driv-cn 
 
 Dutch... ... 
 
 drijv-en 
 
 dreef 
 
 drev-en 
 
 gc-drev-en 
 
 German 
 
 treib-en 
 
 tried 
 
 trieb-en 
 
 ge-trieb-cn 
 
 Icelandic ... 
 
 drif-a 
 
 dreif 
 
 drif-nm 
 
 drif-inn 
 
 Swedish 
 
 drifv-a 
 
 drcf 
 
 drefv-o 
 
 drifv-en 
 
 Danish 
 
 driv-e 
 
 drcv 
 
 drev-e 
 
 d?-ev-et 
 
 7. CHOOSE -conjugation. (Conj. II. in Sievers.) 
 
 
 Infin. 
 
 Past sing. 
 
 Past plur. 
 
 Past part. 
 
 Teutonic... 
 
 KEUS-AN 
 
 KAUS 
 
 KUS-UM 
 
 KUS-ANO 
 
 Gothic 
 
 kius-an 
 
 kaus 
 
 kus-urn 
 
 kus-ans 
 
 Anglo-Saxon 
 
 ceos-an 
 
 ceas 
 
 cur-on 
 
 cor-cn 
 
 English 
 
 choose 
 
 chose 
 
 chose 
 
 chos-en 
 
 Dutch 
 
 kiez-en 
 
 koos 
 
 koz-en 
 
 ge-koz-en 
 
 German 
 
 {er)kies-cn 
 
 (er)kor 
 
 (er)kor-en 
 
 {er)kor-en 
 
 Icelandic ... 
 
 kjos-a 
 
 kaus 
 
 kus-um 
 
 k os -inn 
 
 Swedish 1 ... 
 
 bjud-a 
 
 bod 
 
 bbd-o 
 
 bud- en 
 
 Danish 1 
 
 byd-e 
 
 bod 
 
 bbd-e 
 
 bud-et 
 
 1 In Swedish and Danish I substitute bjud-a, byd-e, to bid, offer ; 
 A. S. beodan. 
 
170 
 
 VO WEL- GRAB A TION. 
 
 [Chap. X. 
 
 § 154. We can hence compile a table which will give an 
 approximate value of the vowel-sounds in the different 
 languages. It is not altogether correct, because some of 
 the modern languages have altered the old values of the 
 sounds. Thus the mod. G. pp. ge-trieb-en, driven, has been 
 substituted iox ge-trib-en, so that the original German sound 
 really answering to our short i was also short i. Such 
 substitutions must be allowed for. 
 
 Comparative Table of Vowel-sounds, as deduced from 
 Strong Verbal Stems. 
 
 [The stems selected are: fall (stem 1), shake (1), bear (2), give (2), 
 for Teut. A ; shake (2), for Teut. long O ; bear (3), for Teut. long JE; 
 bear (1), give (i\ drink (1), for E ; bear (4), for O ; drive (1, 2, 4), for 
 long I, AI, and I ; choose (1, 2, 3, 4), for EU, AU, and U.] 
 
 Teutonic... 
 
 A 
 
 6 
 
 A 
 
 E 
 
 O 
 
 1 
 
 AI 
 
 I 
 
 EU 
 
 AU 
 
 U 
 
 Gothic 
 
 a 
 
 0 
 
 e 
 
 1, at 
 
 au 
 
 ei 
 
 ai 
 
 i 
 
 iu 
 
 au 
 
 u 
 
 Anglo-Saxon 
 
 ea, a 
 
 6 
 
 (E 
 
 e 9 *, eo 
 
 0 
 
 i 
 
 a 
 
 i 
 
 eo, u 
 
 Sa 
 
 Uy 0 
 
 English 
 
 a, 0 
 
 00 
 
 a 
 
 ea, i 
 
 0 
 
 i 
 
 0 
 
 i 
 
 <? 2 , ou 
 
 P 
 
 u, 0 
 
 Dutch 
 
 a 
 
 oe 
 
 a 
 
 e, i 
 
 0 
 
 V 
 
 ee 
 
 
 ie 
 
 00 
 
 0 
 
 German 
 
 a, ah 
 
 uh 
 
 a 
 
 e, i 
 
 0 
 
 ei 
 
 ei 1 
 
 i l 
 
 ie 
 
 0 
 
 0 
 
 Icelandic ... 
 
 a 
 
 6 
 
 a 
 
 e 
 
 0 
 
 i 
 
 ei 
 
 
 jo 
 
 an 
 
 u, 0 
 
 Swedish 
 
 a, 0 
 
 0 
 
 u 
 
 d, i 
 
 u 
 
 i 
 
 e 
 
 
 ju 
 
 0 
 
 u 
 
 Danish 
 
 a 
 
 oe 
 
 a 
 
 <?, i 
 
 aa 
 
 i 
 
 c 
 
 i 1 
 
 y 
 
 0 
 
 u 
 
 § 155. This table is not, perhaps, exact in all particulars, 
 as regards the modern forms, but it will give a sufficient idea of 
 what may be expected. The principal results are the following. 
 
 (1) The Teut. A may be lengthened to A > 0 or long JE. 
 
 (2) The Teut. E maybe ' graded ' to A (Aryan O) on the 
 one hand, or altered (if altered) to U or O. 
 
 (3) The Teut. I may be graded by being strengthened to 
 AI, or weakened to L 
 
 (4) The Teut. EU may be graded by being strengthened 
 to AU, or weakened to U. 
 
 1 Substituted for the values in the tables ; see the remarks above. 
 - A. S. eo, ea commonly become E. long e. 
 
§ 155-] 
 
 TEUTONIC VOWELS. 
 
 371 
 
 We thus form four groups of sounds which are related by 
 gradation. In cases 2, 3, and 4, we may collect them as 
 follows : — 
 
 The E-group ; E, A, U or O. 
 
 The I-group ; I, I, AI. 
 
 The U-group ; EU, U, AU. 
 
 I here call the second the I-group because all the varieties 
 contain I ; and for the same reason I call the last the 
 U-group ; but the true starting-points are I and EU. 
 
 We may also note some of the results as follows. 
 
 Teut. A : remains as a usually ; A. S. also has ea (before 
 /, r, h, or after g, c, sc) ; also ce; also 0 (chiefly before m and 
 See Sievers, O. E. Gram. §§ 49-84, throughout. 
 
 Teut. 0, for A ; here Gothic has long 0, to which answers 
 A. S. 6, E. 00. 
 
 Teut. M (see Sievers, § 45, 6) : here Gothic has long e, to 
 which answers A. S. c£ (commonly E. ea or ee). 
 
 Teut. E : regularly weakened to i in Gothic, except before 
 r, //, hw y when it appears as a short at. In A. S. it often 
 remains as e ; or becomes i (chiefly before m and n) ; or to 
 (before /, r, h). 
 
 Teut. O: occurs in Gothic before r, h, hw, when it 
 appears as au. A. S. has 0, chiefly before r and /. (In 
 fact or, ol represent the vocalic r and /.) 
 
 Teut. I : usually remains i in the Teutonic languages. 
 
 Teut. I : Goth. ei\ Du. ij '; G. ei\ the rest, 1. 
 
 Teut. AI : Goth. ai\ A. S. d ; Icel. ei; E. (commonly) 0; 
 G. ei, ie ; the rest, e. 
 
 Teut. U : Goth., Swed., Dan. u ; A. S. and Icel. u, 0; Du. 
 and G. 0 [also G. u]. 
 
 Teut. EU : Goth, iu ; A. S. eo (and u) ; Icel. jo ; Swed. 
 ju ; Dan. y ; G., Du. ie ; E. long e \ 
 
 1 E. choose is an exceptional form ; the right vowel is ee, as in the 
 verbs cleave (for *clceve), creep, freeze, seethe. The M.E. form is ches-en 
 (with the former e long). 
 
172 
 
 VO WEL- GRADA T10N. 
 
 [Chap. X. 
 
 Teut. AU : Goth., Icel. aw, A.S. ea\ G., Du. o; Swed., 
 Dan. long d. 
 
 Lastly, if the Table in § 154 be compared with that in 
 § 80, p. 96, which was obtained from different considerations, 
 the results will be found to agree in all essential particulars. 
 
 § 156. We are now able to compare some at least of the 
 vowel-sounds in different languages. By way of examples, 
 we may take the following. The Teutonic long i was 
 pronounced like ee in beet. This sound is still preserved in 
 Icelandic, Swedish, and Danish. It was also so pronounced 
 in A. S. and M. E. But in E., Dutch, and German, it has 
 suffered a precisely similar alteration. It has been moved 
 on, as if by a new gradation, from I to AI ; so that the 
 Du. if, G. ei, and E. long i are all now sounded precisely 
 alike, i. e. as j in bite 1 . Or again, we may consider the A. S. d, 
 whence came the E. 0 in stone, and compare it with other lan- 
 guages. The A. S. a has not always the same value, but most 
 often it has the value indicated in § 155, i.e. it answers to 
 Teut. AI. We should expect this to answer to Du. long e, 
 and accordingly we find the Du. steen answering to A. S. start 
 and E. stone. In conj. 6, stem 2, the G. corresponding sound 
 would seem to be ie, but the fact is that the G. tried (drove) is 
 a modern form ; the O. H. G. was dreib or treib, and the 
 M. H. G. was treib. Hence the G. ei is the right equivalent 
 of A.S. d, as in G. Stein, a stone. Having obtained this 
 result, we are prepared to find other similar examples, of 
 which a few may be cited. E. bone, A. S. ban, Du. been, 
 bone, leg, shank ; G. Bein, a leg. E. whole, A. S. hat, Du. 
 heel, G. heit. E. oath, A. S. dp, Du. eed, G. Eid. E. oak, 
 A. S. dc, Du. eek, G. Eich-e. E. soap, A. S. sdp~e, Du. zeep, 
 
 1 The intermediate sound between T (ee in beet) and at (i in bite) is ei 
 {a in name). This is supposed to have been the sound of E. i in the time 
 of Shakespeare. Observe that German actually retains the archaic spell- 
 ing Wem, corresponding to a time when that word was pronounced like 
 E. vein. 
 
§ 158.] THE ANGLO-SAXON LONG A. 
 
 173 
 
 G. Seife. It is not to be concluded that the A. S. d answers 
 to Du. ee, and G. ei in all cases, for the G. ei, e. g., may 
 also represent Teut. long i (p. 170), but we see here quite 
 sufficient regularity to shew what we may often expect, and 
 we can also see that differences of vowel-sound in the modern 
 forms of related languages may easily arise from the same 
 original sound in the common Teutonic type. 
 
 § 157. As I have already, in Chapter V, explained the A. S. 
 long vowel-sounds at some length, it may be interesting to 
 compare them, as we can now more easily do, with their 
 German and Teutonic equivalents. For this purpose I shall 
 say a few words upon each sound, without giving every 
 detail, beginning with § 42. 
 
 The A. S. a (long a). In many cases this answers to 
 Teut. AI, G. ei, as explained in § 156. Examples : fwd, two, 
 G. zwei) hdl, whole, G. heil ; ddl, dole, G. Theil ; dp, oath, 
 G. Fid) clap, cloth, G. Kleid (a dress); lap, loath, G. leid 
 (troublesome); gdst, ghost, G. Geist; has, hoarse, G. heis-er; 
 an, one, G. tin ; stdn, stone, G. Slein ; dan, bone, G. Bein 
 (leg) ; ham, home, G. Heim ; ddh, dough, G. Teig, &c. But 
 there is a second value of the German equivalent, which is 
 less common, viz. eh ; as in rd, roe, G. Reh ; sld, sloe, G. 
 Schleh-e ; wd, woe, G. Weh ; gd, go, G. geh-e ; la, toe, 
 G. Zeh~e ; lar, lore, G. Lehr-e ; sdr, sore, allied to G. schr, 
 sorely, very; mdr-e, more, G. mehr. This sound is, in 
 general, merely another development of the same Teut. AI, 
 and either occurs at the end of a syllable, or is due to the 
 influence of a following h or r ; thus A. S. rd is also spelt 
 rah ; and A. S. sld is a contracted form for *sldh~e ; see 
 further in Kluge's Etym. G. Diet. 
 
 § 158. The A. S. 6 (long e). This most often arises from 
 a mutation of 6, as explained in Chap. XI. Thus E. feet^ 
 A. S..fe'l, is the pi. of foot, A. S. foot; cf. G. Fuss, foot, pi. 
 Fiissc. Hence we shall often find that the corresponding Ci. 
 sound is long ii. Examples : A. S.fe'l-an, to feel, G.fuhl-cn ; 
 
174 
 
 VO WEL- GRADA TIOJV. 
 
 [Chap. X. 
 
 gren-e, green, G. griin ; cen-e, keen, bold, G. kiihn ; he'd-an, 
 to heed, G. hiit-en ; br/d-an, to breed, G. brut-en, to hatch ; 
 swe't-e, sweet, G. siiss ; gre't-an, to greet, G. griiss-en. But 
 there are several examples in which the A. S. e has another 
 origin ; thus heh, high, is a shorter form of he'ah, high, and 
 corresponds, regularly, to G. hoch. 
 
 § 159. The A. S. i (long i). This commonly answers to 
 G. ei; see § 156. Examples : A. S. bi, by, G. bet) ir-en, iron, 
 G. Eis-cn ; hwil, while, G. IVeit-e, &c. It is very easy to 
 multiply examples. 
 
 § 160. The A. S. 6 (long o). This commonly answers to 
 Teut. 0; see the pt. t. of shake in § 153. The A. S.far-an, 
 to go, makes the pt. t. for ; with which cf. G. fuhr ; so that 
 A. S. 6 commonly = G. long u or uh. Examples: sco, shoe, 
 G. Schuh ; don, to do, G. thun ; to, too, G. zu ; swor, swore, 
 G. $chwur\ Jlor, floor, G. Flur\ slot, stool, G. Stuht; hof 
 hoof, G. Haf ) b/od, blood, G. Blut ; brod, brood, G. Brut ; 
 hod, hood, G. Hid ; rod, rood, G. Ritth-c, &c. The G. 
 kiihl, cool, M. H. G. ktiele, is allied to an unmodified form 
 hwl, appearing in M. H. G. kuol-haus, a cooling house ; and 
 this latter agrees exactly with A. S. col, cool. Two important 
 examples occur in A. S. brodor, brother, G. Brudcr ; and 
 viodor, mother, G. Mutter. It is surprising to find that this 
 
 A A. 
 
 G. long u, answering to a Teut. long 0, was really A in the 
 Aryan parent-speech. We thus get the remarkable variety 
 of long vowels seen in Lat. mater, Doric Gk. narrjp, Attic 
 fjLT]TT)p, A. S. viodor, O. H. G. muotar (G. Mutter) ; or again, 
 in Lat._/?7£7AT, Gk. ^yoV, A. S. boc, G. Buche, a beech-tree. 
 
 § 161. The A. S. u (long u). It was shewn in § 46 that 
 the A. S. u has been developed into the modern diphthong 
 ou, as in hus, 2l house, just as the A. S. 1 has been altered to 
 the modern diphthongal long u Both of these changes have 
 taken place in German also \ Just as the O. H. G. win is 
 
 1 The reason, in both languages, is the same. I have already given it. 
 See p. 53, note 2. 
 
§ i6 4 J 
 
 THE ANGLO-SAXON LONG Y. 
 
 175 
 
 now Wein (E. wine), so the O. H. G. Lus is now Hates (E. 
 house). Examples : bru, brow, G. Augen-braue ; ^r, sour, 
 G. saner ; foul, G. faul, corrupt ; Ms, house, G. Bans ; 
 lus, louse, G. Laus ; wz^r, mouse, G. Maus, &c. But there 
 are cases in which German has preserved the u unchanged ; 
 as in du, thou, G. du ; nu, now, G. nun ; at, cow, G. Kuh. 
 Such instances are useful, as they enable the Englishman to 
 realise what the original A. S. u was like, especially when it 
 is remembered that coo (cow), noo (now), moos (mouse), hoos 
 (house) are quite common words in provincial English. 
 
 § 162. The A. S. y (long y). As found in A. S. mjts, pi. 
 of miis, mouse, it answers to G. du in Mause, mice. The 
 A. S.jyiff, filth, may be compared with G. Faulniss, rotten- 
 ness. Much the same sound appears in hyr, hire, G. Hem r ; 
 fyr, fire, G. Feuer. But in G. Haut, hide, A. S. kfd 3 and 
 Braut, bride, A. S. bryd, the G. an has suffered no modi- 
 fication. 
 
 § 163. The A. S. se. It appears from the 3rd stem of the 
 conjugation of the verb to bear (§ 153) that the A. S. £ 
 answers regularly, in some cases, to G. long a. Examples : 
 dl, eel,G. Aal ; mdl, meal, repast, G. Mahl\ dfen, evening, 
 G. Abend\ sprdc, speech, G. Sprach-e ; seed, seed, G. Saat ; 
 deed, deed, G. That] ncedl, needle, G. Nadcl\ ship, sleep, 
 G. Schlaf, &c. But there are numerous cases in which 
 A. S. words containing de are mere derivatives from words 
 containing d (=G. ei), as explained in the next chapter. In 
 such cases, German keeps the ei of the more primitive word. 
 Thus A. S. h&l-an, to heal (G. heil-en) is derived from A. S. 
 hdl, whole (G. heil). It is obvious that German is here an 
 excellent guide to such a method of derivation. 
 
 § 164. The A. S. 6a. It appears, from the 2nd stem of 
 the conjugation of choose (§ 153), that the A. S. e'a represents 
 Teut. AU, and is equivalent to G. 3. Examples : flea, flea, 
 G. Floh ; e'ar-e, ear, G. Ohr ; east, east, G. Ost ; bean, bean, 
 G. Bohn-e; stream, stream, G. Strom. But examples are 
 
ij6 
 
 VO WEL- GRAB A TION. 
 
 [Chap. X. 
 
 not wanting in which G. has kept the Teut. au unchanged ; 
 as in be-reaf-ian, to bereave, G. be-raub-en ; leaf, leaf, G. 
 Laub ; seam, a seam, G. Sawn ; dream, a dream, G. Traum ; 
 beam, beam, G. Baum (tree); heap, a heap, G. Hauf-e m , 
 hleap-an, to run (leap), G. lauf-en ; ceap, a bargain, G. Kauf 
 (both perhaps from Lat. caup-o, a huckster, though Kluge 
 considers these words as pure Teutonic). 
 
 § 165. The A. S. 60. It appears, from the 1st stem of 
 choose (§ 153), that the A. S. e'o (Goth, iu) answers to Teut. 
 EU, G. ie. Examples : seo, she, G. sie ; feoh, cattle (fee), G. 
 Vieh ; beo, bee, G. Bie-ne ; de'or, deer, G. Thier (animal) ; 
 beor, beer, G. Bier ; ceol, keel, G. Kiel ; seod-an, to seethe, 
 G. sied-en, &c. But there are cases in which an A. S. e'o 
 arises from contraction ; and here G. has ei] as in preo, 
 three, G. drei ; freo, free, G. frei\ fe'ond, fiend, G. Feind 
 (enemy). Another contracted form occurs in A. S. seon, to 
 see, G. seh-en. 
 
 § 166. The above examples are intended to shew how the 
 same original Teut. sound may be quite differently developed 
 in such languages as modern English and modern German ; 
 so that, for example, the great apparent difference between 
 the sounds of E. flea and G. Floh can be explained ; they 
 are different developments of Teut. AU, and that is all. 
 Grimm's Law only enables us to say that, in such a pair of 
 words as the E. token (A. S. tdceri) and the G. Zeichen, the / 
 is regularly shifted to a G. Z, and the k (A. S. c) to the G. ch. 
 But we can now go further, and say that the A. S. & and 
 G. ei are both alike developed from Teut. AI, and exactly 
 correspond. Hence the E. token corresponds to the G. 
 Zeichen all the way through, sound for sound ; and it is only 
 when we can prove such an original identity of form that 
 words can fairly be said to be cognate. That is to say, we 
 are bound to explain not the consonants alone, but the 
 vowels also. If anything, the vowels are of even more im- 
 portance than the consonants, as they enable us to apply 
 
§ i67.] 
 
 PRACTICAL APPLICATION'. 
 
 177 
 
 a more delicate test. It is not till this principle is thoroughly 
 understood that true philology begins. Mere hap-hazard 
 comparisons are utterly worthless. 
 
 § 167. Practical application of the principle of 
 gradation. A knowledge of gradation, as explained above, 
 enables us to trace relationships between words which might 
 otherwise seem unrelated. Thus, when we know that long a 
 and short a are connected by gradation, we can easily 
 understand that the vowel may appear as short a in one 
 language and as long a in another. Take, for example, 
 the Skt. capha, a hoof. Here the Skt. c, though pro- 
 nounced as s, is weakened from k, and the Skt. ph is an 
 aspirated so that the Aryan form of the first syllable was 
 kap. By Grimm's Law, the Aryan k and p answer to Teut. 
 h and/; respectively, thus giving the Teut. form of the same 
 syllable as haf. If the a be graded to a, it becomes, as 
 above, an A. S. 6, which gives us A. S. hof a hoof, at once. 
 We cannot doubt that the Skt. capha, which, practically, 
 differs from hof only in exhibiting a short a instead of a long 
 one in the first syllable, is really cognate with the A. S. hof, 
 E. hoof\ for the words are identical in meaning. Similarly; 
 we can perceive such connections as the following. A. S. 
 mona, moon, allied to Gk. ^vrj, moon ; from the Aryan root 
 ma, to measure, the moon being the measurer of time ; cf. 
 Skt. ma, to measure (§ 160). E. food, A. S. fo-da, from 
 the root pa, to feed ; Skt. pa, to feed. E.fool, A. S.fol, Skt. 
 pad or pad, a foot. E. boot, advantage, A. S. hot, G. Busse, 
 reconciliation ; strengthened from the Teut. base bat, good, 
 preserved in Goth, bat-iza, better, bat-ists, best; where bat= 
 Aryan bhad, as seen in Skt. bhad-ra, excellent. E. stool, 
 A. S. stol, a chair, support ; G. Stuhl, chair, throne ; Gk. 
 vTr)\r), a pillar, named from being firmly set up; from the 
 Aryan root sta, to stand firm. E. cool, A. S. col, allied to 
 Icel. kal-a (pt. t. hot), to freeze ; A. S. ccal-d, O. Mercian 
 cal-d (§ 33), E. col-d ; cf. Lat. gel-u, frost. E. bough, A. S. boh, 
 
 vol. 1. N 
 
178 
 
 VO WEL- GRADA TIO N. 
 
 [Chap. X. 
 
 bdg, an arm, shoulder, bough, branch ; Icel. bog-r, shoulder 
 of an animal, bow (of a ship) ; cognate with Gk. nrjx-vs (for 
 *<pr}x~ vs )) arm > Skt. bdh-u (for *bhdghu), arm, Pers. bdzu, 
 arm. 
 
 § 168. The A. S. 6 does not always arise from Teut. 0 ; 
 and we may here conveniently discuss four words of special 
 interest in which the A. S. 6 arises from the loss of n in the 
 combination on, the o being lengthened by compensation 
 to make up, as it were, for the loss of the consonant, because 
 a greater stress is thus thrown upon it. Again, on is a 
 frequent A. S. and M. E. substitution for an earlier an, owing 
 to the A. S. habit of changing # into o before nasals. Modern 
 English has the later form bond as well as band 1 . Hence 
 E. goose, A. S. gos, stands for *gons = *gans ; cf. G. Gans, a 
 goose, Lat. ans-er (for *hans-er = *ghans-er), Gk. \h v (f° r 
 *X av s), Skt. hams-a, a swan. So also E. tooth, A. S. tod, 
 is for *tonff = *tan5\ cf. Lat. acc. dent-em, Gk. acc. 6-dovr-a, 
 Skt. dant~a, tooth. E. other, A. S. defer, stands for *onder = 
 *an$er ; Goth, anthar, other, Skt. antara. Lastly, E. sooth, 
 A. S. sod, is for *son$ = *sanb* ; cf. Dan. sand, true, Icel. 
 sann-r, true (put for *sand-r, by assimilation) ; Teut. santho, 
 true, second grade from Aryan sent-. This sent- meant 
 ' being/ or 'existent/ or c actual/ whence the sense of 'true ' 
 easily resulted ; it appears in the Lat. acc. ab-sent-em, being 
 away, present-em, being near at hand ; and it is clear that 
 this sent- is short for es-ent-, which is nothing but a pre- 
 sent participial form from the Aryan root es, to be, as seen 
 in Skt. as, to be, Lat. esse. It is not probable that such an 
 abstract sense as ' be ' was the original sense of this root ; it 
 most likely meant to 1 breathe 9 ; as seen in the Skt. as-u, vital 
 breath, life. Thus sooth is simply 'that which lives/ hence 
 a reality or truth. The corresponding word in Skt. is sant, 
 which, as Benfey explains at p. 63 (s. v. as), is properly the 
 
 1 Band first occurs in the Ormulum, and is of Scand. origin ; not 
 English (A. S.), as wrongly marked in my Dictionary. 
 
PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 
 
 179 
 
 pres. part, of as, to be, but meant also right, virtuous, steady, 
 venerable, excellent. The feminine form was reduced to sail, 
 with the sense of ' a virtuous wife ' ; and this term was after- 
 wards applied to a widow who immolated herself on the 
 funeral pile of her husband. This is the word which we 
 usually write suttee, and incorrectly apply to the burning of 
 a widow. The Skt. short a being sounded as the E. u in 
 mud, we have turned salt into suttee, just as we write jungle, 
 punch, pundit, bungalow, thug, Punjaub, for the same reason. 
 One of the most interesting facts in philology is the bringing 
 together of many words which at first sight look unrelated ; 
 and it can be shewn that the same root es, to live, is the 
 ultimate source of all the words following, viz. am, art, is, 
 sooth, sin (English) ; essence, e?itity, absent, present (Latin) ; 
 eu- (prefix), (palce)-onto-logy (Greek) ; and sutt-ee (Sanskrit). 
 
 § 169. But the most important application of the principle 
 of gradation is the following. We see that each strong verb 
 possesses four stems, some of which are often much alike. 
 Thus, omitting suffixes, the stems of scac-an, to shake, are 
 (1) scac- (2) scSc- (3) scoc- (4) scac-, yielding only two varieties, 
 viz. scac-, scSc-. It is found that derived words, chiefly sub- 
 stantives (sometimes adjectives), do not always preserve the 
 primitive stem (scac-), but are sometimes formed from the 
 variant (scSc-). Thus the mod. E. shape, sb., agrees with the 
 stem scap- of scap-an, to shape ; but the A.S. scop, a poet, lit. 
 a shaper of song, agrees with the stem scop, seen in the pt. t. 
 sing, of the same verb. It is, however, not correct to say 
 that scop, a poet, is derived from the pt. t. scop ; we may only 
 say that it is derived from that strengthened form of the base 
 which appears in the past tense. It is precisely the same 
 case as occurs with respect to the Gk. Xtin-eiv, to leave, perf. 
 \e-\onr-a (§ 134). We find the adj. \onr-6s, remaining; not 
 formed from the perf. Xe-Xour-a, but exhibiting the same 
 gradation as that which appears in Xi-Xom-a. If now we 
 employ the symbol < to signify ' derived from/ and the 
 
 N 2 
 
180 VOWEL-GRADATION. [Chap. X. 
 
 symbol || to signify 1 a base with the same gradation as/ we 
 may, with perfect correctness, express the etymology of scop, 
 a poet, by writing scop, sb. < || scop, pt. t. of scdp-an, to shape. 
 This is sometimes loosely expressed by omitting the symbol ||, 
 but it must always be understood ; so that if at any time, for 
 the sake of brevity, I should speak of scop, a poet, as being 
 * derived from the pt. t. of scap-an,' this is only to be regarded 
 as a loose and inaccurate way of saying that it is ' derived 
 from a base with the same gradation as scop.' And this is 
 all that is meant when E. sbs. are said to be derived from 
 forms of the past tenses and past participles of strong verbs. 
 
 § 170. The result of the last section is important, because 
 most English grammars neglect it. Instances are given in 
 Loth's Angelsachsischenglische Grammatik, but they are 
 taken from Anglo-Saxon, and do not clearly bring out the 
 survival of the principle in the modern language. As this 
 point has been so much neglected, I have endeavoured to 
 collect such examples of gradation as I have observed 
 in modern English, and now subjoin them ; but I do not 
 suppose that the list is complete. 
 
 § 171. ^//-conjugation. There are no examples of 
 derivatives from a secondary stem, because the past tense 
 is formed by reduplication, not by gradation. The verb to 
 fell is derived, not by gradation, but by mutation, as will be 
 shewn hereafter (§ 192 /3). From the primary stem we 
 have such substantives as fall, hold, span, &c. ; where the 
 derivation is obvious. 
 
 § 172. -S'yfo&'-conjugation. There are no modern examples 
 of derivatives from the second stem, except in the case 
 of soke, soken, A.S. soc, soc-n < || soc, pt. t. of sac-an, to 
 contend ; and in the doubtful case of groove, A. S. grof (?) 
 < H g r °A Pt- °f g ra f- an > to grave, cut. But I believe it 
 will be found that the A. S. grof is unauthorised and imaginary ; 
 that groove is a word of late introduction into English, being 
 unknown in the M. E. period; and that it was merely 
 
§ I74-] EXAMPLES, l8l 
 
 borrowed from Du. groeve 1 . Nevertheless, the principle still 
 applies; for Du. groeve is derived from the stem seen in 
 groef, pt. t. of Du. graven, to grave. 
 
 § 173. ifozr-conjugation. The stems are (i) ber- (2) bcer- 
 (3) b&r- (4) bor-, as seen in ber-an, to bear; or (1) nim- 
 (2) nam- (3) nam- (4) num-, as seen in nim-an, to take. 
 The following are derivatives from the 2nd stem : E. bair-n 
 (child), A.S. bear-n < || beer (--=*<for), pt. t. of ber-an, to bear. 
 Also E. bar-m, A. S. bear-m, the lap ; from the same. 
 
 E. share, as in plough-share, A. S. scear ( = *scar) < || sccer 
 (for *,srtfr), pt. t. of seer -an, scier-an, to shear. 
 
 E. qual-m, A.S. cweal-m (=*cwal-m), pestilence, death 
 < || A.S. cwcel (=*cwal), pt. t. of A.S. cwel-an, to die, 
 which is now spelt quail. 
 
 From the 3rd stem : bier, A. S. bder < II bdr-on, pt. t. pi. of 
 ber-an, to bear. 
 
 From the 4th stem : bur-den, bur-then, A. S. byr-3en, a 
 load < (by mutation) || bor-en, pp. of ber-an, to bear (§ 193). 
 Similarly bir-th, A. S. ge-byr-d. 
 
 E. A. S. hoi, a hollow, cave < || hol-en, pp. of A. S. 
 hel-an, to hide. 
 
 E. score, A. S. scor, a score, i. e. twenty < || scor-en, pp. of 
 scer-an, to shear, cut. 
 
 We may also note here that nim-b-le and numb are both 
 from A. S. nim-an, to take ; the latter adj. was actually formed 
 from the pp. num-en. 
 
 § 174. The £7Z'£-conjugation. 
 
 From the 2nd stem : lay, v., A. S. lecg-an < (by mutation) 
 II fag (=*lag), pt. t. of licg-an, to lie (§192 a). 
 
 E. set, A. S. sett-an < (by mutation) || scet ( = *j^/), pt. t. of 
 sitt-an, to sit (§192 a). Likewise E. selt-le, a bench. 
 
 E. trade (not found in A.S.) < || trad ( = * trad), pt. t. of 
 tred-an, to tread. 
 
 1 1 Groepe, or Groeve, a Furrow ' ; Hexham's Du. Diet. 1658. I know 
 of no authority for groove as an E. word older than Skinner (167 1). 
 
J82 
 
 VO WEL- GRADA TION. 
 
 [Chap. X. 
 
 E. wain, A. S. wceg-n < || wceg, pt. t. of weg-an, to carry. 
 
 E. wreck, M. E. wrak, that which is driven ashore < || A. S. 
 wrcec ( = *wrac), pt. t. of wrec-an, to drive (to wreak). Also 
 E. wretch, A. S. wrcec-ca, likewise < || wrcec. 
 
 From the 3rd stem: E. speech, A. S. sp&c-e, older form 
 sprdc-e < |j spr&c-on, pt. t. pi. of sprec-an, to speak. So also 
 the Scand. word seat (Icel. sceti) is to be compared with A. S. 
 scet-on, pt. t. pi. of sitl-an, to sit. 
 
 From the 4th stem : E. lai-r, A. S. leg-er < || leg-en, pp. 
 of licg-an, to lie. 
 
 E. bead, A. S. bed, a prayer < || bed-en, pp. of bidd-an, to 
 pray. The same principle is applicable to Scand. words also. 
 Thus E. law, A. S. lag-u, borrowed from Icel. lag, order, pi. 
 log (with sing, sense) law < || Icel. Id (for *lag), pt. t. of 
 liggja, to lie; the 'law' is 'that which lies' or is settled. 
 
 § 175. The </rz>Z/£-conjugation. 
 
 From the 2nd stem : E. bend, v., A. S. bend-an, to fasten 
 a string on a bow, and so to bend it, from A. S. bend, 3. band, 
 which is derived (by mutation) from a base parallel with band, 
 pt. t. of bi'nd-an (§192 a). 
 
 E. cram, A. S. cram?n-ia?i < || cramm, pt. t. of crimm-an, to 
 cram. 
 
 E. drench, A. S. drenc-an < (by mutation) || dranc, pt. t. of 
 dn'nc-an, to drink (§ 192 a). 
 
 E. mall, A. S. meall, steeped grain < || mealt, pt. of melt-an, 
 to melt, hence to steep, soften. (We may observe that the 
 A. S. pp. molten is still in use.) 
 
 E. quench, A. S. cwenc-an< (by mutation) [| cwanc, pt. t. 
 of cwinc-dn, to become extinguished. 
 
 E. song, M. E. song, sang, A. S. sang < || sang, pt. t. of 
 sing-an, to sing. So also singe, A. S. seng-an (to make to sing), 
 to scorch (alluding to the singing noise made by burning 
 logs), derived by mutation from the same stem sang (§ 192 0). 
 
 E. stench, A. S. stenc < (by mutation) || stanc, pt. t. of 
 siinc-an, to stink. 
 
§ '76.] 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 183 
 
 E. thong, A. S. pwang, < || *pwang, pt. t. of *pwing-an, 
 only found in O. Fries, thwing-a, O. Sax. thwing-an, to con- 
 strain, compress. 
 
 E. throng, M. E. throng, thrang, A. S. prang < || prang, 
 pt. t. of pring-an, to crowd. 
 
 E. wander, A. S. wand-r-ian, frequentative verb < || wand, 
 pt. t. of wind-an, to wind, turn about. So also E. wand, 
 originally a pliant rod, that could be wound or woven ; and 
 even E. zvend, to go, formed by mutation (192 a). 
 
 E. -ward as a suffix (in to-war d, &c), A. S. -weard (Goth. 
 -wairth-s) < || A. S. wearp, pt. t. of weorp-an, to become, 
 orig. to be turned to. 
 
 E. warp, threads stretched lengthwise in a loom, A. S. 
 wearp < || wearp, pt. t. of weorp-an, to cast, throw, throw 
 across. 
 
 E. wrang-le, frequentative from the stem wrang, pt. t. of 
 wring-an, to twist, strain, wring. So also wrong, adj., A. S. 
 wrang, i. e. perverse, from the same stem. We may also 
 note that E. swam-p is allied to swamm, pt. t. of swimm-an, 
 to swim. Similarly the Scand. word stang, a pole, stake 
 (Icel. stang-?-) is to be compared with A. S. stang, pt. t. of 
 stmg-an, to sting, poke. 
 
 From the 3rd stem: E. borough, A. S. burh, burg < || burg-on, 
 pt. t. pi. of beorg-an, to keep, protect. 
 
 From the 4th stem : E. borrow, A. S. borg-ian, verb formed 
 from borh, borg, s., a pledge < || borg-en, pp. of beorg-an, to 
 keep. So also bury, A. S. byrg-an, formed by mutation from 
 the same stem (§ 193). 
 
 E. bund-le < || bu?id-en, pp. of bind-an, to bind. 
 
 E. crumb, A. S. crum-a < || crumm-en, pp. of crimm-an, to 
 cram, squeeze. 
 
 E. drunk-ard < || drunc-en, pp. of drinc-an, to drink. 
 
 § 176. The ^/-/^-conjugation. 
 
 From the 1st stem: E. chine, a fissure in a sea-cliff, A. S. 
 cin-u, a fissure < || cin-an, to split, crack. 
 
VO WEL- GRADA TION. 
 
 [Chap. X. 
 
 E ripe, A. S. rip-e, adj. < || rip-an, to reap. Hence ripe 
 is ' fit for reaping/ 
 
 E. stirrup, A. S. stig-rdp, lit. rope to climb or mount 
 by < H stig-an, to climb. 
 
 E. sty, A. S. stig-o, a pen for cattle ; from the same. 
 
 From the 2nd stem : E. abode, M. E. abood < || A. S. d-bdd, 
 pt. t. of dbid-an, to abide. 
 
 E. dough, A. S. ddh < || *ddh, pt. t. of *dfg-an, to knead, 
 only found in the cognate Goth, deig-an, to knead. 
 
 E. drove, sb., A. S. drdf < || A. S. drdf, pt. t. of drif-an, to 
 drive. 
 
 E. grope, A. S. grdp-ia?i, weak verb < || grdp, pt. t. of 
 grip-an, to gripe, seize. 
 
 E. loan, A. S. Id-n (a rare form) < || Idh, pt. t. of Uh-an, 
 to lend ; the -n is a suffix, and the h is dropped. 
 
 E. lode, a course, A. S. lad < || pt. t. of Ud-an, to 
 travel, go. Here the change from final 3 to final d is due 
 to Verner's Law; the pt. t. pi. of Ud-an is lid-on, and the 
 pp. lid-en ; § 130. 
 
 E. lore, learning, A. S. lar < || *lds (not found), cognate 
 with Goth, lais, I have found out, pt. t. of *leis-an, to track, 
 find out; see p. 155. See Lore and Learn in my Etym. Diet. 
 
 E. road, A. S. rdd < || rdd, pt. t. of rid-an, to ride. 
 
 E. slope answers to an A. S. *sldp < || slap, pt. t. of slip-an, 
 to slip. 
 
 E. Shrove (in Shrove-Tuesday) < || E. shrove, pt. t. of 
 shrive, A. S. scrif-an. 
 
 E. stroke, A. S. slrdc-ian, weak verb < || strdc, pt. t. of 
 stric-an, to strike. 
 
 E. wroth, adj., A. S. wrdd, i. e. perverse < H wrd3, pt. t. o, 
 wrid-an, to writhe, turn about. 
 
 We have at least two Scandinavian words with a corre- 
 sponding stem- vowel. These are bait, Icel. beit-a < |J beit, 
 pt. t. of bita, to bite ; and raid, Icel. reid < || pt. t. of 
 rid-a, to ride. We may also add bleak, gleam, leave, lend, ready, 
 
§ 176.] 
 
 EXAMPLES, 
 
 rear, v., stair, weak, wreath, all formed by mutation. See the 
 next Chapter (§ 195). 
 
 From the 4th stem : E. bit, A. S. bit-a, sb. < || A. S. bit-en, 
 pp. of bit-an, to bite. 
 
 E. drif-t < || A. S. drif-en, pp. of drtf-an, to drive. (The 
 suffixed / will be explained hereafter.) 
 
 E. grip, sb., A. S. grip-e 1 < || grip-en, pp. of grip-an, to 
 gripe, grasp. 
 
 E. lid, sb., A. S. Mid < || hlid-en, pp. of hlid-an, to 
 cover. 
 
 E. slit, sb. (whence M. E. slit-ten, verb), A. S. slit-e , sb. 
 < || slit-en, pp. of slit-an, to rend. 
 
 E. whit- tie, to pare with a knife, from A. S. pwit-el, a 
 knife < || pwit-en, pp. of pwit-an, to cut. 
 
 E. writ, A. S. (ge)-writ < || writ-en, pp. of writ-an, to 
 write. 
 
 Besides these obvious derivatives, we find others, such as 
 these : — 
 
 E. chin-k, formed with suffix k from a base chin- < || cin-en, 
 pp. of cin-an, to split, crack. 
 
 E. cliff, A. S. clif, properly a ' steep/ or a place to climb 
 up ; the same as Icel. klif, a cliff < || Icel. *klif-i?in (obsolete), 
 pp. of klif-a, to climb. 
 
 E. dwin-d-le, formed (with excrescent d) from *dwin-le, a 
 regular frequentative verb < || dwin-en, pp. of dwin-an, to 
 decrease, dwindle, languish. 
 
 E. slip, weak verb, M. E. slip-pen < || slip-en, pp. of 
 slip-an, to slip (strong verb). 
 
 E. shrif-t, A. S. scrif-t < || scrif-en, pp. of scrif-aii, to 
 shrive 2 . 
 
 E. stile (to climb over), in which the % has been lengthened 
 after loss of g, M. E. stiyel, A. S. stig-el < || stig-en, pp. of 
 s tig- an, to climb. 
 
 1 Curiously enough, ^rai^ as a verb is late, borrowed from F. gripper. 
 
 2 Perhaps a non-Teutonic word ; if borrowed from Lat. scribere. 
 
1 86 
 
 VO WEL- GRAB A TION. 
 
 [Chap. X. 
 
 E. Strid, a striding-place, a well-known place in the valley 
 of the Wharfe < || strid-en, pp. of sirid-an, to stride, stride 
 across. 
 
 Similarly, the Scand. thrif-t is to be compared with thriv-en, 
 pp. of thrive ; and wick-et, a French word of Scand. origin, 
 is to be compared with I cel. vik-inn, pp. of vik-ja, to turn. 
 See also wick-et, witch-elm in my Etym. Diet. 
 
 It is also highly probable that the syllable -dige in A. S. 
 hldf-dige, & lady, is from the same stem as * dig-en, pp. of 
 *digan — Goth, deigan, to knead ; and that the original sense 
 of our lady is, consequently, 4 a kneader of bread/ 
 
 § 177. The ^^-conjugation. 
 
 From the ist stem we may note the following. E. dreary, 
 A. S. dreor-ig, of which the orig. sense was gory, dripping 
 with blood, put for *dr/os-ig (cf. Verner's Law) < || dreos-an, 
 to drip. 
 
 E. crowd, s., is best explained by supposing (with Strat- 
 mann) that the A. S. infinitive (which does not occur) was 
 *crud-a?i, to push, not *cre'od-an, as usually assumed; the 
 pt. t. is found as cread. In fact, Chaucer has the verb croud-en, 
 to push, and the Dutch form is kruijen, formerly kruid-en, 
 which answers to *crud-a?i, just as the Du. buig-en does to 
 A. S. biig-an ; whereas, on the other hand, the Du. for choose 
 (A. S. ceos-an) is kiez-en, with a very different vowel, and an 
 A. S. *cre'odan would answer to a Du. *krieden, of which no 
 one has ever heard. 
 
 E. dove, A. S. dtif-a, lit. 1 a diver 1 < || duf-an, to dive. 
 
 E. lout, s.j a clumsy, slouching fellow < || A. S. liit-an, to 
 stoop ; the change from A. S. u to E. ou being regular (§ 46). 
 
 The sb. cripple, formerly creeple \ one who creeps about, is 
 a derivative of the verb to creep. 
 
 From the 2nd stem: E. bread, M. E. breed, A. S. brea-d 
 (where d is a suffix) < || breaw, pt. t. of breow-an, to brew, 
 
 1 < In them that bee lame or creepelles 9 ; (1577) J. Frampton, Joyfull 
 Newes out of the newe founde Worlde; fol. 52, back. See p. 59, note 3. 
 
§ I77-] 
 
 EXAMPLES, 
 
 I8 7 
 
 hence, to ferment ; the orig. sense being 6 that which is 
 fermented/ Observe that the vowel in bread, though now 
 short, was long in M. E. 
 
 E. -less, the commonest suffix in English, also has a 
 shortened vowel. It answers to M. E. -lees, A. S. -leas 
 
 < || leas, pt. t. of leos-an, to lose. The suffix -less means 
 ' deprived of/ The A. S. leas was also used as an adj., with 
 the sense of ' false ' ; hence E. leas-ing (A. S. le'as-ung) in the 
 sense of 'falsehood/ The adj. loose is Scandinavian, from 
 Icel. lauss, loose, cognate with A. S. leas, loose, false. 
 
 E. neat, cattle, A. S. neat < || neat, pt. t. of neot-an, to use, 
 employ. Hence the sense is ' used/ domestic. 
 
 E. reave (commoner in de-reave), A. S. reaf-ian, to strip of 
 clothes, despoil, from reaf, s., clothes, spoil < || reaf pt. t. of 
 reof-an, to deprive, take away. 
 
 E. red, M. E. reed, A. S. read < || read, pt. t. of reod-an^ to 
 redden. 
 
 E. reek, s., A. S. rec, another form of rtac, smoke < || reac, 
 pt. t. of reoc-an, to exhale. The original Teut. AU is still 
 seen in the cognate G. Ranch, smoke; § 164. 
 
 E. sheaf, A. S. sceaf < || sce'af, pt. t. of scuf-an, to shove, 
 push together. 
 
 E. sheet, A. S. scet-e, scyt-e, a sheet, allied to sceat, a corner, 
 fold, corner of a sail, sheet or rope fastened to a corner of 
 a sail < || sceat, pt. t. of sceol-an, to shoot, hence, to project. 
 
 E. throe, A. S. prea < || pre'aw, pt. t. of preow-an, to 
 suffer. The vowel in E. throe may have been influenced by 
 the Icel. form prd. 
 
 From the 3rd stem : E. gut, A. S.gull, properly ' a channel ' 
 
 < || gut-on, pt. pi. of geot-an, to pour. 
 
 E. sud-s, pi. < || sud-on, pt. pi. of seod-an, to seethe, boil. 
 E. tug, weak verb < || tug-on, pt. pi. of teo-n, to draw, 
 pull. 
 
 From the 4th stem : E. bode, A. S. bod-tan, to announce 
 
 < || bod-en, pp. of be'od-an, to command. 
 
i88 
 
 VO WEL- GRAB A TION. 
 
 [Chap. X. 
 
 E. bow, a weapon, A. S. bog-a < || bog-en, pp. of bug-an, 
 to bend, bow. 
 
 E. bro-th, A. S. bro-d (where -b* is a suffix), put for *brow~d 
 
 < || brow-en, pp. of breow-an, to brew. 
 
 E. drop, A. S. drop-a, s. < || drop-en, pp. of dr/op-an, to 
 drop, drip. 
 
 E. dross, A. S. afaw, sediment, that which falls down < || 
 dr os-en, pp. of drSos-an, to fall, drip down. 
 
 E. float, v., A. S.flot-ian < || flot-en, pp. of fleot-an, to float. 
 
 Y.. frost, A. S.fros-l(t suffixed) < || ^fros-en, orig. form of 
 froz-en, pp. of freos-an, to freeze. 
 
 E. in-got, a mass of metal poured into a mould, from and 
 got < II got-en, pp. of g/ot-an, to pour. 
 
 E. s., A. S. loc-a, a lock < || loc-en, pp. of Itic-an, to 
 lock, fasten. 
 
 E. Zw*, v., M. E. losien, A. S. los-ian, orig. to become loose 
 
 < || *los-en, orig. form of lor-en, pp. of l/os-an, to lose, 
 which became M. E. les-en, and is obsolete. 
 
 E. lot, s., A. S. Mot < || hlot-en, pp. of hleot-an, to choose 
 by lots, assign. 
 
 E. s. < || scot-en, pp. of sceot-an, to shoot. Also jta/, 
 in scot-free, which is a doublet of shot, and perhaps a Scand. 
 form. Cf. Icel. skot-inn, pp. of skjota, to shoot. 
 
 E. j^tfz^, A. S. scofian, weak verb < || scof-en, pp. of 
 scufan, to push. Hence shov-el. 
 
 E. j/o/, A. S. slop-pe < slop-en, pp. of slup-an, to dissolve, 
 let slip. was especially used of the droppings of a cow. 
 
 E. smoke, s., A. S. smoc-a < || smoc-en, pp. of smeoc-an, to 
 smoke. 
 
 E. jW, wet or sodden turf, hence soft turf < || sod-en, pp. 
 of seod-an, to seethe ; cf. sodden. 
 
 We have preserved two old past participles, viz. rotten, Icel. 
 rot-inn, and for-lorn, A. S. for-loren ; both belong to strong 
 verbs of the ^00^-conjugation. Shuffle, scuffle are Scand. 
 words, allied to shove. Some derivatives are formed by 
 
SUMMARY OF RESULTS. 
 
 mutation, as britt-le, dive, drip, &c, which will be explained 
 hereafter; see pp. 204, 208, 203. The verb to shut and the 
 sb. shutt-le were also formed by mutation from the 3rd stem 
 (scut-on) of sceot-an, to shoot; see p. 204, note 1. 
 
 Brief Summary of Results. 
 
 § 178. The chief results of §§ 153, 154 may also be ar- 
 ranged as follows : — 
 
 There are 4 principal gradations ; A, 0 (for A), as seen in 
 shake, pt. t. shook, A. S. scacan, pt. t. scoc; E, A, O, as 
 seen in bear (A.S. ber-an, Lat. fer-re), pt. t. bare, pp. bor-n, 
 Sec; I, AI, I, as seen in drive (A.S. drif-an), pt. t. drove 
 (Goth, draib), pp. driv-en ; EU, AU, U, as seen in choose 
 (A. S. ceos-an, Goth, kius-an), pt. t. chose (Goth, kaus), pp. chosen 
 (Goth, kus-ans), &c. They may be thus arranged, so as to 
 shew the oldest forms (including the Old High German) : — 
 
 Teutonic. 
 
 Gothic. 
 
 A. -Saxon. 
 
 Icelandic. 
 
 O. H. German. 
 
 A 6 ... 
 E A \ O 
 
 I AI I 
 
 a 0 ... 
 [ ai a au 
 \ i ti 
 
 ei ai i 
 
 a 6 ... 
 Ieceo 
 < eo ea 0 
 ( i a u 
 i d i 
 
 a 6 ... 
 e a \o 
 \ * 
 
 i ei i 
 
 a 110 ... 
 [ e a 0 
 \ i u 
 
 i ei i 
 
 EU AU U 
 
 iu au 11 
 
 j io ea ti 
 \ u 0 
 
 j6 au K u 
 
 ( iu 011 0 
 
 \i 6 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Vowel-Mutation. 
 
 § 179. 'A man said to Goldbnrh, buy a whole goose and a 
 cow cheap! This is my memorial sentence, for remembering 
 the principal contents of the present chapter. I may remark 
 that Goldbnrh is a real name ; it is the name of the heroine 
 in the old English romance of Havelok, which belongs to the 
 reign of Edward I. I shall now discuss each of the words 
 printed in italics in the above sentence. We find, in Sweet's 
 Anglo-Saxon Grammar, the following facts. 
 
 1. The pi. of ma?m, a man, is menn, men. 
 
 2. From gold, s. gold, is formed the adj. gylden, golden, 
 and the verb gyldan, to gild. 
 
 3. Bnrh, a borough, town, makes the plural by rig, towns. 
 The dat. sing, is also by rig. 
 
 4. From hdl, adj., whole, is formed the derived verb hdlan. 
 to heal, lit. to make whole. 
 
 5. Gos, goose, makes the pi. ge's, geese. 
 
 6. Cu, a cow, makes the pi. cy, cows ; hence, by the way, 
 mod. E. ki-ne, which stands for ki-en (like eyne, eyes, for ey-eii). 
 Here ki- = A. S. cy, and -en is a pi. suffix (A. S. -an) ; so 
 that ki-ne ( = kl-en) is a double plural l . 
 
 7. Ce'ap, a bargain, whence our cheap is derived, produces 
 a derivative verb ciepan, cypan, to buy. This verb was some- 
 times written cepan, whence our keep. See Cheap, Keep, in my 
 Etym. Diet. 
 
 1 The pi. kye occurs in Northern English ; it is spelt kie in Golding's 
 translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses, fol. 26 (1603) ; cf. p. 66, note. 
 
§ i8i.] 
 
 CONCEALED MUTATION. 
 
 I 9 1 
 
 § 180. To these results we may add one more, viz. that 
 just as in the 7th example we see ea changed to ie, or y (y 
 being a later spelling), so we find examples in which the 
 unaccented ea changes to the unaccented ie or y. Even eo 
 changes like ea, and eo like ea. These facts can easily 
 be remembered in connection with example 7. Thus 
 cwealm, death, gives the verb d-ruuielm-an, d-cwylm-an, to 
 kill ; sleor, a steer, ox, gives the derivative stieric, slyric, a 
 stirk ; and heorte, heart, gives the verb hiertan, hyrtan, to 
 hearten or encourage. 
 
 § 181. I-mutation. If we now tabulate the above results, 
 and call the secondary or derived vowels the mutations of 
 their respective primary vowels, we obtain the following 
 arrangement, where vowels in the row marked (A) are 
 the primary, and those in the row marked (B) are the 
 derived vowels. 
 
 (A) aou I a 6 u I ea, eo I 6a, 60 
 
 (B) e y y | se 6 f | ie, y | ie, f 
 
 This vowel-mutation, which frequently takes place in forming 
 derivatives from older words, is called, in German, umlaut. 
 If we were to enquire thoroughly into all the cases in which 
 mutation occurs, we should find that in every case the 
 primary vowel is influenced by the occurrence of an i or 
 u (rarely 6) in the next syllable. This refers only to the 
 primary form of the word, and cannot always be detected in 
 the known forms of Anglo-Saxon ; for it not unfrequently 
 happens that the i 9 after having produced a mutation of the 
 preceding vowel, drops out of sight, and is lost \ This will 
 be understood by considering a few instances ; but, before 
 giving these, it is necessary to halt by the way, in order to 
 mention that, in all the examples already cited, the effect is 
 produced by i, not by u. The cases in which u produces any 
 
 1 This is called ' concealed mutation,' or concealed umlaut. It i» very 
 common. 
 
192 
 
 VO WEL-MUTA TION. 
 
 [Chap. XI. 
 
 effect are, comparatively, so few that I leave them out of 
 sight here. The principle of mutation is the thing to be first 
 acquired ; after that, all is easy. 
 
 § 182. Concealed mutation. An easy example of con- 
 cealed mutation occurs in the word French. French is short 
 for Frankish. But the a in Frankish, being followed by an 
 i in the next syllable, ' is modified in the direction of i, the 
 result being a new vowel intermediate to the other two/ as 
 Mr. Sweet puts it in his A.S. Reader, p. xix. There is, 
 in fact, a tendency to turn Frankish into Frenkish, and we 
 actually find, accordingly, that Frencisc is the A.S. form of 
 the word. This Frenkish (A. S. Frencisc) was afterwards 
 shortened to French, as we now have it ; so that the 1, after 
 modifying the a to an e y has disappeared ; that is, the cause 
 of the mutation has been concealed. On the same principle 
 we can now explain all the above results in order, which we 
 will proceed to do. 
 
 § 183. A>E. We found (1) that the pi. of man is men ; 
 or, in A.S., that the pi. of mann is menn. The Icel. pi. is 
 also menn. This particular word is of anomalous declension, 
 so that the process is the less clear. Gothic, which is re- 
 markable for never exhibiting mutation, makes the nom. pi. 
 both mans and mannans ; and it is probable that the latter 
 form was shortened to *manna, and afterwards the final 
 vowel weakened, thus giving *manm\ which would be regu- 
 larly changed into menn in Icel. and A. S. O. Friesic, 
 O. Saxon, and O. H. G. have the unchanged plural man 
 (the same as the singular), which would result from the pi. 
 man-s, by loss of s. We can see the result more clearly in 
 the dative singular; for it happens that the A.S. dat. sing, 
 takes the form menn as well as the nom. plural ; whereas the 
 Icel. dat. sing, is ma?ini, thus affording formal proof that 
 menn< *menni=?nanni. 
 
 §184(2). 0>Y. The adjectival suffix -en is written 
 ~eins in Gothic, which has gul/h, gold, gulth-eins, golden. 
 
§ 185.] 
 
 MUTATION OF 0 TO Y. 
 
 193 
 
 Now ei is merely the Goth, way of writing i (long i) ; so that 
 gold-en may be equated to *gold-in. The i (like i) produces 
 a mutation of 0 (for original u) to y, so that *gold-in became 
 gy Id-en 1 . Similarly, we can explain the verb gild; for the 
 regular A.S. infln. suffix of causal verbs (whereby verbs are 
 formed from pre-existent substantives) is -ian, so that from 
 luf-u, s., love, is formed the verb luf-ian, to love, &c. Hence 
 the sb. gold gave rise to the causal verb *gold-ian, to gild, 
 which regularly became gyld-an by mutation and subsequent 
 loss of i. This process is extremely common in causal 
 verbs; we constantly find that -ian is shortened to -an after 
 mutation has taken place. Modern English has substituted. 
 golden for gilden 2 , but retains the old mutation in the verb 
 to gild, the form of which is now explained. 
 
 § 185 (3). U>Y. Burh, town, makes the pi. byrig. As 
 the i is here retained, the cause of the mutation is obvious. 
 I may mention, by the way, some curious results. The dat. 
 sing., like the nom. pi., is also byrig ; so that the A.S. for 1 at 
 the town ■ was at pcere byrig, the word burh being feminine, 
 and requiring the fern, form of the def. article. In later 
 English, this gradually became at ther bury, or (by assimila- 
 tion of th to /) at ter bury, a form which at once explains 
 the surname Atterbury (i.e. at the town). The name was 
 borne by a bishop of Rochester, who attained to some fame 
 in the reigns of Anne and George I. Curiously enough, the 
 fact of the word borough being of the feminine gender was 
 often (and at last entirely) lost sight of, whilst the true form of 
 the dative was likewise forgotten. Hence borough was treated 
 as an unchangeable neuter, and the very same phrase also 
 appeared as at ten borough, where ten represents the A.S. 
 
 1 Strictly, it became gyld-in, but final -en is used for in A. S., the 
 suffix -in being disliked ; see Sievers, O. E. Gram., § 69. 
 
 2 M.E. gilden ; thus St. Chrysostom is called 'Iohn Gilden-moth? or 
 Golden Mouth ; Specimens of English, 1 298-1 393, ed. Morris and Skeat, 
 p. 69, 1. 8. 
 
 VOL. I. 0 
 
194 
 
 VO WEL-MUTA TION. 
 
 [Chap. XT. 
 
 pdm, the dat. neuter of the def. article. This has given us 
 the well-known name Aitenborough. Further, it was not un- 
 common to use place-names in the dative or locative case, and, 
 in some instances, the prep, at (E. at), which governs a dative, 
 was expressly introduced ; see note to sect. iv. 1.99m Sweet's 
 A.S. Reader, 4th ed. This at once explains the use of the 
 dative form Bury as a place-name ; though we also find the 
 nominative Burgh, Borough (as in Borough Fen, Cambs.), 
 and B rough (in Westmoreland). 
 
 §186(4). A>long^E. The verb to heal is easily ex- 
 plained. From the adj. hdl, whole, was made the causal 
 verb *hdl-ian, whence (by mutation and loss of i) the form 
 hdkl-an, M.E. hel-en, E. heal. The original form of the 
 causal verb is quite certain in this case ; for Gothic always 
 employs the form hail-Jan ( = hail-ia?i) from the adj. hails, 
 whole. In Gothic, the letter usually printed j is really 
 an English y ; and y is the semi- vowel corresponding to i, 
 as shewn in § 129; p. 150. 
 
 § 187 (5). 0 > E. The mod. E. goose, A.S. gos, answers 
 to a Teut. type gans 1 ; see Kluge's Worterbuch, s.v. Gans. 
 But its declension followed that of the feminine ' /-stems,' and 
 its plural nom. was originally *gdsis, which became *gesis by 
 mutation, and was then shortened to ges 2 . Similarly, the 
 dat. sing. *gdsi became *g&i by mutation, and was shortened 
 to ges likewise. The word foot, A.S.fdt, answers to a Teut. 
 type fot, of the masculine gender; see Kluge, s.v. Fuss. 
 In Gothic it followed the ^-declension, but in A.S. it adhered 
 to the consonantal declension (as in Greek and Latin); hence 
 the nom. pi. *fotis and the dat. sing. *f6ti both produced the 
 form fe't. It is curious, however, that the nom. pi. sometimes 
 
 1 Not gansi, as in Fick, iii. 99 ; for this stem would have caused 
 vowel-change even in the nom. sing. 
 
 2 On ' the treatment of terminal consonants and vowels ' in the Teut. 
 languages (G. auslautgesetz), cf. Strong and Meyer's Hist, of the German 
 Language, p. 61 ; the account there given is, however, incomplete, and 
 refers to Gothic only. See Sievers, O. E. Gram., § 133 (b). 
 
§ 189.] 
 
 MUTATION OF LONG U. 
 
 195 
 
 follows a different declension, and appears as fotas) whilst 
 in M.E. we even find three forms of the plural, v\z.feet,foten, 
 and fotes, the two latter being of rare occurrence. 
 
 Other examples appear in tooth, A. S. tod, masc, pi. teeth, 
 A. S. ted, rarely toffas; and in book, A. S. hoc, fern., pi. dec; 
 but this form was exchanged for that of the M. E. bokes soon 
 after the beginning of the thirteenth century. 
 
 § 188 (6). Long U > long Y. The E. mouse, A. S. mus, 
 answers to a Teut. fern, base mOs 1 ; see Kluge, s. v. Maus. 
 It belongs to the consonantal declension ; the A. S. plural 
 was originally *miisis, which passed into the form *mysis 
 by mutation, and was then shortened to mys. Other 
 examples occur in E. louse, A. S. lus, and in E. cow, A. S. 
 c6, both of which are feminine ; the pi. forms being lys, 
 cy. Of these, the former is E. lice] the latter is the 
 (occasional) Tudor E. and prov. E. kie or kye, afterwards 
 lengthened to ki-ne, by analogy with ey-nc and shoo-n, the old 
 plurals of eye and shoe. On the other hand, our house, A. S. 
 hus, was a neuter noun ; and, having a long root-syllable, 
 remained unchanged in the plural ; see Sievers, O. E. Gr. 
 § 238 ; p. 117, 1. 4. That is, the pi. was hus, now extended 
 to hous-es in order to make it conform to the general rule 2 . 
 This is why we never use the plural hice (!). 
 
 § 189 (7). Long EA>long IE (Y). The explanation of 
 ciep-an> to buy, is precisely similar to that of h&l-an, to heal ; 
 i. e. the mutation is concealed. The sb. ce'ap produced the 
 derived verb *ce'ap-ian, after which the /' caused mutation and 
 then vanished. The other examples are of precisely the 
 same character. In styr-ic, stirk, from ste'or, the i is visible. 
 The sb. cwealm, death, produced a verb *cwealm-ian, passing 
 
 1 Not Musi, as in Fick, iii. 241 ; for this stem would have caused 
 mutation even in the nom. sing. 
 
 2 Note the prov. E. hous-en, so often commended as ' a true old 
 Anglo-Saxon form 1 by those who know no better. It is only an early 
 Southern E. form, never found before the Conquest. 
 
 O 2 
 
ig6 
 
 VO WEL-MUTA TION. 
 
 [Chap. XI. 
 
 into cwielman or cwylman, to kill ; and the sb. heort-e, heart, 
 produced the verb *heort-ian, passing into hiertan or hyrtan, 
 to encourage. 
 
 § 190. TJVmutation. I have now gone through the 
 examples represented by the memorial sentence in § 179, 
 adding a few more by the way. It now chiefly remains to 
 add that the principle of mutation is extremely common in 
 A. S., and may also be due, though rarely, to the occurrence 
 of u, or even 0, in the following syllable, as well as to the 
 occurrence of t\ Striking examples are seen in the A. S. 
 meoluc, milk, seolfor, silver ; words in which the eo seems to 
 be due to ^-mutation rather than to a mere ' breaking ' of i 
 into eo before a following /; see Sievers, O. E. Gram., §§ 
 39, 107. In the former case, meol-uc stands for mil-uc* (cf. 
 Goth, mil-uk-s, milk) ; and the eo is technically described as 
 being ' a w-mutation of because the u has turned i into 
 eo. In the second case, the mutation is concealed ; seolfor 
 is contracted for *seol(o)for or *seol(u)for y and eo is, as 
 before, a //-mutation of i; the Gothic form being silubr, 
 O. Sax. silubar. These forms are of some interest, because 
 the vowel i in the mod. E. words milk and silver shews that 
 they belong rather to the Mercian than to the Wessex 
 dialect. The form silofer occurs once, and sylfor twice in 
 A.S. poetry, but seolfor is the usual form. The O.Mercian 
 sylfur has been already noticed ; see § 33. The Northum- 
 brian form is sulfer (Matt. x. 9). 
 
 § 191. Examples. I now give several examples of all 
 the above /-mutations in A. S., reserving for the present such 
 as are still retained in the modern language. These are of 
 such importance that they will be noticed separately in § 192. 
 
 (1) A > E. A.S. lang, long; compar. leng-ra (for 
 * lang-ira = *lang-iza) ; Goth, comparatives end in -iza) cf. 
 § 130. A.S. Strang, strong ; compar. streng-ra, stronger. Also, 
 from A.S. lang, the verb leng-an ( = *lang-ian), to prolong. 
 From A.S. land, land, the verb lend-an ( = *land-ian), to 
 
EXAMPLES. 
 
 T 9 7 
 
 land. From A. S. nam-a, a name, the verb ne??in-a?i ( = *namn~ 
 tan), to name. The strong verb ' to heave/ with pt. t. hof. 
 has the weak infinitive hebban ( = * haf-iari), instead of the 
 regular *haf-an, which is not found ; see Sweet, A. S. Reader, 
 p. lxx 1 . Similarly, the strong verb 'to swear,' with pt. t. 
 swor. has the weak infinitive swerian ( = *swar-ian) instead 
 of *swaran, which is not found ; id., p. lxxi. 
 
 In order to save space, and for the greater clearness, I 
 shall use (as before) the symbol > to mean 1 produces/ and 
 the symbol < to mean 1 is produced, or derived, from. 7 I 
 also use two dots ( .. ) as the sign of 1 mutation/ so that > .. 
 will mean 1 produces by mutation/ and < .. will mean ' is 
 derived by mutation/ My reason for the use of this symbol 
 is that, in German, mutation is denoted by two dots over a 
 vowel; for example, the pi. of Mann (man) is Manner, 
 where a is the modified form of a. In accordance with this 
 notation, A. S. swerian < .. *swar-ian; and again, A.S. leng-ra 
 < .. *lang-ira, compar. of la?ig. 
 
 (2) O > Y. A. S. gold > .. gyld-en (for *gold-in, as ex- 
 plained above). So also A. S. horn, horn > .. hyrn-ed, horned. 
 A. S. storm, storm > styrm-an, to storm, assail. A. S. 
 form-a, first > .. fyrm-est (=*form-isl), first; really a double 
 superlative (E. fore??iost). A. S. folg-ian, to follow, often 
 appears in the mutated form fylgian. A. S. cor- \\ cor-en, pp. 
 of ceos-an, to choose > .. cyr-e, choice. A. S. god, god > .. 
 gyd-en ( = *gyd-in), goddess; cf. G. Goti-in, goddess, &c. 
 
 (3) U > Y. A. S. burh, borough > .. by rig, plural. A. S. 
 wurc (also weorc), work > .. wyrcan (=*wurc-ian), to work. 
 A. S. wull, wool > . . wyll-en, woollen. A. S. wulf, a wolf 
 > .. wylf-en, a she-wolf; this is not in the dictionaries, but 
 appears in the following curious gloss : ' Bellona, i. furia, 
 dea belli, mater Martis, wylfen 1 ; where 1 \! is the usual con- 
 
 1 Note the form hebban, not he/an ; the doubling of the b is due to 
 the contraction ensuing the loss of i. Observe, too, that A. S. puts bb 
 for ff ; Sweet, A. S. Reader, p. xxviii. 
 
VO WEL-MUTA TION, 
 
 [Chap. XI. 
 
 traction for id est, that is to say \ A. S. hungor, hunger > .. 
 hyngrian, to hunger. A. S. munuc, monk (merely borrowed 
 from Lat. monachus) > .. mynicen, a nun; whence the sur- 
 name Minchin. 
 
 (4) Long A > long JE. A. S. hat, whole > .. Ml-an, to 
 heal ; as in § 186. A. S. tar, lore > .. Idr-an, to teach. A. S. 
 stdn, stone > .. stdn-en, made of stone; also stccn-an, v., to 
 stone. A. S. dc, oak > &c-en, oaken. A. S. brad, broad 
 
 > .. brded-an, to broaden, make broad, &c. 
 
 (5) Long O > long E. A.S. gSs, goose, pi. ge's ; so also 
 tod, pi. ted ; /St, p\-/e't. The A. S. bSc, book, makes the pi. 
 bee, as if=E. *beek ; but the M.E. pi. was bok-es, now books. 
 A.S. advantage, E. boot > .. (=*bot-ian, Goth. 
 botjan), to profit ; Lowl. Sc. to profit, amend — hence, to 
 add fuel to fire. Burns uses it metaphorically in his Epistle 
 to Davie, st. 8 : — 
 
 t It warms me, it charms me, 
 To mention but her name ; 
 It heats me, it beets me, 
 And sets me a' on flame ! ' 
 
 (6) Long U > long Y. A. S. cti, cow, pi. cy, ki-ne ; as 
 in § 188. So also end, pp. known > .. cyd-an ( = *eud-tan), 
 M.E. kythc?i, to make known, shew, display. 
 
 1 For gentil herte kytheth gentilesse.' 
 
 Chaucer, Squ. Tale, 483. 
 
 A.S. tun, enclosure, town > .. tyn-an ( = * tun-tan), to en- 
 close ; M. E. tynen. Thus, in the Promptorium Parvulorum, 
 written in 1440, we find: ' Tynyd, or hedgydde, Septus! 
 A.S. scrud, a shroud > ,. scry dan (=*scru*d-2an), to clothe, 
 cover up. 
 
 (7) EA > IE (Y). A. S. ceap, a bargain (our cheap) > .. 
 ciep-an, cyp-an, to buy (our keep), in § 189. A. S. dead, dead 
 
 > .. dyd~an (=*de'ad-zan), to make dead, kill. A.S. seam, 
 
 1 See Wright's Vocab., ed. Wulcker, col. 194. 
 
§ i9 2 -] 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 199 
 
 a horse-load > .. sym-an ( = * sfam-zan), to load a horse. 
 A.S. dream, joy > .. drym-an, to rejoice. A.S. #<?W, need 
 > .. nyd-an, to compel. 
 
 § 192. It remains to give examples of the z-mutation in 
 modern English, in which it is by no means uncommon, 
 though our grammars usually say but little about it. 
 
 1. (a). A > .. E. In the following words, the Gothic form 
 at once shews that the A. S. e is an /-mutation of a. 
 
 E. ail, A. S. egl-an; Goth, agljan, occurring in the comp. 
 us-agljan, to trouble exceedingly ; allied to E. awe, from Icel. 
 agi, fear (Goth, agis, fear). 
 
 In E. bar-ley, the former syllable = A. S. here, barley ; 
 Goth, dan's, barley. (Mod. E. puts ar for er.) 
 
 E. bed, A. S. bed ; Goth. badi. 
 
 E. bellows, pi. of bellow, M. E. below, belu, belt, A. S. belg, a 
 bag; Goth, balgs (stem balgi-), a wine-skin. 
 
 E. bend, v., A. S. bendan, orig. to string a bow, fasten 
 a band to it, from A. S. bend, a band (Goth, bandi, a 
 band). 
 
 E. berry, A. S. berige ( = * bazige) ; cf. Goth, basi, a berry. 
 
 E. better, A. S. ^/ra (= * batira) ; Goth, batiza, better. 
 
 E. best, A. S. betst (= * fo/w/) ; Goth, batists, best. 
 
 E. drench, A.S. drencan ( = * dranciari), to give to drink; 
 Goth, draggkjan, to give to drink (where jjpvi = //g^, by an 
 imitation of Greek spelling). 
 
 E. ell, A. S. eln (short for *elin = *alin) ; Icel. aim, Goth. 
 aleina, a cubit. 
 
 E. ffe, A.S. ^//^ ; allied to Goth. alja } except; cf. Lat. 
 alias, otherwise. 
 
 E. end, A. S. ende ; cf. Goth, andi-laus, endless. 
 Y..fen, A. S.fenn ; Goth. fa?ii, mud. 
 
 E. guest, A.S. gest, also gecst ; Goth, ^j/i 1 (stem gasti-), 
 a guest, gasli-gods, good to guests, hospitable. 
 E. M/, A. S. M, ; Goth, halja, hell. 
 E. hen, A. S. //<7/// (originally * henjd, see Sievers, O. Eng. 
 
200 
 
 VO WEL-MUTA TION. 
 
 [Chap. XI. 
 
 Grammar, ed. Cook, §§ 256, 258), and so fern, of A. S. nana, 
 Goth, hana, 2l cock 
 
 E. ken, to know, M. E. kennen, to make known, Icel. henna, 
 Goth, kannjan, to make known. 
 
 E. kettle, A. S. cetel ; Goth, katils ; not a Teut. word, but 
 borrowed from Lat. catillus, dimin. of catinus, 2. bowl. 
 
 E. lay, v., A. S. lecgan (= * lag-ian) ; Goth, lag/an. Here 
 <^ is merely a way of writing gg ; and the gemination 1 or 
 doubling of the g is due to the contraction ; (gg < gi). 
 
 E. let, v., to hinder, delay, A. S. lettan (=* latian), to make 
 late ; Goth, latjan, to be late, tarry, from the adj. lat-s (A. S. 
 /^/), late, slow. The double / is due to contraction ; (//<//'). 
 
 E. meaty A. S. mete ; Goth, mats (stem mail-), meat ; 
 <fo/£\y, a meat-bag. 
 
 E. 7w*r*, a lake, A. S. mere ; Goth, marei, sea. 
 
 E. A. S. net, nelt\ Goth, nati, 
 
 E. A. S. sendan (=* sand/an) ; Goth, sandjan. 
 
 E. j*/, A. S. ^/Az/z ( = * sal-tan) 1 ; Goth, satjan. 
 
 E. j^7/, A. S. j^// ; cf. Goth, skalja, a tile. 
 
 E. ^/^^, a place, A. S. ; Goth, slaths, pi. stadeis (stem 
 sladt-). 
 
 E. swear, A. S. swer-ian, 2l strong verb with a weak in- 
 finitive ; but the Goth, infin. is swaran. 
 
 E. twelve, A. S. twelfe, twelf ; Goth, twalif. 
 
 E. ze^dr, to wear clothes, A. S. werian (=* waztan) ; Goth. 
 wasjan, to clothe. 
 
 E. zm/, A. S. weddian, v., from z^, s., a pledge ; Goth. 
 z#<&/z', a pledge. 
 
 E. wend, A. S. wendan (=* wandian), to turn; Goth. 
 wandjan, to turn. 
 
 (0). Besides the above words, in which the true origin of 
 the e is so clearly shewn by the Gothic forms, there are many 
 
 1 Gemination is common in A. S. in words of this sort. Thus hebban 
 = *hcffan <*hafian (see § 191), so that fi > bb. So also^' > eg ; ci > cc ; 
 li > // ; mi > mm, Sec. 
 
§ i9 2 -] 
 
 EXAMPLES, 
 
 20 1 
 
 others, some of which are explained in my Dictionary. 
 Thus blend answers to A. S. blendan, to blind ; but as hlendan 
 (■=:* bland-ian) is really the causal verb due to bland-an, to 
 mix, the two were confused, and the secondary verb took 
 the sense of ' blend/ Bench, A.S. bene (=*bank-i) is a 
 derivative of bank. Dwell, A. S. dwellan ( = *dwah'an), is a 
 derivative from the base dwal- occurring in Goth, dwal-s, 
 foolish ; it meant originally to lead into error, then to 
 hinder, delay, and intransitively, to remain. E. edge, A. S. 
 ecg (for *aggi), is cognate with Lat. aci-es, and answers to a 
 Teut. form agjo (Fick, iii. 10). E. English obviously stands 
 for Angle-tsh ; the A. S. form is Englisc or jEnglisc, derived 
 from Angle, pi. the Angles. Fell, A. S. fell-an, is a causal 
 verb (z=.*fall-iari), due to the strong verb feall-an (for *fall-aii), 
 to fall. Fresh, A. S. fersc, stands for A. S. *far-isc, i.e. full 
 of movement, flowing, as applied to water that always flows, 
 and is never stagnant; formed from far-an, to go, move, 
 with the common suffix -isc (E. -ish). Hedge, A. S. hecge 
 (see Supplement to Diet.), stands for *hag~jo, from the older 
 form hag-a, a hedge, which is the mod. E. haw ; cf. edge, 
 A. S. ecg (for *agjo), just above. E. length, A.S. lengd, 
 answers to a Teut. form langitho (Fick, iii. 265) ; from 
 lang, long ; so also Icel. lengd, length, from langr. E. nettle, 
 A. S. netele, is cognate with O. H. G. nezild (Schade), from a 
 Teut. type hnatilo, dimin. of hnatjo, a nettle (O. H. G. 
 nazza); Fick, iii. 81. E. petmy, A.S. pening, older form 
 pending, is probably a derivative from the base pand, as seen 
 in Du. pand, a pledge, G. P/and, which is (I think) non- 
 Teutonic, being borrowed from Lat. pannns, orig. a cloth. 
 E. quell, A.S. cwcllan (=*cwal-ia?i), to kill < .. || eweel 
 (=*cwal), pt. t. of cwel-an, to die; where the symbol < .. || 
 means ' derived, by mutation, from the same base as that 
 seen in cwccU E. quench, A.S. ewencan (=*cwanc-ia?i), 
 to extinguish < .. || cwanc, pt. t. of cwinc-an, to go out, be 
 extinguished. E. say, M.E. sey-en ; A.S. secgan (=*sag-ian) ; 
 
202 
 
 VO WEL-MUTA TION. 
 
 [Chap. XI. 
 
 cf. Icel. segja, to say; the original a appears in the sb. saw, 
 i.e. a saying, A. S. sag-u. E. sedge, A. S. secg (=*sag/o) ; 
 lit. 'cutter/ i.e. sword-grass or sword-plant, from its shape; 
 the original a appears in A. S. sag-a, E. saw (cutting instru- 
 ment). E. sett, A. S. sellan (=*sal-ian) ; the orig. a appears 
 in Icel. sal-a, E. sale. E. singe, put for *senge, M. E. seng-en, 
 A. S. seng-an, lit. to make to sing, from the hissing of a 
 burning log, &c. ; the orig. a appears in A. S. sang, later 
 form song, E. song. Chaucer has senge for singe ; C. T. 5931. 
 E. stench, A. S. stenc, a strong smell, the stem being slan-ci- 
 (see Sievers, O. E. Gram, ed. Cook, § 266) ; < .. || slanc, pt. t. 
 of slinc-an, E. stink. E. step, v., A. S. stepp-an (=*stap-ian) ; 
 from the strong verb stap-an, to go, advance. E. strength, 
 A. S. strengdii ( = *slrangid r u); from Strang, E. strong. 
 
 So also E. string, A. S. streng-e, a tightly twisted cord ; from 
 the same A. S. Strang. E. tell, A. S. tellan (=*lal-ian) ; from 
 A. S. tal-u, a number, a narrative, E. tale. E. unkempt, i. e. 
 unkemVd, uncombed ; from A. S. cemb-an, to comb< .. camb, 
 E. comb. E. web, A. S. webb {—*waf-jo), since bb results 
 from the doubling of f (Sweet, A. S. Reader, p. xxviii) 
 
 < .. || wcef =(*waf), pt. t. of wef-an, to weave. E. Welsh, 
 A. S. wel-isc, foreign < .. A. S. weal-h ( = *wal-h), a foreigner ; 
 the mod. E. Wales properly means the people rather than the 
 country, being merely a pi. sb. meaning ' foreigners ' ; A. S. 
 weal-as. E. wretch, A. S. wrecca, lit. an exile, outcast 
 (■=*wrac-ja) < .. || ivrccc ( = *zvrac), pt. t. of the strong 
 verb wrec-an, to drive, urge, drive out. Cf. E. wrack, from 
 the same root. 
 
 § 193. 0> .. Y. I now give some examples of the second 
 /-mutation ; from 0 Xo y. 
 
 2. (a). E. gild, v., A. S. gyld-an < .. gold, gold; this has 
 been already given. Similarly, we have the following : — 
 
 E. bight, a coil of rope, a bay, A. S. byht, a bay, lit. * bend ' 
 
 < || bog-en, pp. of bilg-an, to bow, bend. E. birth, Icel. 
 burdr, A. S. ge-byr-d < .. U bor-en, pp. of beran, to bear; so 
 
EXAMPLES. 
 
 203 
 
 also E. burden, A. S. byr-fi-en. E. build, A. S. byld-an< .. A. S. 
 bold, a building, dwelling. E. bury, A.S. byrg-an, byrig-an< .. 
 || borg-en, pp. of beorgan, to hide. E. ^/rz/>, a Scand. word, Dan. 
 dryppe, to drip< .. || Icel. drop-id, pp. of drjup-a, strong verb, 
 to drop ; cf. A. S. drop-en, pp. of the strong verb dreop-an, to 
 drop, drip. E. drizzle, a frequentative form from a base drys- 
 
 < .. II *dros-en, orig. form of dror-en, pp. of dreosan, to fall 
 in drops. E. filly, a Scand. word, Icel. fylja< .. Icel. foli, a 
 foal; cf. A.S. fola, a foal. E. first, A.S. fyrst (=*for-ist) 
 
 < .. A. S. before, in front. E. kernel, A. S. cyrn-el 
 (=*corn-ila)< .. rd?r«, E. corn ; the sense is 4 a little grain/ 
 E. few, v., A. S. cyssan (=*coss-ian), from coss, s., a kiss. E. 
 knit, A. S. cnytfan ( = *cnol-ian\ from cnot-ta, a knot. E. ///?, 
 a Scand. word, Icel. lypta (pronounced Ijfia) 1 , put for 
 *lopt-ia = *lofi-ia ; from the sb. lopt (pronounced loft), air; 
 thus 'to lift' is 'to raise in the air'; cf. E. lofty, a-lofl, 
 also from Icel. lopt. E. vix-en, M. E. vixen, fixen, a she- 
 fox, A. S. fyx-en ( = *fox-in)< ..fox, E. fox ; precisely 
 parallel to A. S. gyd-en, z. goddess, fern, of god, and to 
 wylf-en, fern, of aw^"; § 191 (3). So E. sully, A.S. sylian 
 
 < .. w/, mire. 
 
 (p). The same mutation is remarkably exhibited in four 
 words borrowed from Latin. Thus Lat. coquina, a kitchen 
 
 > .. A. S. eye en (for *coe-in), E. kitchen. Lat. molina, a mill 
 
 > ..A.S. mylen, myln, M.E. miln, £. ;;//'//. Lat. moneta,*. 
 mint> ..mynet, E. /7Z*'«/; cf. E. mon-ey (F. rtwnnaie) from the 
 same Lat. word. Lat. monasterium, a monastery, was short- 
 ened to *monisier> .. A. S. mynster, E. minster. 
 
 § 194. U> .. Y. Third mutation ; from g toj/. 
 
 3. (a). There are two good examples that can be illus- 
 trated by Gothic. E. kin, A. S. cyn ; Goth. kuni. E. fill, v., 
 A.S. fyllan (=*fuU-ian) \ Goth, fulljan, to fill. In the re- 
 markable verb /0 fulfil, the second syllable naturally takes 
 
 1 There is no written ft in O. Icelandic; it is denoted always by 
 the Latin symbol (cf. Lat. scriptus), but it is pronounced ft. 
 
204 
 
 VO WEL-MUTA TION. 
 
 [Chap. XI. 
 
 the mutated form, the sense being" ( to fill full, 5 though, in 
 composition, the order of the elements is reversed. 
 
 (#). E. brittle, M. E. brutel, answering to A. S. *brytel (not 
 found) < .. || brut-on, pt. t. pi. of breoian, to break up; cf. 
 A. S. bryttan (=* brut-tan), to break, a secondary weak verb. 
 E. ding-y, i. e. soiled with dung ; we find the A. S. verb ge- 
 dyng-an, to manure, in JElfred, tr. of Orosius, i. 3 ; < .. A. S. 
 dung, E. dung || A. S. dung-en, pp. of ding-an, to throw away. 
 E. list, v., as in the phr. it listeth, A. S. lysl-an ( = *lust-ian), 
 to desire < .. A. S. lust, desire, pleasure. E. pindar, also 
 pitmer, an impounder; from A. S. pyndan ( = *pund~ian), to 
 impound < .. pund, a pound, enclosure. E. shut, M. E. 
 shutten, shitten, A. S. scytlan, to shut, to fasten a door with a 
 bolt that is shot across < .. II scut-on, pp. t. pi. of sceotan, to 
 shoot \ E. stint, properly ' to shorten ' ; cf. A. S. styntan, 
 occurring in the comp. for-styntan, to make dull < .. A. S. 
 stunt, stupid. The peculiar sense occurs in the related Scand. 
 words, such as Icel. stytta (put for *slynla), to shorten, stuttr 
 (put for *stuntr\ short, stunted. There is a further trace of 
 the A. S. verb styntan in the gloss : ' Hebetat, styntid ' {for 
 styntiS); Wright's Vocab., ed. Wiilcker, 25. 28. E. think, to 
 seem, as it occurs in the phr. methinks, i. e. it seems to me, 
 A. S. me py need, from pyncan ( = *pune-ian), to seem; cf. 
 Goth, tliugkjan, i. e. *thunkjan, G. diinken, to seem ; whence 
 it appears that the base of this verb is ftune-. It happens 
 that we also find A. S. pane, thought, Goth, thagks (i. e. 
 *thank-s), remembrance; from the Teut. base thank, to 
 intend, think (Fick, iii. 128). Fick explains the base punc- 
 as due to a Teut. thonk-jo, which is possible; but it is ex- 
 tremely likely that there really was once a strong verb 
 *pincan, pt. t. *panc, pp. *puncen, as suggested by Ettmiiller. 
 E. thrill, M. E. thrillen, thirlen, A. S. pyrlian, pyrelian, to 
 pierce ; a verb formed from pyrel, s., a hole. Further, pyrel 
 
 1 Or else, from the base seen in A. S. scot-en, pp. of the same verb ; 
 see the last section. It makes no difference. 
 
§ 195-1 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 stands for *pyrh-el (as shewn by the cognate M.H. G. durchel, 
 pierced) < .. A. S. purh, prep., E. through. Thus 'a thirl * 
 was a hole through a thing ; whence the verb thirl, thrill, to 
 pierce. E. trim, properly to set firm, make stable, as in ' to 
 trim a boat'; A. S. trymman^ trymian, to make firm < 
 trum, firm, strong. E. winsome, A. S. wynsum, i. e. pleasant, 
 from wyn, wynn, joy, a fern, sb., put for *wunni (see G. 
 Wonne in Kluge)< .. || wunn-en, pp. of winnan, to win, gain. 
 See also Listen in my Dictionary. 
 
 (y). There are two good examples of words borrowed from 
 Latin. Thus Lat. uncia> .. A. S. ynce, E. inch. L. puteus, a 
 well, pit > .. A. S. *puti (for *pule-),pyl, E. pit. 
 
 § 195. A> ..m. Fourth /-mutation. 
 
 4. (a). The following examples are well illustrated by the 
 Gothic spelling ; we must remember that the A. S. a com- 
 monly represents Teut. AI (Goth, at); § 7 1, E. heal, A. S. 
 hcelan (=*hdl-ian), Goth, hailjan, to heal< .. A.S. hdl, Goth. 
 hails, M. E. hoot, E. whole. E. rear, A. S. rdtraii ( = *rdz-ian), 
 Goth, raisjan, to raise, cause to rise ; where r stands for s (with 
 a z-sound), by Verners Law. We should also particularly note 
 the doublet raise, which is a Scand. form, Icel. reis-a. And 
 just as Icel. reis-a < .. || Icel. rets, pt. t. of ris-a, to rise, so 
 likewise A. S. rdr~an< .. || A. S. rds, pt. t. of ris-an, to rise. 
 Shortly, rear and raise are both causal forms of rise) but 
 one is English, the other Scandinavian. 
 
 (/3). E. any^ M.E. ani, A. S. dn-ig (with long cc)< .. A. S. 
 an, E. 0»*. E. bleak, orig. 'pale/ A.S. < .. || bide, 
 pt. t. of blic-an, to shine, look bright or white. E. bread-th, 
 in which the final -th is late ; the M. E. form is brede, brcede, 
 A. S. brccd-u. This is one of the substantives of which 
 Sievers remarks (see brckdu in the Index to his O. E. Gram- 
 mar) that ' they have taken the nom. sing, ending from the 
 ^-declension/ though they properly 1 belong to the weak de- 
 clension, since they correspond to Goth, weak sbs. in i.e. 
 Hence brccd-u is for *brczd-i< A. S. brad, broad. And, 
 
2o6 
 
 VO WEL-MUTA TION. 
 
 [Chap. XI. 
 
 in fact, we find Goth, braid-ei, breadth, which is the very 
 cognate form required. E. feud, enmity, is a remarkably 
 erroneous form. The mod. E. form should have been *feed 
 or *fead, but it has been curiously confused with the totally 
 different word feud, a fief, which is of French origin. The 
 M. E. form is fede or feid in the Northern dialect (see Jamie- 
 son's Scot. Diet.), answering to the Dan. feide, a quarrel, 
 feud. The corresponding A.S. word is fdh-3e, enmity < .. 
 fdh, fa, hostile, E. foe. E. heat, A. S. hceiu, is precisely 
 parallel in form to A. S. brddu, breadth, explained above. 
 Hence the ce is an /-mutation of a ; from A. S. hat, M. E. 
 hoot, E. hot. E. hest, a command, M. E. hest, has a final ex- 
 crescent /; cf. whils-t, &c. ; the A.S. form is hces, just as 
 behafs is the A. S. form of E. behest. The form h&s is diffi- 
 cult, but probably stands for *hdts-si, which again stands for 
 *hdt-ti (cf. bliss, A.S. bliss, bli3s y from blide. blithe 1 ). The word 
 is certainly formed, by mutation, from the verb hdtan, Goth. 
 haitan, to command. Curiously enough, the Goth, form of 
 the sb. is haiti, which presents no difficulty. E. lead, v., A. S. 
 Icedan ( = *ldd-ian)< ..lad, a course, E. lode. E. leave, v., 
 A. S. la fan, to leave behind < .. laf a heritage, that which 
 remains. E. lend, with excrescent d and shortened vowel, 
 M.E. lenen, A.S. Icenan < .. Ian, E. loan. E. stair, A.S. 
 stctg-er (=*sta 7 g-ir?)< .. stdh, slag, pt. t. of stig-an, to climb. 
 E. sweat, v., M.E. sweten, A.S. swektan ( = *swdt-ian)< .. 
 swat, s., sweat. E. thread, A. S. prdd (for *J?rd-di)< ..prdw- 
 an, to throw, to twist. The w 7 ord to throw formerly had 
 precisely the sense 4 to twist/ like its Lat. equivalent torquere) 
 cf. throwster in Halliwell, explained as 'one who throws or 
 winds silk or thread.' Cf. also G. Draht, thread, from drehen, 
 to turn, twist. E. wreath, A.S. wrdd ( = *wrddi), a twisted 
 band, fillet < .. || wrdd, pt. t. of wrid-an, to writhe, twist. 
 Wrest and wrestle are similar formations from the same 
 root. 
 
 1 See Bahder, Die Verbalabstracta, 1880, p. 65. 
 
§ 196.] EXAMPLES. 20J 
 
 § 196. 6 > .. E. Fifth /-mutation. 
 
 5. (a). We have already noted the plurals feet, geese, teeth, 
 from foot, goose, tooth. A fourth such word is A. S. broSor, 
 brother, which made the pi. brocfru, but the dat. sing, bre'der. 
 The Icel. brodir made the pi. brcedr, now written brcedr, 
 where the 02 answers precisely to A. S. being the i- 
 mutation of 6. Hence the pi. brether was introduced into 
 Northern English and even into the Midland dialect, and, 
 finally, with the addition of the characteristic pi. suffix -en, 
 into the Southern dialect. We find brethre, Ormulum, 8269 ; 
 brether, Rob. of Brunne, tr. of Langtoft, p. 51 ; br ether-en, 
 Layamon, i. 90. 
 
 (/3). In the five following examples, the Gothic form shews 
 clearly what was the orig. A. S. form. 
 
 E. deem, A. S. dem-an ( = *dom-tan), Goth, domjan, to deem, 
 judge ; from A. S. dom, Goth, dom-s, judgment, opinion, E. 
 doom. 'E.feed, A. S.fedan (=*fod-ian), Goth, fodjan, to feed ; 
 from A. S.fdd-a, IL.food. E. meet, A. S. met-an ( = *?nol-ian), 
 Goth, motjan, in the comp. ga-motjan, to meet ; from A. S. 
 mot, ge-mot, a meeting, assembly, preserved in the E. phr. ' a 
 moot point/ i. e. a point for discussion in an assembly. E. 
 seek, A. S. secan ( = *soc-tan), Goth, sok/an, to seek < || A. S. 
 s6c (Goth, sok), pt. t. of sacan, to contend, dispute ; whence 
 also sake and soke or soken. E. weep, A. S. we'p-an ( = w6p- 
 iari), Goth, wopjan ; from the A. S. sb. wop, a clamour, 
 outcry. 
 
 (y). E. beech, A. S. Wee ; beechen, adj., A. S. be'c-en (=*bec-in) 
 < .. boc, a beech-tree. It thus appears that the true word 
 for 1 beech ' was boc, now only used in the sense of book ; 
 hence the adj. bec-en, beechen, as well as a new form 
 Wee, beech. E. bleed, A. S. bled-an ( = *bt6d-ian), from b/od, 
 blood. E. bless, A. S. ble'tsian, Northern form bloedsia 
 ( = A. S. * bled-sian) ; also from blod, blood. The suffix is 
 the same as in cleanse, A. S. clden-sian, from clcen-e, clean ; 
 and the orig. sense of bless was to purify a sacred place 
 
208 
 
 VO WEL-MUTA TION. 
 
 [Chap. XI. 
 
 or altar with sprinkled blood \ E. breed, A. S. bred-an 
 ( = *brod-ian), from brSd, E. brood. E. glede, a live coal, 
 A. S. gled ( = *glo-di, see Sievers, O. E. Gram. § 269); from 
 glo-wan, E. glow) where the w is lost, as in thread from 
 throw in § 195. E. green, A. S. gren-e, O. H. G. gruoni, 
 Teut. gronjo (Fick, lii. 112); derived from A. S. gro-wan, 
 allied to Icel. gro-a, E. grow. Green is the colour of grow- 
 ing herbs. E. keel, to cool, as used in Shakespeare, A. S. 
 cil-an (=*col-ian); from col, cool. E. speed, A. S. sped 
 (=spo-di, Fick, iii. 355), success; from A. S. spo-wan, to 
 succeed, prosper. Cf. the remarkable cognate Skt. sphiti, 
 prosperity, sphdti, increase, from sphdy, to enlarge. E. steed, 
 A. S. steda (=*slod-Ja?), a stud-horse, stallion, war-horse; 
 from A. S. stod, M. E. stood, now spelt and pronounced as stud. 
 § 197. U >.. Y. Sixth /-mutation. 
 
 (a). An excellent example is seen in the E. hide, a skin, 
 A. S. hyd. This hyd clearly stands for *hudi, because it is, 
 by Grimm's and Verner's Laws, the equivalent (except in 
 vowel-grade) of Lat. cutis (stem cuti-), a hide. The plurals 
 mice, lice, ki-?ie have been discussed above; see § 188. 
 
 (0). The E. de-file is a strange compound with a F. prefix ; 
 the true old word is simply file, as used by Shakespeare, 
 Macb. iii. 1. 65, and by Spenser, F. Q. iii. 1. 62. The A. S. 
 form is fyl-an (=*ful-ian) < ../ul, foul; so that file = to 
 make foul. So also the sb. filth, A. S. fyld (cf. O. H. G. 
 fulidd)< ..ful, E. foul. E. dive, A. S. dyf-an ( = *duf-tan), 
 a weak verb derived from the strong verb duf-an, to 
 dive ; whence also duf-a, E. dove. Properly, dive is a 
 causal form. E. kith, A. S. cy3, knowledge, acquaintance, 
 relationship (=*cun-$i) ; cf. Goth, kunthi, knowledge; < .. 
 A. S. cii3 (=*cun3), known ; with which cf. Goth, kunths, pp. 
 known. In the mod. E. kith, the i has been shortened. E. 
 pride, A. S. pryt-e ; from prut, E. proud. E. wish, v., A. S. 
 
 1 This etymology is due to Mr. Sweet (Anglia, iii. I. 156). 
 
§ I99-] 
 
 MUTATION OF EA TO Y. 
 
 209 
 
 wyscan ( = *wusc-ian) < .. wusc, a wish, s. ; it is obvious 
 that the mod. E. has really preserved the form of the verb 
 only, though wuss, on the contrary, occurs in Lowland 
 Scotch both as s. and v. To the above examples we may 
 add the prov. E. rimer, common as the name of a tool for 
 enlarging screw-holes in metal (see Halliwell). It simply 
 means ' roomer,' being derived from A. S. rym-an (z=z*rum- 
 ian), to enlarge, from the adj. rum, large, roo??i-y. 
 
 § 198. EA > .. Y; EO > .. Y. This is true, whatever 
 be the length ; i. e. ea > y, e'a > y ; eo > y, and e'o > y. In 
 early MSS., the y is written ie. We take all these together, 
 as the seventh /-mutation. Examples in mod. E. are rare. 
 
 (a). The mod. E. elder, eldest, correspond to A. S. yldra 
 (=*yld-i'ra), yldest (=*yldisla), < .. eald, E. old. The sb. 
 eld=A. S.yld-u, old age. 
 
 ((3). E. work, v., A. S. wyrcan (=*weorc-ian) < .. weorc, 
 E. work, s. Mod. E. confuses the eo and so that this cannot 
 fairly be instanced. 
 
 (y). In the same way, E. steeple, a high tower, is from 
 steep, high; but the A. S. form sty pel is formed by /-mutation 
 from steap, steep. So E. teem, v., M. E. temen, is from team, 
 M. E. tern, teem, a family ; but the A. S. verb tym-ian \> 
 formed by /-mutation from the sb. team. 
 
 (6). We may instance also Icel. dyp3, depth 1 < .. Icel. 
 djupr—K.S. deop, deep. Modern English imitates this in 
 forming depth from deep. So also theft from thief ; A. S. 
 piejde, theft < .. peof a thief. The clearest example is 
 E. stirk, a bullock, A. S. styr-ic, formed with suffix -c and 
 vowel-mutation from A. S. steor, an ox, a steer. 
 
 § 199. Mutation in Modern English. By way of re- 
 capitulation, I here collect those instances in which the 
 vowel-mutation has been clearly preserved even in modern 
 English. The explanations of the words have been already 
 given above. 
 
 1 For *djiip-i$o ; cf. Teut. langitho, length, at p. 201. 
 
 VOL. I. P 
 
2IO 
 
 VO WEL-MUTA TION. 
 
 [Chap. XI. 
 
 1. (a) man, pi. men ; compare dank, bench ; saw (a cutter), 
 compared with sedge, (b) Substantives derived from ad- 
 jectives, as : long, length ; strong, strength \ (c) .Adjectives 
 from substantives, as : Angle, English ; Frank, French ; 
 Wales, Welsh, (d) Verbs from substantives or adjectives, 
 as: band, bend) late, let (to hinder); sale, sell) tale, tell. 
 Here we may insert the cases in which the substantive lies 
 nearer in form to the root, as : quaUm, quell ; song, singe ; 
 wand, wend) wrack (sea-weed), wretch and wreck. With 
 these we may rank : comb, unkempt, considering kempt 
 as a pp. (e) Weak verbs from the base parallel with that of 
 the pt. t. of strong verbs, as : can, ken (for can is an old past 
 tense as regards its form); drank, drench) fall, fell) lay 
 (A. S. lag), lay (A. S. lecgan), which are distinguished by 
 usage ; sat, set. Similarly we have stank, stench, though stench 
 is a sb. (f) Adjective from a verb: fare, fresh. 
 
 2. (a) bor-n, birth and burden) corn, kernel) drop, drip) 
 fore, first) fox, vixen) gold, gild) knot, knit) mo?i-ey, mint) 
 
 monastery, minster, (b) Of Scand. origin : foal, filly ; loft, 
 lift, (c) Similarly we have bow, sb. (A. S. bog-a \\ bog-en, pp. 
 of bugan), bight) borrow, v. (A. S. borg-ian \\ borg-en, pp. of 
 beorgan), bury, v. ; dross (A. S. dros \\ dror-en = *dros-en, pp. of 
 dreosan), drizzle. 
 
 3. dung, dingy ; full, fill) lust, list) pound, pind-ar ) 
 stunt-ed, stint) through, thrill) won, pp., win-some. 
 
 4. broad, breadth; foe, feud ; hot, heat) load, lead, v.; 
 loan, len-d) one, any) rose (pt. t. of rise), rear) throw, 
 thread ; whole, heal. So also compare wroth, adj. (A. S. 
 wrdd ii wrdd, pt. t. of wridan), with the sb. wreath. 
 
 5. (a) foot, feet ) goose, geese ; tooth, teeth. Cf. brother, 
 brethr-en. (b) book, beech ; blood, bleed and bless ; boot (ad- 
 vantage), beet (to profit, kindle) ; brood, breed ; doom, deem ; 
 
 1 Here belongs A. S. streng-e, now spelt string, from the adj. strong. 
 So also the fish called a ling was formerly called lenge (Havelok, 832), 
 and simply means 1 the long fish,' from its shape. 
 
§ 200.] 
 
 EXAMPLES. 
 
 211 
 
 food, feed; glow, glede (live coal) ; grow, green ; cool, keel (to 
 cool) ; moot, meet ; soke, seek ; stud, steed. 
 
 6. (a) cow, ki-ne ; louse, lice ; mouse, mice, (b) dove, dive ; 
 foul, de-file and filth) un-couth, kith ; proud, pride ; r^^/, prov. 
 
 E. rz/^r (a tool) ; Lowland Sc. wuss, s. (a wish), wish, v. 
 
 7. (a) A. S. ea : old, eld-er. (b) A. S. ea : cheap, keep ; 
 sleep, steeple ; team, teem ; where mod. E. shews no difference 
 in the vowel-sounds, (c) A. S. eo : steer, slir-k; also deep, 
 depth ; thief theft. 
 
 It thus appears that clear examples of mutation can be 
 traced in nearly eighty instances even in modern English ! 
 Surely this is a point of some importance, such as should 
 not be passed over in our dictionaries and grammars as if it 
 were beneath investigation. When we find that Webster's 
 Dictionary, for example, explains food as being the A. S. 
 foda [sic ; no accent], from fedan [sic ; no accent], to feed, 
 how are we to trust an etymologist who does not even know 
 this elementary lesson, that the A. S. e is a mutation of 
 a preexistent 0? (I am glad to find this set right in the new 
 edition of 1890.) 
 
 § 200. It remains lo be observed that, in many instances, 
 the original vowel of the root has suffered both ?jiutation and 
 gradation, so that the results of the present chapter may often 
 have to be taken in combination with those of the preceding 
 chapter before the form of the root can be clearly seen. 
 Thus the verb to feed is formed by mutation from food, A. S. 
 foda. But the 6 in foda is a strengthened form of a, so that 
 the Teutonic base takes the form fad, answering by Grimm's 
 Law to an Aryan pat, appearing in the Gk. nar-eofuiL, I eat. 
 This Aryan pat is an extension of the root pa, to feed, 
 appearing in the Skt. pd, to feed, Lat. pa-sc-ere (pt. t. pa-ui), 
 to feed, &c. For further information on this subject, see 
 Chapter XIII (below), where the method of discovering 
 Aryan roots is more particularly discussed. 
 
 We are also now in a position to explain words similar to 
 
 p 2 
 
212 
 
 VO WEL-MUTA TION. 
 
 [Chap. XI. 
 
 those mentioned in §§ 47, 162 ; as e.g. nyd, need, bryd, bride, 
 gelyfan, to believe, hyd, hide, fyst, fist. Of these, nyd an- 
 swers to Goth, nauths (stem ?iauthi~), so that the jy is an i- 
 mutation of au (A. S. e'a). At the same time, the G. Noth is 
 cognate with Goth, nauths, the G. long 0 being equivalent to 
 Goth. au. Hence we conclude that E. need and G. Noth 
 have related vowel-sounds. Similarly, E. bride, A. S. bryd, is 
 cognate with Goth, brnths (stem briithi-), and therefore with 
 O. H. G. £tf?/, whence G. Braut. Geiyfan, to believe = *£^- 
 liaf-ian, from ge-le'afa, belief; and, as A. S. /<z = Goth. au=- 
 G. <zw, this is precisely the G. Glaube (=*ge~/aube). E. hide, 
 A. S. /{yW, answers to Teut. hOdi (Fick, iii. 78), cognate with 
 Lat. cutis, though the Latin form shews a weaker grade ; 
 the O. H. G. form is hut, whence G. Haut. Similarly, 
 A. S. fyst answers to O. H. G. fiist, whence G. Faust. 
 These examples may suffice ; there are many more of a 
 similar character. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Prefixes and Substantival Suffixes. 
 
 § 201. Prefixes. A considerable number of the prefixes 
 in English are of Latin origin, and due to prepositions, such 
 as ad, ad, ante, &c. The prefixes of English origin are not 
 very numerous. They are given in the Appendix to my 
 Etym. Diet., in both editions ; but it may be useful to give 
 here a brief list of the chief of them. Cf. Koch, Eng. Gram, 
 iii. 112 ; Sweet, A. S. Reader, p. lxxix. 
 
 A-, from various sources. (Only the Teutonic sources are 
 noticed here.) 
 
 1. A. S. of; as in of-dune, E. a-down. 
 
 2. A. S. on ; as in M. E: on fote, E. a-foo/. 
 
 3. A. S. and-, against, opposite ; as in A. S. and-lang, 
 E. a-/ong. See An-, Un- (2). 
 
 4. A. S. a-, intensive prefix to verbs ; as in A. S. d-risan, 
 E. a-rise. This A. S. d- is cognate with O. H. G. ar-, ir-, ur- 
 (mod. G. er-\ Goth, us-, ur-. The Goth, us is also used as 
 a prep., signifying ' away from/ The chief verbs with this 
 prefix are a-bidc, ac-curse (written for a-curse by confusion 
 with the F. and L. ac- = ad), affright (similarly, for a-f right), 
 al-lay (similarly, for a-Iay), a-maze, a-rise, a-rouse ; we have 
 also the past participles a-ghast, a-go. Among these words, 
 ac-curse and a-rouse seem to have been formed by analogy ; 
 they have no representatives in A. S. The pp. dmasod y 
 amazed, occurs in Wulfstan's Homilies, ed. Napier, p. 137, 
 1. 23. See Or- below, p. 216. 
 
214 
 
 ENGLISH PREFIXES. [Chap. XII. 
 
 5. A- in a-do is short for at, which was used in the North 
 as the sign of the infinitive. The prov. E. ' Here's a pretty 
 to-do ' is equivalent to the old phrase ' Much a-do', i. e. 1 much 
 at do/ much to do. There was an old phrase ' out at doors/ 
 besides the more usual ' out of doors ' ; hence the phr. out 
 a-doors, which may represent either of the older forms. 
 
 6. In some words, the A. S. prefix ge-, later z-, y-, was 
 turned into a-. Thus A. S. ge-wcer is our a-ware ; and A. S. 
 ge-ford-ian produced M.E. a-forthen, mod. E. af-ford (for 
 *a-ford\ See E-, Y-. 
 
 We may also notice a-ught, A. S. diviht, where a- is a 
 prefix meaning 'ever/ cognate with aye, ever, which is of 
 Norse origin. 
 
 After- ; A. S. after, after, prep, used in composition. 
 
 An-, in an-swer, A. S. and-swaru, s., an answer, reply. 
 Here the A. S. and- is cognate with Du. ont-, G. ent-, Gk. 
 czvtl, Skt. anti, over against; the sense is 'against/ or £ in 
 reply/ The same prefix appears as a- in a-lo?ig, and un- 
 in un-bind. See A- (3), Un- (2). 
 
 Ann-, in anneal, A. S. an-celan, to set on fire, burn, bake. 
 Thus the prefix is really the common prep. on. In some 
 senses, the word may be of French origin. 
 
 At-, in at-one, is the common prep, at, A. S. cet. 
 
 Be-. This is A. S. be-, hi-, the same as bi, prep, by ; E. by. 
 
 E-, in e-nough. Enough is M. E. i-noh, A. S. ge-noh ; cf. 
 Goth, ga-nohs, enough. Hence the prefix is the A. S. ge- t 
 Goth. ga-. 
 
 Edd-, in edd-y. In this obscure word, the prefix seems to 
 be A. S. ed- f back, again ; cognate with Icel. id-, O. H. G. 
 //-, ita-, Goth, id-, back. The Icel. ida, an eddy, corre- 
 sponds to the Lowland Scotch ydy, an eddy, which occurs 
 in the Boke of the Houlate (ab. 1453), st - 64, 1. 827. We 
 find the O. Sax. prefix idug-, back, in idug-lo?ion, to repay, to 
 pay back. 
 
 Emb-, in emb-er days. From A. S. ymb-ryne, a circuit. 
 
§ 20I.] 
 
 ENGLISH PREFIXES. 
 
 215 
 
 The prefix is A. S. ymb-, about, cognate with G. urn-, 
 O. H. G. umbi, Lat. ambi-. 
 
 For- (1), E. and A. S. for, prep. Used in such com- 
 pounds as for-as-much, for-ever, &c. 
 
 For- (2), A. S. for-, prefix, as in for-gifan, to for-give. 
 Cf. Icel. for-, fyrir-, Dan. for-, Swed. for-, Du. and G. ver-, 
 Goth.fr a-, fair-, Skt. para-. The Skt. /wa is an old instru- 
 mental case of para, far ; hence the orig. sense is 1 away/ 
 Allied to E. far. The prefix has something of an intensive 
 force, or gives the sense of * away/ or ' from.' The chief 
 derivatives are for-bear, for-bid, for fend, for-go (miswritten 
 fore-go), f or -get, for-give, for -lorn, forsake, for -sivear. 
 
 Fore-, in front ; A. S.fore, before, prep, and adv. Cognate 
 with Dn.voor, Icel. fyrir, Dan. for, Swed. for, G. vor, Goth. 
 faura, Lat. pro, Gk. npo, Skt. pra. Orig. sense ' beyond ' ; 
 allied to IL.far, and to the prefix for- (2). 
 
 Forth-, forward. A. S. ford, adv. ; extended from fore, 
 before ; see above. Cognate with Du. voort, from voor ; G. 
 fort, M. H. G. vort, from vor. Cf. also Gk. nporl (usually 
 TTpos), towards, Skt. praii, towards. 
 
 Fro-, as in fro-ward, i. e. turned from, perverse. The 
 prefix fro-, Northern IL.fra-, seems to be the Icel.frd, from, 
 closely allied to lcA.fr am, forward, and to E.from. 
 
 Gain-, against ; M. E. gein, A. S. gegn, against. Hence 
 gain-say, gain-stand. 
 
 Im-, as in im-bed, im-park, is the form which the prep, iff 
 assumes before a following b or 
 
 In-, A. S. in, prep., in ; often used in composition. See 
 above. 
 
 Ii-, in l-one, which is short for al-one; where al = M. E. 
 al, mod. E. all. 
 
 Mid-, in the word mid-wife, is nothing but the A. S. prep. 
 mid, with, now otherwise obsolete ; cf. G. mi/, with, mit-helfen, 
 to help with, assist. So also the Span, comadre, a midwife, 
 is, literally, a ' co-mother.' 
 
21 6 ENGLISH PREFIXES. [Chap. XII, 
 
 Mis-, wrongly, as in mis-deed, mis-take. A. S. mis-, wrongly, 
 amiss ; allied to the verb to miss. Also found as Icel., Dan., 
 and Du. mis-, Swed. miss-, Goth, missa-. 
 
 N- (i). A prefixed n- in E. words arises from a misdivision 
 of consecutive words in a phrase. It most often results from 
 the use of the indefinite article an. Thus an ewt became 
 a neivt, an eke-name became a nick-name, an ingot became 
 a ningot (whence probably a niggot, used by North, and 
 mod. E. a nugget). On the other hand, we must remember 
 that a nadder became a?i adder ; a nap?' on > an apron ; a 
 nauger > an auger ; a norange > an orange ; a nouch > an 
 ouch ; a numpire > an umpire : hence the curious forms 
 adder, apron, auger, orange, ouch, and umpire', all of which 
 have lost an initial n. 
 
 N- (2). In the case of nuncle, the n is due to the final 
 letter of the first possessive pronoun ; so that my fiuncle < 
 my 11 uncle, mine uncle. We even find the form naunt, from 
 mine aunt. 
 
 N- (3). In the word n-once, which only occurs in the phrase 
 for the nonce, we have the M. E. for the nones, miswritten for 
 for then ones, for the once. Here then is the dat. case of the 
 def. article, A. S. dam, later forms dan, than, then. 
 
 N- (4), negative prefix. A. S. n-, prefix, short for ne, not. 
 Cf. Goth, ni, Russ. ne, Irish ni, Lat. ne, not ; Skt. na, not. 
 It occurs in n-aught, n-ay, n-either, n-ever, n-ill (for ne will), 
 ?i-o, n-one, n-or, n-ol (short for n-aughf). See Un- (1) ; p. 2 1 7. 
 
 Of-, Off-. The prep, of is invariably written off in com- 
 position, except in the case of offal, for off-fall, where the 
 use of off would have brought three f's together. 
 
 On- ; A. S. o?i, prep., E. on ; in composition. 
 
 Or-, in or-deal, or-ts. The prefix is A. S. or-, cognate 
 with Du. oor-, G. ur-, Goth, ur- or us-. It is therefore only 
 another form of A- (4). Or-deal, A. S. orde'l, orddl, is cog- 
 nate with Du. oordeel, G. urtheil, judgment ; -deal is the same 
 as E. deal, a portion. The word meant ' that which is dealt 
 
§ 201.] 
 
 ENGLISH PREFIXES. 
 
 217 
 
 out/ hence, a decision. Oris is pi. of ort, cognate with 
 or borrowed from Mid. Du. oor-ete, a piece left uneaten, from 
 Du. et-en, to eat. 
 
 Out-, A. S. ut\ the prep, out in composition. 
 
 Over-, A. S. ofer ; the prep, over in composition. 
 
 T-, in t-wit, A. S. a?t-witan, to twit, reproach. Thus /- 
 is short for at-, which is the same as at, prep. ; see At- in 
 the New Eng. Dictionary. 
 
 Thorough-, in thorough-fare ; the same as through. 
 
 To- (1), in to-day, to-morrow, merely the prep, to, A. S. 
 to, to, as to, for. 
 
 To- (2), intensive prefix ; obsolete, except in the pt. t. to- 
 brake, Judges ix. 53. A. S. to-, apart, asunder, in twain ; 
 cognate with O. Fries, to-, te-, O. H. G. za-, ze-, zi-, all with 
 the sense of ' asunder 1 ; closely related to O. H. G. za-r-, ze-r-, 
 zi-r-, G. ze-r-, prefix ; cf. also Goth, twis-, as in iwis-standan, 
 to separate oneself from. 
 
 Twi-, as in twi-tight, A. S. twi-, lit. 1 double/ hence 
 ( doubtful/ allied to E. two. Cognate with Icel. tvt-, Du. 
 twee-, G. zwie-, which are allied, respectively, to Icel. tveir, 
 Du. twee, and G. zwei, two. 
 
 Un- (1), negative prefix ; A. S. un-, from Aryan n- (sonant), 
 negative prefix. Cf. Du. on-, Icel. 6-, u-, Dan. u-, Swed. o- y 
 Goth. un- 9 G. un-, W. an-, Lat. in-, Gk. dp-, d-, Zend, ana-, 
 Pers. nd-, Skt. an-. See N- (4) ; p. 216. 
 
 Un- (2), verbal prefix ; A.S. tin-, also on-, short for and- — 
 A. S. and-', cf. Du. out-, G. ent-, Gk. dvri. It is therefore 
 ultimately the same as an- in answer, and a- in a-Iong. See 
 An- above ; p. 214. 
 
 Un- (3), in un-tit, un-to. The prefix is equivalent to the 
 O. Fries, and O. Sax. und, up to, as far as to, Goth, und, up 
 to, unto. The A. S. (Wessex) spelling of this prefix is 68. 
 
 Under- ; the prep, under in composition. 
 
 Up- ; the prep, up in composition. 
 
 Wan-, in wan-ton ; see Wanton in my Dictionary. 
 
2l8 
 
 SUBSTANTIVAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. XII. 
 
 With-, against ; the prep, with in composition. The A. S. 
 wid commonly means 1 against 1 ; this sense is retained in the 
 phrase ' to fight with one/ Hence withstand. 
 
 Y-, prefix ; as in the archaic words y-clept, named, y-wis, 
 certainly. M. E. y- y i- ; A. S. ge- ; cognate with Du. ge-, G. 
 ge-, Goth. ga-. This prefix, once very common, made very 
 little difference to the sense; sometimes it has a collective 
 force. It was, perhaps, originally emphatic. See A- (6) 
 and E-. 
 
 § 202. Substantival Suffixes. The substantival suffixes 
 of E. origin are of three kinds, viz. (i) those like -dom, -ship, 
 where the A. S. suffix was also an intelligible word; (2) suffixes 
 expressive of diminution ; and (3) suffixes consisting of only 
 one or two letters, such as -m in doo-m, -th in leng-th ; some 
 of these being double or compound. 
 
 (1) In the first class we have only the following: -dom, 
 -hood (also -head), -lock (also -ledge) \ -red, -ric, -ship (also 
 -scape, which is Dutch). See Koch, Eng. Gram. iii. 102; 
 Sweet, A. S. Reader, p. lxxxi. To these should be added 
 A. S. lad) see under -hood below. The -craft 'm priest-craft, 
 &c, can hardly be regarded as a mere suffix. 
 
 -dom. A. S. -dom, the same as A. S. dom, judgment, 
 E. doom. Cognate with Icel. -domr, Dan. and Swed. -dom, as 
 in Icel. prcel-domr, Dan. trcel-dom, Swed. trdl-dom, thraldom ; 
 Du. -dom, G. -than, as in Du. heilig-dom, G. Heilig-ihum, 
 sanctuary, relic. It occurs (a) in pure E. words, as birth-dom, 
 carl-dom, free-dom, heathen-dom, king-dom, sheriff-dom, wis- 
 dom : (6) in words of Scand. origin, as hali-dom, thral-dom : 
 {c) in words in which the first element is foreign, as : Christen- 
 dom, duke-dom, martyr-dom, peer-dom, pope-do?n, prince-dom, 
 serfdom. New words, as ftunkey-dom, can be coined. 
 
 -hood, -head. A.S. -had, Friesic -he'd; cf. § 42. The 
 A. S. had meant sex, degree, rank, order, condition, state, 
 nature, form ; so that man-hood means ' man's estate ' ; &c. 
 
 1 The suffix -ness (=-n-ess) does not belong to this class. See § 232. 
 
§ 202.] SUBSTANTIVAL SUFFIXES. 
 
 Cognate with Du. -heid, Dan. -hed, Swed. -hei, G. -heit, 
 appearing respectively in Du. vrijheid, Dan. fri-hed, Swed. 
 fri-het, G. Frei-heit, freedom ; where the Swed. form looks as 
 if it were merely borrowed from German, as perhaps the Dan. 
 form was also. Cf. also Goth, haidus, manner, way ; further 
 related to Skt. ketu, a sign by which a thing is known, from 
 kit, to perceive, know. It occurs (a) in pure E. words, as 
 brother-hood, child-hood, knight-hood, likeli-hood, maiden-hood, 
 ma?i-hood, neighbour-hood, sister-hood, widow-hood, wife-hood, 
 woman-hood, and is spelt -head in God-head, maiden-head : 
 (b) in words in which the first element is foreign, as in false- 
 hood^ priest-hood. In boy-hood, the word boy is Friesian ; it is 
 not found in A. S. The form live-li-hood is corrupt ; here 
 -li-hood has been substituted for M.E. -lode, and the real suffix 
 is A. S. -lad, as in lif-ldd, provisions to live by. This A. S. 
 lad is the same as mod. E. lode ; see Lode in my Etym. Diet. 
 
 -lock, -ledge. Only in ived-lock, know-ledge) the former 
 of which has the pure E. suffix, from M. E. -Ibk, shortened from 
 M.E. lok=A. S. Idc, whilst the latter exhibits the cognate 
 Scand. form, Icel. -leikr. The A. S. Idc is probably preserved 
 in the mod. E. slang term lark, sport 1 ; it meant 1 play, contest, 
 gift, offering,' but was also used to form abstract nouns, as in 
 reaf-ldc, robbery, wroht-ldc, accusation, wed-ldc, later wed- 
 lac, matrimony, the wedded state. The cognate Icel. leikr, 
 Swed. lek, play, is also freely used as a suffix, as in Icel. 
 kcerleikr, Swed. karlek, love. There was also a corresponding 
 A. S. verbal suffix -Idcan (=*-ldcian), as in A. S. ne'ah-lcbcan, 
 M. E. neh-lechen, to draw nigh, approach ; and it is not un- 
 likely that the form of the suffix -leche in M. E. k?iow-leche, 
 knowledge, was really influenced by this A. S. verbal form. 
 It makes no great difference. 
 
 -red (i), A. S. -r<eden\ only in hat-red, kin-d-red. In the 
 latter word the middle d is excrescent, the M. E. form being 
 
 1 It should rather have given us a mod. E. loke ; the common North- 
 ern laik, a sport, is from the Icel. leikr. 
 
220 
 
 SUBSTANTIVAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. .XII. 
 
 kin-rede, answering to an A. S. *cyn-r&den, not found. So 
 also hat-red, M. E. hat-reden, answers to A. S. *hete-rdkden, 
 also not found. We find, however, A. S. freond-rdden, 
 friendship, shewing that the suffix, like -ship, signifies ' state ' 
 or ' condition/ originally ' readiness/ It even occurs as a 
 separate word, meaning 6 condition, rule ' ; and is allied to 
 Goth, ga-raid-eins, an ordinance, rule, G. be-reit, ready, and 
 E. ready. Curiously enough, it is related to the verb to ride, 
 not, as might at first be supposed, to the verb to read. 
 
 -red (2), in hund-red. The suffix in himdred, A. S. hund- 
 red, is not the same as the above. It appears also in Icel. 
 hund-rad, O. Sax. hnnde-rod, O. H. G. hunde-rit, G. hunde-rt. 
 In this case the suffix -red means tale, number, or more 
 literally, ' reckoning ' ; so that hund-red means 1 a hundred 
 by reckoning,' the A. S. hund (cognate with Lat. cent-uvi) 
 meaning a hundred, even when used without the suffix. Cf. 
 Goth, ga-rath-jan, to reckon, to number. 
 
 -ric, in bishop-ric. From A.S. ric-e, Goth, reik-i, dominion ; 
 allied to Lat. reg-num, kingdom. 
 
 -ship, A. S. -scipe, originally c shape, form, mode/ from 
 scepp-an ( = *scap-ian), to shape, make. Cognate with Icel. 
 -skapr, Dan. -skab, Swed. -skap, Du. -schap, G. -schaft, as 
 seen in A.S. frfond-scipe, Dan. fr and- skab, Swed. frand-skap, 
 Du. vricnd-schap, G.freund-schaft, i. e. friend-ship ; for which 
 the Icel. word is vin-skapr. See Weigand, Etym. G. Diet., 
 ii. 540. The suffix is used (a) in pure English words, some 
 of which are in early use, as : friend-ship, hard-ship, lord- 
 ship, town-ship, worship ( = worth- ship)) others in later use, 
 as : horseman-ship, king-ship, lady-ship, sheriff-ship, son-ship, 
 steward-ship, ward-ship : (b) with Scand. words, as : fellow- 
 ship : (c) with French words, as : clerk-ship, couri-ship, &c. 
 The word land-scape, originally also land-skip, was borrowed 
 from Du. landschap in the 17th century. 
 
 § 203. (2). Suffixes expressive of diminution. The chief 
 diminutive A. S. suffixes are -c, -el, -en, -ing, which may 
 
§ 203.] 
 
 DIMINUTIVE SUFIIXES. 
 
 221 
 
 be combined, giving the secondary forms, such as -k-in, 
 -l-ing. 
 
 -c (probably from Teut. -ko). The word bull does not 
 appear in A. S., though we find Icel. bolz\ a bull ; but we 
 find A. S. bull-u-c \ E. bull-o-ck. It is usual to regard the 
 suffix -ock as indivisible, but I would rather regard the suffix 
 as double or compound, and due to some such form as a 
 Teut. double suffix -wo-ko ; or otherwise, the -o- (A. S. -u-) 
 may have arisen from the ending of a stem in some word of 
 this class 2 . This -o-ck no doubt came to be regarded as 
 indivisible, and was used to form diminutives ; hence hill-ock. 
 a small hill ; humvi-ock, a small hump or heap ; rudd-ock, the 
 little red bird, the redbreast ; laver-ock y little lark, from A. S. 
 lawerce, laferce, a lark. There is an equivalent diminutive 
 suffix in Irish, spelt -og (also perhaps for -o-g), whence our 
 s/iamr-ock, Irish sea??ir-og, dimin. of seamar, trefoil. Cf. A. S. 
 mall-uc, melt-uc, W. mat-og, a malt-ock, where the W. word 
 may be of A. S. origin. The origin of hadd-ock is doubtful. 
 The word hammock is W. Indian, so that it is of entirely dif- 
 ferent formation. Originally hamaca, it came to be spelt as now 
 by association with words ending in -ock. Padd-ock, a toad, 
 is a dimin. formation from Icel. padda, a toad. It is some- 
 times said to mean 1 a large toad/ but this is a mere matter 
 of usage. Padd-ock, a small enclosure, is a corruption of 
 parr-ock, as is curiously proved by the fact that Paddock 
 Wood, in Kent, not far from Tonbridge, was formerly called 
 Parrocks (see Archaeologia Cantiana, xiii. 128; Hasted's 
 Kent, v. 286). This is the A. S. pearruc, a paddock; from 
 sparr-an, later parr-en (with loss of s), to enclose. 
 
 In the word sl/r-k we have the simple suffix -k. It is the 
 dimin. of sleer, A. S. steor ; whence A. S. slyrz-c, a stirk. 
 
 1 Not bidluca, as usually given ; the dat. case bulluce occurs in the 
 Liber Scintillarum, sect. 54. 
 
 2 Cf. O. Sax. -eh-u, a horse, stem *EH-wo, cognate with Lat. eq-tius, 
 stem *eq-wo-. 
 
222 
 
 DIMINUTIVE SUFFIXES. [Chap. XII. 
 
 -el, or rather -e-l, where the -/ answers to the Aryan 
 suffix -lo. See § 218. Thus E. bramble (with excrescent 
 b), A. S. brem-el, is formed (with z-mutation) from A. S. 
 brom, broom (Kluge, s.v. Brom-beere) ; giving brem-el < 
 *bromi-l (see Sievers, O. E. Gr. § 265). Similarly, E. 
 hov-el is a dimin. of A. S. hof, a. house. E. kern-el, A. S. 
 cyrn-el, is a dimin. of A. S. corn, a corn, a grain. E. nav-el, 
 A. S. nafe-la, is a dimin. of E. nave, A. S. nafa, the boss of 
 a w r heel. E. padd-le, a little spade, formerly spaddle, is a 
 dimin. of spade. E. runn-el, a rivulet, A. S. ryn-el, is a 
 diminutive of ryne, a course < .. \\ronn-en, pp. of rinnan, to 
 run. Other diminutive forms are ax-le, bund-le, nipp-lc, 
 nozz-le, pimp-le, spang-le, spark-le. In the word cock-er-el, 
 a little cock, the suffix is the Aryan -ro-lo. So also in 
 pik-er-el, a young pike ; mong-r-el, a puppy of mixed breed, 
 from A. S. mang (ge-??iang), a mixture \ 
 
 -en, or rather -e-n (Teut. -1-na ?). In the word maid-en, 
 diminutive of maid, the cognate O. H. G. magat-in or meged-in, 
 dimin. of O.H.G. magad, a maid, shews that the suffix 
 answers to a Teut. -in, which Schleicher (Compend. § 223) 
 shews to be a compound suffix. A similar suffix is used to 
 form Gothic feminines ending in -ein-s (stem -ei-ni). It is 
 also diminutival in E. chick-en, on which see the note in 
 the Supplement to my Dictionary, 2nd ed. In E. kitt-en, 
 M. E. kit-onn, the suffix was originally French, and there- 
 fore this word does not exhibit the A. S. -en, but the 
 Anglo-French -oun (Lat. acc. -onem); the change from -oun 
 to -en being, however, due to association with diminutives 
 in -en. 
 
 -ing, i. e. -in-g, is due to a Teutonic compound suffix ; 
 see § 241. It was chiefly used in A. S. to form patrony- 
 mics, as in cppel-ing, son of a noble, from ccpele, noble. 
 
 1 Kett-le, scutt-le, are also diminutives, but are both borrowed from 
 Latin, viz. from cat-illus, dimin. of catinus, a. bowl, and sctit-ella, dimin. 
 of scutra, a tray. 
 
§ 203-] 
 
 DIMINUTIVE SUFFIXES. 
 
 It does not seem to be now used as a mere diminutive, 
 except when -/- precedes. See below. 
 
 -1-ing, is compounded of the suffixes -/ {-el) and -ing, and 
 was early used to form diminutives. Examples are : cod- 
 ling, duck-ling, gos-ling, slar-ling, as diminutives of cod, duck, 
 goose, and of prov. E. stare, A. S. steer, a starling. Many of 
 these forms acquired a depreciatory sense, as : fop-ling, lord- 
 ling, strip-ling, wit-ling, world-ling. Some are related to 
 the primary words indirectly, as : nest-ling, a small bird in 
 a nest ; sap-ling, a young tree full of sap ; strip-ling, a lad 
 as thin as a strip ; year -ling, a creature a year old. Some 
 are from adjectives, as: dar-ling (= dear-ling), fat-ling, first- 
 ling, young-ling. Some from verbs, as : change-ling, found- 
 ling, hire-ling, nurs-ling, shave-ling, starve-ling, suck-lint:, 
 yean-ling. Sler-ling is a Latinised form of Easter-ling ; see 
 my Dictionary. Scant-ling does not properly belong here, 
 being of F. origin (F. eschanlillon). 
 
 -kin, i. e. -k-in or -k-i-n, seems to be a treble suffix. Tl*e 
 cognate O. H. G. -kin or -chin, as in wide-kin, wide-chin, 
 dimin. of wib, a woman, shews that the i was once long ; 
 moreover, -in appears to be a double suffix, as said above, 
 in discussing -en. The suffix -kin is not found in A. S., 
 nor is it, in general, old ; in many words it is due to 
 the borrowing of Middle Du. words ending in -ken. Per- 
 haps it first appears in names, as Mal-kin, i. e. little 
 Maid or Maud, i. e. Matilda ; whence E. gri-malkin, a cat, 
 with the word gray (or perhaps F. gris, with the same 
 sense) prefixed. The words la??ib-ki?i, pip-kin (dimin. of 
 pipe), thumb-kin (a thumb-screw) are probably of native 
 formation. Gris-kin originally meant, not the spine of a 
 hog, but a little pig ; the base is Norse, from Icel. griss, 
 a pig. E. sis-kin, a song-bird, is from Dan. sis-gen ( = *sis- 
 ken), a little chirper ; cf. Swed. dial, sis-a, to make a noise 
 like a wood-grouse. In ?iap-kin, the E. suffix is added to 
 the F. nappe, O. F. nape, 2l cloth, from Lat. mappa, a cloth. 
 
224 
 
 DIMINUTIVE SUFFIXES. [Chap. XII. 
 
 The following words are all probably Dutch, although the 
 Mid. Du. suffix -ken, once common, has been replaced, in the 
 modern Du. language, by -je or -ije or -etje or -pje (after m), 
 which is now widely used. Bump-kin, Mid. Du. boom-ken, a 
 little tree, thick piece of wood, hence a block-head, dimin. of 
 boom, a tree, cognate with E. beam. Bus-kin (for *brus-kin 
 or *burs-kin), Mid. Du. broosken, a buskin ; origin uncertain. 
 C ana-kin (Shak.), Mid. Du. kanne-ken, explained by Hexham 
 as ' a small Canne, Pot, or Cruse/ dimin. of Du. kanne, a can. 
 Cat-kin, a spike of flowers resembling a cat's tail, Mid. Du. 
 kalte-ken, a kitten, dimin. of Du. katte, a cat. Dodkin (ob- 
 solete), a little doit, dimin. of Du. duit, a doit. Fir-kin, the 
 fourth part of a barrel ; from Du. vier, four. Jer-kin, dimin. 
 of Du.jurk, a frock (Sewel). Kilder-kin, formerly kinder-kin\ 
 from Mid. Du. ki tide-kin, a little child, also, the eighth part of 
 a vat, because it is a small part of the vat ; dimin. of Du. 
 kind, a child. Manni-kin, Mid. Du. manne-ken, a little man, 
 dimin. of Du. man, a man. Mini-kin, a term of endearment, 
 Mid. Du. minnc-ken, my love, dimin. of Du. minne, love. To 
 the above words in -kin we may add prov. E. bul-chin, 
 a bull-calf, dimin. of E. bull, and equivalent to bull-ock. 
 
 1 Spelt kinderkind (with excrescent d at the end) in Peek's play of 
 Edward I, ed. Dyce, 1883, p. 383, note. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Substantival Suffixes (continued). 
 
 § 204. (3). Excluding the suffixes already explained in 
 the last Chapter, the principal substantival suffixes are due 
 to certain original Aryan suffixes which may be arranged in 
 the following order, viz. -0, -a, -i, -u, -10, -ia, -wo, -wa, -mo, 
 
 -MON, -RO, -LO, -NO, -NI, -NU, -TO, -Tl, -TU, -TER (or -TOR), 
 
 -tro, -ont, -es (or -os), -ko ; or else, to combinations of 
 these. The Aryan languages delight in the use of com- 
 pound suffixes, sometimes double, sometimes treble, and 
 occasionally even still more complex. I shall consider these 
 Aryan suffixes in the above order, and discuss compound 
 suffixes (such as Teut. -ma-n) under the first element (such 
 as -mo). These Aryan suffixes often appear in a slightly 
 different form in Teutonic; thus -to becomes -tho or -tha 
 (by Grimm's Law), or even -do or -da (by Verner's Law). 
 
 § 205. Aryan suffix -O ; fern. -A. This suffix invariably 
 disappears in modern English, and need not be discussed at 
 length, though a large number of sbs. originally belonged to 
 this class. It occurs as -a (fern. -<?)in Gothic, in the stems of 
 Goth. sbs. of the A-declension, as it is called ; see my Gospel 
 of St. Mark in Gothic, p. xxxvii. It answers to the Gk. -o- in 
 (vy-6-v, a yoke, and to the Lat. -u- (formerly -0-) in tug-u-m. 
 Thus 'E.Jzsh, Goth, fisk-s, has for its stem fiska, appearing 
 in the dat. pi. fiska-m. E. half, Goth, halba, has the stem 
 halbo, dat. pi. Zialdo-m, where -6 is a long vowel, and 
 
 vol. 1. Q 
 
226 SUBSTANTIVAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. XI IT. 
 
 answers to Aryan -a. E. ship, Goth, skip, has the stem 
 skipa ; dat. pi. skipa-m. Of these words, both in A. S. and 
 Gothic, fish is masculine, half is feminine, and ship is 
 neuter. Modern English has given up all idea of distin- 
 guishing genders in this way 1 . The following is a brief 
 list of some of the substantives of this class. Cf. Sievers, 
 O.E. Gr. §§ 239, 251. 
 
 yd). Masculine : E. day, A. S. dceg, Goth. dags. E. 
 dough, A. S. ddh, Goth, daigs. E. fish, A. S.fisc, Goth, fisks. 
 E. hound, A. S. hund, Goth, hunds. E. loaf, A. S. hldf Goth. 
 hlaibs. E. oath, A. S. dp, Goth, aiths. E. shoe, A. S. scoh, 
 Goth, skohs. E. sleep, A. S. j7^/, Goth, sleps. E. z#tf>>, A. S. 
 weg, Goth. ze;*§\r. E. ze/^ A. S. wulf Goth, wulfs. 
 
 (b) . Neuter : E. deer, A. S. deor, Goth, tftfa. E. grass, 
 A. S. £r<z\r, Goth. gras. E., A. S. holt, a wood. E., A. S., 
 Goth. land. E. A. S. scip, Goth. E. sore, s., 
 A. S. sdr, Goth. sair. E. _>rar, A. S. gear, Goth. yVr. E. 
 yoke, A.S.geoc, Goth. juk. 
 
 (c) . Feminine : E. care, A. S. caru, Goth. kara. E. half, 
 A. S. Goth, halba (side). E. ^r</, A. S. heord, Goth. 
 hair da. E. rww^, A. S. hrung, Goth, hrugga (=:hrunga). 
 E. womb, A. S. wamb, Goth, wamba. 
 
 § 206. Teutonic -an ; fern, -on ( = an). This suffix is com- 
 mon in many cases of A. S. weak nouns, but does not appear 
 in modern English. Thus E. tongue, A. S. tung-e, f., makes 
 the gen. tung-an; the Gothic tugg-o (=lung-d) makes the 
 gen. iugg-on ( = lung-6n); the Teut. form being tong-an; 
 cf. § 205. Other nouns which had this suffix are bear (an 
 animal), bow (for shooting) ; bourn (brook), cove, drop, gall, 
 shank, smoke, spark, stake, wit (wise man), all masculine ; and 
 ear, eye, neuter. Also the fern. sbs. crow, fly, heart, week ; and 
 the fern. pi. ashes, A. S. ccsc-an, Goth, azg-on. 
 
 1 Modern E. gender is (mainly) logical, i. e. it depends on distinctions 
 of sex. The A. S. gender is grammatical, i. e. it depends on the form of 
 the name itself, which is quite a different thing. 
 
§ 209.] 
 
 AR VAN SUFFIX -10. 
 
 22J 
 
 § 207. Aryan suffix -L This suffix disappears in 
 modern English, like the preceding. It is commonly known 
 only by its causing ' mutation* of the root-vowel of the stem. 
 It occurs in the stems of Goth. sbs. of the z-declension ; as 
 in arms, an arm, dat. pi. armi-m. There are no neuter 
 sbs. of this form. It occurs also in Skt. ah-i, a snake, Gk. 
 €^-t-y, Lat. angu-i-s, &c. 
 
 Examples are : (a) Masculine : E. hip (of the thigh), 
 A. S. hype, Goth, hups, stem hupi. E. meat, A. S. mete, 
 Goth, mats) Teut. matt. E. string, A. S. streng ( = *sirangi), 
 allied to Strang, strong. (b) Feminine : E. queen, A. S. 
 cwe'n, Goth. kwens\ Teut. kwJsni. E. weird, i.e. fate; A. S. 
 wyrd < .. || word-en, pp. of 7veorpan, to happen. 
 
 For further examples see Sievers, O. E. Gr. § 263. 
 
 § 208. Aryan suffix -U. This suffix likewise dis- 
 appears in mod. E. It occurs in the stems of Goth. sbs. of 
 the ^-declension ; as in handu-s, a hand. It occurs in Skt. 
 dc-u, quickly, Gk. w/c-v-r, swift, Lat. ac-u-s, a needle, &c. 
 
 Examples are (a) Masculine : E. wand, of Scand. origin ; 
 Icel. vdnd-r — Goth, wand-us ; where 0 is the //-mutation 
 of a. (b) Feminine : E. chin, A. S. ci?in, Goth, ktnnus, Gk. 
 yews. E. hand, A. S. hand, Goth, handus. (c) Neuter : E. 
 fee, A. S.feoh, Goih./aihu. 
 
 § 209. Aryan suffix -10 (written -JO by some German 
 writers). This suffix appears as -ja l in Goth, haird-ja-m, dat. 
 pi. of haird-eis, masc, a shepherd ; and in hin-ja, dat. sing, 
 of kun-i, n., kin. It is represented accordingly, by Goth, 
 masc. sbs. ending in -eis, and Goth. neut. sbs. in -1; see my 
 Gospel of St. Mark in Gothic, p. xxxvii. It is common in 
 Latin as -io-, as in od-io-, stem of odium, hatred. In A. S. 
 this suffix became simply -e, as in Goth, and-eis, A. S. 
 end-e, M. E. end-e, in Chaucer, mod. E. end, where the suffix 
 disappears. Similar words are: E. herd, in the sense of 
 shepherd, A. S. hird-e, m., Goth, haird-eis, m. (as above), 
 1 The Goth. / is pronounce:! as E. y. 
 Q 2 
 
228 
 
 SUBSTANTIVAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. XIII. 
 
 Teut. herd-ya (Fick, iii. 80). E. leech, A. S. ldc-e, Goth. 
 lek-eis, a physician, Teut. l^sk-ya. In other words the -io- suffix 
 (A. S. -e) has sometimes caused a doubling of the last letter in 
 the A. S. form, and has afterwards fallen away, though it has 
 often left its mark upon the word by producing an /-mutation 
 of the preceding vowel. Thus E. din, A. S. dyn (put for 
 dynn), is also found in the fuller A. S. form dyn-e ( = dun-ya). 
 E. hill, A. S. hyll (=hul-ya), cognate with Lat coll-is. 
 E. ridge, A. S. hrycg (= hrygg — hrug-ya). E. wedge, 
 A. S. wecg ( = wegg — wag-ya). See Sievers, O. Eng. 
 Gr. § 247. 
 
 In A. S., the neuter Teut. suffix -i drops off, but not 
 before it has caused /-mutation. Good examples are seen in 
 E. bed, A. S. bedd, Goth. badi. E. kin, A. S. cy?in, Goth. 
 kuni. E. net, A. S. nett, Goth. nati. E. wed, s. (a pledge, obso- 
 lete), A. S. wedd, Goth. wadi. Other examples, mostly neuter, 
 occur in A. S., viz. E. den, A. S. denn (cf. O. H. G. tenni, G. 
 Tenne, a floor). E. errand, A. S. cerend-e, Icel. eyrend-i 1 . 
 E. hue, A. S. hizv, Goth, hiw-i. E. rib, A. S. ribb (O. H. G. 
 rippi). E. web, A. S. webb, where the A. S. double b stands, 
 as usual, for double so that webb = *waf-ja< .. || A. S. 
 wcef ({ox *zvqf), pt. t. of wef-an, to weave. E. wit, A. S. wit, 
 Goth, zvit-i, from A. S. and Goth, zvit-an, to know. E. 
 work, s., A. S. weorc, Goth, ga-waurk-i. It should be 
 particularly noticed that all the mod. E. words quoted in 
 this section (except leech and hue) are pronounced with a 
 short vowel, this effect being due to the mode of their 
 formation. 
 
 Aryan -IA. This is the corresponding feminine suffix, 
 appearing in Gothic as -jo in the dat. pi. wrak-jo-m of the 
 sb. wrak-ja, vengeance. The Goth. sbs. commonly end 
 in -ja in the nominative, but the A. S. drops the suffix 
 altogether, though its original presence is marked, as before, 
 
 1 In this word the suffix is obviously double ; thus A. S. ckr-end-e = 
 Teut. air-and-ya. Cf. Goth, air-us, a messenger. 
 
§ 210.] 
 
 TEUTONIC SUFFIX - YAN, 
 
 22g 
 
 by the doubling of the final consonant (unless there are two 
 consonants already) and by /-mutation of the preceding 
 vowel. As before, the vowel in mod. E. is usually short. 
 Examples : E. bridge, A. S. brycg, f. (Icel. brygg-jd). E. 
 crib, A. S. cribb, f. (O. Sax. kribb-ia). E. edge, A. S. ecg, f. 
 (Du. egg-e). E. hell, A. S. hel, f., gen. hell-e, Goth, hal-ja.. 
 gen. hal-jo-s. E. hen, A. S. henn, formed with z-mutation from 
 A. S. masc. han-a, a cock. E. sedge (lit. sword-grass), A. S. 
 secg, a sword (= *sag-ja, i.e. cutt-er), from Teut. base sag = 
 Aryan root sek (Lat. sec- are, to cut). E. shell, A. S. sa il, 
 Goth, skal-ja, a tile, allied to E. scale, Anglo-French escale. 
 E. sill (of a door), A. S. syll, a base, support. E. sin, A. S. 
 synn (for *synd), O. Sax. sund-ia, G. Siinde, O. H. G. 
 sunt-a 1 . Cf. Sievers, O. E. Gr. § 258. 
 
 § 210. Teutonic -yan, -in. These suffixes appear in some 
 sbs. of the weak declension 2 . Examples are : (a) mascu- 
 line : E. ebb, s., A. S. ebb-a, gen. ebb-an (= *af~Jan) 3 . E. 
 
 A. S. hnecc-a, gen. hnecc-an (= *hnak-jari). E. tttttf 
 (spring of water), A. S. well-a, gen. well-an ( = *wal-Jan), from 
 the base wal (A. S. weall-an\ to boil, boil up. E. will* s., A. S. 
 will-a, gen. will-an, Goth, wil-ja (stem wil-jan). E. zvrelch, 
 A. S. wrecc-a, gen. wrecc-an (= *ivrak-jaii), from the base 
 wrak (A. S. zflr^r, pt. t. of wrec-an, to drive away, hence to 
 exile). 
 
 (£) Feminine : E. s., old age (obsolete), A. S. yld-u, 
 ield-u, derived by /-mutation from eald, old, answers to O. Sax. 
 eld-i, O. H. G. elt-i, old age, and therefore had originally the 
 stem *eald-in. So also E. heat, A. S. hcet-u, from hat, hot ; 
 ^/-w had originally a stem *hdl-tn. The Gothic weak fern, 
 sbs. of this class exhibit the suffix -ein, as in manag-ein, dat. 
 
 1 Also santea ; see Schade. 
 
 2 The ' weak declension ' is the name given to that of stems ending in 
 n ; see Sievers, O. E. Gr. § 276, and my Gothic Gr. § 21. The term is 
 not a happy one. 
 
 3 The A. S. bb stands for ff<fi. Cf. Goth, a/, E. of, i. e. from. Hence 
 ebb, from *af-Jan, means 1 the receding' of the sea (Schade). 
 
230 
 
 SUBSTANTIVAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. XIII. 
 
 of manag-ei, multitude ; and this ~ein answers to a Teut. -in. 
 Sievers well remarks (§ 279) : — 'As respects their origin [i.e. 
 etymologically], the abstracts in -u, -0, such as brced-u, 
 breadth, h&l-u, salvation, meng-u, menig-o, multitude, streng-u, 
 strength, ield-u, age, belong to the weak declension, since 
 they correspond to Goth, weak nouns in -ei. They have, 
 however, taken the nom. sing, ending from the a-declension, 
 and thus rid themselves entirely of the old inflectional forms/ 
 Here likewise belongs E. fill, s., A. fyll-o, fern. < ..full, 
 adj. full; orig. stem *futt-in\ cf. Goth, us-full-ein-s, fulness. 
 
 Teut. -!-NA. Corresponding to this is the A. S. suffix -en, 
 as already noticed in § 203. The words maid-en, chick-en, 
 have been already cited as diminutives. Other examples are : 
 (perhaps) E. mai-n, s., strength, A. S. mccg-en, neut, cognate 
 with Icel. ??ieg-in, strength, O. Sax. meg-in, O. H. G. mek-in. 
 E. swine, A. S. sw-in, neut., cognate with Icel. sv-in, Goth. 
 sw-ein (stem sw-eind). In the latter case, the suffix was 
 orig. adjectival, as seen in Lat. su-inus (Varro), relating to 
 sows, from su-, crude form of sus, a sow ; cf. E. sow, A. S. 
 sugu y su. E. brack-en, A. S. bracc-an, is really a plural form, 
 being the pi. of A. S. bracc-e, of the weak declension. Other 
 words in -en will be discussed hereafter. 
 
 § 211. Aryan suffix -WO (written -VO by German 
 editors, who write v for w, needlessly). It occurs in Skt. 
 ac-va, a horse, Gk. ittuo-s ( = *iK-fo-s), Lat. eq-uu-s; Skt. e-va, 
 a course, Lat. ce-uu-m, a life-time, Goth, ai-wa-m, dat. pi. of 
 aiws, an age. It is not observable in A. S. in the nom. 
 sing., but appears in other cases (except in the nom. pi. and 
 acc. pi. of neuters); see Sievers, O. E. Gr. § 249. Examples 
 of neuter sbs. are: E. bale, s., harm, evil, A. S. beal-u, gen. 
 beal-we-s, cf. Goth, bal-wa-wesei, s. f., wickedness. E. cud, 
 also quid, A. S. cud-u, cwud-u, cwid-u, gen. cwid-we-s, Teut. 
 kwid-wa (see Supp. to my Etym. Diet., 2nd ed.). E. meal, 
 ground corn, A. S. meol-u, gen. meol-wes or meol-o-wes (where 
 the inserted -0- is euphonic), Teut. mil-wa. E. tar, A. S. 
 
§ 212.] 
 
 ARYAN SUFFIX -WA. 
 
 231 
 
 teor-u, gen. teor-we-s, stem ter-wa = Teut. ter-wa, for 
 tre-wa ; the word is of adjectival origin, and denoted 
 originally ' belonging to a tree 9 ; cf. tree below. Other 
 neuters of this class are : E. glee, A. S. glig, gleo, gen. glz-we-s, 
 Teut. gli-wa. E. knee, A. S. cneo, cne'ow, gen. cneo-we-s, cog- 
 nate with Goth, kni-u, gen. kni-wi-s, Teut. kne-wa, allied 
 to Lat. gen-u, Gk. yov-v, Sktjdn-u. E. tree, A. S. ire'o, gen. 
 tre'o-we-s, Goth, tri-u, gen. tri-wi-s, Teut. tre-wa, cog- 
 nate with Russ. dre-vo, a tree, W. der-u, an oak, Gk. dpv-s, 
 an oak. The suffix appears as -w in mod. E. stra-w, 
 A. S. slrea-w, as seen in streaw-berige, a strawberry, Wright's 
 Vocab. ed. Wiilcker, col. 298, L 11; cognate with G. Stroh, 
 O. H. G. stro, strau, gen. slraw-es; the corresponding Goth, 
 stem would be *stra-wa (Kluge, s. v. Stroh). E. lee, i.e. 
 shelter, a Scand. form, from Icel. /;//, lee, is cognate with A.S. 
 hleo, hleow, gen. hleo-we-s, a shelter, preserved in prov. E. 
 lew, warm, lew-th, shelter. 
 
 Masculine : E. de-w, A. S. dea-w, gen. dea-we-s, cognate 
 with G. Thau, Teut. da-wa (Fick, iii. 146). E. lo-w, a 
 hill, mound, grave, A. S. hld-w, hlce-w, dat. hld-we, hlce-we, 
 cognate with Goth, hlai-w, a grave, from the Teut. base hlei, 
 = Aryan root krei (klei) ; cf. Lat. cli-uu-s, a hill. E. sno-w, 
 A. S. snd-w, Goth, snai-w-s (stem s?iai-wa). 
 
 § 212. Aryan - WA, fern, form of the preceding. Examples 
 occur in the following fern. sbs. : E. cla-w, M. E. cla-w, A. S. 
 cld-wu, pi. cld-we, cognate with G. Klaue, O. H. G. chla-wa 
 (see Schade). Fick gives the Teut. form as kla-wa, iii. 52. 
 Perhaps it is better to suppose the Teut. form to be 
 kla-wa, resulting from klau-a, where klau is a ' graded ' 
 form of the Teut. base kleu = Lat. glu- in glu-ere, to draw 
 together ; see Schade, s. v. chlawa. Also : E. gear, A. S. 
 gear -we, fern. pi. equipments, formed from the adj. gear-u, 
 (nom. pi. gear-we), ready, yare, Teut. gar-wa, adj., ready, 
 (Fick, iii. 102). E. mead, also mead-ow, A. S. mdtd, dat. 
 mced-we, stem mad-wa, so that mead is from the nom. case, 
 
232 
 
 SUBSTANTIVAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. XIII. 
 
 and mead-ow from the dative or the stem ; moreover, the 
 -D- is for -TH- = Aryan -t- ; in fact, the E. -th actually 
 occurs in the forms after-math, latter-math, and the root is 
 the Teut. ma, to mow. Similarly, the double forms in E. 
 shade and E. shad-ow are explicable by help of the A. S. fern, 
 sb. scead-u, of which the acc. pi. is scead-wa (Grein). E. 
 sin-ew, A. S. sin-u, seon-u, nom. pi. seon-we, Grein, ii. 430. 
 E. sto-w, a place, A. S. sto-w, gen. sto-we ; from the Aryan 
 root sta, to stand, remain. The word mall-ow, A. S. mal-we, 
 is a mere borrowing from the Lat. mal-ua. 
 
 § 213. Teutonic -wan. There is an instance of this in 
 E. swall-ow (bird), A. S. sweal-we, s. fern., gen. sweal-wan, 
 Teut. swal-wan. Other examples are (probably) : E. arr-ow, 
 A. S. ar-e-we (gen. arewan), a late form, pointing to 
 earlier *ar-we, gen. *ar-wan, answering to a Goth. fern, 
 stem *arh-won, as shewn by the closely allied Goth, arh- 
 wa-z?ia, an arrow ; Teut. stem arh-wan, also found in 
 the shorter form arh-wa, whence Icel. or (gen. br-va-r), an 
 arrow. The Teut. arh-wa = Aryan arq-wo, whence Lat. 
 arqu-u-s, more commonly arc-u-s, z. bow, weapon of defence, 
 from the root arq, to defend (Lat. arc-ere) ; see Fick, hi. 24. 
 E. barrow (in wheel-barrow), M. E. barowe, barwe, answering 
 to A. S. bear-we, gen. bear-wan, as seen in the comp. 
 ?neox-bearwe, a barrow for dung. E. sparr-ow, A. S. spear- 
 we, gen. spear-wan. E. yarr-ow (milfoil), A. S. gear-we, 
 gen. gear-wan. The word wid-ow, A. S. wid-we, weod- 
 •u-we, is cognate with Goth, wid-u-wo, gen. wid-u-won, 
 which seems to have an additional prefix before the final 
 -wan, answering perhaps to the -a- in Skt. vidh-a-vd, a 
 widow. The E. pill-ow is not Teutonic ; it occurs as M. E. 
 pil-ive, A. S. pyl-e. But there must have been a longer A. S. 
 form *pyl-we, cognate with O. H. G. phulwi, phulwo (Schade) ; 
 all the forms are merely borrowed from Lat. piduinus, a 
 bolster, cushion. Such words as bill-ow,furr-ow, marr-ow, 
 will-ow, do not belong here. 
 
§ 2I4-] 
 
 AR YAN SUFFIX -MO. 
 
 *33 
 
 § 214. Aryan -MO. This is well marked in Mod. E., in 
 which it appears as final -m, or as -om (in bos-om, bott-om, 
 fath-omy. All the extant words with this prefix are (I think) 
 of the masculine gender, except foam, which is neuter. It 
 should also be particularly noted that, with the exception of 
 the words in -om, all these words are now monosyllabic, and 
 all contain a vowel that is long, either essentially or by 
 position; for, except when the vowel is essentially long, 
 words of this class end in a double consonant. The A. S. 
 suffix is -m, answering to Goth, -ma, Lat. -mu-s, Gk. -/xo-s 
 (-^77), as in Lat. cul-mus, a stalk, Gk. icaka-pos, a reed (icakd-pr], 
 a stalk), which is cognate with E. hal-m, haul-m, a stalk, and 
 Russ. solo-ma, straw. 
 
 Examples : E. bea-m (of timber), A. S. bea-m, Du. boo-m, 
 a tree (E. boom, borrowed from Dutch), G. Bau-m, perhaps 
 allied to Gk. <£0-/xa, a growth. [But the Goth, form is 
 bag-ms (stem bag-ma), which points to an Aryan root bhagh, 
 as in Skt. bah-u, large; see Bough in my Etym. Diet.] 
 E. bos-om, A. S. bos-m, G. Bus-en. E. bott-om, A. S. bot-m, 
 G. Bod-en, prob. allied to Gk. ttvO-^v, and to Vedic Skt. 
 budh-na, depth. E. doo-m, A. S. d6-m, Goth, do-m-s, stem 
 do-ma, allied to Gk. 0c-/ur, that which is set or established, 
 from the root dha, to put, place, whence E. do. E. drea-m, 
 A. S. drfa-m, meaning (i) noise, rejoicing, (2) joy, (3) vision, 
 Teut. drau-ma (Fick, iii. 152), prob. allied to Gk. 6p6os, 
 noise, tumult. E. fath-om, A. S. fecd-m, the space reached 
 by outstretched arms, from the root pat, to extend. E. 
 fil-m, A. S. *fil-?n, only found in the dimin. form film-en, 
 membrane, allied to E. fell, skin 2 . E. foa-m, A. S. fd-m, 
 neut., prob. allied to Lat. spu-ma, Skt. phe-na, foam. E. 
 
 1 The 0 in this final -om was formerly not written ; cf. A. S. b6sm y 
 botm, fcedm. And, in fact, the final -m is here vocalic. 
 
 2 Wright's Vocab., ed. Wulcker, col. 203, has: * CtntipiUium, i. omen- 
 tum, film.' The meaning of the curl is uncertain. In the same, col. 446, 
 the gen. ^X.filmena occurs. 
 
*34 
 
 SUBSTANTIVAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. XIII. 
 
 gka-m, A. S. glcz-m, stem gl&-mci = glai-ma, from a base gli, 
 to shine, as seen in gli-nt, gli-mmer, gli-tter, glister. E. 
 gloo-m, A. S. glo-m, a faint light, from gld-wan, to glow. 
 E. haul-m, hal-m, A. S. heal-m, Teut. hal-ma (Fick, iii. 70), 
 allied to Lat. cul-mu-s, Gk. KaXd-fxi] (as above). E. hel-m, 
 a helmet, A. S. that which covers or protects, a helmet, 
 
 Goth, hil-m-s (stem hil-ma), Teut. hel-ma (Fick, iii. 69), 
 from the root of A. S. hel-an, to cover. E. hol-m, an islet 
 in a river, A. S. hol-m y orig. 1 a mound/ allied to Lat. cut-men, 
 a mountain-top, and to col-lis, a hill. E. loa-m, A. S. Af-w, 
 Teut. lai-ma, closely allied to E. h'-me, A. S. li-m, Teut. 
 li-ma (Fick, iii. 268). In fact, lime and loam only differ in 
 their vowel-gradation (cf. A. S. drif-an, to drive, pt. t. drdf) ; 
 and are allied to Lat. li-nere, to smear, daub. E. qual-m, A. S. 
 cweal-m (for *cwal-m) < || cwcel ( = *cwal), pt. t. of cwel-an, 
 to die. E. sea-m, A. S. se'a-m, G. Sau-m, Teut. sau-ma, from 
 the root sO, to sew (Lat. su-ere). E. sli-me, A. S. allied 
 to Russ. slina, saliva, Lithuan. seil-e, spittle, O. Irish sail-e, 
 saliva, and Lat. sal-i-ua. E. stea-m, A. S. s/e'a-m, Teut. stau- 
 ma. E. stor-m, A. S. stor-m, Teut. stor-ma (Fick, iii. 346). 
 E. strea-m, A. S. stre'a-m, allied to G. Stro-m y Teut. strau- 
 ma, from the Teut. streu, to flow = Aryan root streu, sreu, to 
 flow, whence also Gk. ^rpv-fxcov, the Strymon, a river-name, 
 pei-pa, flow, flood, Lithuan. sro-we, a stream, O. Irish sru- 
 aim ) a stream. E. swar-m, A. S. swear-m, Teut. swar-ma, 
 orig. 1 a buzzing/ from Aryan root swar, to hum, buzz. 
 E. tea-m, a row of horses, A. S. te'a-m, a family, a line, 
 cognate with G. Zan-m, a bridle, Teut. tau-ma, a set, line, 
 row, bridle, put for *tauh-ma, derived from Teut. teuh, 
 to lead, Goth, tiuh-an (Lat. duc-ere) 1 . To these we may 
 add E. roo-m y though the A. S. ru-m was orig. an adj., 
 meaning large, spacious; cf. Goth, rums, adj., spacious, also 
 rums, s., room; Teut. ru-ma (i) spacious, (2) space; allied 
 to Lat. ru-s, open country. The word boo-m also belongs 
 1 So Kluge ; this is better than to connect it with the verb to taw. 
 
§ 2I7-] 
 
 ARYAN SUFFIX -RO. 
 
 235 
 
 here, but is mere Dutch, from Du. boom, a tree, a boom, 
 cognate with E. beam (of timber), given above ; cf. E. horn- 
 beam as the name of a tree. In broom, harm, the m is not 
 a suffix, but radical. 
 
 § 215. Aryan -MI, allied to -MO. The examples are but 
 few. We may cite : E. arm (of the body), A. S. ear-m, stem 
 ar-mo ; but cf. Goth, arms, gen. ar-mi-s, stem ar-mi ; allied 
 to Lat. ar-mu-s, shoulder, Gk. ap-pos, joint, from the root ar, 
 to fit. E. ho-me, A. S. hd-m, Goth, hai-m-s, gen. hai-mi-s \ 
 perhaps cognate with Gk. kS-^tj, a village, Lithuan. ke-mas, 
 a village. E. wor-m, A. S. wyr-m (=*ivur-mi), Teut. wur-mi ; 
 see Worm in my Etym. Diet. 
 
 § 216. Aryan -MON (-MEN). This suffix (occurring 
 in Latin as -mon-, -men, -mm-) is seen in the borrowed words 
 abdo-men, acu-men, albu-men, biiu-men, o-men, regi-men, 
 speci-men. It occurs in A. S. weak sbs., as follows : E. bar-m, 
 yeast, A. S. beor-ma, gen. beor-man, probably cognate with 
 Lat. fer-men-tum, whence E. ferment. E. bes-o/n, A. S. 
 bes-ma, gen. bes-man, cognate with O. H. G. bes-a-mo, G. 
 Bes-e-n, Du. bez-e-m. E. bloo-m, a Scand. word, Icel. bld-m, 
 Goth, b/o-ma, stem blo-man, from the verb bid-wan, to 
 blow (as a flower) ; allied to Lat. flo-s, a flower. E. na-me 
 A. S. na-ma, gen. na-man, Goth, na-mo, stem na-man, 
 cognate with Lat. no-men, Skt. na-man, a name. E. ti-me, 
 A. S. ti-ma, gen. ti-man, Teut. ti-man (Fick, iii. 114), allied 
 to E. ti-de, A. S. ti-d, Teut. ti-di. Here also belongs E. 
 bloss-om, A. S. bldst-ma, gen. bldst-man ; but the suffix is 
 really triple, the stem being bl6-s-t-man, from bld-zvan, 
 to blow, flourish ; cf. bias-/, from bid-wan, to blow (as wind) ; 
 and see bloo-m above. Such a conjunction of suffixes is 
 common in the Aryan languages. 
 
 § 217. Aryan -RO. Some have supposed that the primi- 
 tive Aryan language contained no /, and that / was merely 
 developed out of r ; but this view is hardly tenable. I shall 
 1 But the Goth. pi. is also haim-os (stem /iai-md). 
 
236 
 
 SUBSTANTIVAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. XIII. 
 
 here consider the suffixes -ro and -lo separately, and shall 
 take -ro first. It may, however, be remarked here that the 
 letters r and / are frequently interchanged in various Aryan 
 languages. 
 
 Aryan -ro; Goth. -ra. It must be observed that the 
 letter r easily allows a vowel to slip in before it, the vowel 
 thus introduced being unoriginal. Thus the Gk. Kan-pos 
 is certainly cognate with the Lat. cap-er, a goat. In fact, 
 cap-er is merely the peculiar form of the nominative ; the 
 stem is capro-, as seen in the old acc. sing, capro-m. Again, 
 the word which we now spell acre is the A. S. oec-er. 
 In all such words the true suffix is -ra, and we must not 
 look upon the -e- in the A. S. nominative cec-e-r, a field 
 (Goth, ak-r-s, stem ak-ra), or the in Lat. ag-e-r (stem 
 ag-ro), as being an original vowel. It will be found, for 
 instance, that the -er in liv-e-r, a part of the body, is of 
 totally different origin from that of the -er in liv-er, one who 
 lives. The former word belongs here; the latter does not. 
 (See § 239.) 
 
 Examples, (a) Masculine. E. ac-re, A. S. cec-er, Goth. 
 ak-r-s, stem ak-ra, cognate with Lat. ag-er, Skt. aj-ra; from 
 V ag, to drive (cattle) \ So also beav-er, A. S. bef-er, Teut. 
 beb-ra (Fick, iii. 211). E. fing-er, A. S. fing-er, Goth. 
 Jigg-r-s, Teut. fing-ra. E. floo-r, A. S. flo-r, Teut. flo-ra 
 (Fick, iii. 180). E. hamm-er, A. S. ham-or. E. ott-er, A. S. 
 ot-er, Teut. ut-ra (Fick, iii. 33), allied to Gk. vd-pa, whence 
 E. hyd-ra. E. stee-r (bull), A. S. s/e'o-r, Goth, stin-r-s, Teut. 
 steu-ra (F. iii. 342). E. summ-er, A. S. sum-or (id. 326). 
 E. tea-r, A. S. tea-r y also teag-or (Grein), Goth, tag-r, n., 
 Teut. tag-ra, allied to Gk. daK-pv. E. thun-d-er, A. S. pun-or, 
 Teut. thon-ra (F. iii. 130), allied to Lat. ton-i-tru. To 
 these may be added ang-er, of Scand. origin; from Icel. 
 ang-r, stem ang-ra (F. iii. 12). (b) Feminine. E. feath-er y 
 A. S. fed-er, from V pet, to fly. E. tiv-er, A. S. lif-er, 
 1 The symbol ^ signifies ' Aryan root.' 
 
§218.] 
 
 ARYAN SUFFIX -LO. 
 
 237 
 
 Teut. lib-ra (F. iii. 271). E. tind-er, A.S. tynd-er, Teut. 
 tond-ra, from the Teut. base tand, to kindle (id. 117). 
 (c) Neuter. E. bow-er, A.S. bu-r. E. lai-r, A.S. leg-er, 
 Goth, lig-r-s, a couch, stem lig-ra ; cf. A. S. licg-an, to lie. 
 E. leath-er, A.S. led-er, Teut. leth-ra (F. iii. 278). E. 
 tim-b-er, A.S. tim-b-er (Goth, tim-r-jan, to build), Teut. 
 tem-ra (id. 117). E. udd-er, A.S. ud-er, Teut. ud-ra 
 (id. 33). E. wat-er, A.S. wcct-er, Teut. wat-ra (id. 284); 
 cf. Gk. au-vb-poi, waterless. E. wond-er, A. S. wund-or, Teut. 
 wond-ra (306). We may add stai-r, A. S. stdeg-er (of un- 
 certain gender) < .. || stag (stdti), pt. t. of stig-an, to climb. 
 We also find the form -ru ; as in E. hu?ig-er, A. S. Jmng-cr, 
 m., Goth, huh-ru-s (for * hunh-ru-s). E. and A. S. wint-er, 
 m., Goth, wint-ru-s. 
 
 § 218. Suffix -LO. This suffix is well marked in modern 
 English, being frequently represented by final -le or -el, or, 
 in a few words, by -/ ; all of which are alike pronounced 
 with a vocalic /. Some are of obvious verbal origin, 
 as beet-le, a heavy mallet, A.S. byt-el, 2l beater < .. beat-an, 
 to beat. So also bund-le < || bund-en, pp. of bind-an, to 
 bind ; cripp-le, formerly creep-le, from creep ; gird-le, from 
 gird ; lad-le, from lade ; prick-le, from prick ; sadd-le, sell-le, 
 both allied to sit ; shov-el < shove ; shutt-le < shoot ; spin-d-le, 
 A. S. spin-l < spin ; spitt-le < spit) leas-el < tease. 
 
 Other examples are: ang-le 1 , s., A.S. ang-el, a fish-hook, 
 whence ang-le, v., to fish ; app-le, bram-b-le, brid-le, brisl-le, 
 gird-le, hand-le, haz-el, hurd-le, icic-le (A. S. zs-gic-el), stap-h\ 
 steep-le, stick-le, a spine (as in stickle-back), swiv-el, thisl-le, 
 watt-le, wrink-le. The following are now monosyllabic : 
 fow-l, A.S. fug-el ; hail, A.S. hceg-el; nai-l, A.S. nag-el : 
 pai-l, in the gloss ' pceg-el, gillo ' ; rai-l, a nightdress 
 (obsolete), A. S. hrccg-l ; sai-l, A. S. seg-el ; snai-l y A. S. 
 snceg-l ; sou-l, A. S. saw-el ; sli-le f A. S. siig-el < || slig-en, 
 
 1 ' With patient angle trolls the finny deep ' ; Goldsmith, Traveller, 
 187. The A.S. -cl = Goth. ~z-la, with i preceding -la. 
 
2 3 8 
 
 SUBSTANTIVAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. XIII. 
 
 pp. of stig-an, to climb ; lai-l, A. S. tceg-l (cf. E. tag). Here 
 belong E. stoo-l, A. S. stS-l ; E. whi-le, A. S. hwi-l. 
 
 This suffix has been already mentioned as having been 
 used to form diminutives ; see § 203. Here also belong 
 sick-le, A. S. sic-ol, borrowed from Lat. sec-u-la, from sec- 
 are, to cut ; and ti-le, A. S. tig-el, borrowed from Lat. teg- 
 u-la, from teg-ere, to cover. Mang-le, s., a machine for 
 smoothing linen, is borrowed (through the Dutch) from 
 Low Lat. manganum, Latinised from Gk. fidyyavop, axis of 
 a pulley; the familiar suffix -le being substituted for the 
 unfamiliar -an. 
 
 § 219. Teutonic suffixes -ra-na, -ar-na. These appear 
 in at least two words, viz. acorn, iron. Ac-or-n is a later spell- 
 ing (by confusion with corn^ as if it were oak corn, which is 
 impossible) of A. S. ac-er-n, an acorn, corresponding exactly 
 to Goth, ak-ra-n, fruit (stem ak-ra-na-, as in the compound 
 akrana-laus, fruitless, unfruitful) ; from ak-ra- t stem of ak-r-s, 
 a field, E. acre. The original sense was 'fruit of the un- 
 enclosed land,' or 9 natural fruits of the forest/ such as 
 acorns, mast, &c. ; afterwards used in a more restricted sense. 
 Iron, A. S. ir-en, older form is-en, is also found in the fuller 
 form seen in A. S. is-er-n, Goth, eis-ar-n. It would seem to 
 be closely connected with A. S. is, ice ; perhaps from its 
 glancing hard black surface. But this still remains an open 
 question. 
 
 § 220. Teutonic suffix -lan. E. hee-l (of the foot), A. S. 
 he-la, gen. he-lan ; nett-le, A. S. net-e-le, gen. net-e-lan ; throsUle, 
 A. S. prost-le, gen. firosl-lan. But fidd-le, A. S. fid-e-le, is 
 merely borrowed from Lat. uit-u-la, a viol. Strictly speaking, 
 the dimin. nav-el, already mentioned in § 203, exhibits this 
 suffix ; A. S. naf-e-la, gen. naf-e-lan. 
 
 Teutonic suffix -il-sa. This remarkable form occurs 
 in buri-al, M. E. buri-el, biri-el, biri-el-s^ A. S. byrg-el-s, 
 a tomb ; and ridd-le, an enigma, M. E. red-el-s, A. S. r&d- 
 el-se, from rdd-an, to read, explain. See further in § 231. 
 
§ 221.] 
 
 ARYAN SUFFIX -NO. 
 
 239 
 
 In the latter case, the gen. rdd-el-san really exhibits the 
 longer suffix -il-san. So also shutt-le ; see § 231 below. 
 E. ank-le appears to have been taken from Norse; the A. S. 
 anc-l-e'ow is difficult of explanation, though -e'ow appears as 
 a formative suffix in lar-e'ow, a. teacher. 
 
 § 221. Aryan -NO (answering to Goth. -nd). An un- 
 original vowel is often inserted before the suffix ; hence it often 
 appears in Mod. E. as -en (-e-n) or -on (-o-n) ; but in some 
 words as -n only. Examples are : beac-on, A. S. beac-en, 
 Teut. bauk-na (Fick, iii. 197). Ov-en, A. S. of -en, of-n, 
 Goth, auh-n-s (stem auh-na), Teut. uh-na ? (id. 32). Rav-en 
 (bird), A. S. hraf-n, Teut. hrab-na (83). Tok-en, A. S. 
 tdc-n, Teut. taik-na (114). Weap-on, A. S. wdp-en, Goth. 
 wep-na, pi., Teut. wep-na (288). The following words are 
 now monosyllabic : bair-n, A. S. bear-n, Teut. bar-na (202). 
 B/ai-n, A. S. bleg-en. Brai-n, A. S. brcrg-en. Cor-n, A. S. 
 cor-n, cognate with Lat. gra-num (for *gar-nu??i). Hor-n, 
 A. S. hor-n, Teut. hor-na (67) ; cf. Lat. cor-nu. Loa-n, A. S. 
 Id-n (for */d/i-n) < || lah, pt. t. of tth-an, to lend. Rai-n. 
 A. S. reg-n. Sto-ne, A. S. s/d-n, Goth. siai-?i-s, stem stai-na. 
 Tna-ne, A. S. peg-en. Wai-n, A. S. wcrg-n. Yar-n, A. S. 
 gear-n. In a few words the suffix has disappeared alto- 
 gether, as in game, A. S. gam-en, and in the Scand. word 
 roe (of a fish), Icel. hrog-n (G. Rog-en) K 
 
 Suffix -NI. The Goth, stem of token is taik-ni, but 
 Fick gives taik-na as the common Teut. form. I know of 
 no sure examples except the law-term soken, A. S. soc-n, 
 answering to Goth. sok-?is (stem sok-ni) ; and the interesting 
 M. E. er-n, an eagle, A. S. ear-n, allied to Icel. or-n (pi. 
 ar-ni-r), stem ar-ni, and to Gk. op-vi-s, a bird. 
 
 Suffix -NU. Examples are : E. quer-n (hand-mill), A. S. 
 
 1 Mor-n, A. S. morg-en, Goth maurg-in-s (stem maurg-ind), Tent. 
 morg-ina (Fick, iii. 243) seems to exhibit the suffix -ina. Vix-en x 
 A. S. *fyx-cn<. . ./^jt, M. H. G. viihs-in-nc, has a fern, suffix -INf. 
 
24° 
 
 SUBSTANTIVAL SUFFIXES, [Chap. XIII. 
 
 cweor-n, Goth, kwair-nu-s. E. so-n, A. S. su-nu, allied to 
 Skt. su-nu. E. thor-n, A. S. por-n, is given by Fick under 
 thor-na, though the Gothic has thaur-nu-s. 
 
 § 222. Teut. -nan ; A. S. -nan. This occurs in some 
 weak substantives. Examples : hav-en, A. S. hcef-e-ne, gen. 
 hcef-e-nan. E. sun, A. S. sun-ne, fern., gen. sun-na?i. E. 
 (vexation), A. S. teo-na, gen. teo-nan. 
 
 The word glad-en, a kind of iris, A. S. glced-e-ne (gen. 
 glced-e-nari) is merely borrowed from Lat. gladiolus. So also 
 kitch-en, A. S. cyc-e-ne (gen. cyc-e-nan) is borrowed from Lat. 
 coquina, with mutation of 0 to_>>. 
 
 § 223. Aryan suffix -TO. This highly important suffix, 
 usually the mark of the past participle passive, as in 
 E. slree-l, borrowed from the Lat. strata (i. e. strata uia, 
 paved way), appears under various forms in the Teutonic 
 languages. We may especially note it in the suffix -th-s 
 (stem -tha) of the past participles of Gothic weak verbs, as 
 in lag-i-th-s, E. lai-d, pp. of lag-j-an, to lay. 
 
 It is remarkable that Home Tooke, in his celebrated 
 derivation of truth from troweth (as being ' that which a man 
 troweth') should have overlooked the Gothic pp. form in 
 -th-s. Derivation from the third person singular of the 
 present tense is extremely clumsy. In the suffixes of E. 
 sbs. it occurs in three forms, viz. -Ik, -I, and ~d. These 
 will be considered separately. 
 
 (a) E. suffix -th. Some words are of verbal origin, as : — 
 bir-ih 1 from bear ; bro-th from brew (A. S. breow-an, pp. 
 brow-en) ; ear-th from ear, to till (obsolete) ; grow-th ; 
 steal- th ; iil-th ; tro-th 2 from trow. Ru-th, allied to the 
 verb rue, is a Scand. form ; Icel. hrygg-d, Mon-th is from 
 the sb. moon. Weal-th is a mere extension from M. E. wele, 
 
 1 Usually gebyrd in A. S. The form beord is extremely rare, but we 
 find, * Pucrperiu?n, hyse-beorS ' ; Wright's Vocab., ed. Wulcker, col. 528, 
 1. 7, where hyse — boy, and hyse-beord = boy-birth, child-birth. 
 
 2 Some regard tro-th as a mere variant of tru-th, from true, adj. 
 But see trozwwfie in the Ormulum, 1. 1350. 
 
§ 223.] 
 
 ARYAN SUFFIX -TO. 
 
 241 
 
 E. weal. When the suffix is added to adjectives, we find 
 that an z-mutation of the preceding vowel takes place ; 
 this is because it answers to the stem -i-tha of the Gothic 
 past participles of the causal verbs in -jan ; cf. lag-ith-s, pp. 
 of lag-J-an, to lay, cited above. Hence we can explain the 
 vowel-changes in the following forms, some of which are, how- 
 ever, not of early formation. Examples : hread-th < broad ; 
 filth < foul ; heal-th < whole ; leng-th < long ; rnir-th < 
 merr-y, slreng-th < strong. By analogy with these, we have 
 warm-lh from warm, without mutation ; slo-th < slow ; tru-th 
 
 < true; so also wid-lh from wide, dear-th from dear, dep-ih 
 
 < deep ; with an inevitable shortening of the vowel. Ki-th, 
 A. S. cy-dde < . . A. S. cu-d, known, which is for * eu/i-J, 
 pp. of cunn-an, to know, with vowel-shortening. In the word 
 you-th, the suffix has a different origin ; it is discussed below, 
 on p. 251. 
 
 (b) E. suffix -/. The suffix appears as -/ after f,gh, n, r, s ; 
 merely because ft, ght, nt, rt, st are easier final sounds than fth, 
 ghth, nth, rth, sth. This is best seen in the words drough-t, 
 formerly M. E. dronhthc, A. S. drug-a-de, drought, from driig- 
 ian, to be dry ; heigh-l, formerly high-th ; theft, from l/ieflh, 
 A. S. piefde< . .peof a thief. In some instances the original 
 Aryan -to remains as -/, after f gh, n, r, or s. Examples 
 are: weft, Teut. wef-ta (Fick, iii. 289), from A. S. wefan, 
 to weave ; together with such formations as drift from drive 
 (A. S. drifan, pp. drifen) ; shrift, from shrive; rift, a word 
 of Scand. origin, Icel. rip-l, from rive (Icel. rif-a, pp. rifinn). 
 E. ligh-l, s., takes the mutated vowel 1 of the verb lyht-an, to 
 shine = *le'oht-ian ; from the sb. le'oh-i, which corresponds to 
 Goth, liuh-ath, neut. (stem liuh-a-tha), from the Teut. base 
 leuh= Aryan root REUQ, to shine. In the E. knigh-t, A. S. 
 cnih-t, the -/ is certainly a suffix, but the word is of obscure 
 origin ; the most likely supposition is that it is a derivative of 
 
 1 But a far simpler solution is to derive it, not from the A. S. form, 
 but from the O. Mercian I Hit (§ 33). 
 VOL. I. R 
 
SUBSTANTIVAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. XIII. 
 
 A. S. cyn, kin, with an adj. suffix *iht\ as seen in A. S. stdn- 
 zht, stony; if so, then cniht (for * cyn-iht), is allied to cyn, 
 just as the Gk. yv-rjo-ios, legitimate, is to ytv-os, kin. 
 
 Craf-t, A. S. crcef-t, orig. ' power/ is from the Teut. base 
 krap, to force together (Fick, iii. 49), whence also E. cra-m-p. 
 Haf-t, A. S. hcef-t, the handle by which a thing is seized or 
 held, from A. S. hceb-ban ( = * haf-ian), to have, hold. Shaf-t, 
 A. S. sceaf-t, a smoothed pole or rod, from scaf-an, pp. 
 scaf-en, to shave. Bough-t, s., in the special sense of a fold 
 (also spelt bout), is of Scand. origin ; Dan. bug-t, Icel. bug-d, 
 a bend, coil ; from the verb to bow (Goth, bi'ug-an). Of this 
 bigh-t is a mere variant, answering in form to A. S. byh-t 
 ( = * bug-ii), from the same root. Though-t, A. S. poh-t, allied 
 to Icel. pot-ti, pot-tr (i. e. *J>oh-ti, */?6h-tr), thought, is derived 
 from penc-an, to think, pp. poh-t, ge-poh-t. 
 
 Similarly we have draugh-t (also draf-t, & phonetic spelling) 
 from draw , A. S. drag-an ; weigh-t, from weigh ; hef-t, a 
 heaving, from heave ; and several others, for which see sections 
 224, 225. Brzin-t is rather an obscure word, but is of Scand. 
 origin, and allied to Dan. bryn-de, heat, passion ; the -/ is 
 a suffix, and the original verb is seen in Goth, brinn-an, to 
 burn (pp. brunn-ans). 
 
 E. har-t, A. S. heor-o-t, is cognate with O. H. G. hir-u-z, 
 Teut. her-u-ta (Fick, iii. 67). This form stands for her- 
 wo-ta, where her-wo- is cognate with Lat. cer-uu-s, a hart, 
 stag. Thus the suffix is really a double one, and the sense 
 is the 1 horned ' animal ; cf. Gk. Kep-a-os, horned, Kip-as, a 
 horn, and E. hor-n. Of similar formation, but more obscure, 
 are E. gann-e-t, A. S. gan-o-t, cognate with O. H. G. gan-a-zo, 
 a gander, allied to gan-der and goose ; and E. horn-e-t, A. S. 
 hyrn-e-t, cognate with O. H. G. horn-i-z, horn-u-z, named 
 from its humming noise. The dimin. suffix -et is usually 
 French, being rare in native English. E. Eas-t, A. S. eas-t, 
 the east, was evolved from the Teut. adv. aus-ta-na, from 
 
 1 A double suffix, viz. -ih-t; cf. Lat. um-ec-tus, moist, from utn-ere. 
 
§ 224-] 
 
 ARYAN SUFFIX -TO, 
 
 143 
 
 the east ; see Fick, iii. 8, and osten in Kluge. Thus -/ is a 
 suffix, and the base aus- is the same as in Lat. aur-ora < 
 *aus-osa, dawn ; cf. Skt. ush-as, dawn ; from Aryan V US, to 
 shine, burn. E. fros-t, A.S.fros-l (usually spelt for si) < || 
 A. S. *fros-en, orig. form of fror-en, pp. of freos-an, to freeze. 
 
 (c) E. suffix -d. The Aryan suffix -ta often appears as 
 -d in English, whilst the Gothic has -th Y . Thus E. gol-d 
 answers to Goth, gul-th ; and E. bloo-d to Goth, blo-lh. The 
 same remark applies to the Aryan suffixes -ti and -tu, 
 discussed below. Examples are : E. bla-de, A. S. blce-d (with 
 short ce), cognate with Icel. bla-d, G. Bla-tt ; see Fick, iii. 
 219, and Blait in Kluge. E. blood, A. S. blo-d (Goth, blo-th), 
 from blo-wan, to blow, flourish; blood being taken as the 
 symbol of blooming or flourishing life. E. bran-d, A. S. 
 bran-d, lit. a burning, hence (1) a fire-brand, (2) a bright 
 sword, from the Teut. stem brann, to burn. E. brea-d, A. S. 
 brea-d, cognate with Icel. brau-d, bread, lit. that which is 
 brewed or fermented, from A. S. bre'ow-an, pt. t. bre'a-iv, to 
 brew. E. gol-d, A. S. gol-d (Goth, gul-th), from the same root 
 asyell-ow and glo-w, viz. Aryan GHAR, to shine. E. hea-d, 
 M. E. heued ( = heved), A. S. heaf-o-d, Goth, haub-i-th. E. 
 moo-d, A. S. md-d, Goth, mods (stem mo-da), Teut. ifd-DA 
 (Fick, iii. 242), probably connected with Gk. pai-opai, I seek 
 after. E. threa-d, A. S. prd-d, cognate with Icel. prd-dr, G. 
 drah-t, O. H. G. drd-t, from the same base as A. S. pro-w-an, 
 to throw, also to twist (Lat. torqu-ere) ; so that threa-d is that 
 which is twisted. Similarly we may explain E. broo-d, A. S. 
 bro-d, from a Teut. base br6, to heat ; cf. G. briih-en, M. H. G. 
 brii-en, to scald. E. soun-d, A. S. sun-d, (1) a swimming, 
 power to swim, (2) a strait of the sea; probably for *swum-da 
 (Fick, iii. 362) < || *swum-a-na, pp. from the weak grade of 
 the base swem, to swim. War-d, A. S. wear-d, a guard ; 
 from V WAR, to defend. 
 
 § 224. Aryan -TI. This suffix only appears in English 
 
 1 Cf. Verner's Law; see § 129. 
 R 2 
 
244 
 
 SUBSTANTIVAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. XIII. 
 
 as -th, -/, and -d; but -th is exceptional. See Sievers, O. E. 
 Gram. § 269. Compare § 223. 
 
 (a) E. suffix -th. As to the word bir-th, the usual A. S. 
 form is ge-byr-d= *ge-bor-di< .. \\ge-bor-en, pp. of ber-an, to 
 bear; but see p. 240, note 1. O. Friesic has both berthe 
 and bei'de. Grow-tk is of Scand. origin, from Icel. gro-3i) 
 but the true stem of this word is gro-than, so that the suffix 
 is -tha-n. 
 
 (b) E. suffix E. fligh-t, A. S. flyh-t ( = *fluh-ti), 
 allied to G. Fluch-t< .. || flug-on, pt. t. pi. of fle'og-an, to flee, 
 fly. Gif-t, A.S. gif-t, Icel. gif-t, Teut. gef-ti (Fick, 
 iii. 100), from gicf-an, to give, pt. t. geaf (for * gaf\ 
 Gues-t, A. S. ges-t, g<zs-t, Goth. gas-t-s (stem gasti), a 
 stranger, hence a guest ; cognate with Lat. hos-ti-s, an 
 enemy, a stranger. Migh-t, A. S. miht, meht, also meaht, Goth. 
 mah-t-s (stem mahti), from the verb seen in E. may, Goth. 
 mag-an. Nigh-i, A. S. ntht, neht, Goth, nah-t-s (stem nahti), 
 cognate with Lat. nox (stem nocti)\ cf. Skt. nafc-/a, night; all 
 from the Aryan V NEK, to fail, disappear ; from the failure of 
 light. Pligh-t 1 , obligation, A. S. plih-t, danger, risk, connected 
 with the strong verb ption, pt. t. pka/i, to risk. Shif-t, s., 
 a change, is from the Icel. sh'p-fi(i.e. *skif-ti), a division, ex- 
 change; the A. S. has only the verb scif-ian, to divide ; cf. Icel. 
 skif-a, to divide, skif-a, s., a slice, prov. E. skive, a slice. Sigh-t, 
 A. S. sik-t, ge-sih-t, more commonly ge-sih-d, ge-siek-cf; cf. 
 seg-en, pp. of seon, to see. [Here the e in seg-en produced 
 *ge-seh-3, whence ge-sich-d by the breaking of e before k; 
 and hence again ge-sih-3, the change from ie to i being 
 due to 4 palatal ' mutation ; see this explained in Sievers, 
 O. E. Gram. § 101.] Sleigh-t, cunning, is of Scand. 
 origin; from Icel. slcEg-d, cunning, a sb. formed from the 
 
 1 Only in certain senses, and nearly obsolete as a sb. ; the derived 
 verb to plight is common. Plight, condition, is a totally different word, 
 and should be spelt plite, as in M. E., being really of F. origin, from 
 Lat. plicita, fern. pp. of plic-are, to fold. 
 
§ 225-] 
 
 ARYAN SUFFIX -TU. 
 
 245 
 
 adj. slceg-r, whence E. sly. Thirs-t, A. S. pyrs-t (= *purs-ti) ; 
 cf. Goth. paurs-ans, pp. of pairs-an, to be dry. Wigh-t, 
 a creature, man, doublet of whi-t, & thing, both from A. S. 
 wih-t, a wight, also a whit, Goth, waih-t-s (stem waih-ti), 
 Teut. weh-ti (Fick, iii. 282). Wrigh-t, a workman, A. S. 
 wyrh-t-a, is a derivative of wyrh-t, ge-wyrh-t, a deed ; this 
 wyrh-l = Teut. worh-ti, a deed (Fick, iii. 293); cf. Goth. 
 fra-waurh-t-s (stem fra-waurh-ti), evil-doing ; from the 
 same root as E. work. 
 
 (c) E. suffix -d. Dee-d, A. S. d&.-d, Goth, de-d-s (stem 
 dedi'=*dddi), Teut. da-di (Fick, iii. 152); the verb being 
 A. S. do-n, E. do. Gle-de, a glowing coal, A. S. gle'-d, formed 
 with z-mutation from gld-w-an, to glow. Min-d, A. S. 
 ge-myn-d, formed with /-mutation from mun-an, to think, 
 ge-mun-an, to remember; cf. Lat. men-s (stem men-ti). 
 Nee-d, A. S. ne'-d, ne'a-d, Goth, nau-ths (stem nau-thi) ; cf. 
 O. H. G. niu-wan, nti-an, to crush. See-d, A. S. Icel. 
 scc-di\ cf. Goth, mana-seth-s (stem mana-se-di), the seed or 
 race of man, the world; Teut. sa-di (Fick, iii. 312); the 
 verb is A. S. sd-w-an, E. sow. Spee-d, A. S. spe'-d, success, 
 haste ; spe'-d = *sp6-di\ from sp6~w-an, to succeed. Stea-d, a 
 place, A. S. s/e-de, Goth, sta-th-s (stem sta-thi), a place, lit. 
 1 standing/ from v STA, to stand. *S7tf-*/, A. S. jvtf-*/, orig. 
 a herd of horses, Teut. stO-di (Fick, iii. 341); from Teut. 
 base st6, strengthened form of v STA, to stand. Stee-d, 
 A. S. ste'-d-a, a stud-horse, is derived from A. S. stod by 
 mutation ; i.e. ste'da = *s/6d-ja, with suffix -ja = -to. 
 
 § 225. Aryan -TU. (a) There is one clear example of 
 the suffix -th in English, from Teut. -thu. This is E. dea-th, 
 A. S. de'a-3, Goth, dau-thu-s, death (stem dan-thti) ; from the 
 Teut. base dau, to die (Fick, iii. 143). 
 
 (If) E. suffix -/. Lof-t is of Scand. origin ; from Icel. 
 lopt ( = *lof/), the air ; Goth, luf-tu-s ; root unknown. Lus-t, 
 A. S. lus-t, pleasure ■ Goth, lus-tu-s, pleasure ; root un- 
 certain ; cf. Skt. lash, to desire, las, to sport. 
 
246 
 
 SUBSTANTIVAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. XIII. 
 
 (c) E. suffix -d. Floo-d, A. S.fld-d ; Goth, flo-du-s ; from 
 flo-w-an, to flow. Shiel-d, A. S. scil-d, scel-d; Goth, skil-du-s ; 
 root uncertain. Wol-d, weal-d, A. S. weal-d, 0. Sax. wal-d, 
 2l wood; cf. Icel. vbllr ( = *wal-dus), a field. The 0 in the 
 form wold is due to the influence of the preceding w ; the 
 M. E. forms are both wold and wald. 
 
 § 226. The Aryan suffixes -ta, -ti, discussed above, can 
 be followed by other suffixes; thus IL./oo-d, A. S.fo-da (stem 
 fo-da-ri) had originally a suffixed -n ; cf. Goth, fo-dei-n-s 
 (stem fo-dei-ni), food, feeding ; from the Aryan V PA, to 
 feed. E. mai-d-en, A. S. mccg-d-cn, cognate with O. H. G. 
 mag-a-li-n, answers to a Goth. *mag-a-dei-n, a dimin. form 
 from Goth. mag-a-th-s, fern, (stem mag-a-l/ii), a maiden, 
 allied to Goth, mag-as (stem ??iag-u), a boy ; the sense of 
 ?)iag-ns is ' growing lad/ from the verb appearing in E. may. 
 The Mod. E. maid is merely a contracted form of maiden ; 
 the M. E. short form for ' maiden 1 is may, A. S. m&g ; whilst 
 the A. S. form answering to Goth, magalhs is mcegd or 
 merged; all from the same root. On the other hand, the suffix 
 -to occurs in combination with, and following, the suffix -(i)s. 
 This double suffix -(i)s-to appears as E. -si ; and is discussed 
 below; see § 233, p. 254. 
 
 § 227. Aryan -TER (-TOR). This suffix is found in 
 such words as Lat. fra-tcr, Skt. bhra-lar, brother; and 
 answers to Gothic -lhar, -dar, and -tar. Of these three 
 Gothic forms, the change to -dar is due to Verner's Law ; 
 whilst the preservation of the form -tar is due to the oc- 
 currence of a foregoing h or s. 
 
 (a) Goth. -thar. Bro-ther, A. S. bro-cfor, Goth, bro-thar, 
 Teut. bro-thar (Fick, iii. 204) ; usually referred to Aryan 
 V BHER, to bear, as meaning one who bears, i.e. carries, 
 aids, or supports the younger children. 
 
 (b) Goth. -dar. Fa-ther, M.E./a-der, A. S.fcz-der, Goth. 
 fa-dar, as if from a \/ PA, but the sense is doubtful. Mo-ther, 
 
 M. E. mo-der, A. S. mo-dor, Teut. mo-dar (Fick, iii. 242); 
 
§ 228.] ARYAN SUFFIX -TRO. 247 
 
 as if from an Aryan V MA ; but here again the original 
 sense is uncertain. 
 
 (c) Daugh-ter, A. S. doh-tor, Goth, dauh-lar, cognate with 
 Gk. dvy-d-Trjp, Skt. duh-i-tar ; usually explained as ' milker ' 
 of the cows ; cf. Skt. duh (for *dhugh), to milk. But this is 
 a mere guess. The word sis-ter (really sis-t-er) is excep- 
 tional ; it is a Scand. form, from Icel. sys-t-ir, allied to A. S. 
 sweos-t-or, Goth, swis-t-ar ; the Teut. form is swes-t-ak 
 (F. iii. 360), but the / is a Teut. insertion, due to form- 
 association, as it does not appear in Skt. svas-r, nor in Lat. 
 sor-or=*sos-or. 
 
 § 228. Aryan -TRO. Upon this suffix, which usually 
 denotes an agent or implement, Sievers has written an 
 excellent article in Paul und Braune's Beitrage zur Ge- 
 schichte der deutschen Sprache und Literatur, vol. v. p. 519. 
 By Grimm's Law, the Aryan T is represented in Teutonic 
 by th. Hence Sievers discusses the following Teutonic 
 equivalent stem-suffixes, viz. (1) -thro-; (2) -thlo-, where 
 / is substituted for r. Each of these may be further sub- 
 divided. Thus -thro- either remains (a) as -pro- (with 
 p = th in thin)) or (&) becomes -dro- (with d—th in thine, 
 in consequence of Verner's Law) ; or (e) appears as -tro-, 
 when it follows such letters as f, h, s ; or (d) appears as 
 -tro- when the suffix -s- (Aryan -es- ?) precedes it. Again, 
 -thlo- appears (e) as -plo- ; or (f ) as -Bio- ; or {g) as -//fl- 
 atter f or s ; or (h) especially in Anglo-Saxon, assumes the 
 transposed form -Id. We have thus eight cases to consider, 
 which will be taken separately. 
 
 (a) The form -pro-. The mod. E. rudder is M. E. roder, 
 more commonly r other ^ A.S. ro-Ser, orig. a paddle, an instru- 
 ment to row with ; from ro-w-an, to row. La-ther answers 
 to A.S. lea-dor, lather, soap 1 , cognate with Icel. lan-dr, foam, 
 soap ; from Teut. base lau, to wash ; cf. Lat. laii-are, to 
 wash. Mur-der, also written mur-ther, A.S. mor-dor, Goth. 
 1 ' Nitum, leatior' ; Wright's Voc. ed. Wiilcker, col. 456, L 14. 
 
248 SUBSTANTIVAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. XIII. 
 
 maur-thr (stem maur-lhra), Teut. mor-thro (Sievers); from 
 
 V MAR, to grind, kill, die. Here also probably belongs 
 lea-ther, A.S. le-Ser, G. le-der, Teut. le-thra (Fick, iii. 278) ; 
 but the root is unknown, so that the right division may be 
 
 LETH-RA. 
 
 (b) The form -ftro-. After an (originally) unaccented 
 syllable ending in a vowel or /, this becomes Goth, -dr-, 
 A.S. -dr-. E. bladder answers to A. S. bld-dre (Wright's 
 Voc. ed. Wiilcker, col. 201, 1. 42, col. 160, 1. 3), allied to 
 Icel. bla-cfra ; from the root of A. S. bid-wan, to blow, i. e. to 
 puff out. Adder, M. E. nadder, A.S. ncc-dre, Goth, nadrs 
 (stem ?ia-dra), Teut. na-dra (Fick, iii. 156). Fodder, A. S. 
 fo-dor, Teut. fo-dra, may similarly be derived directly from 
 
 V PA, to feed ; but was rather perhaps formed with suffix 
 -ra from the Teutonic root fod ( = fo-th) appearing in 
 Goth, fod-jan, to feed; see Osthoff, Forschungen, i. 146; 
 it makes little ultimate difference. Ladder, M. E. laddre, 
 from A.S. hhc-der ; cf. G. let-/er; lit. 'that which leans'; 
 from Teut. base hlei, to lean, Aryan V KLEI, to lean, whence 
 also Gk. icXl-fiag, a ladder (Kluge). Wea-lher, A. S. we-der, 
 Teut. we-dra (Fick, iii. 307) ; prob. from V WE, to blow ; 
 cf. Goth, wai-an, to blow. Whether shoulder belongs here 
 is doubtful ; wonder is probably to be divided as wond-er, and 
 has accordingly a different suffix. See § 217. 
 
 (c) The form -tro-. Hal-ter (for *half-fer), A. S. half-Ire, 
 cognate with G. Half-ter, O. H. G. half-Ira ; which Kluge 
 rightly connects with E. helve, A.S. hielf, a handle. Laugh- 
 ter, A.S. hleh-tor ; hleah-tor ; from the verb to laugh, A.S. 
 hlehh-an. Slaugh-ter, a Scand. form, from Icel. sld-tr, con- 
 fused with A. S. sleah-t, with the same sense ; the latter is 
 derived from the base slah- of the contracted verb sledn, to 
 slay. Fos-ter, verb, A. S.fds/rlan, is from the A. S. sb.fds-ler, 
 nourishment ; the suffix is really a double one, as fds-ler= 
 
 fo-s-ter ; from V PA, to feed. Blus-ter, prob. of Scand. 
 origin; cf. Icel. blds-tr, a blast of wind, from blds-a, to blow. 
 
§ 228.] 
 
 ARYAN SUFFIX -TRO. 
 
 249 
 
 In the word Eas-t-er, A. S. fas-l-or, Sievers regards the / as 
 inserted ; cf. Lithuan. ausz-ra, dawn. In any case, it is 
 closely related to eas-t, A. S. eas-t. 
 
 (d) Double suffix -s-tro-. Whether we should regard 
 the -s- as due to the Aryan -es-, or rather consider it, with 
 Sievers *, as an inserted letter, I cannot say. Examples are : — 
 bol-s-ter, A. S. bol-s-ler, cognate with G. Pol-s-ter; and 
 hol-s-ter, borrowed from Du. hol-s-ter, a pistol-case, cognate 
 with A. S. heol-s-tor, a hiding-place ; cf. Goth. huli-s-tr y 2l 
 veil, from hulj-an, to cover. See § 238. 
 
 (e) The form -plo-. Nee-dle is from A. S. na-dl, cognate 
 with Goth, ne-lhla) Teut. ne-thla (F. iii. 156), from the 
 
 V NE, to bind, sew ; cf. Lat. ne-re, G. nah-en, to sew. This 
 seems to be the sole example. 
 
 (f) The form -dlo-. Spittle is a word which has been 
 changed in form, owing to a connection with the secondary 
 and late verb spit. The M. E. form was spo-lil, answering 
 exactly to A. S. spd-tl (=*spai-$lo-), from spi-w-an, pt. t. 
 spd-w, to spit, mod. E. spew. The secondary verb spcb-t-an 
 became M. E. speten, spellen, and was confused with spitten, 
 which is a Mercian form, appearing as spittan in Matt, xxvii. 
 3° (§ 33)- 
 
 (g) The form -t/o-. Of this there is no certain example 
 in English ; brist-le is from A. S. byrst, a bristle. Thros-t-le 
 a thrush, has an inserted /, which we do not sound ; the 
 A. S. forms are both pros-le and pros-t-le ; the relation of the 
 former to thrush, A. S. prys-ce ( = *pros-c-ia) is obvious. 
 
 (h) The A. S. transposed form -Id (for -dl). This 
 transposition is precisely like that seen in the Shakespearian 
 form neeld for needle, a form which also occurs in P. Plow- 
 man, C. xx. 56. An equally clear case is seen in the A. S. 
 spdld, spittle (Elene, 1. 300) ; usually spelt spall. Hence A. S. 
 bo-ld, a building, stands for bo-dl (=*bo-dlo-) ; from the Aryan 
 
 V BHU, to dwell, live, be. This sb. is obsolete, but we still 
 
 1 He refers to OsthofT, in Kiihn's Zeitschrift, vol. xxiii. p. 313. 
 
250 
 
 SUBSTANTIVAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. XIII. 
 
 use the derived verb byld-an (=*bold-ian), to build. Curiously 
 enough, the A. S. also has bo-tl, a dwelling, a house, which 
 Sievers regards as a ' hardened ' form of bo-dl; hence, prob- 
 ably, Booth in Cumberland and Lancashire, and Bottle Field 
 in Warwickshire. Another example, according to Sievers, 
 is lhresh-o-ld, which he refers to a form 1 presk-o-dlo-, 
 whence A. S. dresc-o-ld, Icel. firesk-o-ldr ; and he regards all 
 the other forms, such as A. S. Sresc-wald, mod. Icel. presk- 
 joldr, prepskjoldr, as due to popular etymology. Cf. O. H. G. 
 drisc-u-fli, a threshold (Schade). Sievers adds that the E. adj. 
 level is from the rare A. S. Icrfelde, even, for *lafi-dlo-, allied 
 to Goth, lofa, the palm of the hand. But it may rather be 
 French ; for we have yet to find an example of M. E. level 
 used as an adjective. The sb. level is certainly French, and 
 of Latin origin. 
 
 § 229. Aryan suffix -ONT (-ENT, -NT). This is the 
 suffix so common in present participles, as in the Gk. acc. 
 TVTTT-ovT-a, and in the Lat. am-ant-, ?non-ent-, reg-ent-, aud-i- 
 ent-, from am-are, to love, mon-ere, to advise, reg-ere, to rule, 
 aud-ire, to hear. The Gothic usually has -and-, as in bair- 
 and-s, bearing (stem bair-and-d) ; also -ond- (=ay-and-), as 
 in frij-ond-s, loving ; infin.fr?jon ; cf. § 263. Hence the A. S. 
 -end-e, as in bind-e?id-e, binding ; Northern M. E. -and, Mid- 
 land M. E. -end-e, Southern M. E. -ind-e, afterwards corrupted 
 (about a.d. 1300) into -ing-e, mod. E. -ing. Thus, in M. E. 
 we get North, bind-and, Midland bi7id-ende, bind-end, Southern 
 lind-inde, bind-inge, bind-ing. In A. S. we have several sbs. 
 in -end, -nd, which were originally present participles. Only 
 a few are now in use, viz., errand, fiend, friend, tidings, wind] 
 to which we may add sooth, already explained in § 168 ; and 
 perhaps youth. Err-and, M. E. er-end-e, A. S. dr-end-e, or 
 cer-end-e, a message (stem *&r-end-ja), orig. perhaps ' a 
 
 1 firescold (not J)e?'scold, as misprinted in my Dictionary) is the form 
 in Deut. vi. 9; in Exod. xii. 22, it is perxold, i. e. percsold. Wright's 
 Vocabularies give the forms pcrcswold, perscwald, preoxivold, )>rexwold. 
 
§ 230.] 
 
 ARYAN SUFFIX -0NT. 
 
 251 
 
 going/ but the root is uncertain \ Fiend, M. E. fend, A. S. 
 fe'ond, an enemy, orig. the pres. part, of the contracted verb 
 /eon, to hate ; Goth, fij-and-s, an enemy, pres. part, of fi-j-an, 
 to hate ; from Aryan V PI, to hate. Friend, M. E. /rend, 
 A. S. /reond, a friend, orig. pres. part, of /reon, to love ; 
 Goth, /rij-ond-s, orig. pres. part, of /ri-j-on, to love ; from 
 Aryan V PRI, to love. Tid-ing-s, a pi. form due to M, E« 
 (Southern) tid-ind-e, (Midland) iith-end-e\ a Scand. form, 
 from Icel. tid-ind-i, neut. pi., tidings, pres. part, of *tid-a, to 
 happen, cognate with A. S. Hd-an, to happen ; from the sb. 
 which appears in Icel. tiff, A. S. tid, E. tide. Wind, A. S. 
 wi-nd, cognate with Lat. ue-nt-us, wind ; orig. sense ' blow- 
 ing ' ; from Aryan V WE, to blow ; cf. Skt. vd, to blow, 
 Goth, wai-an, to blow, and Lithuan. we-jas, wind. To these 
 Koch adds, perhaps rightly, the word you-th, A. S. geo-gud, 
 originally geogtid with two suppressed n's, and therefore for 
 *geong-und, cognate with O. H. G. jug-und, jung-und, G. 
 /ug-end (stem *jung-und-u, as Kluge has it). Koch also 
 adds the sb. even or eve, in the sense of 1 evening/ on the 
 strength of the G. cognate form Ad-end ; but the etymology 
 of the word is very doubtful. 
 
 It is perhaps worth while to note here that the suffix in 
 morn-ing, even-ing, has nothing to do with the present par- 
 ticiple of mod. E. verbs, but is discussed below, in § 241. 
 
 § 230. Aryan -OS, -ES. This appears in Skt. ap-as, 
 work, Lat. op-us (=*op-os), gen. op-er-is (=*op-es-is) ; Gk. 
 yev-os, gen. yeW(cr)-o9. In Teutonic it is sometimes joined 
 with some other suffix ; thus, with added -a, it produces -es-a, 
 weakened to -is-a, as in hat-is (stem hat-is-a), hate. In 
 English it sometimes (a) disappears, or (b) appears as -s, or 
 (c) as r. 
 
 1 Usually written <krcnde, with long <B ; so Sievers and Grein ; Heyne 
 gives the O. Sax. drundi, O. H. G. arnnti. But Fick and Schade con- 
 sider the first vowel as short. The Icelandic forms are erendi, orcndi, 
 eyrendi. 
 
252 
 
 SUBSTANTIVAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. XIII. 
 
 (a) It disappears. Thus hate, s. M. E. hat-e (dissyllabic), 
 keeps the vowel of the A. S. verb hat-i-an ; the A. S. sb. is 
 het-e, with i- mutation of a, originally *hat-iz (Sievers, O. E. 
 Gram. § 263, note 4), Goth, hat-is (stem hat-is-a). Awe is 
 of Scand. origin ; from Icel. ag-i, cognate with A. S. eg~e, 
 originally *ag-iz (Sievers, as above), Goth, ag-is (stem 
 ag-is-a). The simple suffix became -az in the Teut. lamb- 
 az, and was lost in the A. S. lamb, E. lamb ; see Sievers, O. E. 
 Gr. § 290. Here belong also, according to Sievers, the words 
 bread , calf, share (in ploughshare). 
 
 (b) It appears as -s, -ze, -x. Ad-ze, M. E. ad-se, ad-es-e, 
 A. S. ad-es-a ; origin unknown. Ax, badly spelt axe, A. S. 
 cbx, eax, Northumbrian ac-cs-a, Goth, akw-iz-i, allied to Gk. 
 a^-i~v7), an axe, o£-vs, sharp ; origin uncertain. Bliss, A. S. 
 blid-s, blid-s, and, by assimilation, blis-s ; from blid, blid-e, 
 blithe ; so that bliss is 4 blitheness.' A. S. blid-s is cognate 
 with O. Sax. blid-s-ea ( = *blid-s-jd), and is therefore to be 
 classed with -Jd- stems, the suffix being double (Sievers, 
 O. E. Gr. § 258). Eave-s, A. S. ef-es, fern. (gen. ef-es-e), 
 corresponds to Goth, ub-iz-wa, a porch, hall, orig. a project- 
 ing shelter, from the Teut. prep, uf (Goth, uf, allied to 
 E. up) ; cf. G. ob-dach, a shelter, ob-en, above, E. (ab)-ove ; 
 the suffix being double. 
 
 (c) It appears as -r in E. ea-r (of corn) ; G. dh-re, Goth. 
 ah-s, Lat. ac-us, gen. ac-er-is. Also in cild-r-u, pi. of A. S. 
 cild; cf. mod. E. child-r-en ; see Sievers, O. E. Gr. §§289, 290. 
 
 § 231. We have thus already had examples of the double 
 suffixes -ES-o, -es-ia, -es-wo. We also find the suffixes -is 
 and -lo in combination, producing both -is-lo, weakened to 
 Teut. -s-la, and -lo-s, weakened to Teut. -l-s. 
 
 (a) -s-la. Hou-sel, A. S. hfi-s-l (for *hun-s-l), Goth, hun- 
 s-l (stem hun-s-la), a sacrifice, holy rite. Ou-sel, A. S. 6-s-le 
 (for *am-s-le), cognate with G. Am-se-l, O. H. G. am-sa-la ; 
 root uncertain. Koch also refers hither E. ax-le (=*ac-sle), 
 but the s may be an extension of the root. 
 
ENGLISH SUFFIX -NESS. 
 
 ^53 
 
 (b) -l-s. The remarkable words burial, riddle, shutile 
 (see § 219), have lost a final s ; they are, respectively, cor- 
 ruptions of buriels, riddles, shuttles ; it is obvious that the 
 s was mistaken for the plural suffix, and was accordingly 
 purposely dropped. Burial, M. E. biriel, buriel, buriels, A. S. 
 byrg-el-s, a burying-place, from byrg-an, to bury. Riddle, 
 M. E. red-el-s, A. S. rced-el-se, rdd-el-s, an ambiguous speech ; 
 from rced-an, to explain ; we still say ' to read a riddle! 
 Shuttle, M.E. schitel, A. S. scyt-el-s < .. || scot-en, pp. of 
 sceot-an, to shoot. Of this word skittle is a mere variant, 
 being a Scand. form; but the final -s does not appear in 
 Dan. skyttel, a shuttle, Icel. skutill, an implement shot forth, 
 harpoon, bolt. Koch adds three more examples, viz. bridle, 
 girdle, stickle (a spine, as in stickle-back) ; but, as a fact, all 
 of these have double forms in A. S., viz. A. S. brid-el as well 
 as brid-el-s, gyrd-el as well as gyrd-el-s, and s tic-el as well 
 as slic-el-s; there is therefore no need to consider them 
 here, and they have already been mentioned in § 217. 
 
 § 232. E. suffix -ness. This is not a simple suffix, like 
 -hood, -ship, but a compound, to be divided as -n-es-s. The 
 -n- originally belonged to a substantival stem, so that the 
 true suffix is rather -es-s, Gothic -as-su-, supposed to stand 
 for -es-tu-, by assimilation; cf. § 235. In the Lord's prayer, 
 the petition ' Thy kingdom come ' is, in Gothic — kwimai 
 thiudinassus theins. Here the word thiudinassus, kingdom, 
 is formed with the suffix -as-su-s from the stem lhiudin = 
 thiud-an-, i. e. king ; cf. thiudan-s, a king, thiudan-on, to rule, 
 thiudan-gardi, kingdom. So also leikin-assus, healing, leikin- 
 on, to heal ; drauhtin-assus, warfare, draulitin-on, to war. 
 We find no trace of n in ufar -ass us y superfluity, ufar- 
 ass-Jan, to abound ; from ufar, over, above. The Goth. 
 -n-assus, -assus, is masculine ; but the corresponding A. S. 
 -n-is (also -n-ys, -n-es, -n-ess) is feminine. It is mostly used 
 for forming abstract substantives, expressive of quality, from 
 adjectives ; as hdlig-nis, holi-ness, from hdlig, holy. Hence 
 
^54 
 
 SUBSTANTIVAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. XIII. 
 
 E. glad-ness, mad-ness, sad-ness, and a large number of 
 similar substantives. It can be added to adjectives of French 
 and Latin origin with equal 1 readiness ; hence rigid-ness, 
 sordid-ness, etc. The whole number of derivatives contain- 
 ing this suffix considerably exceeds a thousand *. 
 
 § 233. Aryan -(i)s-to. This is common in E. words of 
 Gk. origin, as in soph-is 7, F. soph-is te, Lat. soph-is- ta, Gk. 
 o-o(j)-ia-T7)s (stem *ao(f)-i(r-Ta.) y allied to <ro(j>-6s, wise ; and hence, 
 in the form -ist, it can be used generally, as in dent-ist, 
 jlor-ist, from the Lat. stems dent-, flor-. It appears as -est 
 in the native word harv-est, A. S. hcerf-est, from V KARP, to 
 pluck ; cf. Lat. carp-ere. So also earn-est, orig. a sb., as in 
 the phrase ' in earnest ' ; A. S. eorn-ost, eorn-est, cognate with 
 G. Er?i-st\ from a base arn, extended from the VAR, to 
 raise, excite. 
 
 Hence, probably, we may explain some words with the 
 suffix -st (= -s-t), as, e. g. iwi-st. Twi-st, A. S. twi-st, a 
 rope; from twi-, double, as in twi-feald, twy-fold, two-fold, 
 allied to twd, two; cf. Skt. dvi, two. Trust, of Scand. 
 origin ; Icel. trau-st, trust ; cf. Goth, trau-an, to believe ; 
 allied to true, trow. Try-st, tri-st, allied to trust) 
 probably due to the mutated form in Icel. treysta, v. 
 (= * traust-jd), to rely upon, from trau-st, trust. In some 
 other words, the origin of the s may be different ; thus Fick 
 (iii. 87) refers E. las-t, a burden, load, as in *a last of 
 herrings/ A. S. hlccs-t, neut. (stem klas-td), to the base 
 hlath, to lade, whence A. S. hlad-an, Goth, hlath-an ; in 
 which case A. S. hlces-t stands for * hlceS-t, as being easier to 
 pronounce. Cf. A. S. bliss, blids, as forms of bliss. Similarly, 
 we may explain wris-t, A. S. wris-t, fern, (stem wris-td), as 
 put for * wrid-t ; from the base wrid-, as seen in wrid-en, 
 pp. of wrid-an, to writhe. So also rus-t, A. S. rus-t (stem 
 rus-td) ; put for * rud-st < || rud-on, pt. pi. of reod-an, to be 
 
 1 Compare the article on the suffix -nis in Weigand's Etym. German 
 Dictionary ; and see Kluge, s. v. dienen. 
 
§ 237-] 
 
 TEUTONIC SUFFIX -SKA. 
 
 ^55 
 
 red ; cf. E. rudd-y, A. S. rud-u, s., redness ; and see G. 
 Rost in Kluge. Gris-t, A. S. gris-t, corn to be ground, is 
 clearly connected with grind-an, to grind, and may stand 
 for * grid-t or * grids t. 
 
 § 234. Teutonic -s-ti. Here we may place fist, list{en). 
 Fi-sfis A. S./y-st(= * fusti), allied to G. Faust, which Fick 
 refers to Teut. fonsti, and connects with Russ. piaste, fist, 
 Old Slavonic ppti, fist, where the vowel § denotes that ft 
 has been lost; see Schmidt, Vocalismus, i. 167, where it is 
 shewn (1) that this is correct, and (2) that it is an argument 
 against connecting fist with Lat. pugnus, as is usually done l . 
 The verb to listen, M. E. lust-n-en, is derived from M. E. 
 lust-en, A. S. hlyst-an, to listen, by the insertion of -n- (cf. 
 Goth, full-n-an, to become full). This verb hlyst-an is from 
 the sb. hlyst, hearing (= */ilus-li), Teut. hlusti, hearing 
 (Fick, iii. 90) ; which again is from Teut. hleu = Aryan 
 V KLEU, to hear. 
 
 § 235. Teutonic -s-tu. This appears in E. mist, vapour, 
 A. S. mist, gloom, fog; cognate with G. Mist, Goth. 
 maihs-tus, dung; from Aryan V MEIGH, to sprinkle, 
 whence Lat. ming-ere. See also § 232. 
 
 § 236. Teut. suffix -s-t-man. This appears in E. blossom, 
 A. S. blds-t-ma (stem blds-t-man), a blossom ; from bld-iv-an, 
 to blow. Without the s-t, we have Icel. bld-m, Goth, btd-ma 
 (stem bid-man), a bloom ; §211. 
 
 § 237. Teut. -ska. This appears in tusk, A. S. tusc, 
 or, by metathesis, lux. This A. S. tusc is almost certainly, 
 as Ettmuller says, put for *iwisc, and meant originally 
 double tooth, molar tooth, from A. S. twi-, double. Cf. A. S. 
 ge-twis-an, twins, Genesis xxxviii. 27 ; O. H. G. zwis, twice, 
 zwisk, zwiski, double. I would also refer hither E. 
 husk, M. E. huske, as it has almost certainly lost an /, and 
 stands for *hulsk ; cf. A. S. hul-u, a husk, prov. E. hull, a 
 
 1 This would require a Teut. form fuh-sti ; see Kluge, who takes 
 the opposite view, connecting it with pugnus r but not with Russ. piaste. 
 
256 
 
 SUBSTANTIVAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. XIII. 
 
 husk or shell ; G. Hiilse, O. H. G. hulsa, M. H. G. (Ale- 
 mannic) hu/s-che, a husk (Schade) ; and cf. E. holl-ow < \\ 
 A. S. hol-en, pp. of hel-an, to hide, cover. 
 
 § 238. A. S. -es-tran; cf. §228 (d). This appears in 
 A. S. -es-tre, a common fern, suffix, as in bcec-es-tre (stem 
 bcec-es-tran), a female baker, M.E. baks-ter, preserved in 
 the name Baxter ; webb-es-tre, M.E. web-s-ter, preserved in 
 the name Webster. Only one of these words, viz. spins-ter, 
 still retains the sense of the feminine gender ; the restriction 
 of the suffix to the feminine was early lost, so that songster, 
 for example, has now the precise sense of sing-er. But the 
 A. S. sang-er-e, a singer, was masculine ; whilst sang-es-tre, 
 a songster, was feminine. There are numerous examples in 
 Wright's Vocabularies, ed. Wiilcker, coll. 308-312. Thus 
 we find : 'Cantor, sangere : Cantrix, sangystre : Fidicen, 
 fidelere [fiddler] : Fidicina, fij^elestre [fiddlester] : Sartor, 
 s^amere : Sartrix, sdamestre' : etc. Hence our sempster or 
 seamster is A. S. seam-es-tre, from seam, a seam, a sowing. 
 The fern, sense is now so far lost that the F. fern, suffix -ess 
 has been added to songster and seamster or sempster, pro- 
 ducing the forms songstr-ess, seamstr-ess, semp-str-ess. In 
 M.E., -ster was freely added to bases not found in A. S. ; hence 
 huckster, properly the fern, of huck-er (now spelt hawker) ; 
 see Huckster in my Etym. Diet. In Tudor-English the 
 suffix was rather widely used ; hence teamster, tapster, and 
 obsolete words such as drugster, maltster, whipster, etc. 
 In some words it expressed something of contempt, possibly 
 owing to the influence of the Lat. poetaster ; hence fibster, 
 gamester, punster, rhymester, trickster ; see Morris, Hist. 
 Outlines of E. Accidence, p. 90 \ 
 
 § 239. E. suffix -sr. This very common suffix, as in 
 fish-er, usually expresses the agent, and is much used in 
 
 1 The suffix -ist-er, as in chor-ist-er, is of different origin ; for here the 
 -er is additional. Cotgrave explains F. choriste by ' a Chorist, a singing 
 man in a Queer.' Cf. § 233. 
 
§ 240.] 
 
 ARYAN SUFFIX -K0. 
 
 257 
 
 substantives derived from verbs. The A.S. form is -er-e, as 
 in boc-er-e, a scribe, lit. 6 book-er ' ; the corresponding Gothic 
 word is bok-ar-ei-s ( = *bok-ar-Jz-s, stem bok-ar-jd) ; see St. 
 Mark in Gothic, ed. Skeat, Introd. § 16. Thus the Goth, 
 suffix is -ar-ja, but the A.S. suffix may have been slightly 
 different. Such is the view taken by Ten Brink (Anglia, 
 v. 1) ; he argues that the A.S. form was -ir-e (with long e), 
 answering to Teut. -dr-ja (with long a) ; and I think his 
 arguments must be admitted. E. -er has also been explained 
 by supposing that -ar is here a shortened form of -tar (see 
 Koch, E. Gram. vol. iii. p. 76); which does not seem at all 
 likely. It is needless to give examples of the use of this suffix. 
 
 § 240. Aryan -KO. This is very common in Gk. in the 
 nominative form -*o?, and in Latin as -cus ; as in \oyi-Kos, 
 whence E. logi-c \ pau-cus y cognate with TL.few. 
 
 In Gothic it usually appears as -ha or -ga, but always after 
 a vowel ; the vowel is commonly due to the stem of the sb., 
 as in staina-ha-, stem of siaina-h-s, stony, from staina-, stem 
 of s/ains-s, a stone ; handu-ga-, stem of ha?idu-g-s, handy, 
 clever, wise. These are adjectives (see § 256); in substan- 
 tives, the simple suffix is rare, but occurs perhaps in s/i'r-k, 
 already discussed in § 203 above. 
 
 Other examples are the following: — 
 
 E. -y, -ey ; A.S. dg, -h. Body, A.S. boddg ; cf. O.H.G. 
 pot-ah. Hon-ey, A.S. hundg ; cf. Icel. hun-an-g. Iv-y, 
 A. S. ifdg. Sally, Sa/l-ow, a willow-tree, A. S. sea/-/i, stem 
 *sa/-go ; cf. Lat. sal-i-x, gen. sald-cis \ Here also belongs 
 the diminutival suffix -y, as in Bett-y ; and the de in lass- it . 
 
 We also find examples of a Teut. suffix -ka, as already 
 noted in § 203. Such are the following : — 
 
 E. -k\ A.S. -c. Fol-k, A. S. fol-c, Teut. fol-ka (F. iii. 
 189); cf. Lithuan. pul-ka-s, a crowd, Russ. pol-k\ an army; 
 
 1 An E. -ow answers to A. S. nom. -h in farr-ow, from A. S.fcarh, a 
 pig I furr-ow, A. S. furh\ marr-ow, A.S. viearh. But in these three 
 words the A. S. -h is radical, not a suffix. 
 
 VOL. I. S 
 
258 SUBSTANTIVAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. XIII. 
 
 root uncertain. Haw-k, A. S. haf-oc ; cf. Icel. hau-k-r, 
 O.H.G. hab-uh\ lit. 1 the seizer ' ; from V KAP, to seize, 
 hold. Wel-k, Wil-k, a shell-fish, usually misspelt whelk, A. S. 
 wil-oc, later wel-oc ; named from its spiral shell; from V WER, 
 to turn, wind. Yol-k, Yel-k, A.S. geol-ec-a, the yellow part, 
 from geol-u, yellow. Sil-k, A. S. seol-c, is merely a borrowed 
 word, obtained from Slavonic traders ; it is the Slavonic form 
 of the Lat. Seri-cum, the material obtained from the Seres ; 
 but the suffix is the Aryan -ko. 
 
 § 241. The Teut. suffix -ga is common in combination 
 with a preceding -an-, or more usually -in- 9 or -un-, of 
 doubtful origin. Of -an-ga there is but one example, 
 viz. in the Goth, bals-ag-ga ( = bals-an-ga), a doubtful word 
 in Mark ix. 42 ; but the suffixes -in-ga and -un-ga (origin- 
 ally -in-go, -im-go in the case of feminine substantives) are 
 very common in A. S. in the forms -ing, -ung. 
 
 (a) A.S. suffix -ing. This was in common use to form 
 patronymics, of which a striking example occurs in the 
 Northumbrian version of Luke iii. 24-38, where 1 the son of 
 Judah ' is expressed by ioda-ing, 1 the son of Zorobabel ' by 
 sorobabel-ing, etc. Hence were formed a large number of 
 tribal names, such as Scyldingas, the Scyldings, Scylfingas, 
 the Scylfings, both mentioned in the poem of Be'owulf. 
 Hence also are derived many place-names, as, e.g. Barking, 
 in Essex, from the tribe of Barkings, A. S. Beorcingas ; 
 Buckingham, from the A.S. Buccinga-hdm^ i.e. home of the 
 Buckings, where -a is the suffix of the genitive plural ; Nott- 
 ingham, from the A.S. Snotinga-hdm, i.e. home of the Snot- 
 ings or sons of Snot, the 6 wise ' man ; cf. A. S. snot-or, Goth. 
 snut-r-s, wise. In composition with -/-, it appears as -ling, 
 already discussed as being a diminutival suffix in § 203. With- 
 out the -/-, it has a diminutival or depreciatory force in lord- 
 ing, lit. a little lord. Farth-ing, A.S. feord-ing,ferd-ing, also 
 found as feord-l-ing, means a fourth part of a penny ; from 
 feorp-a, orig. fiorp- a, fourth, from fe'ower, four. Herr-ing, 
 
§ Hi.] 
 
 ANGLO-SAXON SUFFIX -UNG. 
 
 159 
 
 A.S. ncer-ing, the fish that comes in shoals or armies, from 
 her-e (stem har-ja), an army, host. K-ing, short for kin-ing, 
 A.S. cyn-ing, sometimes explained as the 1 son of the tribe/ 
 chosen of the tribe, otherwise ' the man of high rank ' 
 (Kluge) ; in either case, the derivation of cyn-ing from A.S. 
 cyn, tribe, race, stock, whence also cyn-e, royal, is indubitable. 
 Penn-y, A. S. pen-ig, fuller form pen-ing ; oldest A. S. form 
 pend-ing; formed by z-mutation from pand-, the same as Du. 
 pand, G. Pfand, a pledge. Rid-ing, as the name of one of 
 the three divisions of Yorkshire, is for *//irid-ing (i.e. North- 
 riding fox North-thriding); of Scand. origin ; from Icd.pridJ- 
 ung-r, the third part ; from pri$t y third. SMl-ing, A. S. sail- 
 ing) cf. Goth, skill-igg-s ( = skill-ing-s). Whi/-ing, a fish 
 named from the whiteness of the flesh. We may add the obso- 
 lete word athel-ing, A.S. ccpel-ing, a prince; from cepele, noble. 
 
 (6) A.S. suffix ^ung. This is extremely common in sbs. 
 derived from verbs, as in clccns-u?ig, a cleans-ing, from clcens- 
 ian, to cleanse ; georn-nng, a yearn-ing, from georn-ian, to 
 yearn. The suffix -ung simply takes the place of the infinitive 
 suffix -an or -tan. Even in A. S. this suffix frequently appears 
 as -ing ; as in leorn-ing, learn-ing, also spelt leorn-ung ; fylg- 
 ing, a follow-ing, from fylg-an, to follow. In mod. E. the 
 spelling -ing for this suffix is universal, and extremely com- 
 mon. Unfortunately, it has been confused with the ending 
 of the present participle, so that many sentences are now 
 difficult to parse. Thus the phrase 1 he is gone hunting ' 
 was formerly ' he is gone a-hunting/ w r here a represents the 
 A. S. prep, on, and hunt-ing is for the A. S. hunt iinge, dat. of 
 huntung, a substantive of verbal origin. In JElfric's Colloquy, 
 we have the Lat. heri fui in venatione ; above this is the A. S. 
 gloss — gyrstan dceg ic wees on huntunge, • yesterday I was a- 
 hunting V These words in -ing are now used with an ellipsis 
 of a following of, which gives the sb. all the appearance of 
 
 1 Or otherwise — ic wees on Jmntafte. There was a sb. hicntad with 
 the same sense and force as huntung. 
 
 S 2 
 
i6o 
 
 SUBSTANTIVAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. XIII. 
 
 being part of the verb itself. Thus ' he was seen killing 
 flies ' is to be explained by comparison with ' he amused 
 himself by killing flies,' i. e. by the killing of flies ; so that it 
 really stands for ' he was seen in the (act of) killing of flies/ 
 There is an instructive sentence in Bacon's third Essay 
 which should be particularly considered. ' Concerning the 
 Meanes of procuring Unity ; Men must beware, that in the 
 Procuring, or Muniting, of Religious Unity, they doe not 
 Dissolve and Deface the Lawes of Charity, and of humane 
 Society/ Here it is clear that ' the Meanes of procuring 
 Unity ' is precisely the same thing as ' the Meanes of the pro- 
 curing of Religious Unity/ Consequently, procuring is just 
 as much a substantive as the word procuration, which might 
 be substituted for it, in the fuller form of the phrase, without 
 making any difference. In fact, these words in -ing had pre- 
 cisely the force of Lat. words in -atio, when formed from verbs. 
 Nowadays, the phrase 'he was punished for the breaking of a 
 window' has become '. . . for breaking a window'; whence, by 
 the substitution of an active past participle for the supposed active 
 present participle, has arisen the extraordinary phrase 'he was 
 punished for having broken a window/ This phrase is now anac- 
 cepted one, so that the grammarians, in despair, have invented 
 for words thus used the term gerund, under the impression that 
 to give a thing a vague name is the same thing as clearly ex- 
 plaining it l . This term, however, should only be employed for 
 convenience, with the express understanding that it refers to a 
 modern usage which has arisen from a succession of blunders. 
 
 It is unnecessary to give further examples of this common 
 suffix, which can be added, in modern English, to any verb 
 whatever. 
 
 1 Thus I read in a certain book, that 1 the gerund in -ing must be dis- 
 tinguished from the verbal noun in 4ng] &c. The fact is, that the 
 difference is purely one of modern usage ; etymologically, it makes no 
 difference whatever. Moreover, the so-called 'verbal noun' is only 
 ' verbal ' in the sense of being de?'ived from a verb ; just as in the case of 
 steal-th from steal. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Adjectival, Adverbial, and Verbal Suffixes. 
 
 § 242. The easiest adjectival suffixes are those which can 
 be traced as having been independent words. These are 
 -fast, -fold, -ful, -less, -like or -ly, -some, -ward, -wart, -zvise. 
 
 -fast, A. S. fcest, the same as fast when used indepen- 
 dently. It occurs only in shame-fast, M. E. scham-fast, A. S. 
 sceamfccst, now corrupted into shame-faced', and in stead- 
 fast, sled-fast, M. E. slede-fasl, A. S. stede-fest-e, firm or fast 
 in its stead or place. 
 
 -fold, A. S. -feald\ as in two-fold, threefold, manifold. 
 
 -ful, A. S. -ful, i.e. full; as in dreadful, heedful, needful, 
 etc. It is freely added to sbs. of F. origin, as graceful, 
 grateful, &c. 
 
 -less, M.E. -lees, A.S.-l/as; this, the commonest of all 
 adjectival suffixes, can be added to almost every sb. in the 
 language ; as cap-less, hat-less, coal-less, wig-less. The A. S. 
 Mas properly means 1 loose ' or ' free from 9 \ it is merely 
 another form of loose, which is the Scand. form, being bor- 
 rowed from Icel. lauss, loose. This Icel. word is likewise in 
 very common use as a suffix ; as in Icel. vit-lauss, wit-less. 
 The suffix -less has no connection whatever with the com- 
 parative adjective less. 
 
 -like or -ly. The form -like only occurs in words of 
 modern formation, as court-like, saint-like, which may also 
 be court-ly, saint-ly. In all older forms, it appears as 
 
262 ADJECTIVAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. XIV. 
 
 -ly, a shortened form of -like, A.S. -lie, formerly -lie; as 
 in gdst-lic, ghost-ly, eorp-lic, earth-ly. Ghast-ly, M. E. gast- 
 ly, i. e. terrible, is formed from A. S. g&st-an, to terrify. 
 
 -some, M. E. -sum, som, A. S. sum ; cognate with Icel. 
 -samr, G. -sam, and orig. the same word as E. same. See 
 Weigand's Etym. Germ. Diet., s.v. -sam. Hence win-some, 
 A. S. wynsum, delightful, from wyn, joy ; lissom, short for 
 lithe-some, etc. Added to sbs. of F. origin in mettlesome, 
 noisome, quarrel-some, toil-some. In the word bux-om, M. E. 
 buhsum, from A. S. bug-an, to bow, bend, we have the same 
 suffix ; the orig. sense was yielding, pliant, obedient, a sense 
 which occurs as late as in Milton, who twice speaks of i the 
 buxom air'; P. L. ii. 842, v. 270. 
 
 -ward, A.S. -weard, i.e. turned towards, inclined; ex- 
 pressive of the direction in which a thing tends to go. The 
 Gothic form is -wairth-s, as in and-wairths, present ; from 
 watrth-an, to be turned to, to become l . The A. S. form is 
 parallel to the pt. t. weard of the corresponding A. S. verb 
 weord-an. Thus to-war d is ' turned to ' ; fro-war d is ' turned 
 from' ; way-ward r is short for away-war d, i.e. 'turned away'; 
 for-ward, i.e. ' turned to the fore'; back-ward, ' turned to 
 the back/ Awk-ward is 1 turned aside/ hence perverse, 
 clumsy; from M. E. auk, transverse, strange, a form con- 
 tracted from Icel. afug-r, qfug-r, going the wrong way ; 
 just as hawk is formed from A. S. hafoc. 
 
 -wart. Only in slal-warl, a corrupt form of stal-worth. 
 The suffix is A.S. weord, worth, worthy ; stalworth is for sla- 
 dohvierde, from stadol, foundation ; Sievers, § 202 (3). 
 
 -wise, A. S. wis. Occurs in weather-wise, i. e. knowing 
 as to the weather. M. E. also had right-wis, wrong-wis. The 
 latter is obsolete ; the former (A. S. riht-wis, lit. knowing as 
 to right) is now corrupted to righteous. 
 
 § 243. Other adjectival suffixes agree more or less with 
 
 1 Cognate with Lat. uert-cre, to turn, uert-i, to be turned, to become. 
 So also Lat. ueis-us, towards, is allied to E. -ward. 
 
§ 246.] 
 
 AR YAN SUFFIX -10. 
 
 263 
 
 the substantival suffixes explained in the last Chapter. Such 
 are the following. 
 
 Aryan -O. Very common, but lost in mod. E. Thus 
 E. blind, A. S. blind, answers to Goth, blinds, stem blind-a. 
 Koch instances black, bleak, blind, broad, cool, dark, deaf, 
 deep, dumb, full, glad, good, great, grim, high, hoar, hot, lief, 
 loath, red, rough, short, sick, stiff, white, whole, wise, worth, 
 young ; and some others. Here belongs loose, from Icel. 
 lauss, stem laus-a. See Sievers, O. E. Gram. § 293. Few, 
 slow, do not belong here ; see § 248. 
 
 § 244. Aryan -I. Examples are scarce. We may refer 
 hither the following. Mean, in the sense of common or vile, 
 A. S. ge-mdn-e ; cognate with G. ge-mein, O. H. G. gi-mein-i, 
 Goth, ga-main-s (stem ga-main-i). Whether this is related 
 to Lat. com-mun-i-s, common, is still disputed ; but the re- 
 lationship is probably real. 
 
 § 245. Aryan -U. The chief examples are quick, A. S. 
 cwic-u, cwic ; and hard, A. S. heard, cognate with Goth. 
 hard-u-s, and allied to Gk. Kpar-v-s, strong. 
 
 § 246. Aryan -10. Cf. Gk. dy-io-s, holy. Lost in mod. 
 E., but sometimes appears as -e in A. S. and even in M. E. 
 This suffix sometimes causes /-mutation of the preceding 
 vowel. Without mutation are the following. Dear, A. S. 
 deor-e ; cf. O. H. G. iiur-i, whence G. theuer ; Teut. deur-ya 
 (Fick, iii. 1 46). Free, A. S. freo, frio ; Goth, frei-s (stem 
 fri-ja) ; originally ' at liberty,' ' acting at pleasure/ and allied 
 to Skt.pri-ya, beloved, agreeable ; from >/PRI, to love. Mid, 
 A. S. mid, Goth. midjis\ Teut. med-ya. New, A. S. niw~e, 
 Goth, niu-ji-s (stem niu-jd) ; derived from Goth. ;///, A. S. nil, 
 E. now. Wild, A. S. wild, Goth, willh-ei-s (stem wilth-ja). 
 The following exhibit mutation. Keen, A. S. cen-e ^ — % con- 
 Jo-), cognate with G. kiihn, O. H. G. chuon-i l , Teut. kox-ya 
 (Fick, iii. 41); perhaps allied to can. Sweet, A. S. stv/i-e 
 
 1 Hence O. H. G. Chuon-rdt, Kuon-rat, keen (in) counsel ; appearing 
 in English as Conrad. 
 
264 
 
 ADJECTIVAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. XIV. 
 
 (=*szvot-Jo-) ; Teut. sw6t-ya (Fick, iii. 361); this appears 
 to be a later formation from an older sw6tu, cognate with 
 Lat. suauis (for *swad-uis), Gk. rjd-t-s, Skt. svdd-u, sweet; 
 so that it was originally a &-stem. Cf. Goth, hard-ja-na as 
 the acc. masc. of hard-u-s, hard. 
 
 § 247. Teutonic -i-na. This answers to Goth, -ei-na, as 
 in silnbr-ei-na-, stem of silubr-ei-n-s, silver-n, from silubr, 
 silver ; and to A. S. -en, E. -en, -n. This suffix sometimes 
 causes z-mutation of the preceding vowel, as seen in beech-en, 
 A. S. bec-en, from boc, a beech-tree ; and in A. S. gyld-en, 
 golden, from gold, gold. The latter has been displaced by 
 gold-en ; and the suffix is much commoner in Early English 
 than in A. S. Hence we commonly find no mutation of the 
 vowel. Examples are : ash-en, made of ash ; birch-en ; 
 braz-en, made of brass ; flax-en ; gold-en ; he?np-en ; lead-en ; 
 oak-e?i ; oat-en ; silk-en ; wax-en ; wheat-en ; wood-en ; wool-l-en. 
 So also leather-n, silver-n, the latter of which is almost ob- 
 solete. Asp-en (properly an adjective, as when we speak of 
 1 the aspen-tree ') is now practically used as a sb. ; the old 
 sb. cesp or ccps, an ' asp/ from which it is derived, being now 
 almost forgotten. Lin-e?i was also originally an adjective 
 only, from A. S. tin, flax ; not a native word, but merely 
 borrowed from Lat. tin-urn. Tre-en or treen was once used 
 as an adj. from tree, chiefly with the sense of 'wooden 1 .' 
 Glas-en, made of glass, had long been out of use. Elm-en, 
 from elm, is still in use in our dialects. The words ev-en, 
 heath-en, do not belong here ; see § 252. With this suffix cf. 
 Lat. -inns, as in can-inns, E. can-ine. 
 
 § 248. Aryan -WO. In § 212 we have seen that -wa 
 answers to E. -ow in mead-ow, shad-ow. Similarly we can 
 explain call-ow, A. S. cal-u (stem cal-wo-) ; fall-ow, A. S. 
 feal-u (stem feal-wo- < fal-wo-) ; mell-ow, with / for r, O. 
 Mercian mer-we, tender j ]\Iatt. xxiv. 32^ narr-ow, A. S. 
 ?iear-u; sall-ow, A.S. sal-u ; yell-ow, A.S. geol-u. See Sievers, 
 1 Spenser has ' treen mould,' i. e. shape of trees ; F. Q. i. 7. 26. 
 
§ 25i.] 
 
 ARYAN SUFFIX -RO. 
 
 265 
 
 O. E. Gram. § 300. Here also belong the following. Few, 
 A. S. pi. fe'a-we. Nigh, M. E. neh, A. S. neh, neah, allied to 
 Goth, neh-wa, adv., nigh. Raw, A. S. hreaw, pi. hrea-we. 
 Slow, A.S. slaw, pi. sld-we. True, A.S. treo-we, Teut. treu- 
 wa (F. iii. 124). Fare, ready, used by Shakespeare, A.S. 
 gear-u (stem gear-wo-< gar-wo-) ; whence probably the sb. 
 yarr-ow, milfoil, with the sense of ' dressing ' for wounds, for 
 which it was a famous remedy. Its Lat. name is Achillea, 
 because Achilles healed with it the wound of Telephos; 
 Cockayne, A.S. Leechdoms, i. 195. 
 
 § 249. Aryan -MO. A clear example of this occurs in 
 E. war-m, A.S. wear-m, Teut. war-ma (F. iii. 292); prob- 
 ably from a root war, to boil, and not allied to Gk. tfep-^os 1 . 
 Cf. Russ. var-ite, to boil. The m is a suffix in A. S. ru-m. 
 spacious, whence E. roomy. 
 
 § 250. Teutonic -ma-n. This is only found in old super- 
 latives, such as A. S. for-ma (stem for-man), first, the su- 
 perlative from for-e, fore; cognate with Lat. pri-mu-s, first. 
 To this superlative -ma it was not uncommon to add the 
 additional suffix -est (Goth, -ist-s) 1 ; this produced the suffix 
 -m-est, which was afterwards supposed to stand for most, and 
 was accordingly so re-spelt. This is the history of our fore- 
 m-ost, A. S. for-m-est, also more correctly fyr-m-cst, with 
 z-mutation of 0 ioy. So also hind-m-ost, Goth, hindu-m-isl-s; 
 in-m-osl, from A. S. inne-m-esl, most inward ; out-m-ost, from 
 A. S. Ute-m-est, most outward. With the suffix -er for -est, 
 we get the curious word for-m-er, where the -m- marks 
 a superlative, and the -er a comparative form. 
 
 § 251. Aryan -RO and -LO. There are not many 
 traces of the former. The clearest example is bitt-er, M. E. 
 bit-er, A. S. bit-er, bit-or < || bit-en, pp. of Mt-an, to bite ; cf. 
 Goth, bait-r-s (stem bait-ra), bitter < || bait, pt. t. of Goth. 
 beit-an] to bite. Fai-r, A. S. fccg-r, fccg-er ; Goth, fag-r-s 
 
 1 Aryan suffix -is-TO, weakened form of -YES-TO, Gk. -io-to-s. See 
 Brngrnann ; Comp. Gram. vol. ii. § 135. 
 
266 
 
 ADJECTIVAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. XIV. 
 
 (stem fag-ra), fit, suitable ; from V PAK, to fasten, fit. 
 Slipp-ery is formed by adding -y to A. S. slip-or, slippery ; 
 from the verb to slip. 
 
 -LO. There was a rather numerous class of A. S. adjec- 
 tives in -ol, -el, of which few survive. Sweet, in his A. S. 
 Reader, instances het-ol, violent, from het-e, hate ; and panc-ol, 
 thoughtful, from pane, thought. Britt-le, M. E. br it-el, brot-el, 
 brut-el < || brot-en, pp. of A. S. bre'ot-an, to break. Spenser 
 uses brick-le, F. Q. iv. 10. 39, with a like sense; from A. S. 
 bree-an, to break. Ev-il, A.S.yf-el; Goth, iib-i-l-s (stem 
 ub-i-la) ; see Kluge. Fick-le, A. S. fic-ol, deceitful ; 
 from fic, s., fraud ; cf. fdc-n, deceit. Id-le, A. S. id-el, 
 empty, vain; cf. G. eil-el, vain. Litt-le, A. S. lyt-el, con- 
 nected with lyt, adv., little; here lyl=*luti-< and there is a 
 connection with Goth, lints, deceitful; see Fick, iii. 276. 
 Mick-le, great, A. S. myc-el, mic-el ; Goth, mik-i-l-s, allied 
 to Gk. base /iey-a-Ao-, great. But the most extraordinary 
 word with this suffix is the M. E. rak-el, rash, wild, a word 
 of Scand. origin, answering to Icel. reik-all, adj., vagabond, 
 from reik-a, to wander about. This word was strangely 
 transformed into rake-hell in the 16th century (see Trench 
 and Nares), and has since been politely shortened so as to 
 produce the mod. E. sb. a rake, i. e. a dissolute man. The 
 verb to ail, A. S. eg-l-an, to trouble, to pain, is derived from 
 A. S. eg-le, troublesome, allied to Goth, ag-lu-s, difficult, 
 hard ; so that the final / is really an adjectival suffix ; from 
 V AGH, to choke, pain. So also in the case of fou-l, A. S. 
 fu-l\ from \/PU, to stink. 
 
 § 252. Aryan -NO. E. brow-n, A. S. bru-n ; cognate 
 with G. brau-n, Lithuanian bru-na-s, brown ; and allied to 
 Skt. ba-bhru, tawny 1 ; see Fick, iii. 218. Ev-en, A. S. ef-n, 
 Goth, ib-n-s (stem ib-na) ; probably related to Goth, ib-uks, 
 backwards. Fai~n, A. S. fceg-en ; cf. Icel. feg-inn, glad, 
 
 1 Not to be connected with the verb to bum, as suggested in my Dic- 
 tionary. 
 
§ 253-] 
 
 ARYAN SUFFIX -TO. 
 
 267 
 
 joyful. We may here notice that the Icel. -inn is the usual 
 suffix of the pp. of strong verbs, as in gef-inn, E. giv-en, 
 Goth, gib-an-s (stem gib-a-na-) ; so that the adj. suffix is 
 here of the same form as that of the strong pp. The Teut. 
 form of fain is fag-i-na (Fick, iii. 169), as if it were a pp. 
 from the Teut. base FAH, to fit, suit ; >/PAK, to fit. The 
 same pp. suffix occurs in op-en, A. S. op-en, Icel. op-inn ; and in 
 roll-en, borrowed from the Icel. rot-inn, the pp. of a lost verb. 
 Cf. § 260. Heath-en, orig. one who dwelt on a heath, but ex- 
 tended (like the Lat. paganus, a villager, afterwards a pagan) 
 to denote one who is uninstructed in the Christian religion ; 
 A. S. hced-en, from hdd, a heath. Cf. Goth, haith-no, a heathen 
 woman ; haiih-i, heath. 
 
 Gree-n, A. S. gre-n-e ( = *gro-n-Jo-), cognate with Icel. 
 grcenn, G. griln, answers to Teut. gro-n-ya (Fick, iii. 112); 
 so that the suffix is really double. It is closely allied to the 
 verb to grow. Lea-n, slender, A. S. hldt-ne (=*hld-n-Jo), 
 slender, frail ; orig. 1 leaning/ as if wanting support ; allied to 
 hldnan, to lean. Ster-n, severe, A. S. styr-ne ( = * stum-Jo?). 
 
 With regard to the words east-em, west-em, north-em, 
 south-em, we must compare the O. H.G. forms, such as 
 norda-roni, north-ern. Fick (iii. 251) supposes that the 
 O. H. G. suffix -rofii is a derivative from rann, the 2nd stem 
 of G. renn-en, Goth, rinn-an (pt. t. rami), to run. If so, 
 north-ern means 1 running from the north/ i. e. coming 
 from the north, said of the wind. Otherwise, we should 
 have to suppose that it is a compound suflix. This point 
 still remains unsettled. 
 
 § 253. Aryan -TO. This is the usual suffix of the Lat. 
 pp., as in strd-lus, pp. of sier-n-ere, to lay ; and, as already 
 said in § 223, it occurs as -d in E. lai-d, pp. of lay, and as 
 -Hi- in Goth. Iag-i-/h-s, laid, pp. of lag-j-an, to lay. It is 
 very familiar in the form -ed, used as the pp. suffix of 
 numerous weak verbs, as lov-ed, pp. of love ; also as -/, as in 
 burn-t, pp. of burn. It deserves to be particularly noticed 
 
268 
 
 ADJECTIVAL SUFFIXES. 
 
 [Chap. XIV. 
 
 that the presence of the -e- in -ed ( = -e-d) is really due, for 
 the most part, to the causal verb-suffix which appears in 
 Gothic as -j-, and occasionally in A. S. as -i- ; thus E. hate, 
 inf. = A. S. hat-i-an, Goth, hat-j-an; and the pp. hat-e-d = 
 A. S. hat-o-d, Goth, hai-i-th-s. It will thus be seen that 
 the pp. suffix (when written -ed) is properly -d only ; the 
 preceding -e belongs to the verbal stem, just like the -i- 
 in the case of E. tac-i-t, borrowed from Lat. tac-i-tus, pp. 
 of tac-e-re. 
 
 The Aryan -TO appears in E. as -th, -/, and -d. 
 
 (a) The form -///. This is rare, but occurs in un-cou-th, 
 orig. unknown, strange ; from A. S. cu-d, known, Goth, kun- 
 th-s, pp. of kunn-an, to know. \Bo-th is a Scand. form, from 
 Icel. ba-dir, both ; the A. S. form drops the suffix, appearing 
 as bd in the feminine and neuter ; cf. Goth, bai, G. bei-de. 
 The -th is from a different source, and stands for the, 
 the def. article.] Nor-th, A. S. nor-3, may be allied to Gk. 
 vep-re-pos, lower, as suggested by Kluge, who also cites the 
 Umbrian ?icr-lro, on the left hand. The connection, in 
 the latter case at least, is the more probable, because the 
 Skt. dakshma means 1 on the right/ also * on the south/ to 
 a man looking eastward. Sou-th y A. S. su-d ( = *sun-d) ; cf. 
 O. H. G. sun-d, south ; allied to E. sun, as being the sunny 
 quarter. 
 
 The suffix -th also occurs in most of the mod. E. ordinal 
 numbers, as four-th, fif-th, stx-th, seven-th, &c. ; but note 
 A.S . fif-ta^ sz'x-ta, where the -/ is due to the preceding f or 
 x. Hence the Lowl. Sc. fift, sixt; cf. Lat. sex-tu-s. 
 
 (b) The form -/. We may particularly note this in past 
 participles, chiefly when preceded by f, gh, /, n, p, s ; as in 
 clef-t (from cleave), ref-t (from reave) ; bough- /, brough-t, 
 sough-t, taugh-t, wrough-t; fel-t, spil-t\ burn-t, mean-t, 
 pen-t) kep-t, slep-t, swep-t, wep-t; bles-t, los-t, wis-t. When 
 the verb ends in / or in d preceded by another consonant, 
 the pp. is often contracted; as in set, hurt, cast, built (for 
 
§ 253-1 
 
 ARYAN SUFFIX -TO, 
 
 269 
 
 butlded), lent, sen/, spent. In adjectives, it appears after f 
 gh, I (in salt), r, and s. Deft, M.E. def-t, fitting, becom- 
 ing, mild, daf-t, innocent (whence prov. E. daf-t, foolish) ; 
 allied to A. S. ge-dafen, fit, ge-defe, suitable, Goth, ga-dof-s, 
 ga-dob-s, fitting, ga-dab-an, to happen, befit. Lef-t, with 
 reference to the hand, A.S. lef-t, as a gloss to Lat. wants 
 (Mone, Quellen, i. 443) ; the same MS. has senne for synne, 
 so that left is for *fyft ( = *lup-li), Mid. Du. luft, from the 
 V RUP, to break, whence also E. lop and lib 1 . Soft, A.S. 
 softe, adv., softly; allied to G. sanf-t, soft, O.H.G. samf-lo, 
 adv., softly. Swift, A.S. swift, orig. turning quickly, allied 
 to E. swiv-el. Brigh-t, A. S. beorh-t, Goth, bairh-t-s (Teut. 
 berh-ta), lit. lighted up; from >/BHERK, to shine. Ligh-t, 
 as opposed to heavy, O. Mercian lih-t (see § 33), A.S. leoh-t\ 
 allied to Gk. i-\ax-vs, Skt. lagh-11, light. Righ-t, A.S. rih-l, 
 Goth, raih-t-s (stem raih-la-), Teut. reh-ta (F. iii. 248) ; 
 cognate with Lat. rec-tu-s. Sligh-t, not found in A.S., but 
 of Frisian origin ; O. Fris. slhich-t, Mid. Du. slich-t, even, flat, 
 Du. slech-t, slight, simple, vile; Teut. sleh-ta, which per- 
 haps originally meant 1 smitten/ from slah, to slay, smite 
 (F. iii. 358); but this is doubtful. Straigh-t, A.S. streh-t f 
 stretched tight, pp. of strecc-an, to stretch. Tigh-t, prov. E. 
 thite (more correctly), M.E. tiyt, also thyh-t (more correctly); 
 of Scand. origin, from IceL fritter (=*J>e'/il-r), water-tight; 
 allied to G. dich-t ; also to A. S. peon, G. gedeihen. Sal-l, 
 A. S. seal-t, lit. salted ; cf. Lat. sal-su-s, salted, from sal, 
 salt. Swar-t, A.S. swear-t, black, Goth, swar-t-s (stem swar- 
 ta) ; orig. 'burnt' ; from V SWER, to glow. Tar-t, acrid, 
 A.S. tear-t ; perhaps < || tar, pt. t. of ter-an, to tear. Eas-t, 
 A.S. /as-/; cf. Lat. aur-ora (-=z*aus-osa), Skt. nsh-as, dawn. 
 Wes-t, A.S. wes-t\ cf. Lat. ues-per, evening. See also won-t 
 in my Dictionary. 
 
 The word waste, A.S, wes-te ( = *wos-l-ja), exhibits the 
 
 1 This etymology was discovered by Mr. Sweet, who published it in 
 Anglia, iii. 155 (1880). 
 
270 
 
 ADJECTIVAL SUFFIXES. 
 
 [Chap. XIV. 
 
 double suffix -t-ya ; it is related to Lat. uas-tus, vast, but is 
 not borrowed from it. 
 
 (c) The form -d. We have already noticed the -e-d of 
 the pp. A remarkable example appears in E. bal-d, of which 
 the M.E. form was ball-ed, lit. * marked with a white patch' 
 (cf. pie-bald, skew-bald) ; the Welsh bal means 1 having a 
 white streak on the forehead/ said of a horse, and cf. Gk. 
 cfraX-ciKpos, bald-headed, <f>a\-ap6s, having a spot of white. 
 Bol-d, A.S. bal-d, beal-d; cf. Goth. adv. bal-tha-ba, boldly. 
 Col-d, O. Mercian cal-d(§ 33), A.S. ceal-d; cf. Lat. gel-i-dus, 
 cold; the -d does not appear in A.S. col, E. cool. Dea-d, 
 M.E. dee-d, A.S. dea-d; Goth, dau-th-s (stem dau-tha), a 
 weak pp. form due to the strong verb diw-an (pt. t. dau), to 
 die. (The verb die is of Scand. origin, not A. S. ; from Icel. 
 dey-ja) Lon-d, A.S. hlu-d ; cognate with Gk. k\v-t6-s, re- 
 nowned, famed, Skt. cru-ta, heard, pp. of gru, to hear. The 
 word nak-ed still preserves the full pp. form ; A. S. nac-od, as 
 if from a verb *nac-ian, to make bare; Goth, nakw-a-lh-s, 
 naked ; the Icelandic has not only nak-t-r, naked, but also a 
 form ?iak-inn, with the characteristic pp. suffix of a strong verb; 
 cf. also Lat. nu-dus ( = *nug-dus), Skt. nag-na, bare. 
 
 § 254. Aryan -TER. This occurs in E. o-l/ier, A.S. 
 6-der, Goth, an-thar, Lat. al-ler, Skt. an-tar-a. It is a com- 
 parative suffix, occurring also in whe-lher, which of two, 
 Goth, hwa-thar, Gk. Ko-rcp-os, no-rcp-os, Skt. ka-tar-a ; and 
 in its derivatives ci-ther, n-ei-ther. 
 
 § 255. Aryan -ONT, -ENT. This suffix occurs in A.S. 
 present participles, as already explained in § 229, which see. 
 
 § 256. Aryan -KO. As already explained in § 240, this 
 suffix occurs as Goth, -ha in sfaina-ha, stem of siaina-h-s 
 stony, from slaina-, stem of stains, a stone ; also as -ga in 
 handu-ga-, stem of handu-g-s, wise, a word of doubtful ety- 
 mology. So also Goth, mahtei-g-s, mighty, answering to A.S. 
 meah/i-g, mighty. In A. S. the suffix is practically = -I-KO, 
 from the frequent use of -KO with /-stems. Hence the 
 
§ 257-] 
 
 ARYAN SUFFIX -SKO. 
 
 271 
 
 invariable suffix is -ig, which is invariably reduced to y in 
 modern English. Thus Goth, mana-g-s (with #-stem) is A. S. 
 mcen-ig, E. man-y ; Goth, mahtei-g-s (with /-stem) is A. S. 
 meaht-ig, E. might-y ; and Goth, handu-g-s (with //-stem) 
 signifies * wise/ but its connection with E. hand-y is doubt- 
 ful. In modern E. these adjectives in -y are very numerous ; 
 in fact, this suffix can be added to a large number of 
 substantives ; we can say 1 a horsy gent/ or £ an ink-y 
 sky/ Amongst A. S. adjectives of this class we may enu- 
 merate bys-ig, bus-y; cra>ft-ig, craft-y (orig. experienced) ; 
 dys-ig, dizz-y ; dyh-l-ig, E. doughty < .. dug-an, to avail, be 
 worth, mod. E. do (as it occurs in the phrase 1 that will do ') ; 
 dysl-ig, dust-y ; fdm-ig, foam-y ; hcf-ig, E. heavy < hebb-an 
 (=z*haf-ian), to heave; zve'r-ig, wear-y, &c. So also any, 
 A. S. csn-ig, from an, one ; cf. Lat. tm-icus. The word 
 sill-y, M. E. sel-i\ A. S. scel-ig, has remarkably changed its 
 meaning ; it is derived from A. S. seel, season, and orig. 
 meant timely ; then lucky, happy, blessed, innocent ; and 
 lastly, simple, foolish. In the expression 1 silly sheep/ it is 
 used with a less contemptuous sense than when we speak of 
 ' a silly man/ 
 
 § 257. Aryan -ISKO or -SKO. This suffix is used in 
 Greek to form diminutives, as in nmd-io-Kos, a young boy, 
 from 7raT? (gen. nciid-os), a son. It occurs with an adjectival 
 use in Lithuanian, Slavonic, and Teutonic. Cf. Lith. lewa-s, 
 father, whence tew-iszk-as, fatherly; O. Slav, zena, Russ. Jena, 
 a woman, whence O. Slav. &en-isfai, Russ. jen-skri t\ womanly, 
 feminine. So also Goth, manna, a man, mann-isk-s, human ; 
 A.S. menn-isc (with /-mutation), human, also used as a sb., 
 meaning 1 man ' ; G. Men-sch, orig. an adj., but now always 
 used as a sb. This word is still preserved in Lowl. Sc. mense y 
 but the sense has still furthe changed to that of ' manliness/ 
 and thence to good manners, propriety of behaviour. 1 Meat 
 is good, but mense is better f is a Scottish proverb. The A. S. 
 -isc is the mod. E. -ish, which can be very freely added to 
 
ADJECTIVAL SUFFIXES. 
 
 [Chap. XIV. 
 
 substantives, to denote similarity. Other examples occur in 
 A.S. hdeSen-isc, E. heathen-ish\ ut-lend-isc, E. oui-land-ish, 
 &c. It is particularly used to signify relation to a country or 
 tribe ; as in E. Engl-ish, A. S. Engl-isc, formed with /-muta- 
 tion from Angel, i.e. Angeln in Denmark, situate in the 
 country between Flensburg in Sleswig and the Eyder. E. 
 Dan-ish, A. S. Den-isc, from Den-e, pi., the Danes ; cf Icel. 
 Dan-skr, Danish, from Dan-ir, pi. the Danes. E. Fren-ch, 
 A.S. Frenc-isc, Frank-ish, from Fra?ic-an, pi., the Franks. 
 E. Welsh, A.S. Wcel-isc, from Weal-as, pi. of wealh, a 
 foreigner. The words French, Welsh have already been in- 
 stanced as exhibiting examples of concealed mutation ; pp. 
 192, 202. Add to these Brit-ish, A.S. Britt-isc, from Britl-as, 
 nom. pi., the Britons; cf. Brii-en, Britt-en, Lat. Britannia, the 
 land of the Britons. E. Scott-ish, Scot-ish, Scot-ch, Scoi-s (for it 
 is written all four ways A. S. Scytt-isc, formed by /-mutation 
 from Scott-as, nom. pi., Lat. Scoti, the Scots, orig. the Irish. Of 
 common adjectives ending in -ish it may suffice to mention 
 churl-ish, A. S. cyrl-isc, cierl-isc, formed by /-mutation (also 
 spelt ceorl-isc, without mutation) from ceorl, a husbandman, 
 a churl, a freeman of the lowest class. Some such adjectives 
 are of quite modern formation, from substantives of French 
 origin, as agu-ish, mod-ish, prud-ish, rogu-ish. We have 
 already seen that it is shortened to -ch in Fren-ch, Scot-ch ; 
 and to -sh in Welsh. To these we may add the following : 
 E. fresh, A.S.fer-sc ( — *far-isc), i.e. moving, from far-an, 
 to go ; fresh water being that which is kept from stagnation 
 by constant motion. E. marsh, s., A. S. mersc ( = *mer-isc), 
 orig. an adj.; lit. 'mere-ish/ i. e. adjoining a mere or lake ; from 
 mer-e, a lake. E. rash, of Scand. origin ; from Dan. and Swed. 
 rask, quick, brisk, Icel. rosk-r, ripe, mature. In this word, as 
 Kluge suggests, a th may have been lost ; it would then stand, 
 as it were, for *rath-sk, i. e. quickly turning, from the Teut. 
 
 1 Scots is short for the older Scot its ( = Scottish, like Inglis for Eng- 
 lish) : J. A. H. Murray, in N. and Q. 6 S. xi. 90. 
 
§ 2 5 8J 
 
 ADVERBIAL SUFFIXES. 
 
 273 
 
 rath-a, a wheel, preserved in G. Rad, a wheel; cf. Lith. 
 rdtas, a wheel, Lat. rota, Skt. ratha \ Perhaps it is hardly 
 necessary to add that this E. adjectival suffix -ish is wholly 
 distinct from the verbal suffix of Romance origin which 
 appears in flour-ish^ pol-ish, pun-ish, &c. 
 
 Aryan -IS-TO, or -YES-TO. The superlative suffix -est 
 answers to Gk. -«r-ro-, and needs no illustration. See § 2 50. 
 
 Adverbial Suffixes. 
 
 § 258. Some of the adverbial suffixes can be recognised 
 as having been independent words. Such are -ly, -meal, 
 -ward, -wards, -way, -way-s, -wise. 
 
 -ly, A. S. -lic-e, adverbial form from A. S. -lie, adj. suffix. 
 See § 242. It was common in A. S. to form adverbs from 
 adjectives by the addition of -e; as beorht-e, brightly, from 
 beorht, bright. Cf. Goth. sama-leik-o y adv., equally, from 
 sama-leik-s, adj., alike ; uhteig-o, seasonably, from uhteig-s, 
 seasonable. Thus the corresponding Goth, suffix is -leik-o. 
 
 -meal. Only now used in piece-meal, a hybrid compound. 
 M. E. had also flok-viel, by companies, pound-mele, by pounds 
 at a time, stimd-mele, by hours, &c. Of these flok-viel answers 
 to A. S. floc-m&l-um, adv., by companies, in flocks ; where 
 mM-um is the dat. or instrumental plural of mil, a time, also 
 a time for food, mod. E. meal, a repast. 
 
 -ward,-ward-s. As in hither-ward, back-ward, back-wards. 
 See -ward as an adjectival suffix in § 242. It is common to 
 find the same form of a word used both adjectivally and 
 adverbially in modern English ; as ' a bright sun/ ' the sun 
 shines bright! This is because the A. S. adverbial form was 
 beorht-e, as explained above ; and the loss of the -e reduced 
 the adverb to the same form as the adjective. The -s in 
 -wards is an old genitive; see further below, § 259. 
 
 -way, -way-s. A. S. in al-way, al-way-s. Al-way-s is a geni- 
 
 1 Schade has a very different solution. He supposes that an initial w 
 has been lost, and connects rash (for *wrask) with Goth, ga-wriskivan, 
 to produce fruit, to bring fruit to perfection (Luke viii. 14). 
 VOL. I. T 
 
274 
 
 ADVERBIAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. XIV. 
 
 tival form, in later use, due to form-association with adverbs 
 in -s. A /-way is an accusative form, as in A. S. ealne weg (ace), 
 lit. ' all way/ often used with the sense of mod. E. always. 
 
 -wise. As in no-wise, like-wise. The suffix is the acc. 
 case of the common E. sb. wise, manner ; A. S. wis-e, acc. 
 wis-an. Cf. A. S. on denig-e wis-an (acc), on any wise ; on pa 
 ylcan wis-an (acc), in the same way. The acc. wis-an be- 
 came M. E. wis-e, and finally wise. 
 
 § 259. Other adverbial suffixes are due to case-endings, 
 as in -s, -se, -ce, old genitives j -er, old dat. fern, or accusative ; 
 -om, old dat. plural. To these we may add the compound suffix 
 -l-ing, -l-ong. See further in Morris, Hist. Outlines, p. 194. 
 
 s-, -se, -ce. The suffixes -es is the characteristic ending 
 of the genitive case of A. S. strong masculine, and neuter 
 substantives ; and we find several instances in which the 
 genitive case is used adverbially ; as in decg-es, by day. 
 By association with this usage we find the adverb niht-es, 
 by night, though niht is really feminine, and its genitive case 
 is properly niht-e. Similarly we can explain E. else, A. S. 
 ell-es, cognate with Goth, alj-is, genitive of aljis, other, 
 another. The A. S. ne'd, nyd, need, is feminine, and has 
 the gen. nJd-e, ?iyd-e, which is used adverbially in Luke 
 xxiii. 17. Hence the M. E. ned-e, also used adverbially; 
 but the more common M. E. form is ned-es, preserved in 
 mod. E. needs. The A. S. dn-es, E. on-ce, was originally 
 the gen. of an, one. By association with this word, the 
 A. S. twi-wa was altered to M. E. iwi-es, E. twi-ce ; and the 
 A. S. pri-wa to M. E. thri-es, E. ihri-ce. The final -ce, so 
 noticeable in these words, is intended to shew that the final 
 sound is that of s, not of z, and is imitated from the French ; 
 cf. preten-ce, violen-ce. 
 
 -er. In E. ev-er, A. S. df-re, the -re is the suffix of the 
 dat. or gen. fern., as in A. S. g6d-re, dat. (and gen.) fern, 
 of g6d, good. So also in nev-er, A. S. ndf-re. But in 
 yest-er-day, the suffix is the acc. masculine, A. S. geost-ran-decg. 
 
§ 260.] 
 
 VERBAL SUFFIXES, 
 
 275 
 
 -om. In whil-om, the suffix denotes the dat. pi. ; A. S. 
 hwil-um, at times, once on a time, dat. pi. of hwil, while, 
 time. E. seld-om answers to A. S. seld-u?n, dat. pi., or seld-an, 
 dat. sing, (both are used) of seld, rare. 
 
 -1-ing, -1-ong. The gen. pi. of A. S. sbs. in -ung (later -ing) 
 could be used adverbially, as an-ung-a, dn-ing-a, altogether, 
 gen. pi. of dn-ung, sb. formed from an, one. So also eall- 
 ung-a, later eall-ing-a, wholly, from eall, all. Similarly, M. E. 
 adverbs were formed ending in -l-ing, as hed-l-ing, head- 
 foremost, afterwards altered to head-long, probably by con- 
 fusion with long. So also dark-ling, i.e. in the dark; flat-ling 
 or flat-long, flat; side-ling, or side-lo?tg, sideways. 
 
 Verbal Suffixes. 
 
 § 260. The only verbal suffixes which still appear in 
 modern English are -en (-n), -k, -le (-/), -er, -se ; cf. Morris, 
 Hist. Outlines, p. 221. 
 
 -en, -n. This suffix is remarkable for its complete change 
 of meaning. It was formerly the mark of a reflexive or 
 passive sense, but it now makes a verb active or causal. The 
 Gothic full-j-an, to make full, from full-s, full, was causal ; 
 but the Goth, fnll-n-an, from the same adj., meant to be 
 filled, or to become full. There is no doubt that the here 
 inserted is the same as the -n in bor-n, tor-n, i.e. is the sign 
 of the pp. passive ; so that full-n- is, in fact, 1 filled V an d 
 full-n-ari means 'to be filled,' hence, to become full. This 
 use is still common in the Scand. tongues. Thus Icel. sof-na 
 is 1 to fall asleep 9 ; Icel. vak-na, Dan. vaag-ne, Swed. vack-na, 
 is ' to become awake V So also A. S. dwcec-n-a?i was 
 
 1 The -ft' in full-n- is, in fact, the Aryan suffix -NO (§ 252) ; cf. Lat. 
 ple-nus, Skt. pur-na, full. 
 
 2 The passive use of the Goth, suffix -nan is 'controverted in an 
 excellent paper by A. E. Egge, on 'Inchoative or ;/-verbs in Gothic, &c./ 
 in the American Journal of Philology, vii. 38. The author says these 
 verbs are inchoative, and he may be right, practically. But it makes 
 no difference in the development of the forms. The suffix -NO was 
 originally adjectival, and the derived verb could easily take either an 
 inchoative or a passive sense. 
 
276 
 
 VERBAL SUFFIXES. 
 
 [Chap. XIV. 
 
 intransitive, though it was used both with strong and weak 
 past tenses ; but after 1500, it was often used transitively, and 
 is so used still ; see Awaken in Murray's Dictionary. The 
 old causal verbs in -ian ceased to have any distinctive mark ; 
 and this loss was supplied in a most curious way, viz. by 
 using the old suffix with a causal sense, as being so 
 frequently required. This usage, which is not early, is now 
 thoroughly established ; so that to fatt-en is ' to make fat 9 ; 
 length-en is ' to increase in length/ to ' make longer/ &c. 
 Most of these are formed from adjectives, as : black-en, bright- 
 en, broad-en, cheap-en, dark-en, deaf-en, deep-en, fresh-en, 
 gladd-cn, hard-en, less-en, lik-en, madd-en, moist-en, op-en, 
 quick-en, redd-en, rip-en, rough-en, sadd-en, sharp-en, short-en, 
 sick-en, slack-en, soft-en, stiff-en, straight-en, sweet-en, thick-en, 
 tight-en, tough-en, weak-en, whit-en ; some of which are used 
 indifferently as transitive or intransitive ; so that there is, after 
 all, no sure rule. Very few are formed from sbs. ; as 
 fright-en, heart-en, height-en, length-en, strength-en. The most 
 important, philologically, are those which are found most 
 early ; these are, I think, fast-en, glist-cn, lik-en, list-en, op-en, 
 wak-en. Perhaps glist-en, A. S. glis-n-ian, and list-en, a later 
 formation from A. S. hlyst-an, are the only ones which retain 
 the true sense, and can never be (correctly) used except 
 intransitively. The word op-en is very remarkable. As a 
 verb, it answers to A. S. open-ian, causal verb from op-en, 
 adjective; whilst the adj. op-en, cognate with Icel. op-inn, 
 exhibits the characteristic ending of a strong pp. This 
 pp. is probably formed from the prep, up ; so that op-e?i is, 
 as it were, ' upped/ i.e. lifted, with reference to the lifting of 
 the lid of a box or the curtain forming the door of a tent. 
 Shakespeare has dup (= do up) in the sense 6 to open/ 
 
 -n. The same suffix appears as -n in daw-n, drow-n,faw-n, 
 lear-n, ow-n ; in some of which the true pp. origin of the 
 suffix can be clearly traced. E. daw-n is M. E. daw-n-en, to 
 become day, formed with inserted -n- from daw-en, to be- 
 
§ 26l.] 
 
 VERBAL SUFFIXES. 
 
 277 
 
 come day, A. S. dag-ian; from dceg (stem dag- a), day. E. 
 drow-n is A. S. drunc-n-ian, whence M. E. dranc-n-ien, drank- 
 n-en, and (by loss of k) drou-n-en, d?-ow-n-e, drow-n. The 
 A. S. drunc-n-ian is * to become drunken/ to be drenched, 
 from A. S. drunc-en, pp. of drinc-an, to drink. IL.faw-n is 
 A. S.fceg-n-ian 1 , to rejoice, be pleased, from the ad]. /czg-n, 
 E. fai-n, i.e. pleased; cf. Icel. /eg- inn, fain, with the suffix 
 -inn characteristic of a pp. of a strong verb. E. lear-n, A. S. 
 leor-n-ian, to learn, i.e. to be taught, to experience, answers 
 to a Goth, form *liz-n-an formed from *lis-an-s, pp. of the 
 defective verb appearing in the Goth. pt. t. /ais, I have ex- 
 perienced. E. ow-n, to possess, A. S. ag-n-ian, to possess ; 
 formed from dg-en, adj., one's own, orig. pp. of the strong 
 verb dg-an, to possess, which produced the verb owe, in the 
 same sense, as used by Shakespeare, Temp. i. 2. 407, &c. 
 Perhaps mour-n also belongs here ; see my Etym. Diet. 
 
 § 261. -k. This suffix, of obscure origin, appears to give 
 a verb a frequentative force. The clearest example occurs in 
 har-k, hear-k-en, A. S. heor-c-n-icin, her-c-n-ian, evidently allied 
 Xohyr-an ( = *he'ar-ian, *ne'az-ian), Goth, haus-jan, to hear. E. 
 lur-k, of Scand. origin ; cf. Dan. lur~e, to listen, lie in wait, 
 G. lauer-n. E. scul-k, skul-k, of Scand. origin ; Dan. skul-k-c, 
 to sculk; cf. Icel. skoll-ci, to sculk away. E. smir-k, A. S. 
 smer-c-ian, to smile ; the shorter form appears in M. H. G. 
 schmier-cn, also schmicl-efi, to smile, cognate with E. smile, of 
 Scand. origin. E. stal-k, A. S. steal-c-ian 2 , allied to E. stal-k, 
 sb., A. S.sleal-c, adj., lofty, and to A. S. slcrl, prov. E. side, a 
 handle. E. ival-k, A. S. weal-c-ian, orig. to roll about, go from 
 side to side ; allied to Aryan y WAL, to roll, as in Russ. 
 val-iaie, to roll, Skt. veil, to move to and fro ; cf. Fick, iii. 298 K 
 
 1 It is easier to explain the vowel-sound from Icel. fagna, instead of 
 from A. S. fag)iian ; so this verb may be Scandinavian, though the adj. 
 
 fain is not so. 
 
 2 In the compound be-stcalcian, in Sweet's A. S. Primer, vi. 37. 
 
 3 E. talk is often referred to here, and compared with E. tell. But I 
 doubt the connection ; see Talk in my Etym. Diet, and in the Supp. to 
 the 2nd edition. 
 
278 
 
 VERBAL SUFFIXES. [Chap. XIV. 
 
 § 262. -le (-1), -er. These are equivalent suffixes, the 
 letters / and r being interchangeable. They are used to ex- 
 press iteration, and so to form frequentative verbs. They 
 are especially noticeable in words of imitative origin, such as 
 babb-le, rumb-le, warb-le, cack-k, crack-le, gagg-le, gigg-le, 
 gugg-le, chuck-le, jing-le, jang-le, tink-le, rust-le, whist-le, 
 rait-le, pratt-le, tatt-le ; and jabb-er, gibb-er, chatt-er, clatt-er, 
 patt-er, titt-er, twitt-er, mult-er, whisp-er. Similarly dragg-le, 
 to keep on dragging, is the frequentative of drag] dazz-le, 
 of daze ; dribb-le, of drip ; hobb-le, of hop ; hurt-le, to clash, of 
 hurt (F. heurt-er, O.F. hurt-er, to push) ; just-le, jost-le, of 
 joust ; jogg-le, of jog ; nibb-le, of nip ; snuj) r ~le, of snuff \ tramp-le, 
 of tramp ; wadd-le, of wade ; wagg-le, of wag ; wresl-le, of 
 wrest. Similarly, we have draw-/, from draw; mezv-l, from 
 mew ; wau-l (as in cater-ivaul) from M. E. waw-en, to cry 
 like a cat l . So also glimm-er may be considered as a fre- 
 quentative of gleam ; flull-er, A. S.flol-er-ian, to fluctuate, of 
 A. S. flot-ian, to float ; glitt-er, is from the base glit-, seen in 
 Goth, glit-mun-jan, to shine ; welt-er, formerly ivalt-er, to 
 wallow, roll about, from A. S. wealt-an, to turn about. But 
 in many cases the frequentative sense is not apparent, 
 and the verb is sometimes intransitive, or expresses con- 
 tinuance, or else is causal ; as in crumb-le, to reduce to 
 crumbs, from crumb, sb. ; curd-le, from curd, sb. ; spark-le, 
 from spark, sb. Cf. knee-l, from knee. Or the suffix merely 
 extends the word without making much difference, as in 
 lumb-le, with the same sense as A. S. tumb-ian, to turn heels 
 over head, to dance violently ; dwin-d-le, formed (with ex- 
 crescent d) from A. S. dwin-an, to pine away. Verbs with 
 the suffix -le and -er are numerous, and it is needless to con- 
 sider them further. We must remember, however, not to 
 
 1 The -er in cat-er-wau-l is due to the Scand. form ; cf. Icel. kbtt-r, 
 a cat, gen. katt-ar ; whence the compounds kattar-auga, cat's eye, 
 forget-me-not ; kaitar-skinn, a cat-skin. Similarly the M. E. nighter- 
 tale ^Chaucer) corresponds to Icel. ndttartal. 
 
§ 263.] VERBAL SUFFIX SB. 279 
 
 confuse the verbal suffixes with substantival ones; thus the 
 verb to gird-le is merely due to the sb. gird-le, from gird ; so 
 that gird-le is not a frequentative of the verb to gird. Simi- 
 larly, the verb to fett-er is merely due to the sb. fett-er, A. S. 
 fet-or, allied to Lat. ped-ica. And it may be taken as a 
 general rule that, before any sound etymology of a pair of 
 related substantives and verbs can be attempted, we must 
 ascertain, historically, whether it is the sb. that is derived from 
 the verb, or conversely the verb from the sb. 
 
 § 263. -se. This suffix is remarkably clear in the verb 
 clean-se ) A. S. cldn-s-ian, to make clean, from the adj. clea?i, 
 A. S. clcen-e. Also in E. rin-se, borrowed from F. rin-se-r, 
 which is borrowed, in its turn, from Scandinavian ; cf. Icel. 
 hrein-sa y to cleanse, from hrein, clean; Dan. ren-se, from 
 reen ; Swed. ren-sa, from ren. It also occurs in clasp, grasp, 
 put, respectively, for clap-s, grap-s ; we actually find M. E. 
 clap-s-en (Chaucer, C. T. 275), and grap-sen in Hoccleve, 
 de Reg, Prin. p. 8. Dr. Morris instances lisp ; but nothing 
 is known of this verb beyond the fact that it is derived from 
 an adjective signifying 4 imperfect of utterance/ which is spelt 
 indifferently wlips and wlisp. We find : ' balbus, uulisp,' and 
 ' balbutus, stom-wlisp 9 in the Corpus Glossary (O. E. Texts, 
 p. 45) ; and ' balbus, wlips 1 in Wright's Glossaries, ed. 
 Wiilcker, col. 192. 
 
 As to the origin of this suffix, we find that the A. S. -sian 
 answers to Goth, -ison or -izon, as seen in walw-ison, to 
 wallow, /ial-izon y to feel hate, to be angry. Hat-iz-on is ob- 
 viously formed from hat-is, hate (stem hat-is-a) ; and -on 
 answers to A. S. -ian, a causal suffix which is to be compared 
 with the Skt. -ay a, as in bodh-aya, to cause to know, inform, 
 from budh, to understand. Hence the E. -se corresponds to 
 a compound suffix arising from these suffixes used in com- 
 bination. Cf. § 230 (a), p. 252. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Derivation from Roots. 
 
 § 264. The root of a given word in any Aryan language 
 may be defined as the original monosyllabic element which 
 remains after the word has been stripped of everything of 
 the nature of prefixes and formative suffixes. For a general 
 discussion of roots, I beg leave to refer the reader to 
 Whitney's Language and the Study of Language, 2nd ed., 
 1 868, pp. 254-276. Whitney takes the case of the word 
 irrevocable, and shews that ir- ( = m, not), and re-, again, 
 are prefixes, whilst -able (Lat. -a-bi-li-s) is made up of forma- 
 tive suffixes ; so that the root of the word, in its Latin 
 form, is voc- or uoc-i\ It is found that all words of Aryan 
 origin which admit of a complete analysis can be reduced 
 to ultimate monosyllabic elements of this character, and a 
 comparison of different languages enables us to determine, 
 at any rate approximately, the Aryan form of the root. All 
 such roots are either of a verbal or a pronominal character. 
 
 § 265. The following passage from Whitney is of special 
 importance : — ' Elements like voc, each composing a single 
 syllable, and containing no traceable sign of a formative 
 element, resisting all our attempts at reduction to a simpler 
 form, are what we arrive at as the final results of our 
 analysis of the Indo-European vocabulary; every word, of 
 
 1 Latin words are better spelt with u than v, because this reminds the 
 student that the pronunciation of the consonant was not like that of the 
 E. v, but rather like the E. w. The Aryan root is weq (Gk. feir). 
 
§ 266.] 
 
 ARYAN ROOTS. 
 
 28l 
 
 which this is made up — save those whose history is obscure, 
 and cannot be read far back toward its beginning — is 
 found to contain a monosyllabic root as its central signi- 
 ficant portion, along with certain other accessory portions, 
 syllables or remnants of syllables, whose office it is to define 
 and direct the radical idea. The roots are never found in 
 practical use in their naked form ; they are (or, as has been 
 repeatedly explained, have once been) always clothed with 
 suffixes, or with suffixes and prefixes ; yet they are no mere 
 abstractions, dissected out by the grammarian's knife from 
 the midst of organisms of which they were ultimate and 
 integral portions ; they are rather the nuclei of gradual 
 accretions, parts about which other parts gathered to com- 
 pose orderly and membered wholes; germs, we may call 
 them, out of which has developed the intricate structure of 
 later speech. And the recognition of them is an acknow- 
 ledgment that Indo-European language, with all its fulness 
 and inflective suppleness, is descended from an original 
 monosyllabic tongue ; that our ancestors talked with one 
 another in single syllables, indicative of the ideas of prime 
 importance, but wanting all designation of their relations ; 
 and that out of these, by processes not differing in nature 
 from those which are still in operation in our own tongue, 
 was elaborated the marvellous and varied structure of all the 
 Indo-European dialects/ 
 
 § 266. Analysis further teaches us that many prefixes and 
 suffixes were likewise once independent words, or made up 
 of several such words compounded together ; and we cannot 
 resist the conclusion that the same must be true of all such 
 affixes. Hence we conclude that all affixes arose from roots 
 similar to the primary ones, though they are often so worn 
 down that neither their original forms nor senses can be 
 discovered. The Aryan polysyllabic word was simply com- 
 pounded of various roots strung together. The oldest and 
 commonest of these sank first to the condition of 1 obsolete 9 
 
282 
 
 ARYAN ROOTS. 
 
 [Chap. XV. 
 
 roots, and secondly to the condition of mere suffixes ; whilst 
 others retained sufficient form and sense to remain distinctly 
 recognisable, and are still regarded as ' efficient 9 roots, pos- 
 sessing a special interest from the fact that their value is 
 known. The words ' efficient ' and ' obsolete ' are here 
 used merely for convenience. By ' efficient ' I mean such 
 as are still used in the root-syllable ; and by ' obsolete ' 
 such as are now only used as an affix or as forming part 
 of an affix. The form and sense of ' efficient ' roots can be 
 determined by analysis ; those of the 1 obsolete 1 roots are 
 quite uncertain. 
 
 § 267. A list of known Aryan roots is given in my 
 Etymological Dictionary, with numerous examples; and in 
 my Concise Dictionary, without examples. This list in- 
 cludes nearly all that are of importance to the student of 
 English, Latin, and Greek. A few of the most useful of 
 these may be here mentioned. (It must, however, be first 
 explained that the roots, as cited in my Dictionary from 
 Vanicek and Fick, are there given in the Sanskrit form, 
 which is no longer, as formerly, supposed to be always the 
 oldest. Thus the root signifying £ eat ' is there given as 
 AD, but should rather be ED. The Sanskrit form, indeed, 
 is ad, but it is not the general form ; on the contrary, we 
 find Gk. cd-ci?, Lat. ed-ere, A. S. et-an, to eat, and the 
 Lithuan. ed-mi, I eat. The vowels E and O can no longer 
 be regarded, as formerly, as being unoriginal. I therefore 
 now substitute E and O, where requisite, for the vowel given 
 as A in my former list of Roots.) 
 
 The following roots, then, are common. AG conveyed 
 the idea of driving ; AN, breathing or blowing ; AR, plough- 
 ing ; ED, eating ; ES, breathing (hence, being); EI, going or 
 moving ; EUS, burning ; KAP, seizing or holding ; QER, 
 making ; KEL, covering ; QI (rather than KI) 1 , lying down ; 
 
 1 The forms thus noticed within a parenthesis are those given in my 
 Dictionary. 
 
§ 268.] 
 
 LIST OF FIFTY ROOTS. 
 
 283 
 
 KLI, leaning against ; KLEU, hearing ; GvvEM (rather than 
 GA), going; GEN (rather than GAN), producing; GER, 
 grinding ; GEUS (rather than GUS), tasting, choosing ; 
 GHER, glowing, shining; GHEU (rather than GHU), 
 pouring ; TEN, stretching ; TEU, swelling, growing strong ; 
 DO, giving; DEK, taking; DEIK (rather than DIK), 
 pointing out ; DHE, putting, placing ; DHEIGH, smearing, 
 moulding with the fingers ; DHU, shaking ; PA, feeding ; 
 PET, flying; PED, walking; PLEU, flowing, floating; 
 BHA, speaking ; BHER, carrying ; BHEU, growing ; ME, 
 measuring; MER, dying 1 ; MU, muttering; YEUG, 
 joining; REUP, breaking, spoiling; WEQ (rather than 
 WAK), calling; WES, dwelling, staying; WEID (rather 
 than WID), observing, knowing; SED, sitting; SAR or 
 SAL, hurrying, springing; SERP, gliding; SEK, cutting; 
 SKID, cleaving ; STA, standing ; STER, spreading ; SREU, 
 or STREU, flowing. The number of words that can be 
 formed from these fifty roots is very large. 
 
 § 268. I shall now take the case of a common English 
 word, and shew how the form of its root may be discovered. 
 In doing this, we shall often have to take into account 
 Grimm's and Verner's Laws, and to use the hints concern- 
 ing gradation, vowel-mutation and affixes, which have been 
 given in preceding chapters. The word selected shall be the 
 verb to listen. We must begin by tracing it in Middle 
 English and Anglo-Saxon. The Middle English has the 
 forms lustn-en, lisln-en y and the shorter forms hist-en. Itst-en^ 
 in all of which the final -en is merely the infinitival suffix. 
 In the forms Iust-n-en, lisi-n-en, the is plainly an in- 
 sertion or addition, and has already been discussed above 
 (§ 260). We thus get a base lust- or list-. The variation 
 of the vowel is due to the difficulty of representing the A. S. 
 y (which had the sound of G. u). Hence the A. S. base 
 
 1 See a full discussion of the root MAR, to grind, in Max Miiller, 
 Lectures on the Science of Language, 2nd Series, lect. vii. 
 
284 
 
 ARYAN ROOTS. 
 
 [Chap. XV. 
 
 may be expected to be lyst-. There is, however, no such 
 word ; the fact being that there has been a loss of a prefixed 
 h ; this we at once perceive by comparing the A. S. hlyst-an, 
 to list, listen, hearken to ; a weak verb formed from the sb. 
 klyst, expressive of the sense of hearing. But -st is a sub- 
 stantival suffix; see § 234; so that we may divide the word 
 as hly-st. Moreover, y is an unoriginal vowel, due to i- 
 mutation of u ; so that hly-st presupposes a form *hlu-st-i 
 (§ 185). We now resort to comparison with other languages, 
 and we find Icel. hlu-st-a, to listen, from Must, the ear ; and 
 the shorter form (without st) in the Goth, hliu-ma, hearing, 
 where -ma is a mere suffix; see § 214. The Gothic form 
 of the base is htiur, answering to Teut. hleu ; which again, 
 by Grimm's Law, answers to an Aryan KLEU, denoting 
 the idea of ' hearing.' This root is clearly vouched for 
 by the Skt. gru (with g for and r for /), to hear; Gk. 
 k\v-€iv, O. Lat. clu-ere, to hear; Welsh c/u-st, hearing, &c. 
 We have thus traced the E. listen, by known processes, to 
 the Aryan root KLEU or KLU. 
 
 § 269. It is interesting to enquire what other English 
 words can be derived from this root. It is evident that one 
 derivative is the Gk. k\v-t6s, renowned, cognate with Skt. 
 fru-ta, heard (§ 253 c). The idea of 'renowned' comes 
 from that of being much heard of, or loudly spoken about. 
 By Verner's Law, the Gk. kKv-tos, accented on the latter 
 syllable, answers 1 to A. S. hlu-d (not hlu-S), meaning ' loud ' 
 (§ 129); and this A. S. word became M. E. lud or loud (pro- 
 nounced with on as in soup), and finally mod. E. loud, by the 
 common change of A. S. u to mod. E. ou (§ 46). Hence we 
 see that E. loud is another derivative from the above root. 
 We may certainly also refer hither, not only the Goth, hliu- 
 ma, hearing (as above), but the Swed. dialectal words lju-mm, 
 a noise, lju-mma, to resound, lom-ra, to resound (frequentative); 
 
 1 Except in the length of the vowel. This variation (which is 
 common) may perhaps be due to a difference in stress. 
 
§ 270.] 
 
 THE ROOT KLEU OR KLU. 
 
 285 
 
 see Rietz, p. 410. This Swed. dial, lom-ra is evidently the E. 
 lum-b-er, in the sense of making a noise, as in ' The lumbering 
 of the wheels ' in Cowper's John Gilpin, st. 6 from the end; see 
 Lumber (2) in my Dictionary. Moreover, the O. Lat. clu-ere, 
 to hear, had the pres. pt. clu-ens, later form cli-ens, one who 
 hears, one who obeys, a dependant ; and from the acc. 
 cli-ent-em came the F. cli-ent and E. cli-ent, which is thus 
 seen to be not a native word, but borrowed from Latin 
 through the French. Similarly, E. glory is borrowed from 
 the O. F. glorie, Lat. glo-ria, which is certainly a weakened 
 form of an older *clo-ria, allied to Gk. *Ae'-os (for *K\€f-os), 
 glory, from the same root KLEU; cf. Gk. k\v-t6s, renowned 
 (above) \ A still more extraordinary result is that the very 
 same root has yielded the mod. E. slave, derived, through 
 the F. esclave and G. sklave, M. H. G. slave, from the O. 
 Russ. Slovene, the Slavonians ; for the orig. sense of slave 
 was a captive Slave, or one of the Slavonic race. The 
 literal sense of Slovene was 1 the intelligible ' people ; for, 
 like other races, they regarded their neighbours as ' dumb,' 
 or speaking unintelligibly; so that Slovene is a derivative 
 from the Old Slavonic slo-vo, z word ; allied to Old Slav. 
 slu-ti, to be named, to be illustrious. This verb slu-ti, like 
 the Russ. slush-ate, to hear, is from the same root KLEU 
 as before. The peculiarity by which the initial k has been 
 changed into s is found not only in Slavonic, but in the 
 Skt. cru, to hear ; where the symbol c denotes a sound that 
 is pronounced nearly as s, though etymologically derived 
 from an original k. In precisely the same way, the Lat. 
 cent~um, Welsh cant (our hund- in hund-red) answers to Skt. 
 gala, Pers. sad, and Russ. sto. 
 
 § 270. Summing up the results of the §§ 268, 269, we find 
 that the Aryan root KLEU, to hear, is the root of the mod. E. 
 
 1 1 Gloria vient d'un ancien substantif neutre *clovos, * clous, *c/os*= 
 k\Ios (pour *tc\€fos), &c. Cf. le rapport de gracilis et de cracens ' ; 
 Breal, Diet. Etym. Latin. 
 
286 
 
 ARYAN ROOTS. 
 
 [Chap. XV. 
 
 native words listen, loud, and lumber (to make a noise), 
 with their derivatives, such as listen-er, listen-ing, loud-ly, 
 loud-ness, lumber-ing ; as well as of the borrowed words client, 
 glory, slave, with their derivatives, such as client-ship, 
 glori-ous, glori-ous-ly , glori-ous-ness, in-glori-ous, in-glori- 
 ous-ly, in-glor-ious-ness, vain-glory, slav-ish, slav-ish-ly, 
 slav-ish-ness. We thus obtain two important results. The 
 first is, that the Aryan roots can be exceedingly fertile, since 
 from the single root KLEU we have obtained more than a 
 score of modern English words,without counting the numerous 
 derivatives in other languages, such as kKv-uv, k\v-t6$, k\€-os 
 in Greek, cli-ens, in-cli-tus, glo-ria in Latin, &c. The 
 other result, not less important, is that an analysis thus regu- 
 larly conducted enables us to associate words which at first 
 sight are so utterly dissimilar as loud, listen, glory, client, and 
 slave, in which the sole letter of the root that still remains 
 common to all is l. A moment's reflection will shew how 
 utterly unlike modern scientific etymology is to the old 
 system of guesswork, the effect of which was, on the one 
 hand, to associate words which were in fact wholly uncon- 
 nected, whilst, on the other, it wholly failed to perceive 
 innumerable real connections. 
 
 § 271. By way of further illustration, I will consider the 
 interesting root GHEU, to pour, which also appears in the 
 fuller forms GHEUD and GHEUS. This root appears 
 in Gk. x*- 03 (f° r X 6 / 7-00 ?)' ft^' x™-™, perf. pass. Ke-xv-fj-at, to 
 pour, x^-M 0 ^ x^-Xos, juice. From these sbs. the words chyme 
 and chyle have been imported into mod. English. The same 
 root is most likely the source of al-che-my, of which Dr. 
 Murray says, in the New E. Diet., that it is ' adopted from 
 the O. Fr. alquimie, alqueinie, alkemie, an adaptation of Mid. 
 Latin alchimia (Prov. alkimia, Span, alquimia, Ital. alchimia), 
 adopted from the Arab, al-kwiia, i. e. al, the, khnia, appar- 
 ently adopted from the Gk. xw'^ X 7 )^^, found (circa 300) in 
 the Decree of Diocletian against " the old writings of the 
 
§ 27i.] 
 
 THE ROOT GHEU. 
 
 287 
 
 Egyptians, which treat of the xw' ia (transmutation) of gold and 
 silver " ; hence the word is explained by most as u Egyptian 
 art/' and identified with xw' La > Gk. form (in Plutarch) of the 
 native name of Egypt (land of Khem or Khame, hieroglyphic 
 Khmi, " black earth," in contrast to the desert sand). If so, 
 it was afterwards etymologically confused with the like- 
 sounding Gk. x^/ie/a, pouring, infusion, from x v ~> perfect 
 stem of x*- €LV > t0 pour (cf. x^-po*, juice, sap), which seemed 
 to explain its meaning; hence the Renascence spelling 
 alchymia and chymistry. Mahn (Etymol. Untersuchungen, 69) 
 however concludes, after an elaborate investigation, that Gk. 
 xvpcia was probably the original, being first applied to pharma- 
 ceutical chemistry, which was chiefly concerned with juices 
 or infusions of plants ; that the pursuits of the Alexandrian 
 alchemists were a subsequent development of chemical study, 
 and that the notoriety of these may have caused the name of 
 the art to be popularly associated with the ancient name of 
 Egypt and spelt x*7/x«a, xtt^h as m Diocletian's decree. From 
 the Alexandrians the art and name were adopted by the Arabs, 
 whence they returned to Europe by the way of Spain/ If 
 then we assign alchemy to this root, we must of course also 
 refer hither the words alchemist, alchymist, chemist, and chymist. 
 In Latin we have the extended root GHEUD in the verb 
 fundere, to pour, pt. t.fud-i, pp.fu-sutn (for *fud-sum) ; hence 
 numerous borrowed E. words, such as fuse, coii-fusc, diffuse, 
 ef-fuse, infuse, re-fuse, fus-ion, suf-fus-ion, trans-fuse (from 
 the supine) ; con-found, refund (from the infinitive) ; fut-ile, 
 confute, refute (cf. the O. Lat. pp.fu-lus = *fud-lus as well 
 as fu-sus) ; also fusil, in the sense of easily molten ; foison, 
 plenty, O. F. foison, abundance, from Lat. acc. fusioncm, 
 pouring out, profusion. See Concise Etym. Diet. p. 166, 
 
 1 I have little doubt that Mahn is right. Medieval etymologists 
 delighted in startling and far-fetched associations, which had all the air 
 of profound learning. The derivation from Gk. was too simple to please 
 them ; but the association of the word with Egypt was just what they 
 desired. 
 
288 
 
 ARYAN ROOTS. 
 
 [Chap. XV. 
 
 col. 2. The Lat. J r under -e also appears as F. fondre, whence 
 E. found, in the sense 1 to cast metals/ and the derived sb. 
 font, fount, an assortment of types, as well as found-ry. This 
 Lat. root GHEUD answers to Teut. GEUT, appearing in 
 Goth, giut-an, A. S. geot-an, to pour, a verb of the choose- 
 conjugation, with the 3rd stem gut- and the 4th stem got-. 
 A derivative of the 3rd stem is gut, and of the 4th stem 
 in-got, as already shewn (§ 177). The root GHEUS occurs 
 in the Icel. gjos-a, to pour, having for its 2nd stem gaus, its 
 3rd stem gus-, and its 4th gos-. From the 2nd stem is 
 formed, by the usual z-mutation of Icel. au to ey, the weak 
 verb geys-a, to gush, and the sb. geys-ir, a ' gusher/ a hot 
 spring. From the 3rd stem is formed the Icel. weak verb 
 gus-a, to gush, borrowed by us in the form gush. It de- 
 serves to be added that the A. S. geot-an, to pour, became 
 M. JL.yel-en, to pour, to fuse metals ; whence the sb. yet-ere, 
 a fuser of metals, used by Wyclif in Jerem. vi. 29, where the 
 A. V. has founder (actually from the same root). ' From this 
 word yeter was formed the compound belle-yeter, i.e. bell- 
 founder, a word duly recorded in the Promptorium Parvu- 
 lorum, written a.d. 1440, and edited by Mr. Way for the 
 Camden Society. At p. 538 of this edition, Mr. Way has 
 duly noted that the term belle-yeter still survives in Billiter 
 Lane, London, as being the locality where foundries were 
 anciently established. In this case the ye has become z*, and 
 we note, as a final result, that nothing is now left but this 
 short vowel i of the root GHEU from which we started V If 
 we now collect all the results, we see that the root GHEU 
 has given us, through the Greek, the words chyme, chyle, and 
 probably alchemy, chemist or chymist, chemistry, and chemical ; 
 that the root GHEUD has given us, through the Latin and 
 
 1 On the Study of Anglo-Saxon, by W. W. Skeat ; in Macmillan's 
 Magazine, Feb. 1879, p. 308. Stowe derives Billiter from a Mr. Bell- 
 zetar, who once resided there. It comes to the same thing, as he was 
 named from his trade ; zetar* $ctar, founder. 
 
§ 272.] 
 
 THE ROOT SEK. 
 
 289 
 
 French, fuse with its derivatives ; also found with its deriva- 
 tives ; confound, refund, futile, confute, refute, fusil, foison ; 
 that the Teut. root GEUT has given us E. gut and ingot, 
 and even the -it- in Billiler Lane; and that the root 
 GHEUS has given us the Scand. words gush and gey sir. 
 As before, we should particularly notice the extraordinary 
 variation in form in the case of such words as chyme, 
 fuse, and gut, though the student who knows Grimm's 
 Law can at once see that they begin with equivalent 
 letters. Cf. § 105, p. 123. 
 
 § 272. The above examples must suffice to exemplify 
 the manner in which words can be traced back to roots, or 
 derived from them. I shall conclude this chapter with some 
 remarks on the prolific root SEK, to cut, as well as upon 
 several other roots which seem to have a similar meaning, 
 viz. the roots SKAD, SKID, SKAP, SKER, SKARP, 
 SKALP, SKUR, and SKRU. The root SEK, to cut, is 
 well seen in the Lat. sec-are, to cut, sec-uris, an axe, tec-ula, 
 a sickle, seg-mentum (for *sec-menlum), a segment, a piece cut 
 off; perhaps also ser-ra, a saw (if put for * sec-era), may be 
 from this root. The following words of Latin origin, and 
 containing this root, have been imported into English : sec-ant, 
 co-sec- ant, sec-tor, seg-ment f bisect, dissect, intersect, trisect ; 
 and, through the medium of French, insect, sci-on (a cutting, 
 slip of a plant), sect-ion. The word sickle, though found in 
 A. S. as sic-ol, is merely borrowed from the Lat. sec-ula ; see 
 Concise Etym. Diet., p. 421. The word serrated (from Lat. 
 serra) may also belong here. Some explain sax-um ( = *sac- 
 sum) as a sharp stone (cf. A. S. seax, a knife); if so, we may 
 add the words saxifrage, a French form, and sass-afras, 
 which is Spanish. The root SEK is not confined to Latin ; 
 it occurs also in Russ. siek-ira, an axe, Lith. syk-is, a blow ; 
 whilst in Teutonic it takes the form SEG, whence O. H. G. 
 seg-ansa, M. H. G. seg-ense, now contracted to G. Sense, a 
 scythe; as well as the following (which are of especial interest). 
 
 VOL. h U 
 
290 
 
 ARYAN ROOTS. 
 
 [Chap. XV. 
 
 viz. A. S. sag-u, E. saw ; A. S. side, older form sig-de l , a sithe, 
 now absurdly spelt scythe ; and A. S. secg (=*sag-Jd), a sword, 
 hence sword-grass, E. sedge. 
 
 § 273. The root SKAD, to cut, cleave, scatter (Teut. SKAT) 
 appears in Skt. skhad (for *skad), to cut, Gk. cKaf«v ( = *o7ca&- 
 ycw), to slit, cut open, or lance a vein ; ax^-rj, a slice, 
 hence a tablet, whence was borrowed Lat. sched-a, with its 
 dimin. sched-tda, O. F. schedule, cedule, E. schedule ; also Lat. 
 scand-ula (with inserted «), a thin piece of wood, afterwards 
 weakened to scindula, and borrowed by E. in the corrupt 
 form shingle, meaning a wooden tile. The Teut. SKAT 
 appears in the E. frequentative verb scatl-er, to disperse, with 
 its variant shatl-er. 
 
 § 274. The root SKID, to cut, divide, occurs in the Gk. 
 (Txt&w ( = *(Txtiy €LP ), Lat. scind-ere; whence (from Greek) 
 the borrowed words schism, schist, zest (F. zest, zeste — Lat. 
 sc/uslus), squill (Gk. o-KiXXa, Lat. scilla, squilla, F. squille) ; 
 and (from Latin) abscind, rescind, abscissa. In close con- 
 nection with these we have the native E. words shed, shide, 
 sheath, sheathe, and the Scand. word skid: but it is difficult 
 to tell whether we are to refer these to an Aryan base 
 SKIDH (Fick, i. 815) or to an Aryan SKIT, which may 
 be regarded as a variant of SKID (see Kluge). Either 
 from SKID or SKIDH we have Lat. cad-ere, to cut, with loss 
 of initial s 2 ; cces-ura, circum-cise, and (through the French) 
 de-cide, con-cise, in-cise, pre-cise, ex-cis-ion, and the suffix -cide 
 in homi-cide, parri-cide, &c. ; also chis-el and sciss-ors (for 
 cis-ors, M. E. cis-oures), the last word being misspelt owing to 
 a false etymology from Lat. scindere. 
 
 § 275. The root SKAP, shortened in Greek to KAP or 
 
 1 The form sigde is vouched for by the still earlier spelling sigdi ( = 
 sigdi), which is found in the Epinal Gloss, ed. Sweet, p. 9, col. 29, 
 where the Lat. fakes {sic) is glossed by uudubil, sigdi, riftr, i. e. a 
 wood-bill, scythe, or sickle. 
 
 2 Latin and Greek often drop an initial s in such compounds as sk 
 and sp, whereas Teutonic commonly retains it. 
 
§ 278.] THE ROOTS SKER AND SKARP. 
 
 291 
 
 KOP, to cut, appears in Gk. K&n-rew, to cut, whence the 
 Greek words apo-cope, syn-cope, comma, and (through Latin) 
 cap-on. Also perhaps in A. S. sceap-an, scap-an, E. shape, 
 which seems to keep the Aryan p, if such a result be pos- 
 sible. Also (with irregular weakening of p to Teut. b), 
 E. shave, shaf-t, scab, shabb-y. And lastly, perhaps (with 
 loss of s), E. chop, chap (to split open), chip, and the 
 Scand. chump. 
 
 § 276. The root SKER, to cut, shear, clip, appears 
 in A. S. scer-an (pt. t. sccer), E. shear, with the allied words 
 share, shore, shor-t, shir- 1, shar-d, sher-d, score, and also 
 the Scand. words scar or scaur, skerr-y, skir-t. The phrase 
 sheer off is borrowed from Dutch ; cf. E. 1 cut away/ Our 
 scarify (F. scarifier) is from the Lat. scarificare ; but this 
 is only a loan-word from Gk. o-Kap-icpdo^ai, I scarify, scratch. 
 It is also possible that character (from Gk. to 
 furrow, scratch) may be from this root ; perhaps also cuir-ass, 
 O. F. cuirace, Low Lat. coraiia, from Lat. cor-ium (for *skor- 
 ium, cf. Lith. skur-a, hide, skin, leather) ; as well as scourge. 
 
 § 277. The root SKER appears also as SKEL, to cleave, 
 with the common change of r to l ; cf. Lith. ske'l-ti, to 
 cleave, Icel. skil-ja, to divide. Hence the Anglo-French scale, 
 E. shell, the Scand. words seal I, skull, skill, and the mod. 
 E. shale, borrowed from G. Schale, a shell, husk, hence a 
 thin stratum. 
 
 § 278. The root SKARP alsg seems to have borne the 
 sense of to cut, or pierce. Hence we may perhaps derive 
 the Gk. (TKopn-ios, a scorpion, stinging insect, whence E. 
 scorp-ion (through French and Latin) ; also the A. S. scearp t 
 E. sharp. Scarp, counter-scarp, and e-scarp-ment are F. 
 words of Teutonic origin. From the same root are E. 
 scarf and Scand. skarf\ also, with shifting of r, E. scrape, 
 and the Scand. scrap, a small portion, and scrip, a wallet. 
 
 The initial s is lost in Lat. carp-ere, to pluck, Lith. 
 kerp-u, I shear (infin. kirp-li); hence E. ex-cerp-t, and 
 
 u 2 
 
ARYAN ROOTS. 
 
 [Chap. XV. 
 
 (through the French) s-car-ce. The root KARP (which thus 
 results from the loss of s) appears as HARF in Teutonic; 
 whence A. S. hcerf-est, E. harv-est, that which is cut or 
 cropped. 
 
 § 279. The root SKARP also appears as SKALP, with 
 change of r to l, as in Lat. scalp-ere, to cut, whence the 
 borrowed Lat. word scalp-el ; closely allied is the Lat. 
 sculp-ere, to carve, cut out, whence (through French) E. 
 sculp-lure 1 . Moreover, just as from the root SKEL, in 
 the sense to divide, to split, we have the words shell and 
 skull, so from SKALP we have the words scallop and scalp. 
 The spelling scallop is due to the O. F. escalope, a F. adapt- 
 ation of Middle Du. schelpe, a shell. The E. shelf, a thin 
 board, also belongs here. 
 
 § 280. Another root with a like sense appears in the 
 form SKUR, as seen in Skt. kshur (for *skur), to cut, Gk. 
 aKvp-ov, chippings of stone, £vp-6v, a razor ; here perhaps 
 belongs Lat. cur-lus (for *skur-tus ?), cut short, whence 
 E. curt. We also find a root which takes the form 
 SKRU, as in Lat. scru-pulus, a small sharp stone, whence 
 (through the French) the E. scru-ple \ also in Lat. scru-ta, 
 pi., broken pieces, whence scrut-ari, to search minutely (as 
 if amongst broken pieces), and E. scru-tiny. The same root 
 SKRU, to cut, has given us the E. words shrou-d, orig. a 
 strip, shred of cloth, shrc-d, scree-d ; and finally, the word 
 scro-ll, signifying ' small shred,' a French diminutive from 
 the Middle Dutch spelling of shred. 
 
 § 281. A review of the preceding sections (272-280) will 
 shew how prolific in derivatives has been the root SEK, 
 to cut, with the somewhat similar roots bearing a like sig- 
 nification. Further information concerning such of the 
 words as are not fully explained here is given in my Etymo- 
 logical Dictionary. I hope that sufficient examples have 
 
 1 The Gk. y\v(p-€iv, to cut, is generally supposed to be cognate with 
 Lat. sculp-ere* Hence E. hiero-glyph-ic. 
 
§ 281.1 
 
 ARYAN ROOTS. 
 
 293 
 
 been given to illustrate the method of tracing modern E. 
 words to their roots. The general process may be described 
 as follows : — Trace the word back to its oldest spelling ; 
 strip off the affixes, whether prefixed or suffixed; examine 
 the vowel-sound and see whether it has been, or could be, 
 affected by mutation or gradation or both; compare the 
 parallel forms in other Teutonic languages, which should 
 also be stripped of affixes. Hence the Teutonic base or 
 root-form can usually be at once perceived, and by the 
 assistance of Grimm's Law (and of Verner s Law, if ne- 
 cessary) the corresponding Aryan root-form can be inferred, 
 and should be compared with the known Aryan roots as 
 given in the Supplement to my Dictionary, or by Pick, 
 Vanic'ek, and others ; though it must be remembered that 
 the vowel-sounds in these lists are frequently incorrectly 
 given, and should be corrected by comparison with such 
 works as Brugmann's Grundriss der vergleichenden Gram- 
 matik der indogermanischen Sprachen, in which the latest 
 results of a closer investigation of the vowel-sounds are 
 accurately given. A complete list of the Roots and Verb- 
 forms of the Sanskrit Language, by Professor Whitney, has 
 lately been published. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 Modern English Spelling. 
 
 § 282. The subject of modern English spelling has been 
 to some extent considered in Lect. VIII. of Archbishop 
 Trench's well-known and, in the main, excellent work 
 entitled 1 English Past and Present/ But a perusal of that 
 chapter will shew that it merely discusses certain spellings 
 from a supposed ' etymological ' point of view, and does not 
 at all attempt to deal with the only question of real 
 importance, viz. what is the true history of our spelling, 
 and how came we to spell words as we do. I make 
 particular reference to this chapter, because I believe that 
 it has unfortunately done more harm than good, as it is 
 altogether founded on a false principle, such as no scientific 
 etymologist would endorse, in the present state of our 
 knowledge. This false principle is, that our spelling ought 
 to be such as to guide the ordinary reader to the etymology 
 of the word, because there is ' a multitude of persons, neither 
 accomplished scholars on the one side, nor yet wholly with- 
 out the knowledge of all languages save their own 1 on the 
 other ; and it is of great value that these should have all 
 helps enabling them to recognise the words w r hich they are 
 using, whence they came, to what words in other languages 
 they are nearly related, and what is their properest and 
 
 1 But this is just what Englishmen commonly do not know ; they 
 know the original forms of the foreign elements of English far better 
 than they know those of the native core of it. 
 
§ 282.] 
 
 MODERN ENGLISH SPELLING. 
 
 295 
 
 strictest meaning/ This specious argument has imposed 
 upon many, and will no doubt long continue to do so ; but 
 if it be at all carefully examined, it will be found to amount 
 to no more than this, that we ought to spell words derived 
 from Latin and Greek as nearly as possible like the Latin 
 and Greek words from which they are borrowed ; and it 
 will be found that most of the examples of the words 
 discussed are taken from those languages. No doubt Latin 
 and Greek form an important element in the English 
 language ; but it may be replied that these are commonly 
 the words which are least altered by pronunciation, and 
 would be least affected by phonetic spelling. However, the 
 real point is this, that the most important elements of our 
 language are neither Latin nor Greek, but English, Scandi- 
 navian, and French. The English and Scandinavian elements 
 are very carefully kept out of sight by Trench, except in 
 a very few instances ; and the French element is treated 
 very briefly and unsatisfactorily ; indeed, a careful treatment 
 of it would have told the other way. Now, if we 
 are to spell modern English words so as to insinuate their 
 derivation from Latin and Greek, much more ought we to 
 spell them so as to point out their descent from native 
 English, Scandinavian, and Old French. Yet this is a matter 
 quite ignored by the general public, for the simple reason 
 that they are commonly very ignorant of Early English, 
 Icelandic, and Anglo-French, and so .care absolutely nothing 
 about the matter so far as these languages are concerned. 
 Even Latin and Greek they know only by sights not by sound ; 
 and there are probably many worthy people who believe that 
 the modern English pronunciation of Latin accurately repro- 
 duces the sounds used by Vergil and Horace. Yet if the 
 argument for 1 etymological ' spelling is to be used at all, 
 it must apply with far greater force to the words which 
 form the backbone of the language than to such as have 
 merely been borrowed in order to augment its vocabulary. 
 
296 
 
 MODERN ENGLISH SPELLING. [Chap. XVI. 
 
 § 283. But the truth is, that no one can possibly be in a 
 position to judge as to the extent to which our spelling ought 
 to be conformed (if at all) to that of Greek and Latin — for 
 this is what the supporters of the (so-called) etymological 1 
 spelling really mean — until he has first made himself ac- 
 quainted with the history of our spelling and of our language. 
 The plain question is simply this — how came we to spell as 
 we do, and how is it that the written symbol so frequently 
 gives a totally false impression of the true sound of the 
 spoken word? Until this question has been more or less 
 considered, it is impossible to concede that a student can 
 know what he is talking about, or can have any right to be 
 heard. It is surely a national disgrace to us, to find that the 
 wildest arguments concerning English spelling and etymology 
 are constantly being used even by well-educated persons, 
 whose ignorance of Early English pronunciation and of 
 modern English phonetics is so complete, that they have no 
 suspicion whatever of the amazing worthlessness of their 
 ludicrous utterances. If a slight popular account, such as is 
 here offered, may tend to modify some of the common 
 current errors, this chapter will serve a useful purpose. I 
 cannot find that any writers have handled this question 
 generally, excepting Mr. Ellis and Mr. Sweet 2 ; and ex- 
 cellent as their books are, they are intended rather for the 
 more advanced student than for the beginner. For this 
 reason, I here attempt to give a general idea of this difficult 
 subject, though conscious that the details are so numerous 
 
 1 It is really a gross misnomer to call that spelling 1 etymological 1 
 which merely imitates the spelling of a dead language. Every student 
 is (or should be) aware that the only true 'etymological' spelling is one 
 which is pho?ictic. It is the sound of the spoken word which has to be 
 accounted for ; and all symbols which disguise this sound are faulty and 
 worthless. If our old writers had not used a phonetic system, we should 
 have no true data to go by. 
 
 2 On Early English Pronunciation, by A. J. Ellis ; Triibner and Co. 
 The History of English Sounds, by H. Sweet ; Triibner and Co. A 
 Handbook of Phonetics, by H. Sweet : Clarendon Press. 
 
§ 28 4 J 
 
 ANGLO-SAXON ALPHABET, 
 
 297 
 
 and important that any mere sketch must be more or less 
 a failure. It will, however, be easy to shew that, as a matter 
 of history, the notion of so-called 1 etymological ' spelling is 
 a purely modern one, a thing never dreamt of in the earlier 
 periods, but the fond invention of meddling pedants who 
 frequently made ludicrous mistakes in their needless zeal. 
 
 § 284. To understand our modern spelling, we must be^in 
 at the very beginning, and shortly consider the history of the 
 symbols which have been used in English from time to time. 
 The characters employed by the ancient Britons were those 
 of the Roman alphabet. There may have been more than 
 one school of writing, and some at least of the British scribes 
 modified a few of the Roman characters in a way peculiarly 
 their own. These modified characters have continued in use, 
 in writing and printing Irish, to the present day ; such books 
 as O'Reilly's Irish Dictionary or any modern Irish Grammar 
 will shew what this modified alphabet is like. When the 
 English conquerors of Britain took to writing, they naturally 
 adopted, in the main, the same alphabet, which may be de- 
 scribed as a Roman alphabet with certain Celtic and English 
 modifications. In the time of Elizabeth, an Anglo-Saxon 
 sermon by ^Elfric was printed by John Daye, in 1567, in types 
 imitating the characters used in Anglo-Saxon MSS., and I here 
 give the modern Irish alphabet and the Anglo-Saxon alphabet 
 as usually represented by such printed types ; they are near 
 enough to the manuscript forms to give a sufficient notion of 
 the manner in which the Roman alphabet was treated. 
 
 Irish printed alphabet. — A b C t) 6 y 5 1 •Iron 
 Op . R S C II . . . a b c 6 e f 3 h 1 . I ni n 0 p . fi f c 11 . . . 
 
 Anglo-Saxon alphabet. — A BEDGFDfrlKLGDN 
 OP.R8TUXYZ (also) M. abcbe F5 hiklm 
 
 n o p . p r (also written f ) t u x y z (also) p S p ae. 
 
 The only noticeable points in the Irish alphabet are : the 
 absence of k, a, w, x,y> and 0; the peculiar forms of the 
 capitals, especially G and T; and the peculiar forms of the small 
 
2 9 8 
 
 MODERN ENGLISH SPELLING. [Chap. XVI. 
 
 letters d, f, g, and especially r, s, and /. The Roman r is 
 exaggerated, and the s much disguised \ In the A. S. alphabet, 
 the capitals C and G are squared; and the peculiar Celtic 
 modifications of the small letters are clearly seen. There 
 are also three additional consonantal symbols, viz. p and D 
 (p and S), both used to denote th ; and ? (p), used to denote 
 w 2 . The letter p, as shewn by its ruder form on Runic 
 monuments, is merely a Roman D with the straight side- 
 stroke prolonged both upwards and downwards. It was 
 formerly called thorn, by association with the initial sound of 
 that word, and is still conveniently called the ' thorn-letter/ 
 The letter D (S), sometimes named eth, is merely ' a crossed D,' 
 i.e. a modification of D made by adding a cross- stroke. The 
 MSS. use these symbols for the sounds of /// in thin and th in 
 thine indifferently, though it would have been a considerable 
 gain if they had been used regularly. The symbol M (ae) 
 was used in Anglo-Saxon to denote the peculiar sound of a 
 as heard in the mod. E. cat, apple. It may be observed that 
 the f was not dotted in either alphabet ; but, on the other 
 hand, a dot is commonly added over the A. S. y. The 
 numerous vowel-sounds in A. S. were provided for by the use 
 of accents for marking long vowels 3 , and by combining vowel- 
 symbols to represent diphthongs. In most modern editions 
 of A. S. MSS., the old modified forms of the Roman letters 
 are very sensibly replaced by the Roman letters themselves, as 
 represented by modern types ; we are thus enabled to print 
 Anglo-Saxon in the ordinary type, by merely adding to 
 
 1 Nine additional symbols in the Irish alphabet are gained by placing 
 a dot over each of the characters for b, c, d,f, g, m, p, s, t. 
 
 2 I identify this letter, as every one else does, with the Runic letter 
 called wtn, which also denoted w. I further identify it, as some do, 
 with the Gothic letter for w. And I believe, as perhaps no one else 
 does, that it is merely a form of the Greek T (capital v). 
 
 3 In A.S. MSS. the accents are freely omitted wherever the length of 
 the vowel is obvious to a person well acquainted with the language, which 
 was the case with those for whom the early scribes wrote. The later 
 MSS. insert them more frequently, to prevent ambiguity. 
 
§ 28 5 J 
 
 ANGLO-SAXON SOUNDS. 
 
 299 
 
 the alphabet the consonantal symbols p and S 1 . Some 
 editors retain the A. S. p in place of w, a practice altogether 
 to be condemned. It only makes the words harder to read, 
 and introduces innumerable misprints of p for )> or and of 
 Ip for p or p, without any advantage whatever. German 
 editors replace w by v, a practice which no Englishman 
 can well approve. 
 
 § 285. The values of the A. S. symbols may be briefly 
 stated thus. The consonants b, d, h, k 2 , /, ?n, n, p, t, w, x, 
 had their present values, and are, in fact, the only really 
 stable symbols in English spelling, excepting such groups 
 of symbols as bl, br, cl, cr, dr, fl.fr, gl, gr, pi, pr, and the 
 like, which denote combinations of sounds such as cannot 
 easily alter. C was hard (like k) in all positions, but 
 was liable to be followed by an intrusive short vowel, 
 written e\ hence such forms as ceaf (for *caf\ scedn (for 
 scan), producing the mod. E. chaff, shone, instead of *kaff % 
 * shone. Cf. Du. kaf, G. Kaff, chaff; Icel. skein, shone. 
 Similarly, g was properly hard, but was also liable to be 
 followed by the same intrusive sound, likewise written e ; the 
 resulting ge, at first sounded nearly as gy in the occasional 
 old-fashioned London usage of gyarden for garden, soon 
 passed into y ; cf. A. S. geard, E. yard ; Icel. gardr, pro v. 
 E. garth. In some words, as geoc, zyohe, the ge seems to have 
 been sounded as y from the very first. F is assumed by 
 Mr. Sweet (A. S. Reader, p. xxviii) to have been uniformly 
 sounded as v 3 . This may have been true (as it still is) of the 
 
 1 We also require the long vowels, viz. d, e, I, 6, u, y, <c. Many 
 printing-presses pretend to be able to print Anglo-Saxon, because they 
 have such useless types as the old-fashioned forms of r, s, t, &c. ; but 
 they lack such indispensable letters as y and <k, and print y and ce 
 instead, as il it made no sort of difference ! 
 
 2 K is not common ; yet it is found occasionally in MSS. of very early 
 date. After 11 00 it is common enough in certain words. The sound is 
 .always hard, as now. 
 
 I At p. xiv we are told it was f before hard consonants, as in oft. 
 
3CO 
 
 MODERN ENGLISH SPELLING. [Chap. XVI. 
 
 Wessex dialect commonly called Anglo-Saxon, but cannot 
 have been universally the case in Mercian and Anglian, as 
 numerous English words still have the sound oif, especially 
 initially; yet there can be no doubt that the sound of v 
 was common in all Old English, and that there was only 
 the one symbol f to represent the sounds of both f and v 
 F between two vowels was probably sounded as v, even in 
 Mercian ; cf. A. S. (and Mercian) hf with E. life, and A. S. dat. 
 on life (lit. in life) with E. a-live. The sound now denoted 
 by qu was written cw, as in cwen, a queen. R differed very 
 greatly from the mod. E. r in being fully trilled, not only 
 in such words as nearu, E. narrow ; from, E. from ; rihl, 
 E. right, where it is still trilled, but in all other cases. In many 
 words, such as bern, a barn, earm, an arm, the modern 
 English has utterly lost the true trilled sound ; though, 
 strange to say, there are thousands who imagine that they 
 pronounce this r when they only give the sound of the aa in 
 baa to the preceding vowel, which is a very different matter 1 . 
 *S is assumed by Mr. Sweet (A. S. Reader, p. xv) to have had 
 the sound of z, except in words like strange strong, fast, fast; 
 here again I suppose that this statement refers only to the 
 Wessex dialect (in which it is z still), and not to the Mercian 
 and Anglian dialects, in which initial s was one of the com- 
 monest of sounds ; yet even in these it must often have passed 
 into the sound of z between two vowels and finally ; cf. A. S. 
 freosan with mod. E. freeze, and A. S. is with mod. E. iz (as 
 it is invariably pronounced). On the other hand, the Mercian 
 (and A. S.) U is the mod. E. ice, and I find it difficult to 
 believe that, in this word, the s was ever pronounced like z 
 even in the Wessex dialect. I suppose that the sound of z 
 was common in all Old English, although there was, prac- 
 
 1 An Englishman associates the sound of barn with the written 
 appearance of the word, and calls it 1 pronouncing the r ' when he pro- 
 nounces the word like the German Bah?i. He should ask an Italian to 
 pronounce the word, if he wants to hear the trill. 
 
§286.] ANGLO-SAXON SPELLING. 301 
 
 tically, but one symbol (s) to denote both s and %\ This is in 
 some measure the case still ; for, though we find that ce (as 
 in twice) and c (as in city) are used to denote the true sound 
 of s, the symbol s is itself still used with a double meaning 
 (as in sin, rise). Unfortunately, the admission of z into our 
 writing has been very grudgingly allowed ; so that whilst z 
 is one of the commonest of sounds, the eye sees the symbol 
 but seldom. Shakespeare was for once mistaken in calling 
 z an ' unnecessary ' letter ; for it might have been used very 
 freely in our spelling with very great advantage. 
 
 § 286. The A. S. vowel-system was fairly complete, the 
 whole number of symbols being eighteen, viz. a, e, f, 0, u,y 
 (at first written ie), a, /, ( t 6, 6, y (at first written ie), ce, ea, eo, 
 dt, /a, /o. For a full account of them, see Sweet's A. S. 
 Reader. We may say that the A. S. alphabet was, on the 
 whole, nearly sufficient for representing all the words of the 
 language by purely phonetic methods. There was a guttural 
 sound like that of the G. ch ; but this was sufficiently pro- 
 vided for by using the symbol h with this power in every 
 position except initially, where, not being wanted for this 
 purpose, it could be used for the initial aspirate. The chief 
 defects of the alphabet were the double use of f (for the 
 sounds of f and v), the double use of s (for the sounds of s 
 and z) ; and the ambiguous use of f>, S for the sounds of 
 th in thin and th in thine. Even these defects were much 
 lessened in practice by the position of the symbols in the 
 words. Briefly, we may fairly call the A. S. system a purely 
 phonetic system, and may assign to most of the symbols their 
 usual Latin values, so that the vowels a, e, i, 0, u (all of 
 which were lengthened when accented) had the same values 
 as in modern Italian ; whilst y had the sound of the G. U in 
 ubel, and ea, eo, ea, eo were diphthongs whose component 
 parts were pronounced as written. The most characteristic Old 
 
 1 The A. S. symbol z is very rare, and was probably sounded as ts\ it 
 occurs in names such as A'azareth, Zabidon, &c. 
 
302 MODERN ENGLISH SPELLING. [Chap. XVI. 
 
 English sounds are those of the diphthongs just mentioned ; 
 of a in cat, written ce ; the guttural h, as in riht, mod. E. right 
 (where the guttural is still preserved to the eye) ; the varying 
 th, denoted uncertainly by ]> and (5 ; and the familiar modern 
 E. w \ One result of the A. S. phonetic spelling is, that it is 
 not uniform, being found to vary from time to time and in 
 different places, owing to varieties of pronunciation ; i*ut it 
 is usually intelligible and faithful, and in the truest sense 
 ' etymological/ precisely because it is phonetic. When a word 
 like episcopus was borrowed from Latin, and popularly pro- 
 nounced as biscop, it was spelt as pronounced ; there was no 
 thought of turning it into piscop or episcop merely to insinuate 
 that it was borrowed from Latin, and that the scribe knew it 
 to be so borrowed. There was then no attempt on the part 
 of pedants to mark the supposed derivation of a word by 
 conforming the spelling of a word to that of its presumed 
 original. 
 
 § 287. A.D. 1150-1300. As time wore on, some of the 
 sounds slowly changed, but fortunately the spelling changed 
 with them in many important particulars. We may notice the 
 growing confusion, in the latest Anglo-Saxon, between the use 
 of the symbols i and y, so that the word him is often badly 
 spelt hym, whilst, on the other hand, we find cining for cyning, 
 a king. The sounds denoted by those symbols were be- 
 coming difficult to distinguish. Sufficient examples of the 
 spelling of the period from 1150 to 1300 may be found in 
 Morris's Specimens of Early English, Part I, 2nd edition. The 
 alphabet is discussed at p. xix of the Introduction, and the 
 phonology at pp. xxv-xxxi. As regards the alphabet, we 
 may notice (1) the increasing use of k, especially to denote 
 
 1 This sound was common in early Latin, being written u, as in uinum, 
 whence E. wine. But the Latin ^-consonant had already become v 
 before the earliest period of written English, and hence the use of the 
 rune w m for the sound of w. Such Latin words as wait, wine, wick 
 may have been learnt on the continent or from the Britons ; the w shews 
 their antiquity. See Chapter XXI. 
 
§ 287.] 
 
 ANGLO-FRENCH SPELLING. 
 
 the hard sound of c before e and t, where there might other- 
 wise be some doubt as to the sound, because the French 
 scribes understood c before e and t to have the sound of s ; 
 (2) the use of the symbol 3 1 to denote the sound of y at the 
 beginning of a word (as in y=ye) or of the guttural h (or gh) 
 in the middle of a word (as in li^t— light) ; (3) the use of 
 gh for the A. S. h when guttural ; and (4) the introduction 
 of u as a consonantal symbol to denote v, this u being distin- 
 guished from the vowel u chiefly by its occurrence between 
 two vowels, the latter of which is commonly e. The converse 
 use of v for the vowel u (chiefly initially, as in vp for up) is 
 also found, but was silly and needless 2 . By way of exam- 
 ples, we may note (1) the spellings kene, mod. E. keen, for 
 A. S. cine, and kin for A. S. cyn ; (2) mod. ~E.ye, for A. S. 
 ge, and /qt for A. S. liht\ (3) light as an alternative for li^l, 
 for A. S. lihl, as before ; (4) eue, euere, mod. E. eve, ever, for 
 A. S. <£.fen, cefre. We must also particularly notice that 
 the A. S. c and sc now become ch and sch (new symbols), 
 especially before e and i; and that the symbol y begins to 
 be used for the consonant^, though it is also a vowel. The 
 A. S. hi, hn, hr, become merely /, n, r; av is replaced by 
 kw and qu, the latter being a French symbol which soon 
 prevailed over kw entirely ; hw is written wh ; lp is preferred 
 to 6 initially ; and the initial ge- (prefix) becomes Exam- 
 ples of these changes may be seen in chert, mod. E. churl, 
 for A. S. ceorl, and child for A. S. cild; scheden, mod. E. shed, 
 for A. S. sceadan, and schinen, E. shine, for A. S. scinan ; yonge, 
 E. young, for A. S.geong; lauerd, E. lord, for A. S. hldford', 
 note, E. nut, for A. S. hnut\ renden, E. rend, for A. S. hrendan ; 
 kwene, later que?ie, E. queen, for A. S. cwen ; whi, E. why y for 
 
 1 This symbol is merely a peculiar form of g, very like the A.S. g. 
 A new (French) form of g was used for g itself. 
 
 2 The symbol p> (A.S. w) disappears about a.d. 1280; it occurs about 
 five times in Havelok the Dane. It was replaced at first by uu % but 
 afterwards by w (a French symbol) as at present. This change in no 
 way concerned the pronunciation. 
 
304 MODERN ENGLISH SPELLING. [Chap. XVI. 
 
 A. S. hwy ; pah, E. though (with initial lp), wid, E. with (with 
 final S) ; i-boren, E. for A.S. geboren. The vowel-scheme 
 of this period is too complex to be discussed here ; but we may 
 particularly note the disappearance of ce, the place of which 
 was supplied by e or a ; the disappearance, in the thirteenth 
 century, of ea and eo, whether long or short ; and the sudden 
 disappearance of accentual marks, so that it is not always easy 
 to tell whether the vowel is long or short. We have also to 
 remember that we have now to deal with three written dialects. 
 
 This is also the period when French words began to be in- 
 troduced, with the same spelling and pronunciation as that 
 which they had in the Anglo-French MSS. of the same time ; 
 and it must be particularly noticed that the sounds of the 
 French vowels did not then differ materially from the sounds 
 of the corresponding English vowels, so that the French 
 words required no violent alteration to adapt them for English 
 use. The spelling still remained fairly phonetic and therefore 
 etymological ; it is occasionally ambiguous, but not so to any 
 great or important extent. For a careful discussion of the 
 pronunciation of two important works of this period, viz. the 
 Ancren Riwle and the Ormulum, see Sweet's First Middle 
 English Primer. We must particularly remember that, in this 
 thirteenth century and in the century succeeding it, the English 
 language was practically re-spelt according to the Anglo-French 
 method by scribes who were familiar with Anglo-French. 
 This is clearly shewn by the use of qu for cw, as in qucne 
 (queen) for A. S. cw en ; of c with the sound of s before e and 
 i, as in certain, cite (city) ; of u and y as consonants, as in 
 euere (ever), ye (ye) ; of ay and ey for at and ei occasionally, 
 as in day for dai, from A. S. dcrg, they or pey for pei, from 
 Icel. peir, they ; of the symbols v, w, and ch ; of i with the 
 sound of j (as in ioie, joy), &c. These scribes also replaced the 
 ' Anglo-Saxon' or Celtic forms of d,f,g, r, s, and / by letters 
 of a continental type; but they retained f (as a form of 
 s) together with s. One vowel-change is too remarkable to 
 
§ 288.] 
 
 THE THIRTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 3°5 
 
 be passed over, viz. the disappearance of the A.S. a, i.e. 
 long a, owing to the change of sound from aa in baa to that 
 of oa in broad, which was denoted by changing the A. S. 
 spelling brad into the new spellings broad 1 , brood. Conse- 
 quently, as Mr. Sweet remarks, the true a (long a) ' occurs 
 only in French words, as in dame, lady, dame, blam-en, to 
 blame ' ; which were of course pronounced with the French 
 sound of a. 
 
 § 288. We are now in a position to give some account 
 ef the symbols in use at the end of the thirteenth century. 
 Omitting the capital letters, which are sufficiently familiar, 
 the list of symbols is as follows :abcdefgh 2 i-k 
 lmnopqurs {also Qtuvwxyz (very rare) ; 
 also p ( = /h) 3 and 3 (=y initially, gh medially and finally, 
 and sometimes z finally). The two last characters were 
 inherited from the older period ; the rest of the letters may 
 be considered as Anglo-French forms of the Roman letters, 
 and the whole system of spelling had become French rather 
 than English. We shall not, however, have the complete 
 list of sound-symbols till we add the compound symbols 
 following, viz. ch (rarely written he) ng ph sch (also sh) th 
 wh. Of these, ch was pronounced as now, i. e. as ch in 
 choose, and mostly represents an A. S. c (usually when fol- 
 lowed by e or i or y), or else it represents an O.F. ch as in 
 change-, sch is the modern sh in shall; th was coming into 
 use as an alternative for p ; and wh replaced the A. S. hw . 
 There is no j, but the symbol i represented both i and /. 
 We must also consider the long vowels and diphthongs. 
 The former were at first not distinguished to the eye from 
 the short ones ; the latter were ai (or ay) au (or aw) ea 
 
 1 This spelling did not last long, but soon gave way to brood ; the 
 modern broad is due to a subsequent revival of the symbol oa, which is 
 almost, perhaps quite, unknown in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. 
 
 2 An aspirate initially ; otherwise a guttural, later gh. 
 
 3 The symbol $ disappears soon after A. D. 1250, except perhaps in 
 rare instances. 
 
 VOL. I. X 
 
306 MODERN ENGLISH SPELLING. [Chap. XVI. 
 
 ei (or ey) eo ie oa oi (or oy) on ui, for the pronunciation 
 of which see Sweet, First Middle Eng. Primer, p. 2. Some- 
 times we find eu (or ew). When the hard c is doubled, 
 it is written kk ; a double ch is written cch 1 ; a double s 
 is sometimes written sc (as in dksced), but the same symbol, 
 viz. sc, could be used for si or even for sh. 
 
 § 289. A. D. 1300-1400. Passing on to the fourteenth 
 century, the reader will find sufficient examples of the spell- 
 ing in Specimens of English, ed. Morris and Skeat, Part II ; 
 or in the extracts from Chaucer published by the Clarendon 
 Press 2 . I shall here describe the spelling found in my 
 edition of the Man of Lawes Tale, which, though occasion- 
 ally normalised, is strictly founded on that of the excellent 
 Ellesmere MS., written about a.d. 1400. The consonants 
 are much the same as in the thirteenth century. The 
 symbol p remains in occasional use, but th is very commonly 
 used instead. A new symbol g/i, still in use, is employed 
 for the guttural sound written h in A. S. But the vowel- 
 symbols are somewhat altered; the old ea 3 , oa 4 , disappear, 
 ui is rare, and the system of doubling the vowels, to indicate 
 length, begins to prevail, giving us aa, ee, 00 ; and sometimes 
 y for the long f. Eo is hardly ever used, except in people, 
 more commonly peple (people), or even poeple. The reader 
 is particularly referred to the description of Chaucer's pro- 
 nunciation by Mr. Ellis, reprinted (by his kind permission) 
 in the Introduction to my edition of Chaucer's Man of Lawes 
 Tale, 2nd ed., 1879, p. x. 
 
 1 An expressive symbol; for the sound is really that of a final or 
 implosive sound, followed by the true ch or explosive sound ; as in 
 
 fec-chen, to fetch. 
 
 2 In Morris's edition of the Prologue, the symbols v and j are intro- 
 duced with their modern values ; the MSS. have only u for v (also v for 
 u) and 1. 
 
 3 Ea is sometimes written in ease, please, but ese (or eese) and plese 
 are commoner. In the fifteenth century ea remained scarce, but was 
 afterwards revived. 
 
 4 Oa quite disappears, but was revived in the sixteenth century. 
 
§291.] THE FOURTEENTH CENTURY. 307 
 
 § 290. The preceding account may suffice to give some 
 idea of the earlier modes of spelling ; but now that we have 
 reached the close of the fourteenth century, it is worth while 
 to examine the symbols carefully, because we are fast 
 approaching the period when modern English spelling was 
 practically formed and fixed. The spelling of the Man of 
 Lawes Tale does not essentially differ from that of the 
 present day, in spite of the vast changes that have come 
 over our pronunciation. The principal difference is, after all, 
 due to the loss of the final e in the spoken word. Since the 
 year 1400, the forms of the words to the eye have wot greatly 
 changed, though the sounds intended are very different. 
 This statement may seem a little startling at first l , but a 
 careful examination will shew that much of the apparent 
 strangeness of Chaucer's language is due to changes in 
 grammar and vocabulary rather than to any sweeping changes 
 in the system of spelling then in vogue. I shall now give 
 a complete list of all the symbols in use about a.d. 1400. 
 A specimen of the spelling of this period will be found in 
 the Appendix. See also pp. 24, 29, 34, 37. 
 
 § 291. The vowels are : a e i o u (also written v, 
 initially) y (for i, especially when long) w (for u, rare) 
 aa (rare) ee 00. Diphthongs : ai, or ay au, or aw ea 
 (very rare) ei, or ey eo (rare) eu, or ew ie oe (very rare) 
 oi, or oy ou, or ow ue 2 ui, or uy. Consonants : b c d 
 f g h i (or capital I, for j) 3 k 1 m n p qu r s (or Q t 
 v (or u, for v) w x y (or 3) z. Digraphs, &c. : eh gh, 
 or 5 gu (in guerdon, i. e. gw) ng ph sch, sometimes sh 
 th, or ]> wh. Doubled letters : bb cc dd ff gg kk (for 
 
 1 Englishmen are so dependent upon the look of a word to the eye, 
 that even a few comparatively slight changes in spelling fill them with 
 amazement. However, we may notice the symbols ea and oa in parti- 
 cular, as belonging to Tudor-English, not to Chaucerian spelling. 
 
 2 Mr. Ellis omits ue (as in due) ; also ui, uy (as in fruit, fruyt). 
 
 3 Also g, if followed by e or i, is used to denote /. Indeed, when the 
 sound of j ends a word, it always appears as ge* 
 
 X 2 
 
3 o8 
 
 MODERN ENGLISH SPELLING. [Chap. XVI. 
 
 cc or kk) rarely ck 11 mm nn pp rr ss (or fs) tt. 
 Biform digraphs, &c. : cch (for chch) ssh (for shsh or 
 simple sh) ]>]) J>th or even tth or tilth. Initial combin- 
 ations : bl br cl (or kl) cr (or kr) dr dw fl fn (rare) 
 fr gl gn gr kn pi pr ps sc (or sk) si (also written 
 scl) sm sn sp squ st sw scr (or skr) schr (or shr) spl 
 spr str tr tw thr (or J>r) thw wl (rare) wr. Final 
 combinations 1 : ct ds fs ft gn ght (or jt) lb Id If lk 
 lm In lp Is It 1th lue ( = lv) mb mp nee nch nd 
 ngs ngth nk ns nt nth ps pt pth rb rc rce rch rd 
 rf rk rl rid rm rn rnd rp rs rsch rst rt rth rue 
 ( = rv) sk sp st ts xt. Also ge (for j) ; gge (for jj) ; nge 
 (for nj) ; rgh, in thurgh, through ; mpne, in solempne, solemn. 
 
 § 292. The reader will at once recognise, in the above 
 list, a large number of familiar symbols which are still in use. 
 The French influence is by this time paramount, as may be 
 seen by comparing the spelling of Middle-English of the 
 fourteenth century with that of the Anglo-French 2 of the 
 same period, as exhibited in the Liber Albus or the Liber 
 Custumarum or the Statutes of the Realm. In order to 
 complete the history of our written forms, all that remains 
 is to notice the principal alterations that have been made in 
 the above list of symbols since a.d. 1400, and to account 
 for omissions from or additions to it. The first point to be 
 noticed is the extraordinary loss (in pronunciation) of the 
 final -e, which in so many cases denoted an inflexion of 
 declension or of conjugation in the spoken language. This 
 loss took place early in the fifteenth century in the Midland 
 
 1 These combinations close a word or syllable, as act(e) y act-ion. 
 Modern English has bs, in slabs, and other combinations not used in 
 1400. I omit bn in Ab-ner, and the like, where the symbols belong to 
 different syllables. 
 
 2 The term ' Anglo-French ' is absolutely necessary ; it denotes the 
 later form of the Norman-French introduced at the Conquest ; for this 
 dialect, as adopted in England, had a different development from that 
 of the French of Normandy. 
 
§ 293.] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE FINAL E. 
 
 3°9 
 
 dialect, but had already taken place in the Northern dialect 
 in the fourteenth. The result was not a little remarkable, 
 and is of supreme importance in explaining the spelling 
 of modern English. I will therefore endeavour to explain 
 it carefully. 
 
 § 293. Let us examine, for example, the history of the 
 words done, stone, cone) the last of which is not of English, 
 but of Greek origin. The A. S. for bone is ban (pronounced 
 baan), and for stone is stdn (pronounced staan, with aa as in 
 baa). But these forms were only used in the nominative 
 and accusative singular; the genitives singular were bdn-es, 
 stdn-es, and the datives bdn-e, stdn-e; all four forms being 
 dissyllabic. The pi. nom. and acc. was stdn-as. In the 
 twelfth and thirteenth centuries the sound of a changed to 
 that of oa in broad, denoted (imperfectly) by oo, thus giving 
 the forms boon, stoon (pron. bawn, stawn). The gen. and 
 dat. sing, should have been written boones, stoones, boone, 
 stoone, but it was felt that it was sufficient to write but one o, 
 because the reader would unconsciously dwell upon it, and 
 mentally divide the words as bo-nes, sto-nes, bo-ne, sio-nt (all 
 dissyllabic), and would thus preserve the length of the vowel. 
 Moreover, in such familiar words, the scribes did not scruple 
 to write bon, ston, with a single o, even in the nom. and acc, 
 trusting that they would easily be recognised, and pronounced 
 with a long vowel. Hence we find the following forms : 
 Sing. nom. and acc. boon, bon, stoon, ston ; gen. bones, stone's 1 ; 
 dat. bone, stone; PI. nom. and acc. bones, stones, forms which 
 were early extended to include the gen. and dat. pi. also. 
 The same forms continued in use in the fourteenth century, 
 but there was a tendency to drop the e in the dat. sing. 
 The dat. sing., be it remembered, was then of considerable 
 importance, because it was almost invariably employed after 
 
 1 The two dots over the e point out that -es and -e are distinct syllables. 
 Jf this be forgotten, the whole of the account is ruined. Any one 
 accustomed to mod. German will easily remember this. 
 
MODERN ENGLISH SPELLING. [Chap. XVI. 
 
 certain prepositions, such as at, be (by), for,fro7ii> in, of, on, 
 to. Amongst these, the prep, of was in very frequent use, 
 because it was used to translate the French de; whence 
 (in addition to stones) a new form sprang up to translate the 
 French de la pierre, viz. of the stone \ and this phrase was 
 possibly regarded even then, as it is always regarded now, 
 as a form of the genitive case, though the form stone is, 
 grammatically, a dative. It is now easy to see what 
 happened. The nominatives boon, stoon, or bon, ston, were 
 confused with the datives bone, stone, .often pronounced bon , 
 ston , by the loss of final e, and the scribes frequently wrote 
 bone, stone even where the final e was dropped. This habit 
 was particularly common in the North of England and 
 Scotland, because the final e was there lost at a time when 
 it was still sounded in the Midland and Southern dialects ; 
 and Northern scribes were peculiarly liable to add an idle 
 (and therefore an ignorant) final e in places where the same 
 letter was written in the South because it was really sounded 1 . 
 Or even if the Northern scribe spelt correctly, the Midland 
 or Southern scribe who wrote out a piece composed in the 
 Northern dialect would be sure to insert a large number 
 of final -es quite wrongly, simply because he was used to 
 them. Moreover, the spelling of English followed French 
 models, and the Old French abounded in words ending in -e, 
 which was once always sounded, but afterwards became mute. 
 Examples are abundant ; it may suffice to notice the spelling 
 lyfe for lyf (nom.) in L 432 of the Northern poem by Ham- 
 pole, called the Pricke of Conscience, written about a.d. 1340 ; 
 see p. 34, line 25. Hence arose, as a matter of course and 
 by mere accident, without any premeditation, the modern 
 English device of writing bone, stone, where the final e is 
 associated with the notion that the preceding vowel is long ; 
 so that we now actually regard this e as a means for in- 
 
 1 The best MS. of Barbour's Bruce, written out by a Scotchman in 
 1487, abounds with examples of the mute final -c% 
 
§ *94-] 
 
 HISTORY OF THE FINAL E. 
 
 3 11 
 
 dicating the length of the preceding vowel 1 ! The clumsiness 
 of this device must have struck every one who has ever 
 thought of it, and it certainly would never have been con- 
 sciously invented by any sane being. It is the greatest 
 stumbling-block in the way of reformed spelling. It is very 
 remarkable, too, that a very similar, but not exactly equivalent, 
 result has come about in French, a language which abounds 
 with words ending in -e. The French final e was formerly 
 always pronounced, but is now silent. It was from French 
 that we borrowed the word cone (for which see Cotgrave's 
 F. Dictionary) ; and, finding that its spelling was exactly in 
 accordance with our own system of spelling bone and stone, 
 we naturally adopted it as it was. The F. cone (now cone) 
 represents an O. F. co?i-e (dissyllabic), where the final -e 
 represents the -um in the Lat. acc. con-um (nom. con-us=Gk. 
 kcov-os), just as the same Lat. suffix is represented by -o in the 
 Span, and Iial. cono. So also we write alone, alone, lone, 
 zone, crone, drone, &c. ; and we even still write one, none, 
 gone (A. S. an, nan, gait), because the vowels in those words 
 were once long, and they all once rimed with bone. 
 
 § 294. The loss of the final -e as an inflexion was 
 universal, and took place not only in substantives, but in 
 adjectives and verbs also. Thus the A. S. infinitive rid-an 
 became M. E. rid-en, or (by loss of -n) rid-e, and is now ride. 
 The A. S. hwit (white) was also used in the definite 1 form 
 hwit-a, whence the M. E. double form why I and ivhyt-e, the 
 latter being preferred in the modern white. On the other 
 hand, the A. S. infinitive tell-an became AI.E. tell-en, ielUe, 
 
 1 If the vowel is short, or if the length of the vowel is otherwise 
 obvious, the e usually disappears in modern English, because its utter 
 uselessness is then apparent. We find, in Shakespeare (First Folio) such 
 spellings as cheer e, speake, bestir re, toppe, roome, keepe, marre, cabine, 
 selfe (Temp. Act i. Sc. i). We also find take, care, fate, rope, &c, as 
 now. 
 
 1 The definite form of the adjective was always used when the definite 
 article or a possessive pronoun preceded it. 
 
3 I2 
 
 MODERN ENGLISH SPELLING. [Chap. XVI. 
 
 but in the fifteenth century telle (with e mute) ; this mute e 
 is now dropped, being completely useless, but the double / 
 remains. The fate of the M. E. inflexional suffix -en was 
 the same as that of the final -e, on account of the falling away 
 of the n in nearly all cases. There is a trace of it still in a 
 few words, viz. ox-en, brethr-en, childr-en, ki-ne (with e added 
 to denote long i) \ 
 
 § 295. It is necessary to discuss somewhat further the 
 spelling of words borrowed from French. The word cone, 
 mentioned above, was not borrowed at a very early time. 
 But we find in Chaucer such words as age, chance, charge, 
 clause, cure, dame, grace, nice, ounce, place, table, temple, all of 
 which were originally dissyllabic. These are still spelt the 
 same as ever, though they are now all monosyllabic except 
 the two last. Indeed, it has become a rule in modern 
 English that the sound of final j may not be denoted by j, 
 but must be written ge \ Similarly, ce is now the most 
 acceptable way of representing the sound of a final s ; so 
 much so, indeed that we have actually extended this French 
 fashion to pure English words, and now write mice, twice, 
 where the scribes of the fourteenth century wrote mys, twyes 
 (dissyllabic) ; cf. § 297. Verbs such as the F. grant-er, 
 dress-er, were conformed to E. grammar, and became grant- 
 en, grant-e, dress-en, dress-e; later granle, dresse (monosyllabic); 
 and finally grant, dress, as now. 
 
 § 296. The M. E. pi. suffix -es (A. S. -as) is also deserving 
 of attention. In Chaucer it forms a separate syllable, so that 
 bon-es, slon-es, were dissyllabic ; at the same time, the suffix 
 had become less emphatic and distinct, so that the original 
 A. S. suffix -as (originally pronounced with s) passed into 
 M. E. -es (with dull e, and s as z). The forms bones, stones, 
 were retained, even after the words had become mono- 
 
 1 Englishmen find it difficult to realize that the old language was 
 highly inflexional ; yet it remains so, provincially, to this day, as in the 
 Shropshire phrase — ' I dar' say yo' getten more than yo' desarven.' 
 
§ 297-1 
 
 'etymological' spelllng. 
 
 syllables, because some method had to be employed for 
 pointing out the length of the vowels. So also we now 
 write cares, games, which are of English origin, and cures, 
 flames, cones, which are French. So also cares, cures are 
 used in the third person singular of the verb. The plurals 
 ages, chances, charges, clauses, graces, ounces, places, tables, 
 temples are still dissyllabic, and unaltered save in the vowel- 
 sounds. It is remarkable in how many of such plurals s has 
 the sound of z. We find the .r-sound in mod. E. cake, pi. 
 cakes ; also in flock (M. E. flok), pi. flocks (M. E. flokkes), 
 where the e has been purposely cut out, lest the word should 
 appear to be dissyllabic. All the above examples are 
 characteristic of large classes of words. As to the suffix -ed s 
 little need be said ; it was long retained as a distinct syllable 
 in numerous cases where the e is now silent. 
 
 § 297. One consequence of the use of the e in stones 
 to denote the long vowel was to disturb the spelling of many 
 Middle-English words in which a short vowel was followed 
 by a single consonant and e, such as manere, mater e, biter, 
 toteren, coper, gotere or gutere. The simplest expedient for 
 remedying this defect was to double the consonant, according 
 to the analogy of mann-es, genitive of man. Hence the 
 modern forms manner, matter, bitter, totter, copper, gutter. 
 Such doubling was less necessary when the vowel was not e ; 
 so that the old forms manage, matins \ bigot, metal' 1 , colour, 
 busy, canon, are still in use. This new distinction caused 
 much confusion, so that the rule was not consistently carried 
 out. Thus the word tolerate (consistently with folly, jolly, 
 for M. E. folye, ioly) was spelt tollerale by Sir Thomas More, 
 Sir Thomas Elyot, and Udall (see the examples in Richard- 
 son's Dictionary) ; but when the mania for * etymological 1 
 spelling set in, in the middle of the sixteenth century, the 
 
 1 The spelling mattins is a comparatively modern innovation, by 
 confusion with the Ital. mattino. Historically, the word is French ; 
 Cotgrave has : ' Matins, Matins, Morning Praier.' 
 
 2 Actually also spelt mettle, when used in a metaphorical sense. 
 
MODERN ENGLISH SPELLING. [Chap. XVI. 
 
 spelling was altered back again to tolerate, lest readers should 
 be too dense to detect the connection of iollerate with the 
 Latin tolerare. And when once the attempt was thus made 
 to supplant phonetic by ' etymological ' spelling, all chance 
 of consistency was at an end, and the phonetic system was 
 doomed, except in so far as words of obscure etymology were 
 allowed to be conformed to phonetic rules \ Whilst I 
 am speaking of doubled letters, I may remark that modern 
 English has a ridiculous prejudice against writing jj and vv ; 
 see the remarks on v at p. 317, note 1. Jj has been 
 provided for by writing dge (!), which arose out of the final 
 M. E. gge (see end of § 291); but we have no way of 
 shewing that lever does not rime to sever. As to r, it is often 
 doubled in modern English where it was once single. Thus 
 M. E. Marie is now Mary, but M. E. marten is marry. 
 M. E. mery is now merry, though w T e retain M. E. very. 
 M. E. mirour is now mirror, and M. E. morwe is morrow. 
 M. E. sorwe is sorrow ; and, by confusion with this word, 
 the A. S. sdr-ig is now sorry, though closely allied to the 
 adj. sdr, sore, and therefore an altered form of sor-y. 
 
 A final s is now doubled when it is desired to shew that it 
 is not sounded as z ; hence M. E. glas, blis, dros are now 
 glass, bliss, dross, and all words that once ended in -les and 
 -ties now end in -less and -ness. Another common device 2 
 for shewing that s is not sounded as z, is to write ce, as in 
 mice, twice, &c, already alluded to. So also peace for M. E. 
 pees. In fact, English abounds with such ' phonetic ' devices; 
 no one objects to them as long as they are allowed to remain 
 sporadic, irregular, and inconsistent. 
 
 1 This is what most people mean by 1 etymological 1 spelling, viz. to 
 spell a word in a Latin or Greek fashion where the etymology is easy 
 enough, and needs no pointing out ; and to spell it as it happens to be 
 spelt in Tudor-English where the etymology is hard. 
 
 a Yet a third (!) method is to write se, as in horse (M.E. hors), 
 goose (M. E. goos), house (M. E. hous\ But nose is the true M. E. form ; 
 therefore the s in it means z. 
 
§ 2 9 9«] THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 315 
 
 § 298. A. D. 1400-1500. The most weighty points 
 in the history of spelling in the fifteenth century were the 
 total loss of the inflectional -e and the partial loss of -en, 
 the frequent reduction of the inflectional -es to the simple 
 sound of s (or z), and the occasional doubling of letters to 
 denote the shortness of the preceding vowel. We have now 
 to examine in detail the changes made in the symbols em- 
 ployed, a list of which has been given in § 291. To limit 
 the enquiry, I confine my remarks chiefly to the spellings 
 found in a book of the highest importance for our purpose, 
 viz. Caxton's translation of ' Le Recueil des Histoires de 
 Troye,' a sufficient extract from which is given in my 
 Specimens of English, Part III, pp. 89-95 ; or the reader 
 may turn to the sample of it given in the Appendix to 
 the present volume. The date is a. d. 147 1. We may 
 first of all remark the retention of the old inflectional 
 -e in places where it was required by the grammar of 
 the preceding century, though it was no longer sounded 
 in the fifteenth. Examples are : wente, 3rd p. s. pt. t. ; 
 kynge, dat. ; alle, pi. ; come, gerund ; paye, infinitive ; whele, 
 dat., &c. On the other hand, we find said, 3rd p. s. pt. t. 
 (not saide) ; shold (not sholde) ; gold, dat. (not golde); and so 
 on. Further confusion appears in the use of final ~e in 
 wholly impossible places, as in ranne (1. 29) for ran ; Joule 
 (1. 33) for foul ; sette, pp. (L 42) for set, &c. This error is 
 found at a still earlier date in Northern writings. Final -c 
 is used to denote a long vowel, as in fere, fear (1. 19), drede, 
 dread (1. 19), better spelt fcer, dreed; also in blame (1. 21), 
 a French spelling of a French word. We still find -es as a 
 plural ending, as in Grekes, wordes, &c. ; and such a spelling 
 as meruayllis (marvels, 43) shews that this suffix still lingered 
 as a separate syllable ; indeed we even find ' wound-es wyde 1 
 in Spenser, F. Q. i. 5. 17, though this form was then archaic. 
 
 § 299. Recurring to the symbols in § 291, we may re- 
 mark the following principal variations. 
 
316 
 
 MODERN ENGLISH SPELLING. [Chap. XVI. 
 
 Voiveh. The use o^y for i has, at this date, become com- 
 mon, as in kynge, sayd, counceyll, certayn, wy/hout, &c. ; in 
 many instances, mod. E. has returned to the use of i. W 
 (for u) disappears. A a, ee, oo remain; as in maad, preesl, 
 oost (host). 
 
 Diphthongs. We find said, sayd ; frawde (10) \ demaunded 
 (64) ; peas (5, but ea is rare); counceill (15), parceyue (73); 
 si ewe (155, M. E. slew-e) ; z'^ (128, M. E ioy-e) ; /<?z/& (33), 
 fowle (85); jas\s7/<? (73)> conduyte (172). The symbol z> is 
 rare, but is found even in Chaucer (C. T., Group B, 300) 
 in the word fiers, which has lasted down to modern times as 
 fierce. The modern field is /eld, both in Caxton (93) and in 
 Chaucer. The symbol eo is found in the fourteenth century 
 in the word people, which was also sometimes written poeple, 
 and we needlessly retain the former spelling to this day. 
 The original intention of the symbol was, probably, to 
 express the F. eu in peuple, as the word was written people 
 in Anglo-French 2 ; but the M. E. form is commonly peple, 
 and the modern form ought to be peeple. Caxton has 
 peple (29). Finally, the F. eu appears in fureur, fury 
 
 (i8 4 ). 
 
 Consonants. We still find joy written Ioye or ioye (128). 
 But in the course of the fifteenth century, the symbol j was 
 invented, though it was not employed as at present till much 
 later 3 . It simply arose from the habit of writing a long 
 down-stroke to the last i in such numbers as zz', zzz', vii, viii, 
 which were commonly written z/, vij\ viy\ so that the tail 
 of the letter was at first a mere flourish. It was a happy 
 thought to employ the new symbol thus formed for an old 
 sound that had no special symbol allotted to it. Returning 
 to Caxton, we proceed to note that v begins to be used as 
 
 1 The numbers refer to the lines in the extract from Caxton. 
 
 * Statutes of the Realm, i. 197; Liber Custumarum, pp. 81, 84. 687. 
 We also find M. E. peuple, P. Plowman, C. xii. 21. 
 
 3 It is not employed in the 1623 edition of Shakespeare. It came 
 into use about 1630, and was extremely common in 1660. 
 
§299.] THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY. 317 
 
 at present, not only initially, as in Chaucer, but even in 
 the middle of a word, as in mynerve (Minerva, 38), proverb >e 
 (100), resseyve (139), evyllys (141). It is remarkable that 
 the great advantage of this plan was not more quickly per- 
 ceived; but the restriction of v to the sound of the con- 
 sonant was much delayed by the habit of using v initially 
 with the double value, as in vp (= up), vyce ( = vice) \ The 
 symbol 3 went out of use in the fifteenth century, because its 
 form had become indistinguishable from that of z. Indeed, 
 we still write capercailzie for capercailye (= capercailye) ; and 
 the proper names Dalziel, Menzies, for Daly el, jlleny'es 2 . 
 The place of 3 was supplied by y initially, and by gh medially, 
 as in^, light, formerly y, liyt. 
 
 Digraphs. Gu (= gw) remains in guerdon; the gu in 
 guess, guest, is of later date. Sch becomes sh in the South, 
 though sch was still used in Scotland, and occurs in the 
 
 1 Great awkwardness was caused by the persistent use of u for the 
 consonant-sound, because the practice was always to take care that it 
 was used between two voivels, as in euel or euil (evil) ; and, as the latter 
 of these vowels was usually an e , every word that ended with the simple 
 sound of v was spelt so as to end with the compound symbol ue. Even 
 when v came into regular use for the sound of the consonant, the final V 
 (by an intensely stupid conservatism) was still written ve, a practice 
 which has lasted even to this day ; so that there is a law in modern 
 English that the symbol v must not end a word, and we all have 
 to write have, give, serve, &c., instead of hav, giv, sew ; which leaves us 
 powerless to distinguish between the short i in the verb to live and the 
 long i in alive. By writing the former as liv, the distinction might have 
 been made. Hence also another absurd rule in modern English, viz. 
 that v must never be doubled. We write lever, with a long e, rightly, 
 but we must not dare to write ewer. The reason, of course, is this ; 
 that if the old u or ue had been doubled, the word would have been 
 written euuer or eucuer, which was felt to be a little too clumsy. Ko 
 reform in modern spelling is so much needed as the use of the simple v 
 for hav, liv, giv, and the power either to double the v in ewer, sevver, 
 clevver, &c, or else to double the e in leever, which would be a great 
 deal better. I recommend this change very strongly. 
 
 2 Bp. Percy prints an old Ballad with s throughout. 1 Quhy dois 
 zour brand sae drop wi* bluid, Edward, Edward ? ' It shews great 
 stupidity, as your would have been quite correct. 
 
318 
 
 MODERN ENGLISH SPELLING. [Chap. XVI. 
 
 MSS. of Dunbar and Gawain Douglas. The symbol J> fell 
 into disuse, because its form had gradually become identical 
 with that of y ; but printers long continued to print y*, y l 
 ( = £>e j)t) instead of the and that, whenever they found that 
 there was insufficient space for the words in full. Some 
 modern ' comic ' writers seem to fancy that the was actually 
 pronounced as ye, and that %syat\ 
 
 Doubled letters. For cc or kk, the symbol ck, which is 
 somewhat rare in the fourteenth century 1 , was increasingly 
 used, so that at the present day it has completely superseded 
 tk. It may be noticed here that, even in early MSS., a 
 capital F was written like ff, a fact which has been so ill 
 understood that we actually find, at the present day, such 
 names as Ffinch, Ffoulkes, and Ffrench (all in the Clergy 
 list), where it is obvious that the ^*has been mistaken for 
 Ff, which is absurd 2 . 
 
 Biform digraphs, &c. The origin of the modern E. tch 
 for cch ( = chch) is curious. It is due to the constant con- 
 fusion in MSS. of the fifteenth century between the letters c 
 and /, which are frequently indistinguishable ; so that cch 
 came to be misread as tch. Tyrwhitt actually prints wretche, 
 fetche in his edition of the Cant. Tales, 11. 7645-6 ; yet all 
 the Six-text MSS. have either wrecche, fecche, or wrec he, fee he. 
 It is just this manipulation of MSS. which makes it so diffi- 
 cult for a reader to form just ideas. Everything has to be 
 tested, when (as in many old, and some modern editions) 
 editors cannot be trusted, and frequently conceive it to 
 be their first duty to misrepresent the spellings of their 
 MS. authorities. However, the result is, that tch is now 
 the accepted way of writing cch (= chch), and this fact 
 is of considerable importance in etymology. In words 
 containing tch, the / is unoriginal, and as the cch is due to 
 an older cc, we shall expect to find that the A. S. forms 
 
 1 1 Myne faire lockes 9 ; P. Plowman, C. xvi. 8. 
 
 2 Initial ff=F\ therefore Ff=fff{}.). 
 
§ 3oo.] 
 
 ANGLO-FRENCH SPELLING. 
 
 are wrecca, feccan 1 , as is the case. As to ssh, Caxton has 
 abasshid (= abashshid, 1. 52), but both sch and ssh finally 
 gave way to sh, which is now never doubled. So also, when 
 lp was disused, the compound forms tth and thth soon gave 
 way to th, which is now never doubled 2 . 
 
 Initial combinations. These are little altered ; for ex- 
 amples, see the Glossary to Specimens of Eng., pt. iii. But, 
 as the initial k was less used, except before e, i, n, and_>>, the 
 combinations kl, kr and skr gave way to ct, cr, and scr ; also 
 sk gave way to sc, except before e, i\ and j>. Set disappears, 
 though we still find the archaic spelling sc/ender in Spenser, 
 F. Q. iii. 1. 47, which was probably copied from Chaucer. 
 Schr occurs in Gawain Douglas, but soon gave way to shr. 
 Fn disappears. Wl disappears entirely, having always been 
 rare ; yet we may remember that the modern E. lap, in the 
 sense to wrap or enfold, is the M. E. wlappen, and that it is 
 this form wlap (= older wrap) which explains the words en- 
 velop, de-velop, i. e. to en-wlap, de-wlap. 
 
 Final combinations. These will be discussed when we 
 come to the next century. 
 
 § 300. Even from the above slight sketch, which does 
 not include all the details, we can begin to understand how 
 the modern system of spelling grew up. We had, first of all, 
 an Anglo-Saxon system of spelling, largely phonetic and 
 intended to be wholly so, founded upon a Latin model, and 
 free from etymological crazes. Next, an Early English sys- 
 tem, also phonetic, as far as the imperfect symbols would 
 allow; but some confusion was introduced by the fact that, 
 whilst slight changes were going on in the pronunciation, 
 very material changes were being made in the symbols em- 
 ployed. Early English was written out by scribes who had 
 
 1 This feccan may itself be for fetian ; see Fetch in the Supplement to 
 the second edition of my Dictionary; but this is another matter. I still 
 have my doubts about it. 
 
 a We still write Matthew (Gk. McltOclios), though Mathew and 
 Matheics occur as surnames. 
 
3 20 
 
 MODERN ENGLISH SPELLING. [Chap. XVI. 
 
 been previously trained to write out Anglo-French J and thus 
 the French (or Franco-Latin) system of symbols gradually 
 took the place of the older Celto-Latin system. Two 
 defects of the Early English system may be especially 
 pointed out, viz. the confusion, in writing, between the close 
 and open o, and between the close and open e. Thus the 
 A. S. brad (pron. braad) came to be pronounced as mod. E. 
 broad, whilst it was spelt brood or brod 1 ; and the A. S. gos 
 (pron. goas, riming with dose) came to be spelt goos or gos, 
 though its pronunciation was not altered. Once more, the 
 A. S. s<£, sea, came to be spelt see, without much change in the 
 pronunciation, the E. E. see being pronounced with the open 
 e, i.e. like the e in ere. At the same time the A. S. sped, speed, 
 became E.E. speed, with the close sound of e, i.e. the sound 
 of F. / in e'te, or not unlike the mod. E. spade, in which the 
 apparent a is really a diphthong, composed of F. e followed by 
 short u Thus both the long o and long e in E. E. had (at 
 least) two distinct values ; a confusion which lasted through- 
 out the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The Middle- 
 English period introduced other changes and uncertainties ; 
 above all, the loss of the final e in the fifteenth century caused 
 great confusion, and even gave rise, as has been shewn, to 
 the mod. E. device of denoting a long vowel by employing a 
 final e after a consonant. Still, the great aim of the spelling 
 was, as before, to represent the sounds of the words. 
 Numerous Anglo-French words (i. e. words current in the 
 Norman dialect as it was developed in England) had been 
 introduced into English at various times ; at first slowly, but 
 from the time of Edward I. the stream set in steadily, and 
 continued long. These words were introduced with the 
 Anglo-French spelling, to which the English spelling of the 
 time had been assimilated. Accordingly, they came in at 
 
 1 The loss of the A. S. accents (used to mark long vowels) took away 
 the means of distinguishing length ; we find brod, broad ^with o long), 
 and god, god (with o short). This was another source of trouble. 
 
§ 3°l] 
 
 SIXTEENTH CENTURY. 
 
 321 
 
 first in an unaltered and phonetic form, but in course of 
 time the spelling of such words indicated their sound with 
 less accuracy. It would be difficult to say at what period 
 we again began to borrow French words from France itself, 
 but it is most likely that when the home-supply of French 
 words began to fail, the foreign supply began to be drawn 
 upon, perhaps in the fourteenth century ; and I suppose that we 
 have never ceased to borrow French words from abroad ever 
 since. It makes a material difference, because the Anglo- 
 French had ways of its own, and exhibits curious points of 
 difference from the French of Paris l . By way of example, 
 take the word adage, of which there is no trace earlier than 
 1548, according to Murray's Dictionary. This is, of course, 
 a French word, but will hardly be found in Anglo-French. 
 
 § 301. Just at the time when our spelling was already 
 becoming very faulty, the invention of printing came in, and 
 surely, but not immediately, retarded all further emendation ; 
 so that, in the sixteenth century, we find that the power of 
 making any material improvement was practically gone. 
 Nevertheless, the writers of that period had the courage to 
 make at least two considerable improvements, or at any rate, 
 to shew how they might have been made, if the system had 
 been carried out with perfect accuracy. They became dis- 
 satisfied with the confusion, just above mentioned, between 
 the close and open 0 and the close and open e, and en- 
 deavoured to employ the symbols oa (or oe, if final) as distinct 
 from 00, and ea as distinct from ee, in order to remedy it. The 
 symbol oa was, practically, a new one, though it is found 
 occasionally in the thirteenth century 2 . It was now used 
 
 1 Thus convey is from Anglo-French conveier, but convoy from F. 
 convoy er (as it is spelt in Cotgrave). The M. E. adj. vein, from Anglo- 
 French vein, has been altered to vain, in order to insinuate, falsely, that 
 it was borrowed from Parisian vain. 
 
 2 1 Heo lei ine prisune uour Jmsend 3er and moare? e. She lay in 
 prison 4000 years and more ; Ancren Riwle, p. 54, L 9. Examples 
 are somewhat rare. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 Y 
 
$22 MODERN ENGLISH SPELLING. [Chap. XVI. 
 
 for the open o, as in mod. E. broad, the only word now left 
 with the old sound of oa. As our broad is from A. S. brad, this 
 spelling oa is properly found in words which have d in A. S. ; 
 see the examples in § 42 1 . The symbol ea is hardly ever 
 found (if at all) in the fourteenth century ; but we have seen, 
 in § 299, that Caxton has peas, i.e. peace, in place of the M. E. 
 pees, from the Anglo-French pees. This symbol was now 
 used to express the open e, as in sea for M. E. see. It will be 
 found that mod. E. words containing ea commonly answer 
 to A. S. words containing & or ea (see §§ 48, 49) ; whilst ee 
 commonly answers to A. S. / or /o (see §§ 43, 50). Another 
 improvement, towards the end of the sixteenth century, was 
 the getting rid of the excessive use of y for 1, so common 
 in Caxton; so that the word his was no longer hys, but 
 returned to the early A. S. form. We may also remark that 
 the use of ie became more common. As regards consonants, 
 the symbols 3 and p entirely disappear; sch and ssh are 
 now always sh ; kk is commonly ck ; cch is always tch, and 
 dge is used for gge or the sound of final jj\ as ge is for the 
 final j. Initial gh is needlessly written for g in ghastly, ghost, 
 gherkin' 1 ; also in a-ghast. See further in § 299 above, and 
 in § 302 below. 
 
 § 302. The loss of the final e occasioned several additions 
 to the number of final combinations of letters. Thus the 
 M. E. barre, a bar, was dissyllabic ; but after it became a 
 monosyllable, it dropped not only the final e, but the r pre- 
 ceding it ; the word is no longer bar-re, but bar. Hence 
 the plural is no longer barres, but bars. Similarly tubbes 
 became tubs, and we have a new combination bs, not found 
 in M. E. Similarly arkes, the pi. of ark, became arks ; arc, a 
 late form, has the pi. arcs; beddes, the pi. of bed, became beds ; 
 
 1 The final oe occurs for oa (A. S. d) in doe, foe, roe, sloe, toe, throe, 
 woe, mistletoe. But in shoe (better shoo) it answers to A.S. 6. 
 
 2 Here the gh is of some use, viz. to shew that the g is hard. Aghast 
 is found in Scottish as early as 1425, but did not become general till 
 after 1 700. Ghoul is from Pers. ghdl, a demon. 
 
§ 303.] 1 ETYMOLOGICAL 3 SPELLING. 32$ 
 
 dogges, the pi. of dog, became dogs ; formes, pi. of form, be- 
 came forms ; innes, pi. of inn, became inns ; and the M. E. 
 galwes became gallows. The insertion of b into the M. E. 
 dette, doute, brought about the false forms debt, doubt \ a 
 matter which is explained in the next section. I believe it 
 will be found that none of the following final combinations 
 are used in the M. E. period : bs bt cs gs ks ms nns 
 ws. Further, final ds,fs, ngs, are only found, in M.E., in 
 unaccented syllables, such as ribands, pi. of ribaud, 3. ribald, 
 caitifs, pi. of caitiff. Plowman, C. 21. 97), lordings, pi. of 
 lording, a gentleman. Other modern endings are the ze in 
 maze (M. E. mase), the dze in adze, the gue in tongue, catalogue \ 
 the h in rajah, shah, &c. 
 
 § 303. So far we have only dealt with the spelling from a 
 phonetic point of view. The old spelling was, in the main, 
 very strictly etymological, because it was so unconsciously^ '. 
 In striving to be phonetic, our ancestors kept up the history 
 of words, and recorded, more or less exactly, the changes 
 that took place in them from time to time. But in the six- 
 teenth century 2 an entirely new idea was for the first time 
 started, and probably took its rise from the revival of learning, 
 which introduced the study of Greek, and brought classical 
 words, and with them a classical mode of spelling, to the 
 front ; a movement which was assisted by the fact that the 
 spelling was all the while becoming less phonetic. This new 
 idea involved the attempt to be consciously etymological, i. e. 
 to reduce the spelling of English words, as far as possible, to 
 an exact conformity in outward appeara?ice with the Latin 
 and Greek words from which they were borrowed. But it 
 was only possible to do this with a portion of the language. 
 
 1 Conscious attempts at etymology sometimes produced rather queer 
 results. Thus the M. K./emele was turned into female, obviously because 
 men fancied it must have some connection with male. 
 
 2 See Max Midler's Lectures on Language, Ser. II. lect. 6. He 
 instances the works of Pcrion (1557), Guichard (1606), and H. Estienne 
 
 (1566). 
 
 Y 2 
 
3 2 4 
 
 MODERN ENGLISH SPELLING. [Chap. XVI. 
 
 It was easy to do this where words were actually borrowed 
 from those languages, as, for example, in the case of such a 
 verb as to tolerate, which was now spelt with one / in order 
 to conform it in outward appearance to the Lat. tolerare. 
 But the words of native English or Scandinavian origin were 
 less tractable, for which reason our writers, wisely enough, 
 commonly let them alone. There remained words of French 
 origin, and these suffered considerably at the hands of the 
 pedants, who were anything but scholars as regarded Old 
 French. For example, the Lat. debita had become the O. F. 
 and M. E. dette, by assimilation of the b to / in the contracted 
 form deb'ta, precisely as it became detta in Italian. The 
 mod. F. and the Italian have the forms dette and detta still. 
 But in the sixteenth century the disease of so-called t etymo- 
 logical ' spelling had attacked the French language as well as 
 the English, and there was a craze for rendering such ety- 
 mology evident to the eye. Consequently, the O. F. dette was 
 recast in the form debte, and the M. E. dette was re-spelt debte 
 or debt in the same way. Hence we actually find in Cot- 
 grave's F. Diet, the entry: 6 Debte, a debt.' Another word 
 similarly treated was the O. F. and M. E. doute ; and ac- 
 cordingly Cotgrave gives ' Doubte, a doubt/ The mod. F. 
 has gone back to the original O. F. spellings dette, doute ; but 
 we, in our ignorance, have retained the b in doubt, in spite of 
 the fact that we do not dare to sound it. The rackers of our 
 orthography 1 no doubt trusted, and with some reason, to the 
 popular ignorance of the older and truer spelling, and the 
 event has justified their expectation ; for we have continued 
 to insert the b in doubt and debt (properly dout and det) to the 
 present day, and there is doubtless a large majority among 
 us who believe such spellings to be correct ! So easy is it 
 
 1 ' Such rackers of our orthography, as to speak dout fine, when he 
 should say doubt ; det, when he should pronounce debt ' ; L. L. L. v. I. 
 Such was the opinion of the pedant Holofernes ; most people imagine 
 it was the opinion of Shakespeare ! 
 
§ 303-1 
 
 ' ETYMOLOGICAL ' SPELLING. 
 
 325 
 
 for writers to be misled by paying too great a regard to 
 Latin spelling, and so few there are who are likely to take 
 the trouble of ascertaining all the historical facts. 
 
 Most curious of all is the fate of the word fault. In O. F. 
 and M. E. it is always faute, but the sixteenth century turned it 
 into F.faulle, E. fault, by the insertion of /. For all that, the 
 / often remained mute, so that even as late as the time of 
 Pope it was still mute for him, as is shewn by his riming it 
 with ought (Eloisa to Abelard, 185, Essay on Man, i. 69); 
 with thought (Essay on Criticism, 422, Moral Essays, Ep. ii. 
 73); and with taught (Moral Essays, Ep. ii. 112). But the 
 persistent presentation of the letter / to the eye has prevailed 
 at last, and we now invariably sound it in English, whilst in 
 French it has become faute once more. The object no doubt 
 was to inform us that the F. faute is ultimately derived from 
 Latin filler e\ but this does not seem so far beyond the scope 
 of human intelligence that so much pains need have been 
 taken to record the discovery 1 . Another curious falsification 
 is that of the M. E. vitailles, O. F. vitailles, from Lat. victualia. 
 The not very difficult discovery of the etymology of this word 
 was hailed with such delight that it was at once transformed 
 into F. victuailles and E. victuals ; see Cotgrave. For all 
 that, the M. E. vilailles was duly shortened, in the pronun- 
 ciation, to villles, precisely as M. E. batailles was shortened 
 to battles ; and villles it still remains, for all practical purposes. 
 Swift, in his Polite Conversation, has dared to spell it so ; and 
 our comic writers are glad to do the same. 
 
 The form of the word advance records a ludicrous error 
 in etymology. The older form was avance, in which the 
 prefix av- is derived from the F. av which arose from the Latin 
 <ib. Unfortunately, a- was supposed to represent the French 
 a which arose from the Latin ad, and this Latin ad was 
 
 1 Similarly, the O. F. and M. E. voute became F. voulte in the six- 
 teenth century ; hence E. vault. But in falcon, M. E. faucon, the / is 
 commonly ignored ; we say faucon, and ought to spell it so. 
 
326 
 
 MODERN ENGLISH SPELLING. [Chap. XVI. 
 
 actually introduced into the written form, after which the 
 d came to be sounded. If then the prefix adv- in adv-ance 
 can be said to represent anything, it must be taken to re- 
 present a Latin prefix adb-\ It would be an endless task 
 to make a list of all the similar vagaries of the Tudor 
 remodellers of our spelling, who were doubtless proud 
 of their work and convinced that they were displaying great 
 erudition. Yet their method was extremely incomplete, as it 
 was wholly inconsistent with itself. After reducing the word 
 tollerate to tolerate, they ought to have altered follie to folie, as 
 the latter is the French form ; but this they never did. They 
 should likewise have altered matter to mater, since there is 
 only one / in the Lat. materia ; but this they never did. They 
 had got hold of a false principle, and did not attempt to carry it 
 out consistently. So much the better, or our spelling would 
 have been even worse than it is now, which is saying a great 
 deal. 
 
 § 304. I believe that the stupidity of the pedantic method 
 which I have just described is very little understood ; and 
 that, on the contrary, most Englishmen, owing to an ex- 
 cessive study of the classics as compared with English (the 
 history of which is neglected to an almost incredible and 
 wholly shameless extent), actually sympathise with the pedants. 
 But the error of their attempt will be apparent to any who 
 will take the pains to think over the matter with a little care. 
 Their object was, irrespectively of the sound, to render the 
 etymology obvious, not to the ear, but to the eye) and hence 
 the modern system of judging of the spelling of words by the 
 eye only 1 . There is now only one rule, a rule which is often 
 carefully but foolishly concealed from learners, viz. to go 
 entirely by the look of a word, and to spell it as we have seen 
 it spelt in books. If we do this, we hug ourselves in the 
 belief that we are spelling ' correctly/ a belief which even 
 good scholars entertain. Certainly the pedants put several 
 1 This fact is, in itself, a bitter satire on the whole system. 
 
§ 3<M-] 
 
 'etymological' spelling. 
 
 3 2 7 
 
 words right, as they thought; but their knowledge was slight. 
 They let the pure English and Scandinavian words alone ; 
 and as we have seen, they mended (as they thought) the 
 spellings of French words, not by comparison with old 
 French, which might have been justified, but by comparison 
 with Latin and Greek only ; and they were frequently misled 
 by the fancy that Latin was derived, in its entirety, from 
 Greek. Thus they fancied that the Lat. silva was derived 
 from the Greek v\tj, and accordingly altered its spelling to 
 sylva. Hence, even in English, we have to commemorate 
 and immortalise this blunder by writing sylvan. They seem 
 to have had a notion that the Lat. stilus was derived, of all 
 things, from the Greek o-tvXos, a pillar, which would be ex- 
 tremely convenient, we must suppose, as a writing imple- 
 ment ; the fact being that stilus and orvXos have no etymo- 
 logical connection. This blunder we commemorate by 
 writing style. We display our knowledge of Latin by often 
 writing tyro (for Lat. tiro) ; and of Greek by often writing 
 Syren (for Gk. <rcipT)v). The notion of Graecising words 
 extended even to the old verbs in -ise. Forgetting that the 
 majority of these were borrowed from French verbs in -iser t 
 our printers have substituted the ending -ize, merely because 
 the F. suffix -iser represented a Lat. suffix -izare t imitated 
 from the Gk. -t,(*iv. Nine Englishmen out of ten still believe 
 in the excellence of the use of this -ize 1 . as a mark of eru- 
 dition and scholarship. It is all of a piece with victuals and 
 debt and doubt and fault, already noticed ; and shews how 
 hastily false notions can be caught up, and how tenaciously 
 they are held. It is extremely amusing to see that the 
 mending of spelling only extends to words of easy derivation. 
 Thus we write paroxysm because it is ultimately from the 
 Gk. 7rapo^vo-fi6s y though paroxism would be really better, 
 
 1 From a phonetic point of view, -ize has much to commend it. This 
 makes its adoption all the more extraordinary, for modern English 
 abhors any belief in the car. 
 
3 28 
 
 MODERN ENGLISH SPELLING, [Chap. XVI. 
 
 because, as a fact, we borrowed it rather from the F. par- 
 oxisme than directly. But we ought, by the same rule, to 
 write aneurysm, if we are to point back to the Gk. dvcvpycrfios. 
 Yet the usual spelling is aneurism, simply because the ety- 
 mology is less obvious, and the eye remains, accordingly, 
 unshocked. We write science because of its connection with 
 the Latin scientia; and for this reason some writers of the 
 seventeenth century, struck with the beauty to the eye of the 
 silent c after s, admiringly copied it in such words as scite 1 , 
 scituation 2 , and scent. The etymology of the two former was, 
 however, so obvious that the habit fell into disuse; but the 
 etymology of scent was less obvious, and so we write scent still ! 
 What, again, can be more absurd than the final tie in the word 
 tongue, as if it must needs be conformed to the F. langue ? 
 But when once introduced, it of course remained, because 
 none but scholars of Anglo-Saxon could know its etymology. 
 It is impossible to enumerate all the numerous anomalies 
 which the disastrous attempt to make etymology visible has 
 introduced. Yet this is the valueless system which is so 
 much lauded by all who have made no adequate study of the 
 true history of our language. But before recapitulating all 
 the facts of the case, it remains to say a few words upon the 
 changes in our spelling since the time of Elizabeth. 
 
 § 305. Broadly stated, the changes in our spelling since 
 the time of Shakespeare are remarkably few and unimpor- 
 tant, especially if considered with reference to the numerous 
 changes that had taken place previously. A specimen of 
 Shakespearian spelling has already been given at p. i, and an 
 
 1 ' Site, or Sate] &c. ; Phillips, World of Words (1706). 
 
 2 * I might also note many false spellings in particular words, as 
 tongue for tung, she for shee, scituate for situate, which is but lately come 
 up, and hath no appearance with reason, the Latine word being situs, 
 without any c. Scent for sent, signifying a smell or savour, which writ- 
 ing is also but lately introduced, and hath no more ground than the 
 former, the Latin word from which it comes being sentio.' — 1 691 ; J. 
 Ray, Collection of English Words, &c, p. 168. 
 
§ 305.] MODERN ENGLISH SPELLING. 
 
 3*9 
 
 analysis of the alterations made in the spelling of that passage 
 will suffice. 
 
 (a) We have wisely discarded the long s (f), and substi- 
 tuted v for u in Doue, and u for v in vp. These are manifest 
 improvements. So also is the modern use of i and /. 
 
 (b) We do not think it necessary to mark substantives, such 
 as 'Lambe' or 'Doue' or 'Prieft/ by the use of a capital letter. 
 This enables us to mark proper names, such as * Lucentio ' or 
 1 Katherine,' by using a capital letter, and to dispense with 
 the necessity for marking them by the use of italics. 
 
 (c) We have cut off the idle final e in very many words, 
 such as lambe, foole, shoulde, aske, booke, againe, tooke, cuffe y 
 downe ; but we retain the final e in wife and take, to shew 
 the length of the vowels. 
 
 Such improvements are sensible, but they have been made 
 from time to time by the printers, merely as a matter of 
 convenience, to avoid varying forms. In doing this, they 
 have made at least two mistakes. In the first place, the final 
 e should have been dropped in have, give, dove, shove, and all 
 words in which ve follows a short vowel ; or, in other words, 
 v should have been allowed, like any other consonant, to 
 stand as a final letter ; see p. 317, note 1. In the second place, 
 a double ^ when final, should have been reduced to a single f* 
 There was no reason for treating f differently from other 
 letters. If we write cab, bad, bag, &c, we ought to write 
 stif, cuf tif &c. The present rule is that f final must always 
 be doubled except in //"and of\ the latter being sounded as 
 ov. However, the printers have succeeded in reducing the 
 forms of words to a nearly uniform standard ; and it is sur- 
 prising to find how long it took them to do so. It will not 
 be easy to find a book in which the spelling is perfectly 
 uniform throughout much earlier than about 1690 1 . Practi- 
 
 1 I have a copy of the History of Britain, by John Milton, printed 
 in 1695, in which the spelling is sometimes variable. Hee and he occur 
 on the same page (p. 43), 
 
330 MODERN ENGLISH SPELLING. [Chap. XVI. 
 
 cally, the present spelling is identical, in all important 
 particulars, with that of the seventeenth century, and, in all 
 that is most essential, with that of the sixteenth century. 
 The retarding and petrifying influence of printing upon the 
 representative forms of words soon became supreme, and 
 prevented any great alteration. 
 
 Meanwhile, the changes in our ever-shifting pronunciation 
 became still more marked, and we now constantly spell 
 with one vowel and pronounce another. Abate is no longer 
 sounded with long a, i. e. with the a in father, but with long 
 e y viz. the sound of the ee in G. Beet. Beet is no longer 
 sounded with the long e of the G. Beet, but with the long 
 i of Ital. bigio or G. Biene ; and so on. We still retain much 
 of the Elizabethan spelling, which even at that period was 
 retrospective, with a Victorian pronunciation. From all this 
 it follows that all our spelling is extremely archaic, and refers 
 to pronunciations of many centuries ago, some forms being 
 more archaic than others. If then we want to know why any 
 word is spelt as it is, we can only tell this by knowing 
 its whole history. When we know this, when we have ascer- 
 tained all its changes of form and sound, and the reasons for 
 all its changes of form, we can then tell exactly what has 
 happened. The labour of doing this for every word in the 
 language is of course enormous, but even a general acquaint- 
 ance with the leading facts, such as may easily be acquired, 
 will explain the forms of many thousand words, and enable 
 the student to detect such exceptional forms as have been 
 produced by intentional meddling. The chief points to re- 
 member are : (i) that our present spelling is archaic ; (2) that 
 spelling was at first purely phonetic, and afterwards partially 
 so, down to a.d. 1500 or 1550; (3) that, after this, the new 
 principle set in, of rendering the etymology visible to the eye 
 in the case of Latin and Greek words, and of respelling easy 
 French words according to their Latin originals ; and (4) that 
 the changes which have taken place in our pronunciation, 
 
§ 3o6.] 
 
 SUMMARY OF RESULTS. 
 
 33 1 
 
 since the time when the spelling became practically fixed, are 
 more violent than those of earlier periods. 
 
 § 306. As the story has inevitably been a long one, and 
 abounds with minute details (many of which I have been 
 compelled, by a sense of proportion, to omit), I now briefly 
 recapitulate the chief points in it, so that the reader may the 
 more easily grasp some of the main principles. 
 
 (1) The Celtic alphabet was borrowed from the Roman; 
 and the Anglo-Saxon from the Celtic, but with a few 
 additions. 
 
 (2) The A.S. pronunciation agreed with that of the con- 
 tinent, and of the Romans, in many important particulars, 
 especially in the sounds of a, e, 1, 0, u. The spelling was 
 meant to be purely phonetic, and was fairly correct. Accents 
 were employed to denote vowel-length. 
 
 (3) In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, some sounds 
 altered, but the spelling was still to a great extent phonetic, 
 as it was meant to be. At the same time, Anglo-French 
 words were introduced in ever-increasing numbers, and the 
 Anglo-Saxon symbols were gradually replaced by French 
 ones. The language was, in fact, re-spelt by Anglo-French 
 scribes, who employed a modified form of the Roman 
 alphabet. The accents employed to mark long vowels dis- 
 appear, and the vowels a, e, and 0 are sometimes doubled. 
 
 (4) In the fourteenth century, further changes were intro- 
 duced, and phonetic accuracy of representation was still further 
 impaired. A list of the symbols then in use is given in 
 § 291, p. 307. 
 
 (5) About a.d. 1400, the sound of final -e, already lost in 
 the North, was lost in the Midland dialect also. When it re- 
 mains (as in done), it no longer forms a distinct syllable, but 
 is employed to denote the length of the preceding vowel. 
 Final -en commonly became final -e, and followed its fortunes. 
 Final -ed and -es lingered as distinct syllables. Consonants 
 were doubled after a short vowel in many words, especially 
 
33* 
 
 MODERN ENGLISH SPELLING, [Chap. XVI, 
 
 if the old single consonant was followed by e, as in bitter for 
 biter ; but the rule was capriciously applied. 
 
 (6) The invention of printing began to petrify the forms 
 of words, and retarded useful changes. The use of final e in 
 the wrong place, as in ranne for ran, became extremely 
 common ; and the use of y for i was carried to excess. 
 
 (7) After a.d. 1500, a new system of so-called 'etymo- 
 logical ' spelling arose, which was only applied to a portion 
 of the language. French words were often ignorantly altered, 
 in order to render their Latin origin more obvious to the eye. 
 The open and close sounds of long 0 were distinguished 
 by writing oa (or oe y if final) and 00; the open and close 
 sounds of long e were distinguished by writing ea and ee. 
 New final combinations are found, of which 6s, cs, ds,fs Y , gs, 
 ms, and 6t are the most remarkable. 
 
 (8) English spelling, after 1 500, was governed by two con- 
 flicting principles, viz. the p/ionetic, which chiefly concerned 
 popular words (i. e. the oldest and commonest words in 
 popular use), and the so-called i etymological' which chiefly 
 concerned learned words (i. e. words derived from Greek and 
 Latin). The former appealed to the ear, the latter to the 
 eye. Neither of these principles was consistently carried out, 
 and the ignorant meddlesomeness of the latter introduced 
 many false forms. 
 
 (9) The changes in spelling since 1600 are comparatively 
 trifling, and are chiefly due to the printers, who aimed at 
 producing a complete uniformity of spelling, which was prac- 
 tically accomplished shortly before 1700. The modern use 
 of i and u as vowels, and that of j and v as consonants, are 
 real improvements. 
 
 (10) The changes in pronunciation since 1600 are great, 
 especially in the vowel-sounds ; as shewn by Mr. Ellis and 
 Mr. Sweet. Practically, we retain a Tudor system of symbols 
 with a Victorian pronunciation, for which it is ill fitted. 
 
 1 Ds,fs, though found in M.E., were by no means common; see p. 323. 
 
SUMMARY OF RESULTS. 
 
 333 
 
 (n) The net result is that, in order to understand modern 
 English spelling, every word must be examined separately, 
 and its whole history traced. We must know all its changes, 
 both in form and sound, before we can fully explain it. The 
 commonest mistake is that of supposing Latin and Greek 
 words to have been introduced into the language directly, 
 in cases where history tells us that they really came to us 
 through the Old French, and should be allowed, even upon 
 ' etymological ' grounds, to retain their Old French spelling. 
 
 (12) The shortest description of modern spelling 
 is to say that, speaking generally, it represents a 
 Victorian pronunciation of 1 popular 9 words by 
 means of symbols imperfectly adapted to an Eliza- 
 bethan pronunciation ; the symbols themselves 
 being mainly due to the Anglo-French scribes of 
 the Plantagenet period, whose system was meant 
 to be phonetic. It also aims at suggesting to the 
 eye the original forms of * learned 9 words. It is 
 thus governed by two conflicting principles, neither 
 of which, even in its own domain, is consistently 
 carried out. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Phonetic Spelling. 
 
 § 307. The preceding investigation shews that modern Eng- 
 lish spelling is, from a purely phonetic point of view, extremely 
 unsatisfactory. Whether a phonetic spelling should be adopted 
 for ordinary use, is simply a question of convenience, and 
 should be so regarded. Those who cannot deny that our 
 spelling is phonetically bad, usually take up the position that 
 it is 'etymological.' A sufficient investigation of the facts 
 will enable an unbiassed mind to see that it is, even from 
 this point of view, almost equally unsatisfactory. Many 
 spellings, such as scythe, tongue, sieve, rhyme, scent are simply 
 indefensible ; the more nearly phonetic spellings sit he, tung, 
 sive, rime, sent are at the same time truer to the original 
 form, which is what is meant by ' etymological/ as the epithet 
 is commonly used. The only argument of any weight and 
 force is that the introduction of a new system will, at the out- 
 set, be attended with grave inconvenience ; which no one 
 denies. For all that, the experiment must some day be made 
 in good earnest. 
 
 § 308. Meanwhile, it is daily becoming more impossible 
 to explain pronunciation on paper without having recourse 
 to some well-devised system of phonetic spelling. The 
 1 glossic ' system of Mr. Ellis has the advantage — if it be one 
 — of appealing to the eye. It uses symbols as we are ac- 
 customed to use them ; and it has actually been applied, with 
 considerable success, to the description of the sounds used in 
 
§ 309.] 
 
 THE ' GLOSSIC ' SYSTEM, 
 
 335 
 
 provincial English dialects. See, e.g., Miss Jackson's Shrop- 
 shire Glossary, and many of the publications of the English 
 Dialect Society. For English dialectal purposes, numerous 
 symbols are required ; but a small number suffice for repre- 
 senting the sounds of the ordinary literary dialect. I now 
 quote p. 9 of Mr. Ellis's tract on Glossic entire. It can 
 be learnt very quickly, and is quite sufficient to exemplify 
 the author's principle. 
 § 300. 
 
 'GLOSSIC, 
 
 A NEW SYSTEM OF SPELLING, INTENDED TO BE USED CON- 
 CURRENTLY WITH THE EXISTING ENGLISH ORTHOGRAPHY 
 IN ORDER TO REMEDY SOME OF ITS DEFECTS, WITHOUT 
 CHANGING ITS FORM, OR DETRACTING FROM ITS VALUE. 
 
 KEY TO ENGLISH GLOSSIC. 
 Always pronounce English Glossic characters as the LARGE 
 CAPITA L letters are sounded in the following words, which are all in 
 the usual spelling, except the t/wee underlined, meant for foot, then, rouge. 
 
 bEEt bAIt bAA cAUl cOAl cOOl 
 
 knIt nEt gnAt nOt nUt fUOt 
 
 HEIGHT fOIl fOUl fEUd 
 
 Yea Way WHey Hay 
 
 Pea Bee Toe Doe CHest Jest Keep Gape 
 
 Fie Vie THin DHen Seal Zeal ruSH BOUZHb 
 eaR R'ing eaRR'ing Lay May Nay siNG 
 
 R is vocal when no vowel follows, and Mark emphasis by (•) before a word. 
 
 modifies the preceding vowel form- Pronounce el, em. en, er, ej, a, ob- 
 
 ing diphthongs, as in pEER, pAIR, scurely, after the stress syllable. 
 
 bOAR, bOOR, hERb. When three or more letters come to- 
 
 Use R for R' and RR for RR', when gether of which the two /irst may 
 
 a vowel follows, except in elementary form a digraph, read them as such. 
 
 books, where r is retained. Letters retain their usual names, and 
 
 Separate th, dh, sh, zh, ng by a hyphen alphabetical arrangement. 
 
 (-) when necessary. Words in customary or NOMIC spell- 
 Read a stress on the first syllable when ing occurring among GLOSSIC, and 
 
 not otherwise directed. conversely, should be underlined with 
 
 Mark stress by (') after a long vowel a wavy line — -, and printed with 
 
 or ei, of, on, eu, and after the first spaist leterz, or else in a di/erent 
 
 consonant following a short vowel. teip, as in these instances. 
 
 Spesimcn ov Ingglish Glosik. 
 
 Dhi eer rikwei'rz much training, reiting our risee'vd moad ov speech 
 
 bifoa'r it iz aibl too apree shiait mi- az wel az dhi autherz ov proanoun - 
 
 neu't shaidz ov sound, dhoa it redili dis- sing diksheneriz euzheueli kontemplait. 
 
 krinvinaits braud diferensez. Too meet Dhus, dhi foar difthongz ei, oi, ou, eu, 
 
 dhis difikelti Glosik haz been diveided aar striktli konven'shenel seinz, and 
 
 intoo 'too paarts, Ingglish and Euni- pai noa heed too dhi grait varei'iti ov 
 
 ver'seL Dhi ferst iz adap ted faur waiz in which at leest sum ov dhem 
 
33 6 
 
 PHONETIC SPELLING. [Chap. XVII. 
 
 aar habifeueli proanounst. Agai'n, eer, dhi dubling ov dhi r in dhi 'too laast 
 air, oar, oor, aar stil ritn widh ee, werdz sikeu'rring dhi voakel karakter 
 ai, oa, oo, auldhoa' an atentiv lisner ov dhi ferst r, and dhi tril ov dhi 
 wil redili rekogneiz a mineu't aulte- sekend, and dhus disting'gwishing 
 rai'shen in dheir soundz. Too fasil'itait dheez soundz from dhoaz herd in her'- 
 reiting wee mai euz el, em, en, ej, a, ing, okur'ens. Konsid'erabl ekspee'r- 
 when not under dhi stres, faur dhoaz riens sujes'ts dhiz az a konvee'nient 
 obskeu'r soundz which aar soa preva- praktikel aurthoa'ipi. But faur dhi 
 lent in speech, dhoa reprobaited bei reprizentai'shen ov deialekts, wee re- 
 aurthoa'ipists, and singk dhi disting'k- kwei'r a much strikter noatai'shen, and 
 shen bitwee'n i, and ee, under dhi saim faur aurthoaep'ikel diskrip'shen, aur 
 serkemstensez. Aulsoa dhi sounds in seientifik foanefik diskush'en, sum- 
 defer, occur, deferring, occur- thing stil moar painfuoli mineut. Too 
 ring may bee aulwaiz ritn with er, fernish dhis iz dhi aim ov Euniver'sel 
 dhus di/er', oker', difer'ring, oker'ring, Glosik.' 
 
 § 310. This system is open to one grave objection. 
 The symbols are only intelligible to Englishmen living at 
 the close of the nineteenth century. The sounds indicated 
 are slowly but surely shifting, and some of them may be con- 
 siderably changed in the course of another fifty years. On 
 this account, it is far better to allow the symbols a, e, t\ o, u 
 to have their ordinary continental values, because the sounds 
 so denoted are of a much more stable character. This is 
 the principle adopted by Mr. Ellis in his ' palaeotype/ and by 
 Mr. Sweet in his 1 romic 1 system. Believing the latter to be 
 the best suited for common purposes, I now give Mr. Sweet's 
 scheme, from his Handbook of Phonetics, p. 109. 
 
 i The following list shews the correspondence of the Broad- 
 Romic 1 letters, with examples : — 
 
 aa 
 
 as in 
 
 father. 
 
 ae 
 
 
 man. 
 
 ae 
 
 
 hair. 
 
 ai 
 
 
 n>. 
 
 ao 
 
 » 
 
 foil. 
 
 au 
 
 i) 
 
 now. 
 
 e 
 
 If 
 
 head, read/. 
 
 ei 
 
 99 
 
 fail. 
 
 9 
 
 99 
 
 bud, better. 
 
 
 99 
 
 bird. 
 
 i 
 
 99 
 
 6U 
 
 ii, iy 
 
 99 
 
 feel 
 
 1 1 By ' Broad-Romic ' is meant a system for common use ; another 
 system, much more minute in character, is called 4 Narrow-Romic/ 
 
' ROMIC ' SPELLING. 
 
 337 
 
 o 
 oi 
 
 ou 
 
 as in 
 
 My. 
 boy. 
 no. 
 
 uu, uvv 
 
 u 
 
 full. 
 iooV 
 
 The reader should observe the descriptive character of the 
 symbols. The a, e, t\ o, u have the continental values; aa 
 is used for the a in father, because it is really long. The jr 
 in fly, or i in flight, is really a diphthong, compounded of 
 (continental) a and i ; by sounding a, i, in rapid succession, 
 this will be perceived 1 . So also the ow in now or ou in 
 house is really a diphthong, compounded of a and u, as is 
 well shewn in the German Haus. The sound of ai in y&i/ is 
 just that of (continental) close e followed by i\ by pronouncing 
 it slowly, the glide from e to i will be detected. Our o in no is 
 really <?w, i.e. an o with an after-sound of u. In order to de- 
 tect this after-sound, we should allow the no to be emphatic, 
 and to end a sentence. Thus, in reply to the question — 
 1 are phonetics valueless ? 1 the answer is — 1 no' The symbol 
 (B is probably the best for the peculiar sound of a in man, 
 apple, hat ; and is adopted also by Mr. Ellis in his 1 palaeo- 
 type/ Ao, ae are more arbitrary, but are convenient as 
 representing the 1 open ' o and e with tolerable exactness ; 
 and ae comes very near the sound of long ^, i. e. of the a in 
 man when lengthened. But the most difficult vowel-sound 
 to represent is, unfortunately, one that is extremely common 
 in spoken English, viz. the quite obscure sound heard in 
 ' bad,' ' better/ unemphatic 4 th^/ unemphatic ' and/ un- 
 emphatic 1 a,' ' about/ &c. This is denoted by a turned e (3). 
 Owing to the absence of trill in the English r, we actually 
 use the sound of this obscure vowel instead of a final r in 
 such words as hair, rare, tear, &c. (unless the next word 
 begins with a vowel) ; hence these words must be denoted 
 by — hae3, raea, tiia. We also actually use the Imgthened 
 
 vol. 1. 
 
 1 Compare G. Lfain, a grove. 
 Z 
 
338 
 
 PHONETIC SPELLING. [Chap. XVII. 
 
 sound of this obscure vowel in bird, turn, &c, which must 
 be written — baad, t39n. 
 
 § 311. As to the consonants, Mr. Sweet uses b, d, /, g 
 (hard), /, k, /, m, n, p, r (if really trilled), s, t, v, w, x,y, z, 
 with their usual values. Also sh with its usual value, and zh 
 (as in glossic) for the sound of z in azure or of ge in rouge. 
 Also /// for the th in thin ; and dh for the th in thine, just as 
 in glossic. Of wh in what, Mr. Sweet says : ' I may note 
 that my wh is an artificial sound for the natural w of South 
 English ' \ Qu is denoted by kw, as in glossic. All these can 
 be very easily remembered, and cause no difficulty. 
 
 The following are peculiar : — 
 
 c denotes the ch in change. 
 
 H denotes the aspirate, but at the beginning of a word ' h 9 
 can be used instead, and is more convenient, 
 q denotes the ng in sing. 
 
 § 312. The use of c for ch, and of q for ng are refine- 
 ments that perplex the beginner, and I therefore beg leave, 
 for the present, to neglect these two symbols, which I be- 
 lieve to be unnecessary ; Mr. Sweet also joins words together, 
 or separates syllables, just as we do in rapid speech. This 
 also is a most perplexing (and, in my experience, a most 
 disheartening) refinement, because it needlessly destroys all 
 hope of rendering his system intelligible to the inexperienced 2 . 
 I shall therefore take upon myself to write out the well- 
 known poem by Campbell, entitled ' Hohenlinden/ in a way 
 of my own, closely agreeing with the above system, but 
 simplified, as far as possible, in accordance with more com- 
 mon methods. I write it as I pronounce it myself collo- 
 quially, that is, suppressing the d in and in unaccented positions 
 (unless a vowel follows), and the like. I omit the marking 
 
 1 This use of w for wh in what, when, why is usual in London ; and 
 the more is the pity. 
 
 2 It is also needless, because hyphens can be used instead. For 
 'come up at once/ Mr. Sweet writes ' kama*p9t -wans'; but 'kam-a'p-at 
 ewans 1 is much clearer. 
 
§ 312.] 
 
 ' ROMIC' SPELLING. 
 
 339 
 
 of the accents, pauses, and the like, because the poem is 
 very familiar, and my chief object is really to shew the 
 vowel-sounds. 
 
 on Lindsn, wen dh.9 s9n w9z lou, 
 aol btedles lei dh'ontrodn snou, 
 9n' daak 9z wint9 woz dh.9 flou 
 
 9v Aiz9, rouling raepidli. 
 bat Lindan sao 9n9dh9 sait 
 wen dh.9 dr9m biit, at ded 9v nait, 
 kamaanding faiaz 9v deth t9 lait 
 
 dha daaknes 9v (h)99 1 siin9ri. 
 bai taoch 9n' tr9mpit faast 9reid, 
 iich hao9sm9n druu (h)iz baetl-bleid, 
 9n' fyuuri9s evri chaaj*9 neid 
 
 t9 join dh9 dredf9l 2 rev9lri. 
 dhen shuk dh9 hilz, wi' th9nd9 rivn, 
 dhen r9sht dh9 stiid, t9 baetl drivn, 
 9n' laud9 dh9n dh9 boults 9v hevn 
 
 faa flaesht dh9 red aatil9ri. 
 bat red9 yet dhset lait sh9l glou 
 on Lind9nz hilz 9v steined snou 
 9n' bl9di9 yet dh9 tor9nt s flou 
 
 9v Aiz9, rouling raspidli. 
 tiz maon, b9t skae9s yon lev9l s9n 
 k9n pii9s dh9 wao-klaudz, rouling d9n, 
 wae9 fyuuri9s Frasnk 9n' fai9ri Han 
 
 shaut in dhae9 s9lf9r9s kaendpi. 
 dhe kombaet 4 diipnz. on yii breiv, 
 (h)uu r9sh tu glaori ao9 dh9 greiv, 
 weiv, Myuunik, aol dhai ba?n99z weiv, 
 
 9n' chaaj widh aol dhai chiv9lri. 
 fyuu, fyuu sh9l paat wae9 meni miit ; 
 dh9 snou sh9l bii dhae9 wainding-shiit ; 
 9nd evre t99f b9niith dhae9 fiit 
 
 sh9l bii 9 soulj99z sep9lk9. 
 
 1 I am afraid I hardly sound the h here. 
 
 2 I believe I really say 1 dretfal,' because df is unpronounceable, if 
 said rapidly. 3 Very nearly 4 taorant/ 
 
 4 Perhaps I ought to say ' kombaet 1 ; but I do not. 
 
 Z 2 
 
34° 
 
 PHONETIC SPELLING. [Chap. XV IT. 
 
 § 313. My chief object in introducing the above speci- 
 men is to enable me to give the results of the investigations 
 of the preceding chapter, so as to shew the extraordinary 
 changes that have taken place in the pronunciation of our 
 vowels. I here mainly follow Mr. Sweet's History of English 
 Sounds, p. 66. The 1 Old-English ' are the usual A. S. forms 
 and sounds; the * Middle-English ' are Chaucerian. 'The 
 reader is particularly requested to take notice that the words 
 in italics represent actual spellings, i.e. the forms ; whilst the 
 words in Ro??ian letters represent the pronunciations according 
 to the above scheme, i. e. the sounds. 
 
 OLD ENGLISH. 
 
 mann (man). 
 
 sat (sect). 
 
 heard (heard) K 
 
 nama (nama). 
 ,5 ende (ende). 
 
 helpan (helpan\ 
 
 Stefan (seovon). 
 
 mete (mete). 
 
 stelan (stelan). 
 io see (sae). 
 
 dad (daed) 3 . 
 
 dream (dreeam). 
 
 grbie (greene). 
 
 sio (seeo). 
 15 wit an (wit an). 
 
 hyll (hyll) 4 . 
 
 win (wiin). 
 fyr (fyyr). 
 
 oft (oft). 
 20 on (aon). 
 
 hoi (hoi). 
 
 td (taa). 
 
 MIDDLE ENGLISH. 
 
 ■man (man). 
 sat (sat). 
 hard (hard). 
 name (naama) a . 
 ende (end a). 
 helpen (helpon). 
 seven (sevan). 
 mete (maeta). 
 stelen (staelan). 
 see (sae). 
 deed (deed). 
 dreem (draem). 
 grene (green3). 
 see (see). 
 witen (witan). 
 hil (hil). 
 wyn (wiin). 
 fyr (fiir). 
 oft (aoft). 
 on (aon). 
 hool (haol). 
 too, to (tao). 
 
 MODERN ENGLISH. 
 
 man (mzen). 
 sat (szet). 
 
 hard (haad, haad). 
 name (neim). 
 end (end). 
 help (help). 
 seven (sevn) 
 meat (miit). 
 steal (stiil). 
 sea (sii). 
 deed (diid). 
 dream (driim). 
 green (griin). 
 see (sii). 
 wit (wit). 
 hill (hil). 
 wine (wain). 
 fire (faia). 
 3/? (aoft) 5 . 
 on (on) 5 . 
 hole (houl). 
 toe (ton). 
 
 1 But mod. E. hard is derived from a Mercian form hard, with 
 simple a. 
 
 2 Mr. Sweet omits the suffixes in name, ende, he/pen, mete, &c. 
 
 3 Mod. E. deed is really from a variant form did (deed). 
 
 4 Here y represents the sound of G. u in iibel. 
 
 5 The slight difference in the vowels is due to the consonants following. 
 
§ 3I5-] 
 
 6 ROMIC' SPELLING, 
 
 341 
 
 OLD ENGLISH. MIDDLE ENGLISH. MODERN ENGLISH. 
 
 § 314. In several of the above words, the difference be- 
 tween the Middle and Modern English pronunciations is so 
 great, that intermediate forms can be assigned which we may 
 roughly allot to the sixteenth century or later. The most 
 remarkable of such forms are name (naem), dream (dreem). 
 ivine (wein), fire (feir). In the sixteenth century, the dis- 
 tinction between the close and open e and 0 was still kept 
 up ; whence the distinction in spelling between sea (sae) and 
 see (see), and between toe (tao) and too (too). This has been 
 already explained in § 301. 
 
 § 315. It will be readily understood that the short sketch 
 given in this chapter is merely a preliminary introduction 
 to the subject, of the most meagre kind. It is simply in- 
 tended to point out what are the results which the reader 
 may expect to find, if he will take the trouble to examine for 
 himself the works by Mr. Ellis and Mr. Sweet. The table 
 in § 313 is of great value, as it will usually enable the student 
 to understand the changes in the vowel-sounds of nearly all 
 the most ordinary words of native origin. A large number of 
 examples have already been given in Chap. V. It may be 
 remarked that the sounds which are known with the greatest 
 certainty are those of the earliest (A. S.) and the latest 
 (modern) period. As to the sounds of the Middle-English 
 period, doubt may exist in the case of certain words ; but 
 the general results are admitted. The most difficult and un- 
 certain period is that of the sixteenth and seventeenth cen- 
 turies, when great changes were taking place in the sounds, 
 frequently without any corresponding change in the symbols 
 employed to represent them. 
 
 to (too). 
 simu (sunu). 
 25 hits (huus). 
 dag (dseg). 
 secgan (seggan). 
 lagu (lagu). 
 
 to (too). to } too (tuu 
 
 sone (suna). son (san). 
 
 hous (huus). house (haus). 
 
 day (dai). day (dei). 
 
 seyen (seian or saian). say (sei). 
 
 lawe (lau9?). law (lao). 
 
342 
 
 PHONETIC SPELLING. [Chap. XVII. 
 
 Note. — I beg leave to say expressly that I do not advocate 
 Mr. Sweet's ' romic ' system as being the best solution of 
 the question of spelling-reform in modern English. Yet 
 even with respect to this much-disputed question, I think it 
 unquestionable that for many of our modern sounds the 
 above symbols cannot be improved upon ; amongst which I 
 would especially select the symbols aa, cc, ai, au, e, ei, z, ii 
 (or iy), o, oi, ou, uu (or uw) as used in § 310, and zh, dk, kw, 
 as u?ed in § 311. The most objectionable symbol is ob- 
 viously the turned e (a), for which it has well been pro- 
 posed to use a, with the sound which is familiar to us in the 
 words aroma and America. One great reason for employing 
 it is that it is already widely used for this weak vowel-sound 
 by the Indian government. Another, of course, is, that it 
 does not occur anywhere in Mr. Sweet's scheme (except as 
 aa doubled); and it is a pity not to use so excellent and 
 common a symbol, which would precisely denote the usual 
 pronunciation of the most elementary word in the language, 
 viz. the indefinite article \ Moreover we should notice that, 
 though Mr. Sweet uses the same symbol (9) for the sound in 
 come, there is really some difference in the sound. The best 
 method of denoting the 0 in come is the real crux in every 
 system that has been proposed. As the sound is, after all, 
 not very common, I agree with Mr. Lecky in proposing the 
 use of ce to denote it. I beg leave to refer the reader to an 
 excellent article by Mr. Lecky in the Phonetic Journal for 
 August 28, 1886, where the proposal is made to employ the 
 symbols a and ce, and to retain our difficult and variable 
 symbol r in such words as placard, tankard, byword, sky- 
 ward, escort, effort, which should be written plakard, tcenkerd, 
 baiwccrd, skaiwerd, eskort, efert. The effect in transliterating 
 the poem of Hohenlinden would be to present it in the 
 form following. It is sufficient to give three verses. 
 
 1 The indefinite article is never pronounced like ay in day in practice 
 (unless for the sake of emphasis), though children are often told that it is. 
 
§ 3 '5-1 
 
 PHONETIC SPELLING, 
 
 343 
 
 on Lindn *, wen dha soen waz lou, 
 aol 2 bloedles lei dh' oentrodn snou, 
 an' dark az winter waz dha 3 flou 
 av 3 Aizer, rouling rsepidli. 
 
 boet Lindn sao anoedher sait 
 wen dha droem bi'it, aet ded av nait, 
 kamaanding faierz av deth ta 3 lait 
 dha darknes av 'er siinari. 
 
 bai taorch an' troempit faast areid, 
 iich haorsman druu (h)iz baetl-bleid, 
 an' fyuurias evri charjer neid 
 ta join dha dredfal revalri. 
 
 The unprejudiced reader, who would rather learn than 
 scoff, may finish the poem for himself with great advantage. 
 
 I have one more suggestion to make. If ce be objected 
 to as being difficult to distinguish from ce in writing 4 , I see 
 no great objection to using a for the sound of o in come 
 as well as for the obscure vowel. Thus come would appear 
 as cam; whilst Cam would appear as Cam. A very little 
 practice would render this familiar and easy, and the whole 
 problem would be solved. Abundance would appear as 
 abandans, the second a being distinguished from the others 
 by the accent falling upon it. I think this is preferable to 
 the romic form * abandons.' The words bloodless, untrodden, 
 but, another, drum, trumpet, would appear as ' bladles,' 
 ' antrodn/ 1 bat/ ' anadher,' 1 dram/ 1 trampet.' On the 
 other hand, bat and dram would appear as 1 boet ' and 
 1 drsem.' 
 
 1 Note that the E. /, m, n are often pure vowels, and really need no 
 vowel to be written before them. 
 
 a Mr. Lecky writes ohl, i.e. oh for the a in alt; also eh for the a in 
 bare, which he spells behr. 
 
 8 Remember that a is here a purely conventional symbol, as above 
 denned. The dull sound of c in the is the same as that of o in unaccented 
 of and to, in rapid speech. Compare the a in China. 
 
 4 The o and e are best written apart ; thus come, cat, care may be 
 written koem, kat % kaer. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 English Consonants. 
 
 § 316. Classification of Consonants. Considerable 
 attention has been given in many of the preceding chapters 
 to the laws which regulate vowel-change ; it will now be con- 
 venient to consider the consonants. These have already 
 been considered as far as they are affected by Grimm's Law and 
 Verner's Law ; and in Chapter XVI, which gives a sketch of 
 the history of our spelling, some of the consonantal changes 
 have been incidentally mentioned. The order of consonants 
 in the Sanskrit alphabet is such as to classify those of a 
 similar character ; it arranges them as gutturals, palatals, 
 cerebrals, dentals, labials, semi-vowels, and sibilants. English 
 has no cerebrals, and it is convenient to take the gutturals 
 and palatals together. Further, the English h takes the 
 place of a Teutonic KH ; and this has suggested, in Fick's 
 Dictionary, the following order for the primitive Teutonic 
 consonants, when used initially. 
 
 Gutturals : k, kw, h (for kh), hw, g. 
 
 Dentals : t, th, d ; n (dental liquid). 
 
 Labials : p, f (for ph, labio-dental), b ; m (labial liquid). 
 
 Other letters : y, r, 1, w, s. 
 
 The consonants ng (guttural nasal), v (voiced f), and z 
 (voiced s) also belong to the original Teutonic alphabet, but 
 were (probably) not used initially. Besides these, English 
 developed other sounds and employs other symbols, such 
 
§ 317-1 VOICELESS AND VOICED CONSONANTS. 345 
 
 as c, chy tchy qu, gh, J(ge), dge, x, ph, wh, sh ; but these 
 can be most conveniently considered under the primary 
 symbols with which each is more immediately connected. 
 I shall therefore adhere, in the main, to the above order, 
 simply for convenience, without advocating its adoption. 
 
 § 317. Voiceless and Voiced Consonants. Another 
 important method of classifying the consonants is to contrast 
 them in pairs ; each ' voiceless ' consonant has its corre- 
 sponding ' voiced 9 one, where the terms ' voiceless ' and 
 1 voiced 1 ' have real physiological meanings. When the 
 precise sense of ' voice 9 in this connection is once caught, 
 the student will have no difficulty in pairing off the con- 
 sonants with ease. Let us take the case of the pair of 
 letters k, g. AT is a voiceless or surd letter, as can be easily 
 proved. If we attempt to sound the syllable kaa, we shall 
 find it perfectly easy to do so as soon as we pass on to the 
 vowel-sound ; but if we try to pronounce the k alone, or kaa 
 without the aa, we can produce no sound audible to a by- 
 stander, though we are conscious of a feeling of tension at the 
 point of the obstruction. If we now try the like experiment 
 with gaa, we shall find that even without the assistance of the 
 vowel aa, it is possible to produce a slight gurgle or vocal 
 murmur which, with an effort, we can make audible. The 
 difference is, perhaps, not very easily perceived in the case of 
 this particular pair, because k and g are both momentary 
 sounds or checks, and not continuous ; but if we take the 
 pair of continuous letters s and z, the difference is plain. We 
 can pronounce and prolong the sound of s, so as to make an 
 audible hissing sound ; but this sound is wholly due to the 
 escape of the breath through a narrow aperture. On repeating 
 
 1 Otherwise called t surd * and 1 sonant,' which comes to the same 
 thing. The older terms sharp and flat, tenuis and media, hard and soft, 
 are somewhat fanciful, and therefore objectionable. I give in the text 
 a very popular account. For a more scientific one, see Sweet's Hand- 
 book of Phonetics, p. 36. 
 
346 
 
 ENGLISH CONSONANTS. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 the experiment with z, we find that, in addition to this hissing 
 sound, we can produce a very audible buzz by means of the 
 breath passing through the vocal chords, which are now open, 
 whereas they were previously closed. In connection with 
 this difference, see the remarks in Max Miiller's Lectures on 
 Language, vol. ii. Lect. 3, where it is stated that the terms 
 1 surd and sonant are apt to mislead,' because 1 some persons 
 have been so entirely deceived by the term sonant, that they 
 imagined all the so-called sonant letters to be actually pro- 
 duced with tonic vibrations of the chordae vocales/ But this 
 error is easily avoided, and if we grant that, strictly speaking, 
 the letter g is a perfectly mute check, it is also true, to use 
 Max M tiller's own words, that ' in order to pronounce it, the 
 breath must have been changed by the glottis into voice, 
 which voice, whether loud or whispered, partly precedes partly 
 follows the check V And I suppose that in the case of a con- 
 tinuous buzz, as heard in pronouncing z, the tonic vibrations 
 of the vocal chords are real enough. We may therefore 
 define the ' voiced ' consonants as those which are readily 
 accompanied by sonorous voice or vocal murmur, the glottis 
 being actually 1 narrowed so as to be ready to sound, which is 
 never the case with voiceless consonants/ The list of English 
 consonants that can be thus paired off is as follows: — 
 
 VOICELESS. VOICED. VOICELESS. VOICED, 
 
 kg f V 
 
 ch j s z 
 
 t d sh zh (z in azure) 
 
 th (in thin) th (in thine) wh w 
 
 P b 
 
 § 318. The above table is of great importance, because (as 
 Prof. Whitney tells us) the conversion of a voiceless con- 
 sonant into its corresponding voiced consonant, or the 
 reverse, ' is abundantly illustrated in the history of every 
 language.' The common rule is, that voiceless consonants 
 
 1 These words are used with reference to b, as compared with p ; but 
 they are equally applicable to as compared with k. 
 
§ 3 1 8.] VOICELESS AND VOICED CONSONANTS. 347 
 
 have a special affinity for other voiceless consonants, and 
 voiced consonants for voiced. The plural of cat is cats, 
 where / and s are voiceless ; but the plural of dog is dogs, 
 where the form presented to the eye is deceptive, the word 
 being really pronounced dogz. The voiced g turns the 
 voiceless s into the voiced z. We can thus at once see 
 that the following final combinations are easy to pronounce, 
 viz. ks, ts, lhs,ps,fs, as in locks, cats, breaths, caps, cuffs ; but 
 the s turns into z in dogs, beds, breathes, cabs, loaves. In fact, 
 we actually have a special symbol (x) for the combination 
 ks, as in ax, tax. Precisely similar is the case of the 
 suffix -ed of the past tense and past participle ; we may 
 write looked, but we pronounce lookt. Here also the easy 
 combinations are gd, thd (with th as dh), bd, vd, zd, as in 
 bagged, breathed, grabbed, moved, roused ; but the d turns into 
 / in looked, frothed, wrapped, cuffed, hissed. Whether we look 
 to the final or to the initial sounds of words, we find that the 
 combinations sk, si, sp are easy and common ; whereas no 
 true English word begins or ends with sg, sd, or sb. Initial 
 Is is also easy, and although we do not use it initially in 
 English, it is the sound given in German to the symbol z, 
 which begins a large number of words in that language. As 
 to initial ps, it is usual to pronounce it as a mere s, but there 
 is no inherent difficulty about it. The same is true of the // 
 in ptarmigan, usually called tarmigan. In contrast with pi, 
 we have bd in bdellium. Lastly, when we regard the collo- 
 cation of letters within a word, i. e. in a position where they 
 are neither initial nor final, the operation of the law can still 
 be traced. Thus the difficult word cupboard is sounded as 
 cubboard. We do not say five-teen, but fifteen. When we 
 add the voiceless /// to the word twelve, the v becomes/; and 
 the result is tivelfth. The Latin prefix sub remains unchanged 
 in sub-Jecl, sub-jugate, but becomes a /> in sup-press, sup-plant l . 
 
 1 Unless we consider sup as really the older form of sub, preserved in 
 such words only. Compare sup-cr. 
 
348 
 
 ENGLISH CONSONANTS. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 It actually changes still further in suc-cour, suffer, sug-gest, 
 sum-mon, all of which may be included in the principle of 
 assimilation, to be spoken of more at length hereafter. 
 
 § 319. It is also worth while to notice that the voiced 
 consonants approach more nearly than the others to the 
 nature of vowels, and are more easily combined with them. 
 Hence it is that a single voiceless letter between two vowels 
 is liable to become voiced ; a peculiarity which is chiefly 
 seen in the case of s, as in busy (A. S. bysig), dizzy (A. S. 
 dysig), freeze (A. S.freosan), rise (A. S. risan). Similarly we 
 have g for c (=k) in sugar, from F. sucre, and in flagon, from 
 O. F. flacon. Such a change is due to the assimilating effect 
 of the adjoining voiced sounds, and may be called voicing. 
 
 § 320. Another peculiarity is that a voiceless consonant 
 may take the place of another voiceless consonant, or a voiced 
 one of a voiced one. This is a case of actual substitution, 
 and is usually due to imperfect imitation of the sound. A 
 child learning to speak often uses / for k, saying tat for cat 1 , 
 or f for the voiceless th, saying f rough for through. A 
 foreigner who finds a difficulty in the E. //;, is likely to put s 
 for the voiceless sound, and z for the voiced one, saying sank 
 for thank, and zis for this. Even g for d is not uncommon ; 
 children are very likely to say goggie, if you ask them to say 
 doggie ; and we find Shakespeare using goggs wouns for 
 God's wounds) see p. i. We constantly meet with b for v 
 in representations of a negro dialect, as in lib, hab, for live, 
 have. I think it may be laid down as a general rule in most 
 languages that a voiceless consonant is usually supplanted 
 by another voiceless consonant, or by its own corresponding 
 voiced sound. The chief exception is when complete as- 
 similation comes into play, as in the case of offer, from the 
 Latin ob and ferre ; and I think such a change may fairly and 
 easily be explained as due to a double change, viz. first from 
 
 1 Captain Cook tells us that, in the South Seas, he was often called 
 Too-tt (dissyllabic). 
 
§ 32i.] 
 
 ECONOMY OF EFFORT. 
 
 349 
 
 ob-ferre to *op-ferre, and secondly from *op-ferre to of-ferre. 
 Both of these changes are perfectly natural ; almost, in fact, 
 inevitable. Similarly, the intermediate form between Lat. ob- 
 currere and oc-currere may have been *op-currere ; whereas, 
 on the other hand, the change from ad-gredi to ag-gredi 
 could be made at once. 
 
 § 321. Consonantal changes are mostly due to the effects 
 upon the consonants of the sounds (whether consonantal or 
 vocal) which either immediately precede or follow them. The 
 general principle which regulates change is simply this — that 
 certain combinations, being thought to be difficult or being 
 disliked as harsh, are so altered as to be more easily uttered 
 or to give a more pleasing effect to the ear. Some of the 
 changes are arbitrary, in so far as certain peoples seem to 
 have a peculiar liking for certain sounds and a dislike for 
 others ; but by far the greater number of changes are due to 
 what has been called ' laziness,' or the desire to economise 
 the effort of talking \ All such changes as involve economy 
 of effort are strictly due to the action of the vocal organs, and 
 are to be explained physiologically ; and the result is that the 
 laws which govern such changes are extremely regular in all 
 languages, admitting of no variation, or at most of very 
 little. Whenever any consonantal change seems to contradict 
 natural laws, we may always suspect that it is due to external 
 influence, the chief of which is a desire to conform the word 
 to other words with which it is wrongly (or sometimes 
 rightly) supposed to be connected. As an instance of lazi- 
 ness or economy of effort, we may observe that the super- 
 lative formed from the comparative better ought, of course, to 
 be bet-esl ; but it was very soon shortened by dropping the 
 second e. The resulting form betst was still so troublesome, 
 that best was gladly accepted as a substitute for it. On the other 
 
 1 The * liking' and 1 disliking ' are not really distinct from the desire 
 for economy of effort. In each case, the more troublesome sound (to 
 the speaker) is ' disliked,' and (unconsciously) avoided. 
 
35o 
 
 ENGLISH CONSONANTS. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 hand, there was a Middle-English verb to abye, to atone for, as 
 in the phrase — ' They shall aby bitterly the coming of such 
 a guest' (Ther sites, in Dodsley's Old Plays, ed. Hazlitt, i. 
 406). This was confused with the verb abide, by a false 
 association, and hence we find in Shakespeare's Jul. Ccesar, 
 iii. 2. 119 — 'If it be found so, some will deere abide it/ In 
 this case, we have no economy, but an increase of effort, 
 caused by sounding a useless d ; and the explanation is, of 
 course, that the increase of effort is due to the external 
 influence of an ideal association, which led the speaker 
 to think that the d was essential. Nearly all changes 
 can be explained by one or other of these two principles, 
 which should never be lost sight of. The true student of 
 etymology expects to be able to explain all changes in a 
 word's form by help either of economy of effort or of mental 
 association, the former cause being physiological, the latter 
 psychological. I would merely add the caution that there are 
 special cases that can be explained by neither of these ; we 
 must allow for the effect of national habits, which may cause 
 us to prefer certain sounds to others ; and for the influence 
 of the eye upon the ear, which has caused us to pronounce the 
 / in fault, inserted by pedants into the older form faut, as has 
 been already explained. Hence, in applying the first prin- 
 ciple of economy of effort, we must allow for the influence 
 of national habits ; and, in applying the second principle of 
 external influence, we must extend it so as to include all kinds 
 of mental association with respect to the forms of words. 
 
 § 322. The following are the principal methods by which 
 consonantal change is effected in English. 
 
 Changes in Sound, independent of the Symbols. 
 
 1. Palatalisation. 
 
 2. Voicing of voiceless letters. 
 
 3. Vocalisation of voiced letters. 
 
§ 323-] 
 
 CONSONANTAL CHANGES, 
 
 35" 
 
 4. Assimilation, producing combinations of voiceless 
 letters, voiced letters, or doubled letters. 
 
 5. Substitution of one voiceless consonant for another ; or 
 of one voiced consonant for another. 
 
 6. Metathesis ; or change of place of adjacent consonants. 
 
 7. Abbreviation of various kinds; including aphaeresis, 
 aphesis, &c. 
 
 8. Change of voiced letters to voiceless. 
 
 9. Insertion of ' excrescent ' letters, chiefly in accented 
 syllables; and other additions. 
 
 Changes in the Symbols employed, or due to them. 
 
 10. Mere change of symbol, the sound meant being the 
 same. 
 
 11. Symbol-change causing misapprehension; misuse of 
 symbols. 
 
 12. Doubling of consonantal symbols; often due to ac- 
 centual stress. 
 
 To these we must add, in connection with the subject : 
 
 13. Vowel-changes due to consonantal influence. 
 
 14. Confluence of forms, sometimes accidental, but some- 
 times caused by the influence of one word upon another like 
 it, i.e. by form-association. 
 
 § 323. It is absolutely necessary to give at least one 
 example in each case, for clearness, before proceeding 
 further. 
 
 X. Palatalisation, k > ch. The guttural X', as in A. S. 
 cild (pron. kild) passes into the palatal ch in E. child. 
 
 2. Voicing, k > g; t > d. The voiceless k in A. S. die, 
 a dike, is voiced to g in the derived E. dig. A. S. prut > E. 
 proud. 
 
 3. Vocalisation, g > y. The voiced g in A. S. decg has 
 been vocalised, and now forms a component of the diphthong 
 in E. day. 
 
35* 
 
 ENGLISH CONSONANTS. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 4. Assimilation, kd >kt\ gs > gz ; > mm. The word 
 looked is pronounced lookt, by alteration of to kt % 
 where k and / are both voiceless. Dogs is pronounced dogz, 
 by alteration of gs to where g and 0 are both voiced. 
 The A. S. hldfmcesse is now Lammas, with the double m for 
 /w. 
 
 5. Substitution, k > /; /A > a 7 . The M. E. &7/£AV is 
 mod. E. bat, the winged mammal. We have the form 
 murder as well as the older murther ( = murdher). 
 
 6. HI eta/ he sis. sk > ks ; ^ > ^/>. As an example of 
 metathesis, or change of place, take the familiar word ax 
 (aks) for ask ; also M. E. clapsen > E. clasp. 
 
 7. Abbreviation. The A. S. fugol has become E. yftze//. 
 The Lat. episcopus has become E. bishop. The Gk. eAe^o- 
 (7iw/ became A. S. eclmesse, and is now a/#z.r. 
 
 8. Unvoicing, d > t. The A. S. is now cuttle-fish. 
 Examples of this character are very rare. 
 
 9. Addition. Excrescent p after ?n, Sec. A. S. cemtig is E. 
 tm-p-ty. 
 
 10. Symbol-change. A. S. <: in <ry;/ is now A in h'n. A. S. 
 rze; is E. qu. 
 
 11. Misapprehension. 3 > 2. Capercaly is now caper- 
 cailzie. 
 
 12. Doubling. A. S. £/'/*r is E. bitter] with no alteration 
 in the sound of the £ 
 
 13. Consonantal influence. er > ar ; common. M. E. 
 her ue st is now harvest. 
 
 14. Confluence. A. S. fugol and A.S.ful are now 
 
 and sounded alike. A. S. geard and .A. S. gyrd£ are 
 now both yard. 
 
 § 324. From what has preceded, the following examples 
 will be readily understood. I cite only words of English 
 origin, or words of Latin origin found in A. S., though many 
 of the above changes may be illustrated much more copiously 
 by words of French or Latin origin. 
 
§ 325-1 
 
 HISTORY OF K. 
 
 353 
 
 Palatalisation. So called because it causes the formation 
 of the 'palatal' letters ch, J, sh, zh (as in azure). The 
 letters k and g are liable to be followed by what has been 
 called a parasitic y, introduced between the k or g and the 
 vowel-sound. Good examples are seen in the occasional 
 vulgar English pronunciation of kind as kyind, and of garden 
 as gyarden. This ky is intermediate between k and ch, and 
 the result of the introduction of the y is the ultimate passage 
 of k into ch altogether. Similarly g passes through gy into 
 y or j. This is extremely common in Anglo-Saxon, in 
 which dialect the parasitic vowel was e, which produced the 
 same result. Thus the Latin calc-e?n was borrowed in the 
 A. S. form cealc, whence E. chalk ; and the A. S. geard (for 
 *gard) is now yard, whereas the cognate Icel. gardr is 
 preserved provincially in the form garth. The A. S. bryege 
 (pronounced bryg-y, with y like G. U % and 3 like E._>> myes) 
 became M. E. brigge (pronounced brij-p or brij-d), mod. E. 
 bridge (pron. brijj or brij). 
 
 It is worth notice that English abounds with palatal- 
 isation in other instances besides those arising from ki, ie 
 and' gi, ge. Thus the A. S. see produces E. sh, as in A. S. 
 scac-an, later form sceac-an, E. shake; to which we may add 
 nearly all words that now begin with sh. Further, H and .$7 pass 
 into ch, sh, so that the E. question, nation, pension are practically 
 pronounced as romic kwcschdn, neishm, pe?ishm. Di, zi pass 
 into j and zh respectively; as in modulation (??wdyulation), 
 often turned into mojulation ; and A. S. grasian, E. graze, 
 gives the sb. grazier (pronounced greizha). 
 
 § 325. History of K. The following are examples: 
 k > ch ; only when followed by e or i. A. S. ceaf (Dutch 
 kaf), E. chaff 1 . A. S. cealc (borrowed from Lat. calc-im), 
 E. chalk. A. S. cierr, a turn ; hence E. chare, a turn of 
 work, and char-woman. A. S. cerlic ; E. charlock. A. S. 
 
 1 The A. S. c, copied from Lat. c, had the sound of k. 
 VOL. I. a a 
 
354 
 
 ENGLISH CONSONANTS. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 cear-ig, full of care, E. chary ; but the substantive care 
 preserves the ^-sound. A. S. ceace } or rather cece ; E. cheek. 
 A. S. cese (borrowed from Lat. caseus) ; E. cheese. A. S. 
 ceozvan ; E. chew. A. S. etc en ; E. chicken. A. S. cid-an ; 
 E. r^z<&. A. S. ; E. <:///7</. A. S. ciele, cyle ; E. chill. 
 A. S. ; E. chin. A. S. cin-an, to split, pp. cin-en ; whence 
 E. chin-k and prov. E. ^z>^ (a small ravine). A. S. ctosan, 
 M. E. chesen ; cf. E. choose 1 . A. S. ceorl; E. churl. 
 
 k > ch, at the end of a syllable ; this sometimes takes 
 place in verbs, even when a follows in the A. S. form, 
 because the final -an passed into -en. A. S. cec-e, s., M. E. 
 ach-e, later ache, which in mod. E. should have been 
 pronounced as etch (ei as ey in they), but is always sounded 
 as eik, by confusion with the verb, for which the pro- 
 nunciation eik is correct. The hardening of the ch to k 
 was also partly due, in my view, to a pedantic derivation of 
 the sb. from the Gk. «x 09 > w ^ tn which it has no connection 
 whatever. See Murray's Dictionary, where the author 
 observes that ' the " O. P." rioters, ignorant of the Shak- 
 sperian distinction of ake [verb] and ache [substantive], 
 ridiculed the stage-pronunciation of the sb. by giving it to 
 the vb. in " John Kemble's head ailches." 1 A. S. be'ce 2 ; 
 E. beech. A. S. bene (gen. benc-e, dat. benc-e) 3 ; E. bench. 
 A. S. se'e-an, E. seek ; with a by-form se'ee-an, whence (with 
 prefix be-) E. beseech. A. S. birce ; E. birch. A. S. bl&c-an, 
 later blctc-en ; E. bleach. A. S. blenc-an, to deceive ; M. E. 
 blench-en, to turn aside ; E. blench. A. S. broc, pi. bre'e, i. e. 
 breek-s, properly a double plural ; now breech-es. A. S. die, 
 
 1 The mod. E. choose answers to an A. S. cedsan, in which the accent 
 has been shifted from the e to the o, because the e seemed to belong to 
 the c. 
 
 2 'Fagus, bice* \ see my Supplement. 
 
 3 In Middle English, the forms of the nominative, dative, and accusa- 
 tive were all confused together. A large number of mod. E. (so-called) 
 nominatives are due to old geniiives or datives. Thus bench is gen. or 
 dat. ; the nom. form should be bcuk. 
 
§ 326.] 
 
 HISTOR Y OF K. 
 
 355 
 
 E. dike', gen. dic-es or dic-e, M.E. diche) E. ditch. Here the 
 2* is shortened, as in lie, rice, below; it should be spelt dich. 
 A. S. fine (gen. finc-es, dat. finc-e), E. finch. A. S. idec-e , 
 E. tor^. A. S. /fc, a corpse (dat. lic-e); whence E. 
 lich-gate. A. S. mearc (gen. mearc-e); E. march, a boundary, 
 frontier. A. S. cwenc-an, later cwenc-en ; E. quench. A. S. 
 r&c-an, also rdce-an ; E. reach. A. S. rfo? • E. rz'r^. A. S. 
 jzmTc* ; M. E. swilk, swulk ; whence swich, such ; E. M/r^. 
 (Here the weakening is due to the frequent use of the 
 pi. swilc-e, and the frequent occurrence of final in various 
 oblique cases of the M. E. forms.) A. S. tccc-an, tdce-an ; 
 E. teach. A. S. hwile ; E. which ; cf. such above. A. S. 
 wince) E. winch. A. S. wrence, guile, deceit; M.E. wrench, 
 guile ; E. wrench, a. side-pull, twist, sprain. Cf. also recchy 
 for r^£y ; starch, from M. E. j/ar^, A. S. stearc, strong ; 
 church, Northern kirk, from A. S. cyrice. 
 § 326. kk > M. E. cch > E. tch. 
 
 Written cc in A. S. In some cases the kk is preserved, 
 but written ck ; e. g. thick, from A. S. picc-e. But there are 
 several examples of palatalisation. A. S. bicc-e ; E. bitch. 
 A. S. flicc-e ; E. flitch. A. S. gicc-an, M« E. y'ech-cn, E. //r/z 
 (for *yitch) ; by loss of the initial 3 =y. A. S. Icrcc-an, to 
 seize, 1 p. s. pr. Icccc-e, whence M. E. lacch-en, to seize, 
 catch ; E. latch, sb., a catch for a door. A. S. mcrcc-a, 
 later mceccea, E. match 1 . A. S. /rir, s., a covering; whence 
 pcecc-an, v., E. thatch. A. S. angel-iwicc-a, a hook-twitcher, 
 the name of a worm used as a bait for fish ; hence E. twitch. 
 A. S. wcecc-e, s., E. watch, i. e. watchman. A. S. wicc-a, masc, 
 a wizard; wicc-e, fern., E. witch) cf. E. wick-ed, orig. * ad- 
 dicted to witchcraft/ A. S. wracc-a, wrecc-a, an outcast ; 
 later wrecc-e, M. E. wrecch-e, E. wretch. Cf. also <fo/r^, a 
 1 baking/ from A. S. bac-an, to bake ; ra/<r/£ for rar/'. The 
 
 1 In Matt. i. 24, the earliest MS. of the A. S. gospels has the accusa- 
 tive ge-mccccean, a later spelling of ge-maccan ; in the latest MS., the 
 same word is spelt mcecchen. 
 
356 
 
 ENGLISH CONSONANTS. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 obsolete word Match, blacking, is from M. E. blacche, ink 1 ; 
 derived from A. S. blccc, E. black. 
 
 § 327. Voicing. k > ch > j. Sometimes, after k 
 passed into ch (as above), it is further changed to /, which 
 is the voiced sound corresponding to ch (§ 317). Thus the 
 M.E. knowleche is due to adding the Scand. suffix -leche 
 (Icel. -leiki) to E. know ; this word is now pronounced nolej 
 or noulej (§ 310). The M.E. on char, E. a-jar, means 'on 
 the turn'; from A. S. cierr, cyrr, a turn. Hence we are 
 enabled to explain some difficult words beginning with /. 
 A. S. ceafl, the jaw, became M. E. chauel (= chavel), con- 
 tracted to chaule, chow/, later jolle ; E. Jowl, jole ; indeed, 
 we actually find the Norfolk jig-by-jole for cheek-by-chowl 
 (Halliwell). So also jing-lt seems to be the frequentative 
 form of chink. See also Jolt in my Dictionary. 
 
 Sometimes k is weakened to s (written ce). Thus the Lat. 
 acc. princi-pem becomes F. prince, by dropping the last 
 syllable. In the same way we may explain E. prance as 
 a weakened form from prank. 
 
 § 328. k>g. This is simply a case of 'voicing' ; yet 
 examples are rare. Flagon and sugar have been noticed 
 above ; § 319. Hence we can explain E. dig, M.E. digg-en= 
 dikien, from A. S. dic-ian, to make a dike ; from die, a dike. 
 Sprig answers to Icel. sprek ; cf. £ Sarmentum, spraec,' in the 
 Corpus Glossary. So also the Du. word trckker was adopted 
 into English as tricker, but is now trigger. 
 
 Final k lost. A. S. sic-an became M. E. sigh-en, whence 
 E. sigh. It was probably first weakened to *sig-an; see 
 examples of g>gh below. The gh is now mute. This 
 is a case of extreme weakening ; k >g >gh, and then drops. 
 So also A. S. becr-lic became barli^ in the Ormulum, and 
 is now barley ; herey represents 3 to the eye, but is really 
 
 1 In Wright's Vocab., ed. Wiilcker, p. 628, we have the line — 'Attra- 
 mentorium [glossed blacche-pot\ sunt attromenta [glossed blacche\ sed 
 atrum [glossed blacke~\? 
 
§ 330.1 
 
 HISTORY OF SK. 
 
 357 
 
 mute. I may observe that (as Dr. Murray shews) bczr-lic= 
 bcer-lic, i. e. ' that which is like bear} where bear is the 
 Lowl. Sc. word representing A. S. bere, barley. [Not -& for 
 leac, a leek, plant, as in my Dictionary.] The final c ( = #) 
 is also lost in /, A. S. ic ; in every, from A. S. dfre, ever, and 
 celc, each ; and in all words ending in -ly, A. S. -lie, older -Ik. 
 
 § 329. Substitution. k>t. This substitution is seen in 
 the common provincial form ast for ask. ' I ast your pardon, 
 ma'am/ says Mrs. Gamp (Martin Chuzzlewit, ch. xxv). The 
 Shakesperian word apricock (Rich. II. iii. 4. 29) is now apri- 
 cot. Similarly, M. E. bakke is now bat, in the sense of a 
 flying mammal. The A. S. ge-mac-a has. become mod. E. 
 mate ; a result which is curiously confirmed by the fact that 
 our modern inmate was formerly inmake l . Milt, the soft roe 
 of fishes, is a substitution for milk, Swed. mjolke; this was 
 probably due to association with mill, spleen (A. S. mill), 
 which is quite a different word. 
 
 k>p. The Lat. locusta became A. S. lopusl 2 , later altered 
 to loppestre ; whence E. lobster. 
 
 j § 330. sk > sh. Precisely as k becomes ch, so sk becomes 
 sh, formerly written sch ; this result is really due to palatal- 
 isation (§ 324); and is commonly due to the occurrence of t 
 in oblique cases (§ 325). Thus A. S. asc-an, pi., is mod. E. 
 ash-es, by substituting the suffix -es for -en (= -an). So also 
 A.S. cesc, M.E. asc/i, E. ash (tree). A. S. disc, borrowed from 
 Lat. discus) E. dish. A. S. fisc ; E. fish. A. S. flcesc, M. E. 
 flesch ; E. flesh. A. S. fersc, M. E. fersch, and (by meta- 
 thesis)//-^^ ; E. fresh. So also A. S. mersc, hnesce, per scan, 
 wascan, wyscan ; E. marsh, ?iesh, thresh, wash, wish. The 
 common A. S. suffix -isc is E. -ish. Initially, A. S. sc 
 often became see ; thus scac-an is also sceac-an, whence 
 E. shake (§ 324). Similarly scamu, sceamu; E. shame, &c. 
 
 1 I have unfortunately lost the reference for this form ; but I can 
 guarantee its correctness. 
 
 2 See Lobster in my amended Supplement to Etym. Diet. 
 
358 
 
 ENGLISH CONSONANTS. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 The general rule is that the A. S. sc almost invariably be- 
 comes E. sh ; and, consequently, that most E. words 
 beginning with sc or sk are not of A. S., but of Scandinavian 
 origin. But sk is also liable to be affected by substitution, 
 being interchangeable with ks or a:; as in A. S. ascian, to 
 ask, also spelt axian, whence prov. E. ax, in the same sense. 
 Hence A. S. miscan became M. E. mixen, E. mix ; A. S. ys- 
 cian became M.E. y'xen, yxen, IL.yex, to hiccough. Ks is 
 spelt x in A. S., and generally remains so, as in ax, fox, ox, 
 six, wax (to grow), wax (a substance); A. S. cex (eax),fox, 
 ox, six, weaxan 1 , weax. 
 
 § 331. History of KW, KN, GN. cw>qu. This is 
 merely a graphic change ; the pronunciation did not alter. 
 Cf. A. S. cwe'n, E. queen, &c. 
 
 kn > gn or n. The A. S. cn remains as kn (but pronounced 
 as n), in cnafa, cnedan, cne'ow, cnyllan, cnif, cniht, cnyttan, cnol, 
 cnotta, cndwan ; E. knave, knead, knee, knell, knife, knight, 
 knit, knoll, knot, know. But the word gnarled stands for 
 *knarled, being related to M. E. knarre, a knot in wood ; the 
 Shakesperian word gnarl, to snarl, is for *knarl, being allied 
 to Du. knorren, G. k?iurren, to growl ; %Xi& gnash is for *knash, 
 cf. Dan. knaske. In gnat, A. S. gncct, the gn seems original; 
 in gnaw, A. S. gnagan, it is merely the prefix ge-, which dis- 
 appears in G. nagen. The difficulty of sounding k and g 
 before n has led to their total suppression in mod. E. ; they 
 only appear to the eye, and might as well be dropped. In 
 fact, this has happened in a few words ; nip was formerly 
 knip, and nibble is its frequentative. The nap on cloth 
 was formerly noppe, and denoted the little knots or knops 
 on the cloth, which were nipped off in the process which 
 produced the nap. There is very little trace of this in A. S., 
 but we find the gloss 1 uellere, hnoppiam (sic) ' in Wright's 
 
 1 The forms weaxan, weax are A.S. (Wessex); we find Northumbrian 
 waxas, Mercian wcsxap, they grow, Matt. vi. 28 ; and Mercian wax, 
 wax, Vespasian Psalter, 57. 9. 
 
§ 332.] 
 
 HISTOR Y OF H. 
 
 359 
 
 Vocab. ed. Wiilcker, 480. 23. Here hnoppiam is of course 
 a scribal error for hnoppian or cnoppian, to pluck off the 
 knops on cloth. 
 
 § 332. History of H. It will be convenient to consider 
 the aspirate (ti) next, because of its answering to the 
 Aryan k. We find that it is generally retained, initially, 
 in English words, as hot, hill, him, but dropped in words 
 of F. origin, as heir, honest, honour, hostler (ostler), hotel, 
 humble, humour. But the fact is that many F. words have 
 been conformed to the native usage, and few knowingly 
 say 'adit, 'aughty, 'earse, 'erb, 'erilage, y ideous, 'omage, 'orrible, 
 and the like ; although some of these are not particularly 
 uncommon. Even 'umble is disliked, and some fairly sound 
 the h (rather than y) in humour, human, humid. It is to 
 be noted also, that the spelling (of some at least of these 
 words) without initial h in Middle English is not at all 
 common ; oneste and onoure being rarely found l . The 
 only words in which the spelling without h is really com- 
 mon in M. E. are abit, eir, eritage, ost, ostcl, ostcler ; for 
 habit, heir, &c, to which we must add the native word 
 z'/,,from A. S. hit. Still, we may certainly conclude that 
 the F. h was weaker than the English, and was hardly 
 sounded. It is notorious that Londoners often say air 
 for hair, and conversely hair for air ; and it has often been 
 a source of wonder why those who can readily sound h 
 should so frequently do so in the wrong place. The habit 
 is very old ; for, in the Romance of Havelok (temp. Edward I), 
 we find is for his, epen for hepen, i. e. hence ; and conversely 
 hende for ende (end), and herles for tries (earls) ; see the Glos- 
 sary. As I have nowhere seen an explanation of this phe- 
 nomenon, I venture to offer one. My theory is that, the 
 English h being strong, and the French // weak, the lower 
 
 1 Probably we have come to sound the h in many of these words from 
 seeing it so commonly written. 
 
360 
 
 ENGLISH CONSONANTS. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 classes discovered that the letter h was not much patronised 
 by their French-speaking masters. And, as c Jack would be 
 a gentleman, if he could speak French/ they attempted to 
 imitate this peculiarity by suppressing the h where they were 
 accustomed to sound it. But, nature being too strong for 
 them, they were driven to preserve their h from destruction 
 by sounding it in words which had no right to it ; and hence 
 the confused result. I am the more inclined to think this 
 explanation correct, because it will also explain the confused 
 use of v for iv. Here also the w was one of the commonest 
 of English sounds, whilst in French it was somewhat rare l » 
 On the other hand, initial v was so common in French, that 
 the E. word wine-yard (A. S. win-gear d) was actually turned 
 into vine-yard, and so remains. The lower classes tried to 
 supplant w by v, the result being that they also turned v 
 into zv. The chief wonder is that the conflict of tongues 
 did not produce even greater confusion, especially when we 
 consider that the French was mainly of Latin, not of Teutonic 
 origin. 
 
 hi >1 ; hn >n ; hr >r. In A. S. we frequently find initial 
 hi, hn, and hr. The initial h is always lost in later M. E. and 
 in mod. E.; but it is very necessary to know which words 
 once had it, because the // will answer, etymologically, to 
 an Aryan k. Thus A. S. hliid, E. loud, is cognate with Gk. 
 kKvtos, renowned, Skt. cruta, heard. The list of ///-words 
 contains : ladder, lade, ladle, lady, Lammas, lank, lapwing, 
 last (of herrings), laugh, lean, v. and adj., leap, lid, link (of 
 a chain), list (to hearken), listen, loaf, lord, lot, loud 2 . The 
 ////-words are : nap (to slumber), nap (of cloth), neck, neigh, 
 
 1 Not quite unknown to the Anglo-French dialect, which had warantir, 
 to warrant, &c, such words being mostly of Teutonic origin. Wivern is 
 an exception to this rule, being from Lat. uipera. 
 
 2 A. S. also has wl ; as in wlisp, stammering, whence E. lisp. So also 
 wrap is M. E. wrappen, also wlappen ; whence E. lap, to wrap up. 
 Luke-warm is difficult ; it seems to be due to A. S. hleo, shelter, warmth, 
 confused with wlcec, tepid. 
 
§ 333-] 
 
 HISTORY OF II. 
 
 361 
 
 nesh, nettle (h lost in A. S.), nit, nod, nut) to which may be 
 added the Scand. words neif, nigg-ard (with F. suffix). The 
 ^r-words are : rail (a night-dress), ramsons, rath, rather, 
 rattle, raven, raw, reach or retch (to try to vomit), rear- 
 mouse, reed, reel (for yarn), rend, rick, rid, riddle (sieve), 
 ridge, rime (hoarfrost), rind, ring, s., ring (a bell), v., rink, 
 ripple (on water), roof, rook (bird), roost, rue (to be sorry 
 for), rumple, rung', to which may be added the Scand. 
 words rap, to seize hastily, rape (a division of Sussex), rifle 
 (to plunder), rouse, ruck (a fold), ruck (a small heap), rush, v., 
 ruth. 
 
 § 333. Final h. The A. S. final h had the sound of 
 the G. final ch. This sound was written gh in M. E., 
 and still remains in writing, though always either mute or 
 sounded as f. The final gh is mute in borough, bough, 
 dough, plough, slough (mire), thorough, though, through ; high, 
 nigh, thigh. It is sounded as f in chough, cough, e?iough, 
 hough, laugh, rough, tough, trough. The puzzling combina- 
 tion ough is due to the merging into one of three distinct 
 forms, viz. High (descending from A. S. -uh), -ogh (A. S. -dh), 
 -oogh (A. S. -oh), whilst at the same time the loss of the gh 
 has affected the quality of the preceding vowel, by the prin- 
 ciple of compensation. Regularly, we should have had 
 thrugh, A. S. *pruh (for purli), but it has been lengthened to 
 through, as if from A. S. *priih ; or else thurgh, A. S. purh, 
 but it has been altered to thor(ou)gh. Again, we should have 
 had dogh, A. S. ddh ; the spelling dough is etymologically 
 inexact ; and the same remark applies to the mod. E. though, 
 put for M.E. thogh, A.S. peak. Again, the A.S. boh, ploh, 
 sloh, should have become boogh, ploogh, sloogh, but the 00 has 
 been further changed to ou, so that these spellings are regular 1 . 
 The A. S. H in r£A, i. e. rough, answers to M. E. ou (long u), 
 
 1 That is, they have come about regularly ; but, as the gh is now lost, 
 they have really come to be Oou, plou, slcu, pronounced as romic bau % 
 plan, slau. 
 
3 6z 
 
 ENGLISH CONSONANTS. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 but the u has been shortened, though the spelling has been 
 retained. Each word must, in fact, be investigated separately. 
 Hiccough is a spelling due to popular etymology ; it should 
 rather be hickup, as pronounced. Clough represents an A. S. 
 *cldh ; see the New E. Diet. For neigh, weigh, see § 338. 
 
 § 334. Final ht. The A. S. ht final answers to Aryan 
 kt\ cf. A. S. riht with Lat. rectus. It is now written^/, and 
 is common ; as in light, might, night, A. S. leoht (Mercian 
 Wit), miht, niht. In the combination -ought there is the same 
 confusion as that noticed above (§ 333). Thus A. S. sdhte 
 should have become sooght, but the vowel-sound has been 
 altered, and the symbol on is a bad representative of the 
 modern sound. On the other hand, in the A. S. poht, the 0 
 is short ; which should have given E. thoght. Two sounds 
 have been merged in one, and the symbol which represents 
 both is not correct for either of them. We may also note 
 that delight, sprightly, are mis written for delite, spritely ; both 
 words being of French origin. 
 
 § 335. Loss of h. In some cases, h disappears from sight 
 altogether; whether finally, as in fee, A. S.feoh, lea, A. S. leah, 
 roe, A. S. rah ; medially, as in trout, A. S. truhl, borrowed 
 from Lat. trucla, and not, short for nought, A. S. ?idht ; or 
 initially, as in it, A. S. hit, and in the combinations hi, hn, hr 
 (see § 332). In some cases, the h has already disappeared 
 even in A. S. ; both finally, as in shoe, A. S. seed, Goth, skoh-s ; 
 and medially, as in ear (of corn), A. S. ear, Northumbrian 
 eher (Matt. xii. 1), Goth, ahs ; see, A. S. se'on, Goth, saihw-an ; 
 slay, A. S. slean, Goth, slahan ; tear, sb., A. S. tear, Goth. 
 tagr (for *lahr) ; Welsh, A. S. welisc (for *welhisc), a deriva- 
 tive from wealh, a foreigner. 
 
 § 336. Hw > wh. A. S. hw is now written wh ; as in 
 hwd, hwat, E. who, what, &c. There are cases in which wh 
 is miswritten for w ; as in E. whit, put for wiht, A. S. wiht, 
 and a doublet of wight, so that the h is in the wrong place ; 
 whelk, a mollusc, which the lower orders correctly call wilk, 
 
§ 337.1 
 
 HISTORY OF G. 
 
 3 6 3 
 
 from A. S. wiloc; whortleberry, better wirtleberry, from A. S. 
 wyrtil in the compound plant-name biscop-wyrtil. 
 
 § 337. History of G. Initial g. The various fortunes 
 of the A. S. g may be treated more briefly. Numerous ex- 
 amples can be added from my Dictionary, and the tracing of 
 consonantal changes seldom causes much trouble, when 
 'once we know the regular changes to which they are liable. 
 
 The A. S. g (or rather, Mercian) initial g may remain hard 
 even before e and i(y), as in A. S. gear -we, f. pi., whence E. 
 gear ; A. S.git-an, to get ; A. S. gidig, gift, gyldan, (on)ginnan, 
 gyrdan, gifan, E. giddy, gift, gild, (be)gin, gird, give. This 
 hard g is sometimes absurdly written gh, as in ghastly, ghost, 
 A. S. g&stlic, gdst ; or else gu, as in guest, guild, guilt, A. S. 
 gczst,gild,gylt. 
 
 ge>y. A. S. ge- (initial) has two distinct origins; some- 
 times it represents the Goth.y (=y), but in other words the e 
 has crept in, much as in the case of the prov. E. gyarden for 
 garden, cited above. In both cases it becomes ~E.y. Exx. : 
 (i) Goth. Jus, A. S. ge, E. ye; Goth, ja, A. S. gea, E. yea ; 
 A. S. gese, E. yes 1 ; Goth, jer, A. S. gear, E. year ; A. S. git 
 (G. jetz-f), E. yet', Goth. Jains, A. S. geon, E. yon ; Goth. 
 juggs ( = *jungs), A. S. geong, E. young. Also (2) A. S. geard 
 (Icel. gardr), IL.yard, an enclosed space; and in like manner 
 ~E.yare, yarn, yell, yellow, Yule, from A. S. gearo, gcarn, gellan, 
 geolo, geol. Gi has the same fate, as in E.yard (rod), yearn 
 (to long for), yeast, yelp, yesterday, yet, yex, yield, from A. S. 
 gierd, gieman or gyrnan, gist, gilpan, giestra, git or get, 
 giscian, gieldan or gyldan. E. yawn represents a fusion 
 of two A. S. forms, geonian and gdnian. In Middle English, 
 this y (= A. S. ge, gi, gy) is very often written 5. The 
 common prefix ge- has almost entirely disappeared; we 
 can trace it in the archaic ywis, yclept, yede, A. S. gewis, ge- 
 
 1 Explained by me from A. S. gca sy, yea, let it be (so). But it may be 
 ior gJa (or ge) sw&> i.e. yea, so; as suggested by Kluge. 
 
3 6 4 
 
 ENGLISH CONSONANTS. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 cleopod, ipp.,ge-eode, and in the middle syllable of hand-y-work, 
 A. S. hand-ge-weorc, and hand-i-crafl. Similarly, it is best to 
 explain yean from A. S. ge-eanian, not e'anian ; see also 
 my explanation of yearn (2), to grieve. It appears as e- in 
 e-nough, from A. S. ge-noh ; and as g- in g-naw, A. S. gnagan 
 (for *ge-nagen). The initial g has disappeared in z/J from 
 A. S. gif 1 ; rifcj, A. S. giccan ; -icle, A. S. £7^7, in the com- 
 pound ic-icle, A. S. is-gicel. 
 
 § 338. Final and medial g. The A. S. g is seldom 
 preserved medially or finally. If changed, the formulae are : 
 g > gh (silent); g >y (vocal) or i; g>w (vocal) or ow; 
 g > f; or sometimes it disappears. Exx. : A. S. twig, E. 
 twig, where the preservation of g is probably due to the 
 shortening of the long vowel. A. S. h7id:g-an, E. neigh ; A. S. 
 weg-an, E. weigh. A. S. dag, E. day ; A. S. grceg, E. gray, 
 A. S. cage, E. key, &c. The A. S. suffix -ig = E. -y, as in 
 hdl-ig, E. hol-y, Sec. A. S. eg/an, E. ail ; A. S. blegen, E. Main ; 
 so also in E. drain, fain, fair, hail, s., lair, maiden, main (i. e. 
 strength), mullein, nail, rail (a night-dress), rain, sail, snail, 
 stair, stile, tail, thane (for *lhein), twain, upbraid, wain. A. S. 
 bug-an, v., to bow, bog-a, s., a bow ; A. S.fugol, ~E.fowl ; A. S. 
 maga, E. w tfz# ; A. S. dgan, E. ozcv ; A. S. sugu, E. sow (pig) ; 
 so also in dawn, draw, mow (heap of corn), own, saw, shaw. 
 A. S. galga, E. gallow(s) ; A. S. morgen, M. E. morwen, short- 
 ened to morwe, E. morrow ; so also in borrow, hallow, swal- 
 low, v. A. S. dwerg, E. dwarf The medial ^ has quite dis- 
 appeared in A. S. sliweard (for *slig-weard), E. steward 2 . In 
 A. S. nigon, and //'/<?, A. S. (borrowed from Lat. 
 tegula), the loss of the has lengthened the 2', by compensa- 
 tion. We have curious changes in henchman for *hengstman, 
 A. S. hengest-mann, horseman, groom ; and in orchard for 
 
 1 In A. S. g-if, the g- (for g£\ is a prefix ; just as in Goth, jabai, if, 
 short for ja-ibai. Cf. Icel. ^/j if. 
 
 2 For the vowel-sound, cf. A. S. luw, E. hue. The f is affected by the 
 following w. 
 
§ 339-] 
 
 HISTORY OF G. 
 
 365 
 
 A. S. ort-geard, i. e. wort-yard (cf. our modern pronunciation 
 of torture). 
 
 ng. The A. S. ng is usually preserved, but passes into nj 
 (written nge) in positions similar to those in which k is pala- 
 talised. Thus A. S. sengan, M. E. sengen, is now singe ; cf. 
 # also cringe, swinge, twinge, ding-y, sting-y. The A. S. nc or 
 
 * ng has become n in lencten or lengten, spring ; mod. E. lent. 
 
 § 339. Double g. The A. S. eg represents both (gg) and 
 (g$), where 3 =j/-consonant. Hence come M. E. gg, gge, and 
 mod. E. dge ( j) in many cases. A. S. brycg (gen. and dat. 
 bryege), M. E. brigge, E. bridge ; A. S. ecg, M. E. egge, E. edge ; 
 A.S. hecg, M.E. he gge, E. hedge 1 ; A. S. micge, properly *mycge 
 (cf. ' culix, mygg* in the Corpus Glossary of the eighth century, 
 1. 617), E. midge ; A. S. hrycg, E. ridge ; A. S. secg, E. sedge ; 
 A. S. slecge, E. sledge-hammer ; A. S. zm^, E. wedge. The 
 breaking down of the g into the sound of j is really due to 
 the frequent use of the oblique cases of the substantives, 
 in which a final -e followed the eg) as in A. S. bryeg-e, gen., 
 dat., and acc. of brycg, whence the M. E. nom. took the form 
 brigg-e instead of brigg or brig. The Northern dialect early 
 rejected the final inflectional -e, which prevented this change ; 
 hence the Northumbrian forms brig, bridge, rig, ridge (back), 
 seg, sedge. This enables us to explain mug-wort, i. e. midge- 
 wort, from the early A. S. mycg (without a following vowel) ; 
 for A. S.y becomes both / and u in later English. For the 
 sense, cf. flea-bane. In some verbs, an E.j/ = A. S. (single) 
 g ; as in E. lay, A. S. lege, imper. of lecgan ; cf. lie, buy. 
 When the double g is preserved in modern English, we may 
 be sure that the word is of Scand. origin. Thus the verb to 
 egg on is from Icel. eggja, to instigate ; the A. S. eggian could 
 only give edge, and indeed we find the form to edge on also ~. 
 
 • Hence also the derivation of egg from A. S. CB g, an egg (as in 
 
 1 There are three A.S. forms, viz. hag-a, E. haw ; hege, M. E. hey, hay, 
 as in haywa7'd ; and hecg, E. hedge. 
 ■ See Edge in Riehardson. 
 
3 66 
 
 ENGLISH CONSONANTS. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 my Dictionary), cannot be right ; the A. S. ceg became (regu- 
 larly) M. E. ey, and is obsolete, whilst the plural ccgru became 
 M. E. eyre-n (with added -n for -en), and is also obsolete. E. 
 egg is certainly of Scand. origin, from Icel. egg (Swed. dgg, 
 Dan. ceg) ; as further explained in Chap. XXIII. 
 
 § 340. History of T. T is rarely voiced, so as to be- 
 come d. In native words we have only A. S. prtit, E. proud ; 
 A. S. pryte, E. pride', A. S. clott or clot, E. clot and clod. 
 The change of / to th, as in swart (A. S. sweart), whence 
 swarthy, is hard to explain ; equally difficult is lath for M. E. 
 latte, A. S. Icettu. Final / has disappeared in A. S. anfilte, 
 M. E. anvelt, E. anvil. It is also lost before si in A. S. deist, 
 E. best', M. E. latst, E. last, superlative of A. S. lest, E. late. 
 It has also disappeared in ado, put for at-do. It is only 
 written once in the words eighth, eighteen, eighty, put for 
 *eightth, *eighlleen, *eighlty. In some difficult positions it is 
 not sounded ; as in boatsivain (romic bou'san), castle, Christ- 
 mas, mistletoe, wrestle. In the word blossom, A. S. bloslma, it 
 has even disappeared from the written form ; so also in 
 gorse, from A. S. gorsl. In the word tawdry, the / is all that 
 remains of the word saint, the word being a contraction for 
 Saint Awdry, i.e. Saint JZpelpryd (lit. * noble strength'). 
 The curious word stickler, lit. ' controller/ answers to an 
 older s tight ler, from M. E. stightlen, frequentative of A. S. 
 stihtan, stihtian, to control ; here we have a change from / 
 to k, by a substitution due to misapprehension. Popular 
 etymology connected it with the sb. stick. 
 
 § 341. Excrescent t. There are numerous cases in 
 which an excrescent letter is developed, owing to a fullness of 
 stress upon a syllable, after the letters m, n, or s. On this 
 subject the reader may consult an ingenious paper by Prof. 
 March, 'On Dissimilated Gemination/ which appeared in the 
 Transactions of the American Philological Association for 
 1877. He remarks that 'the first p in happy represents the 
 closing of the lips in hap-, the second / represents the open- 
 
§ 34 2 -l 
 
 HISTORY OF TH. 
 
 367 
 
 ing of the lips in -pjy. 9 Again, ' the labial nasal m is often 
 doubled ; but the same movement of the organs which makes 
 m with the nose open, will make b if it be closed ; hence we 
 find b appearing in the place of a second m. The most com- 
 mon case is before r, or /. . . . A. S. slumerian has in Ger- 
 man simple gemination and appears as schhimmern ; in E. 
 the lips close in slum-, but the anticipation of the coming r 
 leads to stopping the nose as they part, and what would 
 have been -mer turns out -ber ; and so we have slumber by 
 dissimilated gemination/ At any rate, the effect is certainly 
 due to stress ; mb is more forcible than mm, and is substi- 
 tuted for it accordingly. Precisely parallel is the change of 
 nn to nd ; as in A. S.J?unor, which became *thunner and so 
 thunder. Similar are mp and ///. At the end of a word we 
 find a substitution of si for ss, or at any rate an excrescent / 
 is heard after s. Prof. March thinks that this tendency was 
 helped forward by the fact that si is a familiar E. ending ; it 
 occurs, e.g. in the 2nd person singular of the verb, as in 
 lovest, lovedsl, and in superlatives. Clear examples of the 
 excrescent / after s or x are seen in E. agains-t, amids-t, 
 amongs-t, behes-t, belwix-t, hes-t, inids-t, wh/ls-l; from M. E. 
 agein-es (A. S. ongean), M. E. amidd-es, among-es, A. S. be- 
 h&s, M. E. betwix, A. S. hces, M. E. midd-es, whil-es. T is 
 excrescent in the difficult sb. earnes-t (M. E. ernes), a pledge. 
 Excrescent / after n occurs only in anen-t, A. S. anefn, anemn ; 
 and in words of F. origin. (We may also note E. wer-t, from 
 A. S. wcer-e, due to association with was-t ; but this form is 
 not, like the rest, of purely phonetic origin.) 
 
 § 342. History of TH. The E. th has two sounds, 
 voiceless and voiced (th, dh). I shall here denote the former 
 by J>, and the latter by 8 in A. S. words. In the cases where 
 th has been replaced by d, we may assume that it was voiced 
 (dh, S) ; but where it has been replaced by /, it was voiceless 
 (])). The A. S. ge-ford-ian, ford-ian, to further, promote, 
 provide, became M. E. (a)forden, and is now afford. A. S. 
 
3 68 
 
 ENGLISH CONSONANTS. 
 
 [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 byrden, a load, became burden, burthen (== burdhen), and is 
 now burden ; the change being assisted by association with 
 burden, the refrain of a song (F. bourdon). A. S. cude became 
 M. E. coude, coude, later coud, now spelt could, by needless in- 
 sertion of /, to conform it, to the eye, with should and would. 
 A. S. fidele, M.E.filhele ( = fidhele), is now fiddle (for *fidle). 
 A. S. mordor, M. E. mordre, mordre, became both murther 
 and murder, of which only the latter is now commonly 
 used. A. S. roder, M. E. rother, roder, is now rudder. Simi- 
 larly, we find that the M. E. spither is now spider. As to 
 the voiceless ]>, we find it changed to / in A. S. hehpa, 
 M. E. he^pe, also hiyte, later high/h (Milton), now height; 
 A. S. nospyrl, M.E. nosepirl, now nostril; A. S. gesihp, later 
 gesihl, siht, now sight ; A. S. stcelwyrp, M. E. stalworth, now 
 stalwart; A. S. piefpe, E. theft 1 . It is also explained below 
 (§ 343)> tnat in can change into </, by Verner's Law, in the 
 conjugation of verbs, so that a verb whose primary stem 
 ends in th can have other stems ending in d. This accounts 
 for the derivation of suds from the verb to seethe (pp. sodden), 
 and of lead, v., and lode from A. S. lid-an, to travel. The 
 voiced th (dh) in bathe, breathe, loathe, sheathe, soothe, wreathe, 
 is derived, by voicing, from the voiceless th in bath, breath, 
 loath, sheath, sooth, wreath. The reason why the th in these 
 verbs is voiced is very simple, viz. because, in the M. E. forms, 
 it came between two vowels, whereas in the substantives the 
 th was final. Cf. M. E. brefien, to breathe, with M. E. brep, 
 breath. Assimilation of th to s takes place in bliss, put for 
 A. S. blips, older form blid-s, happiness, derived from blide, 
 blithe, happy ; and in lissom, put for lith-some, i. e. lithe-some. 
 
 Loss of th. Finally, th is lost in difficult combinations, as 
 in worship for worthship ; wrist for *wrilhst, from wrid-an, to 
 
 1 Koch adds E. deck, from A. S. peccan, to thatch. But this is quite 
 wrong, (i) because deck is a late importation from Dutch, and (2) 
 because the voiceless th (}>) can only change into t in English. Equally 
 wrong is his derivation of A. S. dwerg, a dwarf, from p-ivcorh, perverse. 
 
§ 344-1 
 
 HISTOR Y OF D. 
 
 3 6 9 
 
 twist; Norfolk, Norman, Norway, Norwich, all derivatives 
 from North ; and in clothes, commonly pronounced as the 
 i romic ' clouz, on account of the difficult combination <fz. 
 So also A. S. fwitel is E. whittle ; and thwack is commonly 
 whack, often pronounced as ' romic ' wsek. 
 
 § 343. History of D. We learn, from Verner's Law, that 
 in many cases a th is changed into d. The fact that the A. S. 
 pt. t. of weordan, to become, was wear? in the ist and 3rd 
 persons singular, wurd-e in the 2nd person, and wurd-on in 
 the plural, caused confusion between d and the voiced th in 
 M. E. Again, an A. S. d often answers to Icel. S. Hence it 
 is not surprising to find that the A. S. hider, pider, hwidcr, 
 feeder, modor (Icel. htdra, padra . . .fadir, mSdir) are now 
 hither, thither, whither , father , mother 1 . So also A. S. weder 
 (Icel. vedr), is E. weather ; M. E. tedder is now tether (cf. Icel. 
 ijodr) ; A. S. gcedrian is now gather ; A. S. lo-ga?dre is now 
 together. E. sward, as in greensward, A. S. sweard, also 
 appears provincially as swart h, Icel. svortir. E. yard, from 
 A. S. geard, also appears as garth, from Icel. garSr. 
 
 D becomes / in E. abbot, from A. S. abbod; but here the 
 influence of the Lat. acc. form abbat-em is obvious. A. S. 
 cudele is now cuttle-fish (cf. G. kutlelfisch) ; but the origin of 
 the word is obscure. A. S. leld, M. E. leld, tell, is now till 
 (of a cart); so also the Icel. tjald is accompanied by Dan. 
 tell, Swed. tdlt. The final -ed of the pp. is often pronounced 
 as / (§ 3 1 8) ; hence we have wont for won-ed, A. S. wun-od, 
 pp. of wunian, to accustom; whence even wonl-ed (-=won-ed- 
 ed), with reduplicated suffix. Note also such forms as built, 
 girt, sent, kep-t, left, bles-t ; and the entire disappearance of 
 ~ed after / and d, as in aghast, led. Final -d stands for -ed in 
 bal-d, M. E. ball-ed. 
 
 § 344. Loss of d. D disappears in a few words ; as in 
 
 1 But father and mother may have been due to association with 
 brother ; for they are still pronounced with d in West Cumberland, 
 where the Norse influence is very strong. 
 
 VOL. I. B b 
 
37o 
 
 ENGLISH CONSONANTS. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 answer, gospel, woodbine, A. S. andswerian, godspel, wudubind ; 
 wanion, formerly waniand ; tine, a prong of a fork, A. S. 
 tind\ lime (tree), A. S. lind (see p. 371) ; also in upholsterer, 
 formerly upholdsier ; and in bandog, formerly band-dog. 
 
 Excrescent d (cf. § 341). Excrescent d appears after n 
 at the close of an accented syllable, as in boun-d in the sense 
 of 4 prepared to go/ M. E. boun, Icel. buinn, prepared, pp. of 
 bua ; dwin-d-le, frequentative of A. S. dwin-an, to dwindle ; 
 gan-d-er, A. S. gandra, earlier form ganra ; hind, a peasant, 
 M. E. hine, from A. S. hina, really the gen. pi. of hiwa, a 
 domestic ; kin-d-red, M. E. kinrede, A. S. cyn-rceden ; le?i-d, 
 M. E. len-cn, A. S. hai-an) roun-d, to whisper, A. S. riln-ian; 
 spin-d-le, M. E. spinel, A. S. spinl; thun-d-er, A.S.J>un-or; 
 and perhaps scoun-d-rel. In fon-d, the suffix is that of the 
 pp. (Conversely, in some words, the combination nd is 
 pronounced as n ; as in groundsel, ha?idsome, handkerchief. 
 Lastly, dn is pronounced as n in Wednesday.) 
 
 Excrescent d also appears after / in al-d-er (tree), A. S. air ; 
 cl-d-er (tree), A. S. eller-n) and in such forms as alderfirst, 
 i.e. first of all, where al-d-er is for M. E. alter, A.S. eal-ra, 
 gen. pi. of eat. Iron-mould was formerly yron-mole, as in 
 Lyly's Euphues, p. 39 ; the -d may be due to -ed, as if for 
 mol-ed, i. e. stained, from mole, A. S. mat, a spot. New- 
 fangle-d was formerly newe-fang-el, i. e. prompt to catch at 
 new things, as in Chaucer, C. T. 10932. 
 
 Assimilation of d to s appears in bless, A. S. bledsian, orig. 
 to consecrate by blood ; from blod, blood, with the ordinary 
 mutation from 6 to e'. Also in gossip, M. E. godsib. 
 
 § 345. History of N. The most remarkable facts about 
 the letter n are the frequent loss of it in all positions, and the 
 occasional insertion of it at the beginning or end of a word ; 
 as shewn below. If it changes, it changes to m ; very rarely 
 to / or r. 
 
 It changes to m before p or b ; as in A. S. he?iep, E. hemp ; 
 A. S. win-berige, E. winberry, wimberry. A. S. hwin-an, to 
 
§ 34*.] 
 
 HISTORY OF N. 
 
 whine, has formed a frequentative whimmer, noted by Jamie- 
 son as a word in use in Roxburghshire, mod. E. whimper 
 (with excrescent At the end of words we find the same 
 change ; thus A. S. holegn, holen, M. E. holin, became, by loss 
 of n, holly ; but also, by contraction, holm ; so that holm-oak 
 means ' holly-oak/ A. S. lind, a. lime-tree, became line 
 (Tempest, v. 10), by vowel-lengthening (§ 378) and subsequent 
 loss of d, and is now lime. M. E. bren-stoon, burning stone, is 
 now brimstone. A. S. snacc, a boat, is the same word as Du. 
 smak, whence we have borrowed E. smack. N is now / in 
 flannel, formerly fla?inen (Welsh gwlane?i). In one word, n has 
 become r ; A. S. pinewincla, a small mollusc, is the prov. E. 
 peniwinkle, E. periwinkle, by confluence with the name of a 
 flower. 
 
 § 346. Loss of n. N is lost in A. S. before s and th ; as 
 in A. S. ciide, gos, lide, mild, 63er, 163, undid, us, E. cou(t)d, 
 goose, lithe, mouth, other, tooth, uncouth, us; cf. Goth, kuntha, 
 G. gans, G. lind, Goth, munths, anthar, tunthus, kunths 
 (known), uns or unsis. So also A. S. te'oda, M. E. tethe, tithe, 
 E. tithe, is for *teonb t a, i. e. tenth. N is lost, finally, in A. S. 
 drosn, also dros, E. dross ; A. S. eln, E. ell ; A. S. elboga (for 
 *elnboga = Icel. alnbogi), E. elbow ; A. S. dfen, E. even, i. e. 
 evening, also eve) A. S. gamen, holegn, myln (borrowed from 
 Lat. molind), misteltdn, solcen (only found in the compounds 
 d-solcen, be-solcen), E. game, holly, mill, mistletoe, sulky. N is 
 also lost, medially, in spider, M. E. spither, put for *spin-thcr, 
 i. e. spinner ; 1'hursday, A. S. punres-dccg, the day of Thun- 
 der; cf. the Icel. pors-dagr. Similarly fourteen-fiighl has 
 become fortenight, and finally /brlnight ; O. Mercian enlefan, 
 A. S. c?i(d)lufon (with excrescent d, cf. Goth, ainlif), M. E. 
 enleuen, is now eleven. But the most frequent loss of ;/ is in 
 inflexions, where it has totally disappeared in the majority of 
 cases. Thus the infinitive of all A. S. verbs ended in -an, 
 becoming M. E. -en, -e, mod. E. mute e or lost. Similarly 
 A. S. beforan is now before ; so also in the case of beneath, 
 
 b b 2 
 
372 
 
 ENGLISH CONSONANTS. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 beside, within, about, without) and in Monday, Sunday, yester- 
 day, A. S. monan-dceg, sunnan-dceg, gistran-dcBg. Initially, it 
 is lost in adder, auger, A. S. ncedre, nafe-gdr (lit. nave-borer). 
 Also in aught, when popularly used for naught, as in the 
 phrase ' carry aught 9 in arithmetic. This peculiarity is due 
 to a confusion in the use of the indefinite article, so that an 
 adder, an auger, were wrongly used instead of a nadder, a 
 nauger. It must be remembered that an was formerly used 
 before consonants as well as vowels 1 ; hence we can account 
 for E. drake by supposing that the Scand. form andrake 
 (Swed. anddrake, O. Icel. andriki) was misunderstood as an 
 drake, thus causing the loss of an. 
 
 § 347. Intrusive n. Owing to the uncertainty above 
 mentioned, the opposite mistake arose of prefixing n to 
 words which began with a vowel. Thus A. S. efete became 
 ewt, and an ewt was misapprehended as a newt ; whence E. 
 newt. Similarly an awl was sometimes thought to stand for 
 a nawl ; hence the not unfrequent use of nawl or nail in the 
 sense of ' awl/ Such forms as nass for ass, nei% for «j (an 
 egg), &c, are occasionally found. Nuncle, naunt, probably 
 arose from mine uncle, mine aunt, misapprehended as my 
 nuncle, my naunt. An intrusion of n also occurs by putting 
 ng for g, as nightingale for *nihtigale, M. E. nightegale. At the 
 end of words we find an excrescent n after r ; as in M. E. 
 bitour, E. bilter-n, M. E. marter, later marler-n, now marten, 
 both words of French origin. Hence we can understand 
 E. stubbor-n, M. E. stibor, which may also have arisen from 
 misapprehending M.E. siibor-nesse as *sliborn-nesse. 
 
 Assimilation of nd to nnis seen in E. winnow, M.E. wind- 
 ewen, A. S. windwian, to expose to wind. 
 
 § 348. History of P. P is changed to its voiced equiva- 
 
 1 Layamon's Brut begins with the words An preost, written a prest in 
 the second and later MS. In 1. 1 13 of the Ormulum, we find an duhhtig 
 wif, a doughty wife. Still later, we find on littel quite, a little while, 
 Sir Gawayn, L 30 v about A. D. 1360 or later). 
 
§ 349-] 
 
 HISTORY OF F. 
 
 373 
 
 lent, viz. b, in a few cases. A. S. loppesire is now lobster ; 
 A. S. papol is now pebble ; dribble is the frequentative of drip ; 
 wabble, to reel, orig. to flutter, is the frequentative of whap, to 
 strike, to flutter; the M. E. attorcop or cop, a spider, has 
 given us cop-web, now cobweb ; and £#0/ has become knob. 
 
 P has become f and afterwards z> in A. S. cnapa, later form 
 cnafa, E. knave. 
 
 Excrescent p occurs after m in empty, A. S. cemtig ; 
 glimpse, M. E. glimsen ; and sempster for seams ter^. 
 
 § 349. History of F. The Anglo-Saxon (Southern) y 
 had the sound of z>, even initially (as in modern Southern 
 dialects), and in all positions except in such words as oft, 
 cefter. The Mercian f must have been the same as the mod. 
 E. initially, and also kept that sound in some words, both 
 medially and finally, viz. in words such as deaf, loaf, staff, 
 cliff, offer, where the f is sometimes doubled. This sys- 
 tem of denoting the voiceless sound by doubling the letter 
 is found in A. S., in the word offrian, to offer, borrowed 
 from Lat. off err e ; the true A. S. double f (or rather double 
 v) changing into bb, as in habban, to have, infin., as com- 
 pared with he hafd (= havd), he has. But a single f 
 between two vowels was doubtless sounded as v, even in 
 Mercian, and in modern English is always so written ; it was 
 early written u by the Anglo-French scribes. The form off y 
 being emphatic, is still pronounced with f but the unem- 
 phatic of is pronounced ov, even in the compounds hereof 
 thereof whereof In some M. E. MSS. we even find such 
 words as from needlessly spelt ffrom, as e. g. in the MS. of 
 Richard the Redeless ; but I think we never find ff for the 
 sound of v 2 . This distinction is perfectly observed in mod. 
 Welsh, where ff=f and f=v. We have only four words in 
 which f has become v initially ; these are vane, vat, vinewcd, 
 
 1 We may add whimper, the equivalent of Lowland Scotch whimmer, 
 frequentative from a base whim, with the same sense as whine (§ 345). 
 
 2 The capital F is also written^ as said above. 
 
374 
 
 ENGLISH CONSONANTS. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 and vixen, A. S. f ana, feet, finege, *fyxen (fern, of fox) K Life 
 represents a nom. case lif but the M. E. pi. was Hues, E. lives. 
 Calf gives both the pi. calves, and the derivative verb to 
 calve. Belief gives the derivative verb believe. Cases in 
 which the medial f has become v are, of course, extremely 
 common ; in fact, they run through the whole language- 
 Examples are seen in the plurals leaves, lives, loaves, thieves, 
 &c. ; in the verbs behave, behove, calve, carve, cleave, crave, 
 grave, halve, have, heave, live, love, &c, M. E. hauen (with 
 prefix be-), behouen, caluen, &c. ; also in cove, five, glove, &c, 
 A. S. c6fa,fif glof Sec. ; and in anvil, clover, ever, evil, harvest, 
 haven, hovel, liver, navel, raven, &c. The f is preserved in 
 fifth, fifty, twelfth, and the like, by the voiceless th or t. Gh 
 is now sounded as fin some words (§ 333). 
 
 F has remarkably disappeared in the following cases : 
 A. S. hafst, hepfd, hafde, E. hast, hath (also has), had ; A. S. 
 heafod, M. E. heued, heed, E. head] A. S. hldford, M. E. lauerd, 
 E. lord) A. S. hldfdige, E. lady 2 . A. S. efete became M. E. 
 ewt, our newt. Both / and f are ignored in the mod. E. 
 halfpenny. 
 
 Assimilation has taken place, of fm to mm, in leman or 
 lemman, A. S. leof-man, i. e. ' dear one 1 ; Lammas, A. S. 
 hldfmcesse, i. e. loaf-mass ; and in woman. The last remark- 
 able form arose thus : the A. S. wifman, pi. wifmen, became 
 Early E. wimman, pi. wimmen. The pi. form is still strictly 
 preserved in our pronunciation, though persistently misspelt 
 women ; the singular has been changed from wima?i to 
 woman by the influence of the w, which tends to turn i into 
 0, and a into u ; cf. Goth, kwiman with the modern E. come. 
 
 1 Though A. S. fyxen does not occur, we find A. S. fern, fyxe, which 
 only differs in the suffix; see Index to Sweet's Oldest Eng. Texts. 
 Fixsen occurs as a surname. Vat was re-imported from Dutch. 
 
 2 Hawk is often added; but it is more likely that hawk represents 
 Icel. haukr than the A. S. hafoc. (The word havoc is unallied, being of 
 French origin.) 
 
§ 352.] 
 
 HISTORY OF Y. 
 
 375 
 
 Very similar is the change from fn to mn, later m, as in A. S. 
 stcefn, stefn, later stemn, whence mod. E. stem (of a tree). 
 
 § 350. History of B. B is sometimes changed to voice- 
 less p, as in gossip, M. E. gossib or godsib, i. e. ' related in 
 God,' said of a sponsor in baptism. So also unkempi = 
 kembed, i. e. uncombed ; from A. S. camb, a comb, with 
 mutation of a to e; see p. 202. 
 
 Excrescent b is common after m, as in em-b-ers, M.E. 
 emeres, A. S. cemyrian] gam-b-le, from game; bra??i-b-le, M. E. 
 brembil, A. S. bremel] nim-b-le, M* E. nimel, ready to seize, 
 from A. S. nim-an, to seize, take ; slum-b-er, M. E. slumeren, 
 A. S. slumerian ; tim-b-er, A. S. timber, but cf. Swed. timmer, 
 timber, and Goth, timrjan, to build. Similarly, appears 
 even for single ;/z in an accented syllable, and finally, as in 
 crumb, from A. S. crum-a ; numb, due to A. S. num-en, as 
 explained below; to which we may add fifgj, A. S. 
 
 and thiunb, A. S. ; but this final b is no longer 
 
 sounded. Thim-b-le is a derivative of thumb ; and crum-b-le 
 of crumb, from A. S. crum-a. Humble-bee = hummle-bce ; 
 where hummle is the frequentative of /;//;;/. Numb is from 
 M. E. num-en, nom-en, A. S. num-en, deprived of sensation, 
 pp. of nim-an, to seize, take, catch ; cf. Icel. num-inn, bereft, 
 pp. of ncma, to take. 
 
 § 351. History of M. The letter is lost before f and 
 s, even in A. S., in a few words, viz. fif % E. five, Goth, yfow/ 
 (where the m is itself a substitution for Aryan N) ; E. 
 ousel, cognate with G. amsel ; softe, E. cognate with G. 
 sanft, O. H. G. samfto (adverb). 
 
 becomes ;/ before /, as in A. S. crmete, E. emmet, or by 
 contraction ant. So also we have Hants for Hamtonshirt, 
 otherwise called Hampshire, where the p is excrescent. Cf. 
 aunt (through the French) from Lat. amita. 
 
 § 352. History of Y. The original Aryan Y is repre- 
 sented in A. S. by ge only in a very few words, viz. ye, yea, 
 yes, year, yore, yet, yoke, yon, young, youth ; in you, your, the g 
 
376 
 
 ENGLISH CONSONANTS. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 was dropped, viz. in A. S. eotv, eower. In other cases y 
 corresponds to an Aryan G. See § 337. 
 
 § 353. History of It. In most Aryan languages, r has 
 a tendency to turn into /. Hence we can explain E. smoulder ; 
 from M. E. smolder, a stifling smoke, as being a variant of 
 M. E. smorther, with the same sense ; from A. S. smor-ian, to 
 stifle. The M. E. smorther is now smother, so that smoulder 
 and smother are doublets. 
 
 Rr has become dd in A. S. pearruc, M. E. parrok, an 
 enclosure, now paddock. In fact, the railway-station now 
 called Paddock Wood is in the old manor of Parrocks ; 
 Archaeologia Cantiana, xiii. 128; Hasted's Hist, of Kent, 
 8 vo., v. 286. Cf. porridge < poddige < pottage, 
 
 R has disappeared from speak, M. E. speken, A. S. sprecan; 
 also from speech, M. E. speche, A. S. spcsc, earlier spr&c. 
 
 R is intrusive in bride-groom, for bridegoom, A. S. bryd- 
 guma ; not, however, in groom itself ; also in hoarse, M. E. 
 hors, hoos, A. S. has. Surf was formerly suffe, probably from 
 A. S. swogan, to make a rushing noise or ' sough.' As to the 
 pronunciation of r, see § 310. 
 
 Metathesis is not infrequent in words containing the letter r, 
 which is liable to shift its place. Thus we have bird, from 
 A. S. bridd ; burn, from A. S. brinnan ; bright, from Mercian 
 berht (A. S. beorht) ; cress, from A. S. ccerse ; fresh, from A. S. 
 fersc ; fright, from A. S. fyrhto ; nostril, for *nosihril = *nos- 
 thirl, A. S. nos/yrl; through, from A. S.purh, cf. E. thorough ; 
 wright, from A. S. wyrhla ; wrought, A. S. worhle ; third for 
 ihrid, from three ; thirteen, thirty, for thrittee?i, thriily. Cf. also 
 A. S. gcers or grccs, grass ; A. S. irnan or rinnan, to run ; E. 
 thirl or thrill, to pierce ; and E. frith as a variant of firth, 
 from Icel. fjordr. 
 
 § 354. History of L. L has disappeared from each, 
 which (Scotch whilk), such, A. S. die, hwile, swyle ; also 
 from as, M. E. als, alse, also, A. S. eal-swd, a doublet of also. 
 England is for Eng(le)-land, A. S. Engle-lond, JUnglaland, the 
 
§ 355-1 
 
 HISTORY OF W. 
 
 377 
 
 land of the Angles. L is not sounded in calf, half, calve, 
 halve, folk, yolk, talk, walk, qualm, &c; nor in would, should. 
 The spelling of would and should has brought about the 
 intrusive / in could for coud. Assimilation of // to // has 
 taken place in totter, pro v. E. toiler, A. S. tealtrian. 
 
 § 355. History of W. The A. S. suffix -wa or -we is 
 now written -ow, as in cerwe (cerewe), spearwa, now arrow, 
 sparrow. The A. S. final w is absorbed ; so that ireow is 
 tree, cneow is knee, gleow is glee, tr/owe is true, eow is you, Mw 
 is hue, &c. It is preserved to the eye in ewe, new, yew, 
 snow, &c, but is vocalised in pronunciation. 
 
 W has disappeared from A. S. w6s, E. ooze\ A. S. cwidu, 
 later cudu, E. cud ; feower, E. four ; Idwerce, E. lark (bird) ; 
 dwiht, ndwiht, E. aught, naught] sdwel (Goth, saiwald), 
 E. soul. It also occasionally drops in certain combinations, 
 as wl, thw, tw, sw. Thus lisp is from A. S. wlisp, adj., stam- 
 mering; thong, from A. S. pwang; tusk, from A. S. fesr 1 , 
 also /wz/.r (for *l7i>isc) ; such, from M. E. swiche, A. S. 
 swylc ; so, also, from A. S. swd, ealswd ; and sultry is for 
 sweltry. Note also answer and sword, where it is only present 
 to the eye. Sister is not derived from A. S. sweostor, but from 
 the cognate Icel. systir (Goth, swistar). 
 
 Hw is now written wh, reduced in pronunciation to a 
 mere w in Southern English ; the w is silent in who, A. S. 
 hwd, but the h remains. See § 336. 
 
 Wr is still written, but the w is silent, viz. in write, 
 wrong, &c. To this rule there is one exception, the written 
 w being now dropped in A. S. wrdl-an, to root or rout up, as 
 a pig does with his snout. The Promptorium Parvulorum 
 has : ' Wrotyn, as swyne ; Verror! Root, sb., is of Scand. 
 origin. 
 
 At the beginning of the sixteenth century a habit arose of 
 prefixing w to //, when the vowel 0 followed it, in certain 
 words. Thus M. E. hoot became whole, and M. E. hoot 
 1 The spelling fuse occurs in the Erfurt Glossary, 1. 487. 
 
378 
 
 ENGLISH CONSONANTS. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 became whote or whot; in which cases the w was slightly 
 sounded 1 . The w in ivhole and whot has again dropped 
 in pronunciation, but it is kept to the eye in the former 
 of these words; whereas whot is now hot. So also hoop 
 (F. houper) became whoop ; we must not make the mis- 
 take of confusing this word with A. S. w6p, sb., an outcry, 
 the derived verb from which is wepan, our weep. The 
 zv in woof is also unoriginal, and will be explained below ; 
 § 37°, P- 395- 
 
 § 356. History of S. Owing to the frequent change 
 of the sound of final s to z, the Anglo-French scribes intro- 
 duced the use of ce to denote a final j that had preserved 
 its sound ; in imitation of the F. spellings penance, price, 
 &c. Hence we find A. S. flys, is, lys, mys, mtnsian, dues, 
 answering to E. fleece, ice, lice, mice, mince, once) and the 
 M. E. hennes, sithens, thennes, thries, trewes, twies, whennes, 
 answering to E. hence, since, thence, thrice, truce, twice, whence. 
 Owing to a supposed etymology from F. cendre, we find A. S. 
 sinder, scoria, slag (Icel. sindr, Swed. sinder, G. sinter), 
 spelt cinder, as at present. The correct spelling sinder 
 occurs as early as the eighth century and as late as the 
 sixteenth; see my Supplement. Owing to confusion with 
 F. words, such as science, we find sc miswritten for s in 
 scythe, M. E. sithe, A. S. side. 
 
 S becomes z medially and finally in a large number of 
 words, a change which is sometimes indicated by writing 
 z, and sometimes not. On the one hand we have adze, 
 A. S. ccdese ; bedizen, allied to dis- in distaff ; blaze, A. S. 
 blase \ dizzy, A. S. dysig ; drizzle, frequentative of A. S. 
 dreos-an, to let fall in drops ; freeze (pp. frozen), A. S. 
 freosan; furze, k.S.fyrs; hazel, A. S. hcesel) nozzle, from 
 nose, A. S. nosu ; ooze, sb., wet mud, A. S. wos ; sneeze, 
 
 1 Halliwell gives prov. E. whoyne for home, and whoard for hoard. 
 We even find prov. E. woats or zuuts for oats ; and we all say wnn for 
 one. 
 
§ 357 ] 
 
 HISTOR Y OF S. 
 
 379 
 
 for *fneeze, M. E. fnesen, A. S. fneosan (whence also neeze, by 
 loss of /) ; wheeze, A. S. hwe'san ; wizen, from A. S. (for)- 
 wisnian, to dry up. So also brazen from brass, glaze from 
 £7^, graze from grass. On the other hand, we have 
 #r/,sr and rise, A. S. drisan, risan ; besom, A. S. besma ; 
 bosom, A. S. Mwz ; A. S. losian, properly c to become 
 loose ' ; nose, A. S. nosu ; whose, A. S. ^zewj ; A. S. 
 
 pas. So also the verbs house, louse, mouse, with se as z ; 
 from the sbs. house, louse, mouse, with se as Compare 
 with this the voicing of th between two vowels, as explained 
 in § 342. 
 
 S becomes sh in gush, from I cel. gusa ; and ch in linch-pin, 
 put for lins-pin, from A. S. an axle-tree. So al.-o 
 
 mod. E. henchman appears as M. E. hensman, short for 
 hengst-man, i. e. horseman, groom. Cf. * canterius, hengst 1 in 
 Wright's Vocabularies; and see heyncemann in the Promp- 
 torium Parvulorum. 
 
 § 357. S >r. There are some very interesting instances of 
 the change of s to r, by Verner's Law. In all such cases s took 
 first of all the intermediate sound of z. Obvious examples 
 occur in are, pi. of is ; were, pi. of was ; lorn, pp. of M. E. 
 leseh, A. S. leosan; frore, used by Milton for frozen. Other 
 examples are found in bare, A. S. ba?r, cognate with Lithu- 
 anian basas, bare-footed; berry, A. S. berige, Goth, bast; 
 blare (of a trumpet), from M. E. blasen, to blow loudly 
 (cf. blas-i) ; dreary, A. S. dreor-ig, orig. dripping with gore, 
 from dreos-an, to drip ; ear, A. S. /are, Goth, auso ; hear, 
 A. S. h/ran, hyran, Goth, hausjan ; iron, A. S. iren, earlier 
 form hen ; lore and Aw//, A. S. lar and leornian, from a 
 Teut. base leis, appearing in Goth, lais, I have found out, 
 I know ; rear, v., A. S. rdran (=*rces-ian), causal verb from 
 rise ; weary, A. S. w/r-ig, from wSrian, to tramp over a 
 moor, from wor, a moor = w6s, mire. 
 
 One very singular example of a similar change occurs in 
 the mod. E. dare ; the A. S. form is dear, standing for dearr 
 
3 8o 
 
 ENGLISH CONSONANTS. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 ( = *dearz), cognate with Goth, dars, I dare (cf. Gk. daptr-elv). 
 The radical s reappears in the pt. t. durs-t. 
 
 § 358. In several words s has disappeared from the end, 
 having been mistaken for the plural suffix, and its removal 
 has formed a new but incorrect singular \ A. S. by r gels, 
 a tomb, M. E. buriels, became M. E. buriel, whence our 
 burial. A. S. rddelse, M. E. redels, a riddle, became M. E. 
 redel, whence our riddle. A. S. pisa, pi. pis an, borrowed 
 from Lat. pisum, became M. E. pese, pi. pesen or peses, later 
 pease, pi. peas on ; then pease was taken to stand for peas, 
 a plural ; the s was cut off, and the result is E. pea. 
 Similarly the supposed pi. scales is really a singular, being 
 borrowed from Du. schaats, pi. schaatsen. On the other 
 hand, the pi. bodies, in the sense of stays for women, has 
 been turned into a singular, spelt bodice ; bracken is really a 
 plural in -en, A. S. braccan, pi. of bracce, i. e. brake. Eaves 
 is singular, A. S. efese ; and so is alms, A. S. cebnesse (Gk. 
 
 § 359. The combinations si, sp, sir, spr, are extremely 
 common, and remain unchanged. There is hardly any 
 tendency, as in some languages, to drop the initial s. It is 
 however lost in paddle, formerly spaddle, when used in the 
 sense of a small spade, being in fact the diminutive form of 
 spade ; this is due to confusion with paddle, in the sense of 
 an implement for managing a boat. 
 
 S is intrusive in island, M. E. Hand, A. S. igland, by 
 confusion with F. isle, from Lat. insula. 
 
 S is sometimes prefixed. It is common to compare melt 
 with smelt, and to say that the s in smelt is prefixed. This 
 is untrue ; both meltan and smeltan are A. S. and general 
 Teutonic forms; and, if they are connected, we can more 
 
 1 See a list of Words corrupted through mistakes about Number, in 
 A. S. Palmer's Folk-Etymology, 1882, p. 592. But there are a few 
 errors in it, as e. g. under knee, supposed to be plural ; lea, supposed 
 to be a fictitious singular. 
 
§ 3<5o.] 
 
 HISTORY OF SK. 
 
 3 8l 
 
 easily derive melt from s??ielt by supposing that the s was 
 lost. But there is a real prefixing of s in s-queeze, from 
 A. S. cwisan, cwesan, to crush. This s is due to association 
 with s-quash, a word of F. origin, from O. F. es-quacher 
 (= Lat. ex-coactare), in which the s represents the O. F. 
 intensive prefix es- = Lat. ex \ Several other words have 
 been explained as containing the same intensive prefix, but 
 I believe that most of such explanations are wrong 2 . Sneeze 
 is probably nothing more than a variant of the older fneeze, 
 due to substituting the common combination sn for the 
 rare and difficult fn; whilst neeze resulted from dropping/! 
 
 § 360. SK. The A.S. sc, when followed by e or t\ com- 
 monly becomes M. E. scA, E. sh ; as in A. S. sceamu, E. 
 shame ; A. S. scinan, E. shine. Exceptions are mostly due to 
 Norse influence ; as in E. skin, from Icel. skinn. When 
 followed by other vowels, sc also commonly becomes sh, as 
 in A. S. scaga, E. shaw ; A. S. sculdor, E. shoulder ; A. S. 
 scyttan, E. shut. But A. S. scab remains as scab, with a 
 double form of the adjective, viz. scabby, shabby. A. F. esc ale 
 is E. scale, but A. S. scell is E. shell. Sc final also becomes sh ; 
 as in crsc, ash (tree),fisc, fish, the dative cases of these words 
 being a?sce and fisce ; compare the remarks in note 3, p. 354. 
 In the word schooner, the sch is an imitation of Dutch 
 spelling; but it should rather be scooner, from the prov. E. 
 scoon, to glide over water. The late Du. word schooner is 
 borrowed from English 3 . 
 
 St. Medial si may become ss, as in blossom, A. S. 
 bldsima ; misselthrush = mistlethrush, the thrush that feeds 
 on the berries of the mistletoe. In mistleloe, A. S. mistelldn, 
 the st is now pronounced as ss; as also in glisten, listen. 
 
 1 Even in Italian we find the same prefix used intensively ; thus, 
 s~gridare, to scold, is derived from gridare, to cry out, by prefixing s = 
 Lat. ex. (The Ital. s also stands for Lat. dts-.) 
 
 2 The old notion of etymologising was to rush to conclusions by 
 combining uncertain instances, often unrelated, under a general law. 
 
 3 Whitney, Language and the Science of Language, 1868, p. 38. 
 
3 82 
 
 ENGLISH CONSONANTS. [Chap. XVIII. 
 
 Mizzle, to fall in fine drops, is a frequentative formed from 
 mist, i. e. fine rain ; it stands for *missle = *mistle. 
 
 Metathesis occasionally takes place of final sk, which 
 becomes x (ks), and of final ps, which becomes sp. Thus 
 E. ask also appears as prov. E. ax (= aks) ; E. wasp is 
 prov. E. waps, from A. S. weeps. M. E. has clapsen as well 
 as claspen for E. clasp ; and this is an older form, being allied 
 to clamp. Similarly grasp is for *grap-s, M. E. grapsen, allied 
 to grab and gripe. Hasp is for *haps = A. S. hcepse, a bolt 
 of a door, a ' fitting'; allied to A. S. ge-hcep, fit. Asp-en is 
 an adjectival form from A. S. crps. Lisp is from A. S. wlips, 
 stammering. 
 
 § 361. The principal results of the preceding chapter 
 may be exhibited in the following table. It may be observed 
 that the consonantal changes in words of French origin 
 are of a similar character in a great many respects ; but 
 there are a few such changes which are not here represented. 
 These will receive attention on a future occasion. 
 
 TABLE OF PRINCIPAL CONSONANTAL CHANGES. 
 
 (N.B. — The italic w and y denote vowel-sounds, forming parts of a 
 diphthong ; the roman w and y denote consonants.) 
 
 Aryan. 
 
 Teutonic 
 
 A.-Saxon. 
 
 Mid. English. 
 
 Modern. 
 
 G 
 
 K 
 
 c ; ce 
 
 C, k, g ; ch, j, ce 
 
 c,k, g, t ; ch, j, 
 
 
 
 
 
 ce, gh 
 
 
 K (doubled) 
 
 cc 
 
 cc, ck, kk ; cch 
 
 ck ; tch 
 
 SK 
 
 SK, KS 
 
 sc, see; x 
 
 sc ; sch, sh ; x 
 
 sc, sk ; sh; x 
 
 Gw 
 
 KW 
 
 cvv 
 
 qu 
 
 qu 
 
 K 
 
 H 
 
 h 
 
 h; (lost); gh 
 
 h ; (lost) ; gh 
 
 Q 
 
 HW 
 
 h\v 
 
 wh 
 
 wh, w 
 
 GH 
 
 G 
 
 g; ge; h 
 
 g ; y, 3 ; gh, w, f ; 
 
 g, y ; gh, w, f; 
 
 
 
 
 ge (j), hy 
 
 ge; h y 
 
 
 GG, GY, 
 
 eg 
 
 gg> gge 
 
 dge 
 
 D 
 
 T 
 
 t 
 
 t; d; (lost) 
 
 t; d; (lost) 
 
 T 
 
 Til 
 
 J>,S; t, d 
 
 J), th ; t, d ; (lost) 
 
 th ; t, d ; (lost) 
 
 DH 
 
 D 
 
 d 
 
 d, t ; (lost) 
 
 d, t; (lost) 
 
 N 
 
 N 
 
 n ; (lost) 
 
 n; (lost) 
 
 n ; m ; (lost) 
 
 B? P? 
 
 P 
 
 p; f 
 
 p, b ; u ( = v) 
 
 p, b ; ve 
 
§361.] TABLE OF CONSONANTAL CHANGES. 383 
 
 Aryan. 
 
 Teutonic. 
 
 A. -Saxon. 
 
 Mid. English. 
 
 Modern. 
 
 p 
 
 
 f 
 
 
 f, ff ; v, ve ; (lost) 
 
 BH 
 
 B 
 
 b 
 
 
 b d 
 
 M 
 
 M 
 
 m 
 
 m 
 
 m ; n 
 
 Y 
 
 Y 
 
 
 y. 5 
 
 y 
 
 R, L 
 
 R, L 
 
 r, 1 
 
 r (1) ; 1 
 
 r(i); 1 
 
 W 
 
 W 
 
 w 
 
 w; (lost) 
 
 w, ow; (lost) 
 
 S 
 
 S 
 
 s; r 
 
 if I S 
 
 , z ; sh, sc ; r ; (lost) 
 
 Excrescent letters : d, t, after n ; b, p, after m ; t, after 
 s, x ; n, after r. These produce the combinations nd, 7//, 
 mb, mp, st, xl, rn, in certain cases. See §§ 341, 344, 347, 
 35o. 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 Various Changes in the Forms of Words. 
 
 § 362. In § 322 and § 323 above, I have noted some of 
 the principal modes in which the forms of words are affected. 
 Some of these require further discussion and exemplification. 
 It is impossible to avoid some repetition, but I give old results 
 briefly, with references to former sections. 
 
 (1) Palatalisation. See this discussed in § 324. For 
 examples, see §§ 325, 326, 330, 339. 
 
 (2) Voicing of voiceless letters. Examples have 
 already been given in §§ 318, 323, 327, 328, 340, 342, 348. 
 Thus we have loaves as the pi. of loaf, dig from dike, know- 
 ledge from M. E. knowleche, jowl from M.E. chattel (chavel), 
 proud from A. S. pr6t, breathe from breath, &c. ; lobster from 
 A. S. loppestre, pebble from A. S. papol, &c. 
 
 (3) Vocalisation of voiced letters. This is particu- 
 larly common in the case of g ; see § 338. So also w ; see 
 § 355- 
 
 (4) Assimilation. This produces a grouping of voiceless 
 letters, as in the sound lookt for looked ; or of voiced letters, 
 as in the sound dogz for dogs ; as explained in § 318. It 
 also produces doubled letters, as in blossom (§ 340), bless 
 (§ 344) ; bliss (§ 342) ; lemman (later leman), Lammas, woman, 
 Early E. wimman (§ 349). It is extremely common in Latin, 
 as in of-ferre for ob-ferre, whence E. offer ; and is quite a 
 distinguishing feature of Italian and Icelandic. Notable ex- 
 amples are seen in Ital. ammirare, to admire ; Icel. drekka, 
 to drink. 
 
§ 363.] 
 
 ABBREVIATION. 
 
 385 
 
 (5) Substitution. Examples have been given of / for k 
 (§ 3 2 9) ; of k f °r t (§ 340) ; of d for 3 (§ 342) ; of / for p 
 (§ 342) ; and of sh and ch for s (§ 356). We may refer 
 hither the change from s ( = z) to r (§ 357). 
 
 (6) Metathesis. Examples have been given of ks or x 
 for sfc, and for (§ 360) ; and of the frequent shifting of r 
 (§ 353)- So also modern E. employs ivh for A. S. hw, 
 and commonly has le finally for A. S. el, as in idle, from 
 A. S. idel ; but these are merely graphic changes, appeal- 
 ing to the eye. It is also extremely probable that the 
 sense of M. E. tikelen, to tickle, a frequentative verb from 
 the base tik, to touch lightly, was influenced in sense, 
 and confused with, the Icel. kitla, to tickle, whence prow 
 E. kittle, to tickle, and the adj. kittle, used in the precise 
 sense of the mod. E. ticklish. So also wallet, M. E. zvalel, 
 appears to be a mere substitution for M.E. watel, formerly 
 used in the sense of 1 bag ' or 1 basket ' ; as shewn in my 
 Dictionary. Other examples of metathesis are seen in neeld 
 for needle ; in acre, an Anglo-French spelling of A. S. cecer, 
 as may be seen by consulting the Year-books of Edward I, 
 edited by Mr. Horwood (though this only affects the written 
 form) ; and in several words of French origin. 
 
 § 363. (7) Abbreviation ; including Aphesis, Syn- 
 cope, and Apocope. There are many ways in which 
 abbreviation can take place, and examples are numerous. 
 
 Aphesis. The dropping of an initial short vowel is so 
 common that Dr. Murray has found it convenient to invent 
 a special name for it. He calls it aphesis (Gk. a^fo-i?,, a 
 letting go), and defines it thus : 1 the gradual and uninten- 
 tional loss of a short unaccented vowel at the beginning of 
 a word/ A word in which aphesis occurs is called aphetic. 
 Most of such words are, however, of French origin. Among 
 those of English origin we may note : down, short for M. E. 
 adoun, A. S. of-dune, lit. off the down or hill, and so, down- 
 wards ; lone, short for alone ; wayward, short for awqyward. 
 
 vol. 1. c c 
 
3 86 
 
 PHONOLOGY. 
 
 [Chap. XIX. 
 
 To these we may add bishop, A. S. biscop, borrowed from Lat. 
 episcopus) sterling, short for Esterling) and many words of 
 French origin. 
 
 Initial consonants are lost in several words. Thus K 
 has disappeared in nip, nibble, nap] see § 331. Zfhas disap- 
 peared in all words which began in A. S. with hi, hn, and hr ; 
 see the list in § 332 ; also in A. S. hit, E. it. A. S. g, later 
 3, is lost in if, itch \ § 337. A. S. p is lost in pwitel, E. whit- 
 tle) and thwak is commonly whack) § 342. A. S. n is lost 
 in adder, auger, aught (for naught) ; § 346. i^ 7 has disappeared 
 from M.lL.fnesen, to sneeze, leaving the form neese, Mids. 
 Nt. Dream, ii. 1. 56. A. S. w is lost in lisp, ooze, § 355 ; and 
 is silent in the combination wr. 
 
 § 364. Medial consonants are also lost in various words. 
 C is lost in A. S. druncnian, M. E. druncnien, druncnen, later 
 drounen, E. drown. An original Teut. h is lost even in A. S. 
 in ear, see, slay, tear, sb. ; § 335. Welsh, A. S. welisc, is really 
 for *zvelhise, being derived from wealh, a stranger. H \§ also 
 lost in modern E. in trout, not) § 335. G often disappears 
 from sight, becoming first M. E. 3, and then i or y, and so 
 forming part of a diphthong, as in A. S. htfgel, later hceyl, 
 hay I, mod. E. hail ; see examples in § 338, where I have also 
 included nine, steward, tile ; and lent (for lengt). Tis lost in best, 
 last, &c. ; § 340. Th is lost in worship, wrist, Norfolk, &c. ; 
 §342. D, in answer, gospel, upholsterer, bandog ; § 344. N, 
 in ell, elbow, eleven, spider, Thursday, tithe) and even in 
 A. S. in could, goose, lithe, mouth, other, tooth ; § 346. An 
 Aryan n is lost in five) § 351. F has disappeared in hast, 
 hath, has, had, head, lord, lady, leman, woman ; and has be- 
 come m in Lammas) § 349. M \s lost, even in A. S., in ousel, 
 soft; §351. R is lost in smother, speak, speech) § 353. L, 
 in as, each, such, which, and is often silent, as in calf, folk, 
 walk, &c. ; § 354. W is lost in also, aught, naught, four, 
 lark, so, soul, thong, and is silent in answer, sword ; in such 
 (for swich), tusk (probably for *lwisc), sultry (for sweltry), cud 
 
§ 365.] LOSS OF FINAL CONSONANTS. 387 
 
 (doublet of quid), the effect of a w upon the following vowel 
 is plainly discernible ; see § 355. 
 
 § 365. Final consonants are also lost. Examples are 
 seen in the loss of k, A. S. c, as in barley, every, I, and all 
 words in -ly ; also in sigh (A. S. sic-an), where the gh is silent ; 
 
 §328. 
 
 The A. S. h, later gh, is silent in borough, bough, &c. ; and 
 is entirely lost in fee, lea, roe (deer), and even in A. S. seed, 
 E. shoe. 
 
 The A. S. g constantly becomes y, i.e. part of a diph- 
 thong, as in day, gray, key, &c. ; and A. S. final -ig becomes 
 E. -y, not only in adjectives such as holy, any, many, dizzy 
 (A. S. hdlig, dnig, mcenig, dysig), but even in substantives, as 
 body, ivy, penny (A. S. bodig, ifig^penig, short for pening, pend- 
 ing) ; § 338. Similarly, the A. S. g becomes i when not final, 
 as in A. S. molegn, E. mullein. 
 
 T is lost in anvil, § 340; and d in wanion, woodbine, 
 tine, lipie, § 344. 
 
 The loss of final n is quite a characteristic mark of the 
 modern language. Not only is it lost in ell from A. S. eln, 
 game from A. S. gameji (the full form of which is preserved 
 as gammon), holly from A. S. holegn, mill from A. S. my In 
 (compare the equivalent names Miller and Mihier), mistletoe 
 from A. S. misteltdn, sulky from A. S. (a)solcen, but in a large 
 number of words which in A. S. ended in -an. This A. S. 
 suffix (-an) usually has a grammatical value, and is found at 
 the end of all infinitives, and at the end of many adverbs and 
 prepositions ; but in modern English it is either lost or is re- 
 presented only by a mute e. Thus A. S. sing-an became M. E. 
 sing-en, sing-e, and is now sing ; and so with most other verbs. 
 A. S. mac-ian became M. E. mak-icn, mak-en, and is now make ; 
 but the final e is mute. Among the adverbs, it may suffice to 
 mention A. S. dbufan, E. above ; A. S. on-sundran, E. asunder ; 
 A. S. a/tan, behind, E. aft ; A. S. be/bran, E. before ; A. S. 
 behindan, E. behind, &c. Among the prepositions we may 
 
 c c 2 
 
3 88 
 
 PHONOLOGY. 
 
 [Chap. XIX. 
 
 note A. S. beneo3an, E. beneath ; A. S. wiSinnan, E. within ; 
 A. S. on-butan, d-butan, E. about, &c. To these we may add 
 A. S. but-an, E. but, often used as a conjunction. In all these 
 instances, the -an was originally a case-ending of a substan- 
 tive or adjective ; it was weakened to -en in M. E., and has 
 since become mute e or has disappeared. Curious exceptions 
 are seen in the words hence, thence, whence, since. The A. S. 
 hin-an, hence, later heon-an, became M. E. hen-en, henn-en, and 
 (by loss of ;/) henn-e ; at this stage, instead of the e being lost, 
 the commonly adverbial suffix -es was substituted for it, giving 
 M. E. he?in-es, later hens, mod. E. hen-ce. The final -ce is 
 merely the Anglo-French scribal device for shewing that the 
 final s was voiceless. So also we have A. S. 3an-an, 3a?i-on, 
 M. E. thann-e, thenn-e, later thenn-es, and finally then-ce ; A. S. 
 hwan-an, hwan-on, M. E. whan-en, whann-e, later whenn-es, 
 and finally whence. A. S. si3-3dm (i. e. ' after the/ 3dm being 
 the dat. case of the definite article), became, in late A. S., si33- 
 an, M. E. si3en, sithen, to which the adverbial suffix -s (short 
 for -es) was added, giving M. E. sithens, later sithence (Shake- 
 speare), and, by contraction, since. The same case-ending 
 -an has disappeared in Monday, A. S. rnon-an dceg, day of the 
 moon ; Sunday, A. S. sunn-an dceg, day of the sun. In 
 yester-day, A. S. gistr-an dcpg, the -an is a case-ending, prob- 
 ably a genitive ; the nominative being the adjectival form 
 gistra, which occurs in Gothic. The only traces left of the 
 old suffix -an are in the plural nominatives ox-en, brethr-en, 
 childr-en, shoo-n, ey-?ie, ki-ne ; to which we may add brack-en 
 originally the plural of brake (§ 358). In one adverb, oft-en, 
 we have the suffix -en added by analogy with other M. E. 
 adverbs ; the A. S. form being simply oft. Cf. § 346. Other 
 examples of the loss of final n are seen in eve, short for even, 
 i.e. evening; my, thy, short for mine, thine; #0,short for none', ago, 
 short for agone ; el(bow) for eln(bow) ; ember-days for embern- 
 days, from A. S. ymb-ren, ymb-ryne, a running round, circuit, 
 course, hence ( season ' ; stem for stemn, A. S. stemn, stefn. 
 
§ 366.] 
 
 SYNCOPE. 
 
 389 
 
 Final w has disappeared in glee, knee, tree, hue, true, you ; 
 § 355- 
 
 Final s has disappeared in burial, riddle, pea ; and in 
 several words of French origin, as cherry, sherry, &c. ; 
 § 358. 
 
 § 366. Syncope. The term syncope is usually restricted 
 to that peculiar form of contraction which results from the 
 loss of letters and syllables in the middle of a word, as when 
 we use eer for ever, evry for every. Examples of the loss of 
 medial consonants have been given in § 364. The loss of 
 the medial g in particular produces a very real syncope, by 
 reducing the number of syllables in a word, the A. S. nagel 
 being now nail, &c. ; see § 338. A similar result comes 
 from the loss of a medial vowel. Examples are : adze for 
 ad'ze, A. S. adesa ; ant for am'/, A. S. ame/fe ; church for 
 church, A. S. cyrice, later cyrce, circe ; newt for ewt-=eft—ef 7, 
 A. S. efeta ; hemp for henp, A. S. henep, hanep ; mint for mi?it, 
 A. S. mynet, borrowed from Lat. moneta ; monk for monk, 
 A. S; munec, from Lat. monachus ; month for moiith, A. S. 
 monap. We may add some adjectives, as bald= M. E. ball-ed ; 
 own = M.JL. owen, A. S. dgen ; French for Frankish; Scotch 
 or Scots for Scotish or Scottish ; Welsh for Wale-ish, &c. 
 The omission of e in the pp. suffix -en is extremely common, 
 as in thrown for throw n, A. S. prdw-en ; born for bor'n, A. S. 
 bor-en, &c. Syncope also gives us don for do on, dout for 
 do out, doff for do off, dup for up. Syncope sometimes 
 does considerable violence to the original forms, as in these 
 examples : either, A. S. dgder, syncopated form of dg-hwaeder, 
 which again is for d-ge-hwcefier, and so compounded of a, 
 aye, ge, the common prefix, and hwccder, whether 1 ; else, A. S. 
 elles ; England, A. S. jEngla-land, land of the Angles ; fort- 
 night for fourteen night ; fdcsle for fore-castle ; lady, A. S. 
 
 1 Cf. G. jeder, compounded of je and wcdcr ; here je answers to A. S. 
 d, and weder to hwader ; the ge not appearing in it. Thus jeder is pre- 
 cisely the equivalent of E. or \ see below. 
 
39° 
 
 PHONOLOGY. 
 
 [Chap. XIX. 
 
 hldfdige ; /ark, A. S. Idwerce ; last for lafst, i.e. latest) lord, 
 A. S. hldford ; made for makede, A. S. macode ; park for parrock, 
 A. S. pearruc ; sennight for j*z>£» night \ since for sithence 
 (§ 365) ; whirlwind for *whirfle-wind, Icel. hvirfilvindr , Dan. 
 hvirvelvind. So also 0r is short for 0//$d?r or auther, A. S. 
 dwder ; and again the A. S. dwcfer is a contracted form of 
 d-hwceder, from ever, and hwadtr, whether. Consequently 
 <?r differs from «'/&r only as d-hwceder does from d-ge-hwoeder ; 
 in other words, the latter contains the particle ge, and the 
 former does not. So also nor = ne or, from A. S. ne, not, and 
 d-hwceder ; and neither = either. 
 
 Another kind of syncope appears in the shortening of vowels, 
 as in shepherd for sheepherd. There are several words with 
 short vowels which were once long. Thus rod is short for 
 rood ; the vowels in red, bread, dead, shred, lead (a metal), 
 head, answer to A. S. e*a ; those in breast, friend, hip (dog-rose), 
 to A. S. eo ; those in breath, health, sweat, to A. S. de ; those in 
 cloth, gone, hol f wot, to A. S. a ; ten is short for teen, as in 
 thir-teen ; the i in ditch was once long, as in dike ; the 0 was 
 once long in other, mother, brother, doth, done, glove, &c. See 
 further in § 454. 
 
 § 367. Apocope. The omission of final letters or syllables 
 of a word is called apocope. Numerous examples have been 
 already given, the most noticeable being the loss of final n in 
 inflexions ; see § 366. Putting aside the loss of final conso- 
 nants, the apocope of vowels is the chief distinguishing mark 
 of modern English as compared with Early English and, 
 more particularly, with Anglo-Saxon. It pervades the whole 
 of the language. All final A. S. vowels, whether a, e, 0, or u, 
 became 4 levelled ' to e ; and subsequently all the final e's, so 
 common in Middle English, were lost or became mute. At 
 the same time, all the A. S. genders have been lost ; modern 
 English knows nothing of grammatical gender ; it only recog- 
 nises logical gender, as in man, wife, fish ; or metaphorical gen- 
 der, as when we speak of a ship as feminine. The A. S. man is 
 
§ 367.] 
 
 APOCOPE. 
 
 391 
 
 of a common gender, wif and scip are neuter, and fisc is mas- 
 culine. As the final vowel, or the absence of one, gave some 
 sort of indication, though not always a sure one, of the 
 gender, the loss of genders assisted the loss of the final vowel, 
 by rendering any retention of it unnecessary. A few examples 
 must suffice. 
 
 (a) A. S. final -a is lost in ass-a, E. ass ; bog-a, E. bow ; 
 drop-a, E. drop ; f6d-a, IZ.food ; fol-a, Y..foal\ ??ion-a, E. moon, 
 &c. It has become e mute in ap-a, E. ape ; har-a, E. hare ; 
 cnap-a, cnaf-a, E. knave, &C 1 . A. S. crum-a, M. E. crum-me, 
 is now crumb, with excrescent b. If a consonant is doubled 
 before the final -a, it appears in modern E. as a single con- 
 sonant only ; thus A. S. lip-pa is now lip ; A. S. steor-ra, M. E. 
 sler-re, is now star. The chief exceptions are -c-ca and -/-la, 
 where the doubled consonant remains; as in A. S. stic-ca, E. 
 stick ; A. S. geal-la, E. gall. So also we have A. S. ass-a, 
 M. E. ass-e, E. ass ; but in grass, from A. S. grces, the j is 
 doubled to shew that it is voiceless. 
 
 (b) A. S. final -e is lost in crdw-e, E. crow ; end-e, E. end : 
 eord-e, E. ozr/A, &c. It is mute in side, A. S. J7</-^ ; wise, sb., 
 A. S. wis-e, &c. A. S. -ttM final becomes E. -ow, as in 
 are~we, M. E. ar-we, E. arr-ow. Very often the original final 
 
 has left a trace in mod. E. by producing palatalisation ; as 
 in E. witch, from A. S. wic-ce. The final -e of the dative case 
 is often the cause of such palatalisation ; as shewn in §§ 325, 
 339- 
 
 (c) A. S. final -0 or -// is lost in h&t-o, E. heat; yld-o, E. 
 eld (old age) ; dur-u, E. door ; sun-u, E. son ; wud-u, E. wood. 
 It is mute e in beal-u, E. bale (evil) ; eal-u, E. ofr, &c. It is 
 needless to multiply instances of this character. 
 
 A few other examples of apocope may be noted. A. S. 
 
 1 Observe how the mod. E. accented vowel is lengthened, by the 
 principle of compensation ; it becomes of more importance and bears a 
 greater stress. Very curious is the exceptional shortening, owing to 
 common use, in the verb to have ; its regular form comes out in the 
 compound be- have. 
 
39* 
 
 PHONOLOGY, 
 
 [Chap. XIX. 
 
 celmesse (Gk. cXerjixocrvvrj), M. E. ahnesse, drops -se and becomes 
 a/wfj ; and finally alms, by syncope. Final -en has been lost 
 in lent, A. S. lend- en ; and in kindred, A. S. cyn-rced-en, the 
 former being excrescent. Final -ze/* is lost in gear, A. S. 
 gear-we ; final -£7* in harbour, Icel. herbcr-gi; final -z> or 
 in /ca^, A. S. tdd-ie, tdd-ige. The A. S. hag-tesse has been cut 
 down to hag. 
 
 § 368. (8) Unvoicing of voiced consonants. This 
 process is extremely rare ; examples are : abbot from A. S. 
 abbod, but this has clearly been influenced by an attempt to 
 bring it more nearly to its original form, as seen in Lat. acc. 
 abba /-cm ; cuttk\fisK) or cuttle, put for * cuddle, from A. S. 
 cudcle, perhaps influenced by G. Kuttelfisch, of obscure origin ; 
 tilt (of a cart), M. E. telt, earlier teld, from A. S. teld 1 , the form 
 being influenced by Dan. tell, Swed. tall, a tent. The mod. 
 prov. E. want or wont, a mole, is from A. S. wand, an ex- 
 tremely early form, found in the Epinal Glossary, 1. 1014; 
 possibly a derivative from wind-an, to wind, turn (pt. t. wand). 
 The voiced b becomes / in gossip, M. E. god-sib, lit. ' related 
 in God,' originally applied to a sponsor in baptism. A most 
 remarkable example is seen in purse, a word of Latin origin, 
 from Lat. bursa ; it occurs as purs in A. S. 
 
 § 369. (9) Addition. The rule in English, as in other 
 languages, is that words become diminished in course of 
 time by various forms of loss. 1 Letters, like soldiers/ says 
 Home Tooke 2 , are ' very apt to desert and drop off in a long 
 march/ Anything in the nature of addition or amplification 
 is comparatively rare, and invariably slight. Such insertions 
 are mostly ' euphonic 1 in the strict sense, i. e. they mostly 
 represent some slight change in the sound which requires an 
 insertion in order to compensate for a loss. This will be 
 
 1 The A. S. form is invariably teld or geteld, a tent, with a verb 
 teldian, to cover. The d is original, and becomes High German t in 
 
 zelt. 
 
 - Diversions of Purley, pt. i. c. 6. 
 
§ 369.] 
 
 VO WEL-INSER TION. 
 
 393 
 
 easily understood by observing the examples. They may be 
 distributed into two sets: (1) those in which vowels are in- 
 serted; and (2) those in which consonants are inserted. 
 
 Vowel-insertions. The A. S. hwisprian became M. E. 
 whisperen, whence E. whisper. Here, the e, apparently in- 
 serted, may be due to metathesis, i. e. to putting er (= ir) 
 for ri l . When the A. S. besma lost its final -a, the scribes in- 
 serted a vowel to shew that the m formed a syllable ; hence E. 
 bes(o)m. Similarly A. S. blostma became bloss(o)m, with loss 
 of / and a ; A. S. bosm is now bos{p)m ; A. S. botm is now 
 bott(o)?n ; A. S.fzfcn is now falh(o)m. A. S. hyrcnian became 
 M. E. herkn-en, whence our heark[e)n. The / in glisten is 
 probably due to a graphic mistake, by confusion with glister ; 
 it would be better omitted. Then glis(e)n or gliss(e)n would 
 correctly represent the A. S. glisn-ian. We can explain beacon 
 from M. E. beken, A. S. be'acen ; but we may notice that the 
 A. S. word is frequently spelt be'acn. In the words bow-y-er, 
 braz-i-er, cloth-i-er, coll-i-er, glaz-i-er, graz-i-er, harr-i-er 
 ( = har-i-er), hos-i-er, saw-y-er, spurr-i-er, we have an inserted 
 i or y ( = i) which it is not very easy to understand. Matzner 
 suggests that such words were assimilated to certain substan- 
 tives, such as court-i-er, farr-i-er, sold-i-er, in which the 
 suffix -i-er is French, from Lat. -arius (Brachet, Hist. French 
 Gram., tr. by Kitchin, bk. iii. c. 2). We may notice that F. 
 verbs such as carry, curry, likewise gave rise to a suffix of 
 similar form in words such as carri-er, curri-er, where the -er 
 is purely English. I think it extremely probable that such 
 trade-names as farr-i-er (with F. -ier) and curri-er (with E. 
 -er after i) combined to suggest new trade-names such as 
 bow-y-er, braz-i-er, cloth-i-er, coll-i-er, glaz-i-er, graz-i-er, 
 hos-i-er, saw-y-er, spurr-i-er ; and that harr-i-er was invented 
 
 1 Most vowel-insertions occur in an unaccented syllable, and between 
 two consonants, the latter of which is either a liquid or w. The reason 
 is that the liquids, as well as zv, are often vocalised, and an attempt is 
 made to express this in writing. 
 
394 
 
 PHONOLOGY. 
 
 [Chap. XIX. 
 
 to pair off with lerr-i-er. It is not to be forgotten that there 
 was yet a third way in which the suffix -i~er sometimes arose. 
 The A. S. luf-ian, to love, produced an M. E. form louyen 
 (=lovien) as well as louen (=loven), and hence was formed a 
 sb. buyer ( = lovier) as well as loner (-=. lover) \ Here the /or 
 y is really due to the i in the causal suffix -ian of the A. S. 
 verb. Hence I take the most likely solution to be, that the 
 form in -ier, naturally arising in three different ways, was 
 looked upon as being always the same, and so established 
 itself as a convenient occasional form of the agential suffix. 
 
 The insertion of o before w is common, to shew that the 
 w has become vocal. Thus A. S. wealwian is to wallow, the 
 sbs. arrow, morrow, pillow, sallow, sorrow, sparrow, willow, 
 answer to M. E. arwe, morwe, pilwe, salwe, sorwe, sparwe, 
 wilwe, from A. S. arewe, morgen, pyle (a short form, for the 
 original is the Lat. puluinus), sealh (gen. sealge), sorh (gen. 
 sor £ e )> spearwa, wilig (gen. wilige) ; and the adjs. fallow, nar- 
 row, answer to A. S.fealu (definite form fealwa), and nearu 
 (definite form nearwa). 
 
 An inorganic mute e was often added by ignorant scribes 
 in impossible places, as e.g. in makethe, but this needs no atten- 
 tion or remark ; unless it be worth while to say that modern 
 comic writers imagine that they can produce ' Old English 1 
 by adding a final e at random, and thus creating such 
 monstrous forms as halhe, dranke, wilhe, lhatle, itie, and the 
 like ; for such is English scholarship in the nineteenth century ! 
 
 We do, however, find an inorganic mute e in mouse, house, 
 louse, goose, geese, horse, worse, &c. ; this is merely an ortho- 
 graphic device (like the -ce in mice) for shewing that the s is 
 voiceless, and not pronounced as z. Yet the verbs to house, to 
 louse, to mouse are spelt precisely the same ; we must look to 
 
 1 See Luuien and Louien in the glossary to Specimens of English, 
 Part I, ed. Morris. In Chaucer, C. T. 1347, where the Ellesmere MS. 
 has loueres, the Pet worth and Lansdowne MSS. have louyers and /outers 
 respectively. Halliwell gives lovier as a provincial E. form still in use. 
 
§ 37o.] 
 
 CONSONA NT-INSER TION. 
 
 395 
 
 the context to distinguish them. In one, none, the final e ex- 
 presses the fact that the vowel was once long ; as in M. E. 
 oon, noon, A. S. an, nan. Sate for sat is simply a bad spelling, 
 but is not uncommon ; similarly we have bade for bad, 
 possibly to distinguish it, to the eye, from bad as an adjective. 
 Perhaps it is for a like reason that we write ate (not ai) for 
 the pt. t. of eat ; some indeed write eat, but this is as confus- 
 ing as our use of read (pronounced red) for the pt. t. of read. 
 The A. S. infinitive is etan, pt. t. ait, pp. eten ; M. E. eten, pt. t. 
 eet or et, pp. eten ; so that modern E. might fairly adopt et for 
 the past tense. 
 
 § 370. Consonantal insertions. At the beginning of a 
 word, we sometimes find h prefixed in a wrong place. The 
 only fixed example in a word of native origin is yellow- 
 hammer as the name of a bird, from A. S. a more, earliest 
 form emer ; cf. Mid. Du. emmerick, G. emmerling, gelb-ammer, 
 gold-ammer. H is also inserted in whelk, a mollusc, which 
 ought rather to be wilk, and in whor tie-berry ; § 336. Also in 
 rhyme, M. E. ryme, A. S. rim, by confusion with rhythm. JVis 
 prefixed in newt; ng is put for g in nightingale, M. E. nighte- 
 gale ; and n is suffixed in bittern, stubborn, and mar tern (now 
 marten)) § 347. Y is prefixed in yew, M. E. ew, A. S. iw, 
 to indicate the sound more clearly ; so also you, your, are 
 written for the A. S. eow, eower ; but the y in yean is best 
 explained as representing the prefix ge- ; see § 337. R is 
 inserted in bridegroom (which is unconnected with groom), 
 in hoarse, and probably in surf; § 353. 
 
 The spelling swarths for swaths in Twelfth Night, ii. 3. 
 162, is probably a mere misprint; for it is spelt swath in 
 Troilus, v. 5. 25. L in could is an intentional mis-spelling, 
 due to association with would and should; § 354. Win 
 whole is explained in § 355, where also whoop is shewn to 
 stand for hoop. 
 
 The insertion of w in woof is very curious. The M. E. 
 form is oof, a contraction from A. S. owef oweb, short for 
 
396 
 
 PHONOLOGY. 
 
 [Chap. XIX. 
 
 on-wef or on-wed, i. e. 'a web formed on ' what has been 
 already spun ; so called because the woof or weft traverses 
 the ' warp/ which is the name given to the parallel threads 
 before they are crossed. It was, doubtless, felt that oof was 
 in some way connected with the verb to weave, and as the fact 
 of its being a contraction for o-wef had been forgotten, the 
 w was restored in the wrong place, thus producing a form 
 woof to accompany weave, web, and weft. See Sweet's Oldest 
 English Texts, p. 523, col. 2. The s in is/and is due to 
 confusion with isle. 
 
 Excrescent Letters. Lastly, we may note the excrescent 
 letters, viz. d or /, after n ; b or p, after m ; I after .9 or x ; n 
 after r; see §§ 341, 344, 347, 350. 
 
 § 371. (10) Graphic Changes; changes in the 
 symbols employed. The symbols employed to denote 
 certain sounds have sometimes been changed from time to 
 time, without any change in the sound represented. This is 
 a matter of history, and need cause little difficulty. Most of 
 such changes have already been pointed out. It will be suffi- 
 cient to note the following. A. S. c became k before e and i 
 in many words. M. E. cch (from A. S. cc) became E. tch. 
 A. S. h, when not initial, became gh or 3, of which 3 is no 
 longer used. Cw became qu. Hw became wh. Initial y 
 (often A. S. g) was written either y or 3; but 3 is no longer 
 used. Initial hard g is sometimes written gu or gh. M. E. 
 gge (from A. S. eg or cge) is now written dge. A. S. p, 3 be- 
 came p, th ; of which p is now disused. F, as in lifan, to 
 live, became u, and finally v; but with the restriction that 
 the u or v must always be followed by a vowel ; hence mod. 
 E. live for liv. When final w represented a vowel-sound, it 
 was commonly written ow. Voiceless final s was changed to 
 ce or se ; voiced s was sometimes, but far too seldom, altered 
 to z. Ch, sh were introduced to denote new sounds; the 
 latter was also written sch in M. E. See above, §§ 324-356, 
 and see the chapter on Spelling. 
 
§ 372.] 
 
 MISUSE OF SYMBOLS. 
 
 397 
 
 § 372. (n) Misuse of symbols. Sometimes symbols 
 were misunderstood and misused. Some scribes, even in 
 the twelfth century, confused d with 3, by omitting the stroke 
 across the top of the latter. In the Royal MS. of the A. S. 
 Gospels, the o is not unlike a ; in the Lindisfarne MS. of 
 the same, a is often like u. In the fifteenth century, c and / 
 are not always distinguishable ; nor can e always be discerned 
 from o. The stroke across an f is sometimes omitted ; it 
 then becomes a long s (f). V, with a longer stroke on the 
 left, looks like b. I have seen w so written as to resemble 
 Ik ; and a scrawled r that might almost be e, or even v. The 
 scribe of the Vernon MS. often writes an ;/ like //, or a u 
 like n ; most scribes make n and u precisely alike. The 
 thorn-letter (p) degenerated into a mere duplicate of y ; so 
 that the early printers employed y for that, &c. They did 
 not however pronounce it y at ; this folly was reserved for the 
 nineteenth century. Three successive downstrokes may 
 mean m, or in, or iu, or ui, or ni; four may mean mi, or im, 
 or nu, or un, unless the stroke meant for i is marked by a 
 slanting mark above, as is sometimes done. Some MSS. 
 have a short stumpy^, very like s. The A. S. w is very like 
 p. Z and 3 are often precisely alike \ We thus see that 
 possible mistakes may arise in a great number of ways ; the 
 table below, which groups the symbols that resemble each 
 other together, will give some idea of this. 
 
 a, u ; &, v ; c, t ; d, d ; e, o; f, long s ; g, twisted s ; m } in, 
 m) iu, ui; n, w y mi, im, nu, un\ o, e; p, w ; r, e, v; s, g ; 
 long s,f\ t, c ; p,y ; u,n; v,r\ w,lk\ A. S. w, p (and even 
 
 Some of these confusions have even influenced the lan- 
 guage. We write capercailzie for capercailye 2 , and then the 
 3 may be taken for z ; if we had written capercailyie, this 
 
 1 The abbreviation for a final et in Latin MSS. also resembled z ; 
 hence viet, short for videlicet, is now written viz. 
 
 2 Formerly caper raize; see quotation in § 407. 
 
398 
 
 PHONOLOGY. 
 
 [Chap. XIX. 
 
 could not have happened. I formerly thought that our 
 mod. E. citizen is merely a graphic error for M. E. citizen, 
 wiih 3 written instead ofjy ; cf. O. F. citeain, mod. F. citoyen ; 
 but further investigation shews that such is not the 
 case. 
 
 § 373. Errors of editors and early printers. Ever 
 since the invention of printing, innumerable mistakes have 
 been made by printers and editors in the attempt to convert 
 MSS. into printed books. A volume might easily be filled 
 with specimens of blunders, many hundred of which have at 
 various times come under my notice. The subject is a pain- 
 ful one ; but the reader should always be on his guard as to 
 this, remembering that most of our editors have been entirely 
 self-taught amateurs, who had little or no previous acquaint- 
 ance with the peculiarities of M. E. MSS., or even of the 
 language in which they are written. As a single specimen of 
 what can be done, I may mention that the word dwerp or 
 dwery, a dwarf, in William of Palerne, 1. 362, was misread 
 by Hartshorne, and printed as owery. There is no such word 
 in the language. Once more, as a specimen of what a 
 careless editor can accomplish, take the following lines from 
 Octovian, ed. Weber, 1743-46: — 
 
 'Alle the baners that Crysten founde, 
 
 They were abatyde [knocked down] ; 
 There was many an hethen hounde 
 That they chek yn a tyde.' 
 
 And so Weber leaves it ; but he informs us, in his glossary, 
 that chek means 1 checked, as in the game of chess, meta- 
 phorically, killed/ This is doubtless the sense ; but what 
 are we to think of an editor who supposes that chek can be 
 the third person plural of a past tense? But the MS., still 
 existing, shews that the editor had before him a copy 
 containing a letter which he misread as in, and then mis- 
 copied as yn. With this hint, we can see that he actually 
 
§ 374-] 
 
 DOUBLING OF CONSONANTS. 
 
 399 
 
 wrote chekyn a tyde for chek-matyde, the very word required 
 by the sense, the grammar, the metre, and the rime *. 
 
 The general rule is that the scribes are frequently stupid, 
 but are often right in passages where editors 1 correct ' them ; 
 the latter being, in general, much less familiar with Middle- 
 English sounds and symbols than were the scribes who 
 habitually used them. 
 
 § 374. (12) Doubling of consonants. One form of 
 amplification of the word is extremely common in English, 
 viz. the doubling of a consonant after a short vowel. This 
 is partly due to the stress of the accent. It is probable that 
 the M. E. accent was, so to speak, more equable and less 
 marked than the modern accent. The effect of throwing a 
 still stronger accent on to a short vowel, is to bring out 
 more clearly the sound of the consonant that follows it. But, 
 whatever may be the reason, the fact is undoubted ; so 
 much so that the doubling of a consonant is now the received 
 method of marking a vowel as short. The Ormulum, written 
 about 1200 in the East Midland dialect, abounds with ex- 
 amples of this method. ' The most characteristic feature of 
 Orm's spelling is the consistency with which he has intro- 
 duced double consonants to shew shortness of the preceding 
 vowel 2 / Orm gives us such spellings as patt for that, and 
 crisstenndom for Christendom, the final 0 in which was then 
 long. A few instances must suffice ; I take the consonants 
 in alphabetical order. Thus we have pebble (tor *pepple), A.S. 
 papol ; chicke?i, A. S. cicen ; fickle, A. S.ficol ; sickle, A. S. sicol ; 
 addle or addled, from A. S. adela, filth (see the New E. 
 Diet.) ; bladder, A. S. blcedre, and fodder, A. S. /odor, where the 
 vowels, once long, have been shortened by the stress ; giddy, 
 M. E. gidi\ ladder, A.S. bleeder 3 , with vowel-shortening; 
 
 1 I call an unreal form, such as owery for dwery, a 1 ghost- word.' 
 Numerous examples of ghost-words are given in my Presidential Address 
 to the Philological Society for 1886, printed in the Transactions. 
 
 2 Sweet, First Middle English Primer, p. 43. 
 
 3 My Dictionary gives hinder; but the <b was originally long, as 
 
400 
 
 PHONOLOGY. 
 
 [Chap. XIX. 
 
 riddle, A. S. rcedelse, with vowel-shortening ; rudder, A. S.rofter, 
 with vowel-shortening, from row-an, to row ; saddle, A. S. 
 sadol ; off, variant of of, A. S. of; staff, A. S. staf, and final 
 ^ generally ; straggle, formerly stragle, as spelt by Minsheu 
 (1627) ; follow, M. ~E.folwen, A. S. fylgan ; gallow(s), A. S. 
 £77/^ ; mullein, A. S. molegn ; swallow, v., A. S. swelgan ; 
 swallow, sb., A. S. swalewe; yellow, A. S. ////, Icel. ///, 
 
 and final // frequently ; e?n?net, A. S. cemette ; gammon, A. S. 
 gamen \ stammer, from A. S. stamer, adj., stammering ; penny, 
 M. E. /w/y, A. S.penig, pening, pending ; pepper, A. S. /z^<?r, 
 from Lat. />$>^r ; berry, A. S. berige ; borrow, A. S. borgian ; 
 burrow, a mere variant of borough ; errand, A. S. cerende ; 
 farrow, ferry, furrow, marrow, morrow, narrow, sorrow, 
 sparrow, yarrow, as well as harrier from /for^; </r^, £7axr, 
 grass, loss ; ii/fcr, bottom, brittle, fetter, flutter, latter (i. e. 
 /a/Vr, with vowel altered), //"///?, r^///^, scatter, 
 
 settle, spittle, tetter ; <//2zy, A. S. f/y^ ; drizzle, formerly drisle. 
 A singular example appears in sorry, formed by vowel- 
 shortening from A. S. sdr-ig, an adjective derived from sdr, 
 a sore. People naturally connect it with sorrow, from 
 A. S. sorh. 
 
 The double c (cli) in accursed, acknowledge, is unoriginal, 
 and due to confusion with the Lat. prefix ac- (=ad); the 
 double f in afford, affright, is also unoriginal, and due to 
 confusion with Lat. af (=ad). 
 
 § 375. (13) Vowel-changes due to consonantal in- 
 fluence. The consonants which most affect adjacent vowels 
 are h, g, n or m, r or /, and w or wh. 
 
 The effect of the old guttural h (like G. ch) upon a pre- 
 ceding vowel is sometimes curious. It certainly tends, in 
 some instances, to turn the vowel into the mod. E. long u 
 Thus A. S. meaht or mceht also appears as meht and miht) 
 E. might. A. S. heah, Mercian heh, gives M. E. hey or heh, 
 
 proved by the cognate G. letter, which see in Kluge. Indeed, the Gk. 
 # Af/xa£ is a related word ; \t kli, to lean. 
 
§ 377-] CONSONANTAL INFLUENCE. 
 
 401 
 
 but also M. E. hy or hygh; hence E. high, though the M. E. 
 hey is represented by heyday, i. e. ' high day/ A. S. ne'ah. 
 Mercian neh, gives M. E. neh or neigh, but also ny or ; 
 hence E. nigh, though the M. E. neigh is preserved in neigh- 
 bour. The A. S.feohlan, Mercian fehtan, gives M. Y*.fehten. 
 but zho flhlen; Y. fight. A. S. reht is also spelt r/^/; E. 
 right. Hence the German words macht, hoch, nach,fechten. 
 recht, contrast remarkably, as to their vowels, with E. might, 
 high, nigh, fight, right. In the A. S. fle'ah, leah, the h was 
 simply dropped, leaving flea, lea. The A. S. hlehhan, M. E. 
 lehyn, also layn, is now laugh. 
 
 § 376. The A. S. g, M. E. 3, commonly coalesces with a 
 preceding vowel so as to form a diphthong. Thus ceg be- 
 comes at, as in ^fe^, E. day ; tcegel, E. te7. Eg does the 
 same, becoming ay, ai, as in za^, E. zuay, eglian, E. <7/7 : 
 also ei, as wegan, E. weigh. Ig becomes i (ai) if accented, 
 as in higian, E. hie; nigon, E. ffiVt* : or -y if final, as in hdl-ig, 
 E. Ug becomes ow, as in fugol, Y..fowl ; sugu, E. sow. 
 
 Yg becomes y (ai), as in dryge, E. ; so also bycgan, 
 by-stem byg-, M. E. buyen, is now buy, pronounced as by. 
 A. S. dtg becomes ey or ay, ei or ai, as in edge, E. fey; fK^SS 
 TL.gray and «r£y ; h?icegan, E. fiagvl ; sttfger, E. .r/tf/r. A. S. 
 ^ becomes ee or f, _y (ai) ; thus A. S. fleogan, Mercian 
 flegan, fligan, appears both as flee and fly, A. S.leogan, Mer- 
 cian le'gan, ligan, is E. lie, to tell untruths. A. S. e'ag corre- 
 sponds to Mercian eg ; A. S. eage, Mercian ege, is E. eye. 
 There is a fluctuation in the vowel-sound, and a tendency (in 
 some cases) to the production of the modern diphthongal /, 
 just as in the case of h above. 
 
 § 377. The effects of n or m upon a preceding vowel are 
 noticed by Sievers, § 65. They tend to turn a into 0, so 
 that A. S. nama, land also appear as noma, lond. Traces of 
 this effect are still found. Thus A. S. camb is now comb ; 
 A. S./ram is now froin ; whilst our prep. 011 represents A. S. 
 on, put for an earlier an, which actually appears in the Epinal 
 
 vol. 1. d d 
 
402 
 
 PHONOLOGY. 
 
 [Chap. XIX. 
 
 Glossary (51), and in the G. an. To these add E. long, song, 
 strong, thong, throng, wrong ; from A. S. lang, sang, Strang, 
 pwang, (ge)-prang, wrang. A lost n turns on (for an) into 
 A. S. long 6, E. 00 ; as already shewn with regard to the 
 words goose, sooth, tooth, other. A lost m does the same in 
 soft, A. S. softe. 
 
 Sievers remarks that n or m turns a preceding e into i\ 
 and instances nima7i, to take (E. nim, to steal), put for 
 *ne??ian, and cognate with G. nehmen ; also A. S. mint (herb), 
 borrowed from Lat. meniha, whence E. mint. It may be ob- 
 served that the same law holds in modern English ; which 
 accounts for E. grin, from A. S. grennian. Other examples 
 are these : blink, M. E. blenken, not found in A. S. ; link (of a 
 chain), A. S. hlence ; skink, to serve out wine, A. S. scencan ; 
 think, A. S. pencan, which however was confused with the 
 impersonal verb appearing in me-thinks = A. S. me pyncad. 
 Ling (fish), M. E. lenge, A. S. lenga, the ' long ' one, from its 
 shape ; ling-er, frequentative of A. S. leng-an, to prolong • 
 ming-le, frequentative of A. S. meng-an, to mix. Hinge, M. E. 
 henge, that on which a door hangs ; cf. Icel. hengja, to hang. 
 Singe, A. S. sengan ; swinge, A. S. swengan ; twinge, M. E. 
 twengen. Hint, prob. from M. E. hinten, more usually henten, 
 A. S. hentan, to seize, catch \ We may also notice the 
 double forms dint and dent, splint and splent, glint and Scot. 
 glent ; and the pronunciation of England as Ingland. 
 
 § 378. The effect of nd in lengthening a preceding i is 
 surprising. In the A. S. bindan, the i is short, just as in Du. 
 and G. binden, Icel. and Swed. binda, Dan. binde ; but in the 
 mod. E. bind, the /is diphthongal. The same remark applies 
 to the verbs find, grind, wind, and pro v. E. tind (to kindle) ; 
 to the sbs. hind (female stag), mind, rind, and woodbine, 
 
 1 This difficult word seems to have been confused with Icel. y?nta, to 
 murmur, Dan. y??ite, to whisper about a thing. Still, the connection 
 with hentan is much cleared up by Jamieson's account of hint, sb., 
 opportunity. 
 
§ 378.] 
 
 CONSONANTAL INFLUENCE. 
 
 403 
 
 formerly woodbind) and to the adjectives blind, hind, and 
 the adverb behind. Kind, s., M. E. kind, kund, though 
 answering to A. S. cynd, follows the same law. In hind, s., 
 a peasant, formed with excrescent d from M. E. hine, the 
 A. S. has long i ; but lime-tree is a corruption of line-tree = 
 lind-tree, from A. S. lind, with short i. The original short 
 i of tind or to kindle, is seen in the derivative tinder ; 
 the original short i of the adj. hind is seen in the derivative 
 verb hinder. We also keep the short i in cinder (A. S. sinder), 
 kindle, kindred ; and even in the sb. wind, to avoid confusion 
 with the verb to wind. Yet even in the last case some 
 consider it 'correct' to pronounce the sb. wind as (waind) 
 in reading poetry. Such persons are, at any rate, consistent ; 
 for in all other monosyllables the /" (before ?id) has been 
 lengthened. 
 
 It has also been seen, in the preceding section, that A. S. 
 substitutes in (of course short) for European en ; we can 
 thus easily understand that the sb. mind (for *mend) is 
 cognate with Lat. acc. ment-em ; and the sb. wind (for 
 *wend) with Lat. ue?it-us. This furnishes an independent 
 proof that the i in these words was originally short ; whereas 
 some Englishmen, who believe that the corrupt modern E. 
 pronunciation is a sure and safe guide to the pronunciation 
 of A. S., have actually maintained that it was long ! How 
 soon the lengthening of the i in these words set in, we 
 have no very sure way of ascertaining. Chaucer, C. T. 2157, 
 rimes finde (find) with Inde (India) ; and Shakespeare rimes 
 Ind, wind, lined, mind with Rosalind, As You Like It, iii. 
 2. 93. If the latter pronounced the / in Ind as a diphthong 
 (ei), it must at any rate be granted that this i was originally 
 short. There is only one example of mod. E. diphthongal /' 
 before nt, viz. in pint, a borrowed word. 
 
 The effect of m, in turning a preceding e into i, is not 
 much seen. A striking example appears, however, in 
 limbeck, as a latter form of alembic ; but this is a borrowed 
 
 d d 2 
 
404 
 
 PHONOLOGY. 
 
 [Chap. XIX. 
 
 word. Limp, v., to walk lamely, is connected with the A. S. 
 lemp-hali, adj., lame, halting. / is now diphthongal before 
 mb in A. S. climban, E. climb. Cf. § 377. 
 
 § 379. N and m also affect a preceding 0. 1 West Ger- 
 manic 0 (says Sievers) before nasals becomes u! He 
 instances A. S. genumen, taken, as compared with O. H. G. 
 ginoman, G. genommen ; (also A. S. munuc, a monk, borrowed 
 from Lat. monachus (which we now pronounce mmk) ; A. S. 
 munt, now lengthened to mount, from L at. acc. montem ; 
 and A. S. pund, now lengthened to pound, from Lat. pondus, 
 a weight. Other examples are : E. among, pronounced 
 ?mdng, in which we have two processes, viz. the change 
 from A. S. a (in onmang) to M. E. 0 (in amonge), and 
 secondly the change from 0 to u (mod. E. <?) ; so also A. S. 
 mangere is now spelt monger, but pronounced mdngir ; and 
 the A. S. jnang, a mixture, is the origin of our mong-rel, 
 pronounced mmgrdl. The O. Irish do?m, dond, mod. Irish 
 and Gael, donn, is still seen in the river-name Don ; but was 
 adopted into A. S. as dunn, whence mod. E. dun, one of the 
 few words which are undoubtedly of Celtic origin. The Low 
 Lat. nonna, nunna, was borrowed as A. S. nunne, mod. E. 
 nun. The Lat. ponto (whence, through the French and 
 Italian, our pontoon) became A. S. punt, E. punt. But there 
 is some confusion as to on and un, owing to the M. E. 
 use of oil to denote short un, as seen in A. S. sunu, M. E. 
 sone, E. son, where the M. E. spelling with 0 does not mean that 
 the sound was pronounced otherwise than as short u. 
 Hence the double spelling of ton and tun, and the objection- 
 able mod. E. tongue for A. S. Hinge. See p. 413, note 1. 
 
 With regard to m following 0, we may notice M. E. 
 glommen, to look gloomy, whence E. glum. 
 
 § 380. Some light is thrown upon the lengthening of i 
 before nd by the fact that short u was also lengthened before 
 the same. Thus Lat. pondus, A. S. pund, is now pound] 
 A. S. bunden, pp., is now bound, just as A. S. bindan is now 
 
INFLUENCE OF R. 
 
 405 
 
 bind ; A. S.funden, pp., is now found) A.S. grund, s., is ground, 
 and the pp. grunden is ground also ; A. S. ^#/z</ is hound ; 
 A. S. is mound ; A. S. sund, healthy, is sound, and so is 
 
 A. S. xr^«^, a strait of the sea ; A. S. wunden, pp., is wound. 
 Even lengthens the vowel in two cases ; Lat. montem 
 gives A.S. mun/, our mount) Lat. fontem gives A.S. fon/ 1 , 
 whence 1L. fon/, and a later form fun/ 2 , found in the Or- 
 mulum, 1. 10924, whence E. fount 2 '. 
 
 To these we may add a very remarkable instance of 
 vowel-lengthening in the mod. E. maund, a basket, from 
 A. S. mand, mo?id. This A. S. word occurs as early as the 
 eighth century. The Epinal Glossary has : 1 Corben, mand,' 
 1. 193; the Erfurt Glossary has : 4 Corben, mondi'; the Corpus 
 Glossary has: 1 Coffinus, mand,' 1. 532, and * Qua/us, mand,' 
 1. 1689; see Sweet's O. E. Texts, p. 468. It has nothing 
 whatever to do with the Anglo-Indian maund ; see Col. Yule's 
 Hobson-Jobson ; nor yet with 1 Maundy Thursday/ as is so 
 constantly repeated by archaeologists unworthy of the name. 
 
 § 381. The effect of r upon a preceding vowel is great 
 and remarkable. Mr. Sweet says, in his History of Eng. 
 Sounds, p. 67 — * In the present English hardly any vowel 
 has the same sound before r as before other consonants. 
 One important result is that the r itself becomes a super- 
 fluous addition, which is not required for distinguishing one 
 word from another, and is therefore weakened into a mere 
 vocal murmur, or else dropped altogether, although always 
 retained before a vowel/ Compare, for example, the sounds 
 in far 4 , her, fir, for, fur, fare, fear, fire, more, moor, sour 
 
 1 Very rare ; but we find font-water, in Cockayne's Leechdoms, ii. 
 350. We also find fant,fantfivet, and fant-wczter. 
 
 2 Spelt funnt, because the u was then short. 
 
 3 I have given fount as a French word ; I now think this is unneces- 
 sary. It is better to take it from Lat. directly. The A. S. font easily 
 becomes funt, and funt will give fount. 
 
 4 Observe the word arid, where the retention of the trilled r allows 
 the sound to resemble that of the a in fat. 
 
406 
 
 PHONOLOGY. 
 
 [Chap. XIX. 
 
 with those in fat, hen, fit, fog, hut, fate, feat, fight, mole, 
 moot, out. Observe also the difference in pronunciation 
 between ' far east ' and ' far west ' ; in the former case the r 
 in far is trilled, but in the latter case it is not. The loss 
 of trill in a final r before a consonant is a very marked 
 peculiarity of modern English as distinguished from other 
 languages, and is certainly of late date. Another modern 
 peculiarity is the levelling of er, ir, and ur, as in her, fir, 
 fur, under one obscure sound, and that sound a new one, 
 unknown to the older forms of the language. Perhaps the 
 most marked result, to the eye at least, is the change from 
 the M. E. er to mod. E. ar, as this is often indicated by 
 a change of spelling. Thus M. E. fer is now far, from 
 A. S. for. As this is rather an interesting point, I give 
 a tolerably complete list of the native words in which this 
 change has taken place. The A. S. vowel is eo, the M. E. 
 vowel e, and the modern vowel a, in the following: barm 
 (yeast), barrow (a mound), carve, dark, far, farthing, hards 
 (of flax), hart, smart, v., star, starve, tar ; to which we may 
 add heart and hearth (M. E. herte, herlh), which ought rather 
 to be spelt hart and harth, in order to be consistent. The 
 A. S. and M. E. vowel is e, and the modern vowel a, in the 
 following : barn, char (a turn of work, as in char-woman), 
 charlock, harry 1 , mar, marsh. The Icel. herbergi, M. E. 
 herberwe, is now harbour', the Icel. serkr, a shirt, is now 
 sark ; the Icel. sker, a. rock, is now scar. In like manner, 
 the A. S. weorc (cf. O. Merc, were), weorld, weorp, became 
 M. E. werk, werld, werth (spellings which actually occur), 
 but the action of the preceding w caused them to be also 
 work, world, worth, forms which are still retained, though the 
 o either denoted or was changed into u, which was afterwards 
 'unrounded/ The A. S. sweord became M. E. swerd, sword; 
 whence, by the entire loss of w, the mod. E. sord (as we 
 should rather spell it). The change of er to ar is also 
 1 See the last footnote on p. 405. 
 
§ 3^1 
 
 INFLUENCE OF L. 
 
 407 
 
 common in words of French origin, and is particularly 
 striking in the word clerk, pronounced as dark, and 
 actually spelt Clark when used as a proper name ; also 
 in such words as vermin, university, &c, vulgarly varmin. 
 'varsity, &c. 
 
 The confusion above mentioned, between er and nr. 
 sometimes affects the spelling. Thus A. S. beornan, M. E. 
 bernen, is now burn', ceorl, M. E. cherl, is now churl ; A. S. 
 berstan, M. E. hers ten, is now burst) A. S. eorl, eornest, s. 
 (seriousness), eorde, became, regularly, M. E. erl, ernest, ertht, 
 but are now oddly spelt earl, earnest, earth, in order to pre- 
 serve an archaic spelling, which shews that, in Tudor English, 
 the e was ' open/ as in mod. E. ere. 
 
 § 382. The liquid / followed by f or m preserves the 
 old sound, though lengthened, of a preceding a, but is it- 
 self lost; as in A. S. cealf, M. E. calf, E. ^^"(pron. kaaf); 
 A. S. healf, M. E. half, E. half (pron. haaf) ; A. S. sealm, 
 borrowed from Lat. psahnus, Gk. ^raXfius, is pedantically 
 spelt psalm, but pronounced saam ; A. S. palm, from Lat. 
 palma, is now pronounced paam ; A. S. cwealm, M. E. 
 qualm, is pronounced kwaam. The combinations //, Id, 
 It remarkably affect a preceding a, as in all, bald, malt; 
 the combination Ik produces the same effect on the a, but 
 the / is lost, as in walk. The process is carried a step 
 further in A. S. eald, Mercian aid, did, M. E. old Us did, 
 pronounced as romic aold), mod. E. old. So also in cold, 
 sold, told, &c. The combination Id also lengthens a pre- 
 ceding i in monosyllables ; hence A. S. did, M. E. child, 
 is E. child ; A. S. mild is E. mild ; A. S. wild is E. wild ; 
 but the short 1 is preserved in children, Mildred, and wilder- 
 ness. The rule does not apply to gild or build, because these 
 are from A. S.y, as in gylda?i, byldan. But A. S. gild, a pav- 
 
 1 So also is the derivatives calve, halve. The A. S. sea// is the mod. 
 E. salve, variously pronounced as saav or swlv; the former is more 
 regular. 
 
408 
 
 PHONOLOGY. 
 
 [Chap. XIX. 
 
 ment, now usually spelt guild, and pronounced gild, should, 
 by the rule, have a diphthongal %\ and in fact I have frequently 
 heard it so pronounced in the compound guild-kail (romic 
 gaild-haol). 
 
 § 383. We thus see how h, g, n, r, and / affect a pre- 
 ceding vowel ; it remains to note that w often remarkably 
 affects a following a or o, if short; and, in A.S., a follow- 
 ing i. The same effect may be produced by wh and qu. 
 Thus wan, what, quash are pronounced as if with o, i. e. 
 won (riming with on), wot, quosh ; and won, worse are pro- 
 nounced as if with i. e. wun, ivurse (romic wm, wm). 
 Kxamples in words of native origin are : wallet, wallow, 
 walnut (romic waonzi), wan, want, wanton, war, ward, war- 
 lock, warm, warn, warp, wart, was, ivash, wasp, watch, 
 water, wattle) wharf, what. Qualm (pron. kwaam) is a 
 native word, but here the a is controlled by the following 
 lm\ § 382. And again, we have: swaddle, swallow, both 
 s. and v., swamp, swan, swap, sward, swarm, swart, swarthy, 
 szvash, swath (spelt swarth in Twelfth Night, ii. 3. 162), 
 swathe \ In twang, the a is kept like the a in sang, by the 
 influence of the following ng. Next, we have : wolf, wo- 
 man, wonder, word, work, world, worm, wormwood, worry, 
 worse, worst, worship, wort, worth. Such words require 
 care, because the A. S. vowel may be very different. Wolf 
 is A. S. wulf; woman is A. S. wifman, § 349 ; work is M. E. 
 iverk, A. S. weorc; world is M.E. werld, A. S. weorld; worm 
 is A. S. wyrm, &c. The word womb is curious ; the A. S. 
 wamb became M. E. womb, by the influence of mb, just as 
 camb became M. E. comb ; but the modern sounds of womb 
 and comb are differentiated by the effect of the w. In two, 
 who, from A. S. twd, hwd, we should have had, by the usual 
 change from d to long 0, such forms as two, who, pronounced 
 as written and riming with go; but the w has altered the 
 
 1 The verb to swathe is, however, frequently pronounced as romic 
 s-cezdh, i. e. with a as in fate. 
 
§ 385.] 
 
 CONFLUENCE OF FORMS. 
 
 409 
 
 sound from 5 to u (romic 00 to uu), and then disappeared, 
 leaving tu, hu (romic tuu, huu). 
 
 It may be added that an A. S. g, after an a, and if me- 
 dial, commonly becomes w, and the w then coalesces with the 
 vowel to form a diphthong. Thus A. S. dragan is M. E. draw- 
 en, E. draw ; so also A. S. haga, M. E. naive, E. haiv ; A. S. 
 maga, E. maw ; A. S. saga, a cutting instrument, E. saw ; 
 A. S. sagu, a saying, E. saw. E. law is A. S. lagu, but this 
 is quite a late w r ord in A. S., and probably a mere borrow- 
 ing from Norse ; cf. Swed. lag, a law, Icel. log (plural in form, 
 but singular in sense), a law. 
 
 § 384. When w and i are adjacent, the w may affect 
 the vowel whether it precedes or follows it. A remarkable 
 example appears in A. S. cwidu, preserved as E. quid. By 
 the action of the w, this A. S. word also appears as cwudu, 
 and (by loss of w) as cudu ; whence E. cud. Again, E. wood 
 is from A. S. wudu ; but this is a late form, put for an earlier 
 widu, as in uuidubinde, woodbine, in the Corpus Glossary of 
 the eighth century, 1. 18 ; this explains how it comes to be 
 cognate with Icel. vidr, O. H. G. wt'tu, and even with O. 
 Irish fid, a tree, a wood ; and how the bird called a woodwale 
 is also called a witwall, witlal, or wittol. 
 
 In the combination iw, the /' is apt to turn into c, the result- 
 ing ew being a diphthong. Thus A.S. niwe is E. new. A.S. 
 hiw is M. E. hewe, but is now spelt hue; A.S. iw is M. E. 
 eugh or ew, now spelt yew. Hence we can explain steward, 
 from A. S. stiweard, lit. a sty-ward, where sH is short for sltg 
 = stigu. The A. S. stigu, a sty, is a very old word ; see 
 Sweet, O. E. Texts, p. 513. 
 
 § 385. (14) Confluence of forms. The number of words 
 in English which are either spelt alike, sounded alike, or both, 
 is very large. This is in a great measure due to the loss of 
 inflexions or other changes, which have brought words into 
 similar forms that were once different. I use the word con- 
 fluence advisedly, for it would seem that there is a real tendency 
 
CONFLUENCE OF FORMS. 
 
 [Chap. XIX. 
 
 in our language for different words to flow as it were together, 
 just as two drops of rain running down a window-pane are 
 very likely to run into one. It is partly due to confusion, very 
 slight distinctions being easily broken down. Hence it is that, 
 when different words come to resemble one another, it is oc- 
 casionally found that one of the pair or set, usually the one 
 which is either later in form or less usual, has suffered some 
 slight violence in order to make it agree with the other exactly- 
 I have nowhere seen this law or tendency stated, but it is cer- 
 tainly true in some cases, and ought to be considered. For 
 example, we find the A. S. sund, adj., healthful, and A. S. su?id, 
 a strait of the sea, already existing in the earliest times as 
 different words, from different roots, but alike in form. Of 
 course both of these, in course of time, became sound in 
 modern English ; § 380. But in M. E. a third word arose, 
 viz. soun, borrowed from Anglo-French soun or sun (Lat. acc. 
 sonum), and bearing a very close resemblance to the words 
 above. Confusion easily resulted, and a new form sound was 
 produced, with the sense of ' noise ' ; the excrescent d being 
 easily and naturally added on account of the word being 
 strongly accented, as expressive monosyllables frequently are. 
 This is a clear case of confluence. Again, there is a fish 
 called a barse; but the name is frequently written bass, be- 
 cause bass is a familiar form, and darse is not. When we 
 have to remember the spelling of so many thousands of words 
 by the look of them, we naturally spell as many as possible 
 alike, to save trouble. The word wilk, a shell-fish, has been 
 tortured into whelk, because whelk was once a known word in 
 another sense, viz. that of protuberance. Burn, a stream, is 
 frequently written boum ; it is then spelt like bourn, a limit. 
 Burthen is now always burden, owing to confluence with the 
 burden of a song; again, the burden of a song is actually 
 mis-spelt to make it more like its twin word; it ought, of 
 course, to be either burdon or bourdon, with suffix -on, but 
 the F. suffix succumbs to the E. one. The word crouth, a 
 
HOMOGRAPHS. 
 
 411 
 
 fiddle, of Welsh origin, has been conformed to the familiar 
 E. crowd. I leave it to the reader to find more examples ; 
 see the next section. 
 
 § 386. Words of different origin which have thus run 
 together are commonly called homonyms. Strictly speaking, 
 they are of two kinds, i. e. either homographs or homophones. 
 Homographs (from ypdfaiv, to write) are such as are spelt 
 alike ; homophones (from cfrcovr], sound) are such as are sounded 
 alike. Homographs are commonly also homophones, but 
 there are just a few exceptions, very trying to a child learning 
 to read. Examples are : bow (to shoot with), bow (of a ship) ; 
 gill (of a fish), gill, a liquid measure ; lead, a metal, lead, to 
 conduct ; lease (of a house), lease, to glean ; lower, to let 
 down, lower, to frown ; raven, a bird, raven, to plunder ; sow, 
 s., sow, v. ; tear, s., tear, v. ; pronounced, respectively, accord- 
 ing to the romic spellings bou, bau ; gil, jil ; led. Hid ; His, 
 liiz ; loudr, laudr ; reivn, reevn ; sau, sou ; tiir, leir. Other 
 examples, all perhaps of French origin, are due to variations 
 of accent, as in the case of desert and desert, Entrance and 
 entrance, prese?it and present, the usual rule being that the verb 
 is accented on the root-syllable, but the substantive on the 
 prefix. I have given a fairly complete list of homographs, 
 under the title of 1 Homonyms/ in my Dictionary \ I shall 
 only add a few remarks to shew how confluence has often 
 taken place naturally, owing to the loss of inflexions or to 
 peculiar habits of spelling, in words of native origin. 
 
 § 387. The A. S. angulox angel, a fish-hook, regularly be- 
 came M. E. angil or angel, but the F. habit prevailed of 
 writing final -le for final -el, thus turning it into angle. It 
 thus became a homograph with angle, 2l corner, of F. origin. 
 The A. S. bealu (for *balu), became M. E. bale, i. e. evil, by 
 the almost universal substitution of final -e for nearly all in- 
 flectional forms. Our bale of goods is not from mod. F. 
 balle, but from O. F. bale. The A. S. beorcian (= Mercian 
 1 See also Koch's Grammatik, i. 223-237. 
 
412 
 
 HOMOPHONES. 
 
 [Chap. XIX. 
 
 bercian ?) became M. E. berken ; whence, by the change from 
 er to ar (see § 381) the mod. E. verb to bark. The bark of 
 a tree is of Scand. origin, from the base bark- of Icel. 
 borkr (gen. bark-ar). The F. word barque has been re- 
 spelt bark to agree with these. A curious example is seen in 
 the old word bile, A. S. byl or byle 1 , in the sense of a small 
 tumour; it seemed more natural to associate it with the 
 verb to boil than with the bile from the liver ; and it was 
 altered accordingly. It is needless to multiply instances, as 
 many examples can easily be traced by the historical method. 
 I will just add one more ; the M. E. adv. wel is now well, 
 because we usually write the / double when final; on the 
 other hand, the M. E. sb. welle has lost its final e, and 
 is thus reduced from a dissyllabic form to the monosyl- 
 labic well. This is a good example of the production of 
 a pair of homographs by inevitable processes. 
 
 § 388. We have also several pairs of homophones. These 
 can usually be easily explained by the historical method. 
 Thus ale is M. E. ah\ A. S. ealu (Mercian *alu); but ail is 
 for eil 2 , from M. E. eilen, A. S. eglan, to be troublesome, 
 a verb formed from the adj. egle, cognate with Goth, aglus, 
 difficult, troublesome. Beat, M. E. belen, from A. S. be'atan, 
 is spelt with ea to represent that the Tudor-English sound 
 was that of open e (romic ae) ; whilst bee/, M. E. bete, A. S. 
 bete, from Lat. beta, had then the sound of close e. The spell- 
 ings of son and sun are curious, and it is not easy to see 
 why they are now different, unless an express attempt was 
 made to distinguish them to the eye, perhaps on the ground 
 that a distinction had long been kept up. The A. S. forms 
 were sunu and sunne respectively, in the latter of which the 11 
 
 1 ' Frunculas (sic), wearte, byle'; Wright's Glossaries, ed. Wulcker, 
 244. 11; * Furunculus, wearte, uel byl/ id. 245. 15; ' Carbimculi, 
 bylas/ id. 199. 25. There are two forms, byl, masc. ; and byle, fern. 
 
 2 * Know ye ought what thise bestes tiled V Merlin, ed. Wheatley, 
 p. 3. 
 
§ 388.] 
 
 HOMOPHONES, 
 
 413 
 
 was distinctly made double. Owing to the use of the M. E. 
 0 to denote short u, which Mr. Sweet calls 1 a well-known 
 feature of Middle English 1 / these became sone and sonne 
 respectively, spellings which may be found at least as late as 
 1 48 1, in Caxton's Reynard the Fox, ed. Arber, p. 23, 1L 20, 
 28. Skelton has varying spellings, but, with him, both words 
 still have 0. In Shakespeare's Tempest, the former is son or 
 sonne, the latter is sun. 
 
 Inasmuch, however, as the best method of distinguishing all 
 such homophones is by tracing them back to their original 
 A. S. forms, it is unnecessary to pursue the subject further 2 . 
 
 1 History of Eng. Sounds, p. 149. It may be useful to note that the 
 use of 0 for u arose from a wish for greater distinctness in writing. 
 Such combinations as un % nu, mu, um, uu being difficult to read in 
 MSS., 0 was put for u to prevent error. Hence M. E. MSS. have lone 
 for lime, monk for munk, comen for eumen, tonge for tunge, and the 
 like; and hence mod. E. still keeps up such perplexing forms as love, 
 monk, come, tongue, &c. 
 
 2 A list of Homophones is given by Koch, i. 232. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 Doublets and Compounds. 
 
 § 389. At the end of the last chapter we considered 
 some examples of confluence of forms, producing homonyms. 
 This will therefore be a convenient place for giving some 
 examples of dimorphism, or the appearance of the same 
 word under a double form. Such double forms are most 
 common in that part of our language which is of Romance 
 or Latin origin. Thus the Lat. balsamum, Gk. ^akcrajiov, has 
 given us the word balsam ; but we also have the same word 
 in the form balm, due to a French modification of the Latin 
 word. These double forms have conveniently been called 
 doublets 1 , and a full List of Doublets is given in my 
 Etymological Dictionary. I shall only notice here a few 
 examples of doublets in words belonging to the oldest 
 period or of native origin. 
 
 § 390. Doublets are sometimes due to a difference of 
 dialect. Examples are seen in the Southern English ridge, 
 bridge, birch, church, shred, as distinct from the Northern 
 rig, brig, birk, kirk, screed. Or they are due to the 
 fact that we have sometimes borrowed a word from 
 a cognate language, when we already possessed it in our 
 
 1 It is best to keep to this name, though it is not always logically- 
 exact. In a few cases we have really triplets, or three forms of a word, 
 as when the Lat. chorus appears also as choir and quire, or when we 
 have three spellings, as caldron, cauldron, and chaldron. 
 
§ 390-] 
 
 DOUBLETS. 
 
 own ; the reason being, probably, that it was not used in 
 precisely the same sense. We already had the verb to thatch, 
 A. S. peccan 1 , but it was used in rather a restricted sense ; 
 hence we borrowed the cognate Dutch decken in the six- 
 teenth century, to express the notion of decking, or covering 
 in a more general manner. The following are examples of 
 doublets of native words, probably of dialectal origin. A. S. 
 azmette, cemete ; E. emmet, also contracted to ant. A. S. 
 cwidu, also cudu\ E. quid, cud (§ 384). A. S. dynt, a blow; 
 E. dint, also dent. A. S. ddl, a portion ; E. dole, whence the 
 verb d&lan, to deal, and the sb. ddl, a portion, E. deal, sb., 
 which is practically a doublet of dole. A. S. gamen, M. E. 
 gamen, whence E. game and the archaic form gammon (so 
 spelt by confusion with a gammon of bacon). E. alone, often 
 shortened to lone. E. of, differentiated as of. E. scabby, 
 also shabby, with sh for sc. A. S. scateran, whence the 
 archaic form scatter, and the later shatter. A. S. staf\ E. 
 staff, pi. staves, whence the later form stave. E. touse, better 
 and older form lose, M. E. tosen, from an A. S. form *idsian 
 (not found), of which the mutated form is A. S. t<Jtsan, the 
 original of the doublet tease. A. S. pirlian ; E. thirl, or by 
 metathesis thrill 2 . A. S. to; whence E. to and loo. A. S. 
 tilor ; E. outer, also utter, with vowel-shortening and doubled 
 consonant. E. wallet, probably a double of wattle (§ 362). 
 E. wit, to know, spelt weet by Spenser, F. Q. i. 3. 6, by 
 a licentious lengthening of the vowel. A. S. wiht ; E. wight, 
 and also whit, the h in the latter form being misplaced. 
 A. S. weald, M. E. wald, altered to E. wold (or old in 
 Shakespeare) by the influence of w on the following vowel 
 (§ 383) ; also spelt weald, probably by a pedantic revival of 
 the A. S. spelling in the sixteenth century. M. E. wrappen, 
 
 1 Strictly speaking, the A. S.foccan could only give a mod. E. t ketch ; 
 cf. M.E. thecchcn, P. Plowman, B. xix. 232. The vowel is, of course, 
 borrowed from the sb., A. S.Jhzc, da.t.j>(zce. 
 
 3 The third form, drill, is borrowed from Dutch. 
 
416 
 
 DOUBLETS, 
 
 [Chap. XX. 
 
 to wrap, was sometimes spelt wlappen, whence (by loss of w) 
 the form lap, in the sense to ' wrap up/ 
 
 ' Indulgent Fortune does her care employ, 
 And, smiling, broods upon the naked boy : 
 Her garment spreads, and laps him in the fold, 
 And covers with her wings, from nightly cold.' 
 
 Dryden, Translation of Juvenal ', Sat. vi. L 786. 
 
 § 391. In some cases the native word finds its twin form 
 in Scandinavian. Examples are seen in A. S. dell, E. dell, 
 cognate with Icel. dalr, E. dale (but see § 392, p. 418, as 
 to these differing forms). A. S. /ram, later from, E. from ; 
 Icel. frd, E. fro. Mercian mile (in the Vespasian Psalter, 
 Ps. 118. 70), E. milk; cognate with Swed. mjblke, milt, 
 whence E. milt, soft roe of fishes, by substitution of / for k. 
 A. S. rdd, E. road) Icel. reid, Northern E. raid) cf. our 
 phrase ' to make an inroad! A. S. rccran, E. rear ; Icel. 
 reisa, E. raise. A. S. rdcan, rdecean, E. reach ; Swed. dial. 
 raka, to reach, raka fram, to reach out, whence E. rake, used 
 of the projection of the upper parts of a ship, at both ends, 
 beyond the extremities of the keel. A. S. sagu, a saying, 
 E. saw ) Icel. saga, whence saga as an E. word. A. S. hdl, 
 E. ivhole\ Icel. heill, E. hail\ A. S. wyrt, E. wort) Icel. 
 rot, E. root. Sometimes both the forms are Scandinavian ; 
 such seems to be the case with Icel. skyrta, E. skirt, modified 
 to shirt. Icel. skufa, Swed. sknffa, to shove, whence E. 
 scuff-le, modified to shuffle. Icel. skrcekja, modified to screech 
 and to shriek. Sometimes one of the words is native, and 
 the other Dutch; as is the case with E. thatch and Du. 
 decken, mentioned above, § 390. Other examples are E. 
 thrill, cognate with Du. drillen, to bore, also to drill 
 soldiers ; also A. S. wcegn, M. E. wayn, E. wain, cognate 
 with Du. wagen, whence E. waggon, formerly spelt wagon \ 
 
 1 It is common to derive E. wagon from A. S. wcugn, which I believe 
 to be simply impossible. The A.S. g in such a position regularly 
 
§ 39 2 -3 
 
 COMPOUND WORDS. 
 
 417 
 
 § 392. An E. word frequently has a twin form in a word 
 borrowed from Latin or French. Thus E. knot is cognate 
 with Lat. nodus, whence E. node. E. naked is cognate with 
 Lat. nudus, whence E. nude. E. word is cognate with Lat. 
 uerbum, whence E. verb. Again, E. heart is cognate with 
 Lat. cor) cf. E. heart-y with cord-ial. E. name is cognate 
 with Lat. nomen, whence O. F. noun, nun, E. noun. E. ship 
 is cognate with O. H. G. skif, whence F. esquif (\n Cotgrave), 
 
 E. skiff. E. ward, verb, is cognate with O. H. G. war ten, 
 O. Sax. wardon, Middle G. warden (Schade), whence O. F. 
 guarder, garder, E. guard. Similarly the native words wile 
 and wise, sb., are doublets of the forms guile, guise, borrowed, 
 through French, from the Frankish. The Latin word uncia 
 was borrowed in the A. S. {oxvsxynce, with mutation of u toy, 
 whence E. inch ; at a later period it was re-borrowed in the 
 
 F. form ounce (O. F. unce). 
 
 Both forms may be Latin. Thus the Lat. locusta was bor- 
 rowed in the early A. S. form lopust, and applied to the locusta 
 marina, or lobster; this early form lopust was afterwards 
 made to look more like a native word by turning it into 
 loppestre, whence E. lobster ; at a later period, the same word 
 was re-borrowed in the form locust, and applied to a certain 
 winged insect. The Lat. struppus was borrowed in the 
 A. S. form stropp, whence E. strop ; at a later period, this 
 A. S. stropp was turned into strap K Font and fount are mere 
 variants of A. S.foni, borrowed from Lat. zeefontem (§ 380). 
 Ton and tun both answer to A. S. lunne, a non-Teutonic word 
 of doubtful origin. 
 
 In some cases we find that the doublets are not exactly 
 
 passes into part of a diphthong ; indeed, even in A. S. we already find 
 the contracted form w<kn. Again, I do not suppose that wagon was 
 ever heard of in England till the sixteenth century. < V N.B. in my Concise 
 Diet., s. v. Wagon, read 'XVI cent.' for 'XIV cent.') 
 
 1 I know of no instance of strap earlier than in Skak. Tw. Nt. i. 3. 13. 
 We do, however, find an A.S. dimin. strapid, M. E. strapcl ; see Wright's 
 Vocabularies and Stratmann. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 e e 
 
4i8 
 
 COMPOUND WORDS, 
 
 [Chap. XX. 
 
 equivalent, but differ slightly in the form of the suffix. Thus 
 dale, Icel. dalr, answers to a Teut. form dala ; whereas dell 
 answers to dalja. I now find that the E. byre is not (as said 
 in my Dictionary) of Scand. origin, but is precisely the 
 A. S. byre, which Mr. Sweet, in his Oldest E. Texts, calls a 
 plural sb., and translates by 1 dwellings/ The word is 
 evidently formed by mutation from A. S. bur, a bower ; so 
 that bower and byre are, practically, doublets, though dif- 
 ferent in use ; the former was usually allotted to ladies, but 
 the latter to cows. 
 
 § 393. Compound Words. Compound words, such as 
 head-ache, are extremely common in English, and the 
 majority of them are compounded of two substantives, the 
 sense of the compounds being obvious. But it is worth 
 observing that there are some compounds, of purely native 
 origin, which are of such antiquity that their form has 
 suffered considerable alteration, with the result that their 
 sense is by no means obvious until their oldest forms have 
 been discovered. I give below, for the reader's informa- 
 tion, a few of the most interesting. The results are stated 
 with all brevity ; fuller information will be found in my 
 Dictionary. Some of these words are noticed in Morris's 
 Hist. Outlines, p. 222 ; but the present list is considerably 
 fuller. I shall, however, make no scruple of quoting at 
 length (in § 394) Morris's description of the various modes 
 in which English compounds are formed. 
 
 § 394. I. Substantive Compounds. 
 
 (1) Substantive and substantive. 
 
 (a) Descriptive ; as gar -lie, spear-plant, even-tide, Sec. 
 [Here belong friend-ship, king-dom?[ 
 
 (b) Appositional ; as oak-tree, beech-tree. 
 
 (c) Genitive ; as kins-man, Tues-day, dooms-day. 
 
 (d) Accusative; as man-killer, blood-shedding. 
 
 (2) Substantive and Adjective : free-man, mid-day, black- 
 bird, alder-inan. [See mid-riff, neigh-bour in § 395.] 
 
§ 394-] 
 
 ADJECTIVE COMPOUNDS. 
 
 419 
 
 (3) Substantive and Numeral : twi-light, sen-night, fort- 
 night [see § 395] ; two-fold. 
 
 (4) Substantive and Pronoun : self esteem, self-will. 
 
 (5) Substantive and Verb : grind-stone , whet-stone, pin-fold, 
 wag-tail, rear-mouse [see below], bake-house, wash-tub, pick- 
 pocket. A substantive is often qualified by another substan- 
 tive, to which it is joined by a preposition, as man-of-war \ 
 will-d -the-wisp, fack-a-lantern (where a — o = of), br 'other -in- 
 law. 
 
 II. Adjective Compounds. 
 
 (1) Substantive and Adjective; in which the sb. has the 
 force of an adverb ; as blood-red = red as blood, snow-ivhite 
 = white as snow, sea-sick, sick through the sea, fire-proof 
 proof against fire, cone-shaped, eagle-eyed, lion-hearted. [Here 
 belong man-ly, wilful, heart-less, &C.1 
 
 (2) Adjective and Substantive, denoting possession, as 
 barefoot. (In the corresponding modern forms the sb. has 
 taken the pp. suffix of weak verbs, as bare-footed, bare- 
 headed, three-cornered. Just as the suffix -en in gold-tn 
 denotes possession, so does -ed in boot-ed, shoulder-ed, forms 
 to which Spenser and other Elizabethan writers are very 
 partial.) , 
 
 (3) Participial combinations, in which the participle is the 
 last element. 
 
 (a) Substantive and Present Participle, in which the first 
 element is the object of the second ; as earth-shaking, heart- 
 rending, ear-piercing, life-giving. 
 
 (b) Adjective and Present Participle, in which the first 
 element is equivalent to an adverb ; as deep-musing, fresh- 
 looking, ill-looking. 
 
 (c) Substantive and Perfect Participle ; as air-fed, earth, 
 born, moth-eaten. 
 
 (d) Adjective and Perfect Participle; as dear-bought, 
 full-fed, high-born. Cf. well-bred, where well is an ad- 
 verb. 
 
 e e 2 
 
420 
 
 OBSCURE COMPOUNDS. [Chap. XX. 
 
 III. Verbal Compounds. 
 
 (r) Substantive and Verb : back-bite, brow-beat, hood-wink, 
 kiln-dry. 
 
 (2) Adjective and Verb : dry-nurse, dumb-found, white- 
 wash. 
 
 (3) Adverb and Verb : cross-question, doff (do off), don (do 
 on), &c. 
 
 The above account may be usefully compared with the 
 full account of Compound Words, with a Scheme of different 
 Composition of Noun-bases, given in Peile's Notes on the 
 Nalopakhyanam, Cambridge, i88i,pp. 2-9. 
 
 § 395. List of Compounds, of native origin, in which 
 the origin has been more or less obscured. 
 
 Agnail, formerly angnail ; A. S. ang-ncegl ; of which Dr. 
 Murray writes : 'a word of which the application, and per- 
 haps the form, has been much perverted by pseudo-etymo- 
 ogy. The O. E. [A. S.] angncegl is cognate with O. H. G. 
 ungnagel, Fries, ongneil, ogneil ; from ang- (Gothic aggwus, 
 cf. ang-sum), compressed, tight, painful, and ncegl (Goth. 
 nagls), nail. The latter had here the sense, not of " finger- 
 nail/' unguis, but of a nail (of iron, etc.) clavus, hence a hard, 
 round-headed excrescence fixed in the flesh ; cf. [A. S.] 
 wer-noegl, E. warnel, a wart, lit. " man-nail " (as opposed to 
 " door-nail, " " wall-nail/' etc.). So, Lat. clavus was both a 
 nail (of iron, etc.) and a corn in the foot. Subsequently 
 -;/(/// was referred to a finger- or toe-nail, and the meaning 
 gradually perverted to various (imaginary or real) affec- 
 tions of the nails.' The senses are : (1) a corn on the 
 toe or foot; (2) any painful swelling, ulcer, or sore near 
 the toe- or finger-nail ; (3) a hang-nail. Hang-nail is 
 a perversion of the true form, 'putting a plausible meaning 
 into it/ 
 
 Alone, also shortened to lone ; for all one. 
 Atone ; coined from at and one ; i. e. to ' set at one/ to 
 reconcile. It originated in the phrase 1 to be at one/ which 
 
§ 395-] 
 
 OBSCURE COMPOUNDS. 
 
 421 
 
 is a translation of the Anglo-French phrase estre a un, to 
 agree \ 
 
 Auger, corruption of nanger ; A. S. nafu-gdr, later nafe- 
 gdr, a tool for boring a hole in the nave of a wheel ; from 
 A. S. nafu, a nave ; gar, a piercer, that which gores. 
 
 Aught, lit. ' ever whit/ i. e. e'er a whit, anything whatever ; 
 A. S. dwiht, contracted form dht\ compounded of A. S. d t 
 ever, and wiht, a wight, whit, thing 2 . Cf. O. H. G. e'owiht, 
 aught, the cognate form. The A. S. a is cognate with Icel. 
 ei (whence E. aye), O. H. G. e'o, G.Je, Goth, aiw, ever; where 
 aiw is from the sb. aiws, time, an age, allied to Lat. auum, 
 Gk. alav, a life-time. Cf. Gk. cu«, aei, ever. 
 
 Bandog, M. E. band-dogge, i. e. a dog tied up by a band, 
 a watch-dog or ferocious dog. 
 
 Barley, A. S. beer lie, i. e. that which is like bear, where 
 bear is equivalent to A. S. bere, also explained as barley. Dr. 
 Murray shews that the suffix is certainly our like, not A. S. 
 le'ac, E. leek, as usually said 3 . 
 
 Barn, contracted from A. S. bere-ern, a place for barley ; 
 from A. S. bere, barley, and cern, ern, a place, store-house. 
 
 Bridal, put for bride-ale, i. e. bride-feast. The M. E. alt 
 frequently occurs in the sense of ' feast/ 
 
 Bridegroom, for bride-goom, bride-man ; A. S. guma, a 
 man. The second r is dragged in by the influence of the 
 first. 
 
 Brimstone, M. E. bren-sloon, burning stone. 
 
 Caterwaul, M. E. caierwawen, to make the wailing noise 
 of cats. Caler= Icel. ka/lar-, as in kattar-skinn, cat's skin ; 
 orig. gen. of kollr, a cat. Cf. ?jighler-tale (Chaucer). Wau-l 
 
 1 * II ne peusent estre a an' i.e. they (Henry II. and Beket) could 
 not agree ; Le Livere de Reis, ed. Glover (Record Series), p. 220, 1. 8. 
 
 3 In my Dictionary, I have explained the prefix d in this word as short 
 for an, one. This is a slip for which I cannot account, and is of course 
 entirely wrong. 
 
 3 I regret that my Dictionary gives this false explanation. 
 
422 
 
 OBSCURE COMPOUNDS. 
 
 [Chap. XX. 
 
 is the frequentative of M. E. waw-en, to make a noise like a 
 cat. ' Where cats do waule 9 ; Return from Parnassus, A. 5. 
 sc. 4. 
 
 Chincough, for chink-cough ; chink = kink, 2l catch in the 
 breath. 
 
 Cobweb, i. e. a /if nop -web ; atter-cop — poison-head, a 
 spider. Cf. M.E. coppis, spiders ; Wars of Alexander, I. 3300. 
 
 Cowslip, prov. E. cows/op, in many dialects ; A. S. cti-sloppe, 
 cu-slyppe, cow-slop, piece of cowdung. Cf. Icel. M-reki, a 
 primrose, lit. cow-refuse. There is no doubt about this; 
 the Icel. word is a translation of the A. S. one. So Ox-lip 
 below. 
 
 Cranberry, crane-berry. So also G. Kranich-beere. 
 
 Daisy, A. S. doges e'age, lit. day's eye, the sun with rays. 
 
 Darling, for dear-ling ; A. S. deorling. 
 
 Didapper, for dive-dapper ; a diving bird. 
 
 Distaff, A. S. distcef, for * dise-stccf, staff with a bunch of 
 flax on it. Cf. Westphalian diesse, a bunch of flax (Bremen 
 Worterbuch, v. 284); E. Fries, dissen (Koolman) ; M. H. G. 
 dehse, a distaff, from dehsen, to swingle flax, also to hack, 
 hew (Schade); Voters, no. 124. 
 
 Each, A. S. die, for *d-ge-lic, ever-like ; see Aught above. 
 
 Earwig, ear-creeper ; A. S. wicga, one that moves about, 
 a beetle ; cf. A. S. wicg, a runner, horse. 1 Blatea (sic), luci- 
 fuga, wicga'; Wright's Voc. ed. Wiilcker, 196. 18. Cf. 
 A. S. weg-an, to move about. 
 
 Either, (1) adj. in the sense 'one of two'; A. S. dgper, 
 dkghw&per, for *d-ge-hwceper, ever-whether. See Each. 
 
 Either, (2) conjunction, M.E. either, variant (due to 
 confusion with the word above) of M. E. auther, A. S. 
 a-hwcBper ; and therefore differing from the above in not 
 containing the syllable^. See Or, p. 427. 
 
 Elbow, A. S. elboga, also elnboga, Wright's Vocab. 216. 22. 
 Eln = ell ; boga, bow, bending. 
 
 Eleven, A. S. endlnfon, andleofan (for *an-leofari), Goth. 
 
§ 395-1 
 
 OBSCURE COMPOUNDS. 
 
 423 
 
 ain-lif, Lith. w'eno-lika; one remaining, one over (beyond 
 ten). Cf. Lith. wenas, one ; also Lith. lek-as, remaining, 
 at-lekmi, I remain over, Lat. linq-uo) Vriq, no. 307. 
 
 Ember-days ; from A.S.ymb-ryne, circuit, course (season), 
 lit. 'a running round.' See § 365. 
 
 Every, M. E. euerich, i. e. ever-each. See Each. 
 
 Farthing, A. S.fe'orff-ing, from feord-a, fourth. 
 
 Fortnight, for fourteen night, two weeks. 
 
 Furlong, furrow-long, the length of a furrow. 
 
 Futtocks, for foot-hooks ; spelt foot-hooks in Bailey, Phillips, 
 and Coles (1784). 
 
 Garlic, A. S. gdr-leac, spear-leek ; from gar, spear. 
 
 Godwit, A. S. god wiht, good wight, good creature. 
 
 Goodbye, for God be with you 1 , as in Othello, i. 3. 189 (first 
 folio) ; other spellings are God B' w y (Suckling), God be 
 wi' ye (Allan Ramsay); God bzvyyee (Marston) ; godbwy (J. 
 Davies) ; God bye (Evelyn) ; God buy you, Twelfth Night, 
 iv. 2. 108 (first folio) ; see Palmer, Folk-Etymology. It is 
 tolerably clear that God be with you was cut down to God 
 bwy or God buy; after which, the sense being obscured, the 
 vjovdye,yee, or you was again appended ; so that the modern 
 E. good-bye really stands for Evelyn's God bye, i. e. for God 
 be with you ye, or God be zvith you you. This is the true 
 solution of the mystery, and is not at all 1 impossible.' 
 
 Gorcrow, carrion-crow ; from gore, blood, carrion. 
 
 Goshawk, i. e. goose-hawk ; Icel. gdshaukr ; cf. A. S. 
 goshafuc. 
 
 Gospel, A. S. god-spel. At first this word was gSd-spel, 
 good tidings ; ' Euuangelium, id est, bonum nuntium, godspel ' ; 
 Wright's Vocab. 314. 9; but the 0 was afterwards shortened 
 by stress (precisely as in gos-ling from gos), and it was then 
 commonly supposed to mean 1 God-spell/ or the story of 
 
 1 Trautmann says this is impossible, and that it stands for God be by 
 you ; Anglia, viii. 2. 144. He forgets that the plain evidence is the other 
 way ; where is ' God be by you ' to be found ? 
 
424 
 
 OBSCURE COMPOUNDS. 
 
 [Chap. XX. 
 
 Christ. In this latter form it was translated into Icelandic 
 as gud-spjall ( = God-spell) and into O. H. G. as gotspel, 
 as if from O. H. G. got, God, not O. H. G. guot, good. Hence 
 the spelling godd spell (with short 6) in the Ormulum. 
 
 Gossamer, M. E. gosesomere, lit. goose-summer. (See Dic- 
 tionary.) 
 
 Gossip, M. E. god-sib, related in God, a sponsor in 
 baptism. 
 
 Groundsel, a plant, A. S.grunde-swelge, ground-swallower, 
 i. e. abundant weed. But this is a corrupted form. The 
 Oldest E. Texts have gundeswilge, which means 6 swallower 
 of poison or pus/ with reference to healing effects; from 
 A. S.gund, matter, pus. Gimd is used of a running from the 
 eyes; and groundsel was good for eye-disease; Leechbook, 
 i. 2. 13. For the spellings gundeswilge, gundaeswelgae, see 
 Sweet's O. E. Texts, p. 98, I. 976; p. 97, 1. 1850. 
 
 Grunsel, Groundsill, threshold ; from ground and sill. 
 
 Halibut, holy plaice ; for eating on holidays. Also spelt 
 holybut (Bailey). Cf. holi-day for holy day. 
 
 Halyard, a rope for haling iheyards into place. 
 
 Handcuff, corruption of A. S. hand-cops ; where cops is a 
 fetter. 
 
 Handicap, hand i' (th') cap, a mode of drawing lots, 
 &c. 
 
 Handicraft, Handiwork; the 1 here answers to A. S. 
 ge, as in A. S. handgeweorc. 
 
 Harebell, M. E. hare-belle, bell of the hare. (Otherwise 
 explained by those who prefer fancy to fact ; and of late 
 years spelt hair-bell, to foster a false etymology.) 
 
 Heifer, A. S. heah-fore ; from he'ah, high (full-grown) ; and 
 -fore, cognate with Gk. nopis, a heifer ; cf. A. S.fearr, bull. 
 
 Hemlock, M. E. hemlok, humlok ; A. S. hemlic, hymlic, 
 hymelic, oldest forms hymblicce, hymlice (Oldest E. Texts). 
 Sense doubtful ; the sense of lie, lice can hardly be ' leek,' 
 but rather ' like ' ; see Barley above. 
 
§ 395-1 
 
 OBSCURE COMPOUNDS. 
 
 Henchman, M. E. hens?nan, henxman, and more corruptly 
 henchman \ a page ; prob. from lale A.S. hengst, a horse, and 
 man. ' Canterius, hengst ' ; Wright's Vocab. 119. 37. The 
 precise equivalent of Icel. hestamacfr, a horse-boy, groom. 
 This explains Hinxman as a surname (Clergy List) ; cf. 
 A. S. Hengestes-broc, now Hinxbrook ; Hengestesgeat, now 
 Hinxgate, &c. (Index to Kemble's Charters.) The sur- 
 name also occurs in the form Hensman. 
 
 Heriot, an Anglo-French re-spelling of A. S. here-geatu, 
 lit. ' military equipment/ 
 
 Heyday, i. e. high-day; M.E. hey, high. 
 
 Hiccough, a modern spelling and travesty of the old 
 words hickup and hicket, the still older form being hickock. 
 Hick denotes a spasmodic gasp ; -ock is a mere diminutive. 
 
 Hoarhound; from hoar, white, and A.S. hiine, hoar- 
 hound. 
 
 Hobnob, Habnab, orig. at random, take it or leave it : 
 A. S. habban, to have, nccbban, not to have. 
 
 Humbug ; from hum, to cajole, bug, a terror, bugbear. 
 
 'For Warwicke was a Bugge, that fear'd [frightened] vs all.' 
 
 3 Hen. VI, v. 2. 2. 
 
 Hussy, short for hut-wife = house-wife. 
 Icicle, A. S. is-gicel ; from is, ice, and gicel, a small piece 
 of ice. 
 
 Ironmonger; monger, A.S. manger e, is a dealer in 
 various (mixed or mingled) articles. 
 
 Island, mis-spelling of Hand ; A. S. ig, island, /and, land. 
 The lit. sense of ig or zeg is 1 belonging to water/ It is formed 
 by mutation from A. S. eg, ea, a stream. 
 
 Lady, A. S. hldf-dige, probably 1 kneader of bread 1 ; cf. 
 Goth, deig-ariy to knead. 
 
 Lammas, A. S. hldfmcesse, loaf-mass; day of offering 
 first-fruits. 
 
 Lapwing, A. S. h/eape-wince, lit. 4 one who turns about in 
 running/ 
 
426 
 
 OBSCURE COMPOUNDS. 
 
 [Chap. XX. 
 
 Lemman, Leman, A. S. le'of-man, dear one ; from le'of, 
 lief, and matin, 2l man or woman. 
 
 Lichgate, corpse-gate ; from A. S. lie, the body, a corpse. 
 
 Livelihood, a corrupted form ; formerly M. E. livelode, a 
 life-leading, means of living ; from A. S. lif, life ; lad, course, 
 way. 
 
 Loadstone, Lodestone ; from A. S. lad, a leading, guid- 
 ing. 
 
 Lord, A. S. hlaf-ord, prob. for *hlafiveard, a loaf-ward. 
 Mermaid, lake-maid ; from A. S. mere, a lake. 
 Midriff, A. S. mid-rif, for *midrhrif ; from mid, mid, and 
 hrif, the belly. 
 
 Midwife, from mid, with ; a woman who is with another, 
 a helper. (Not meed-wife?) 
 
 Mildew, lit. honey-dew ; from A. S. mele, mil, honey. 
 
 Milksop, lit. ' bread sopped in milk ' ; a soft fellow. 
 
 Misselthrush, so called from feeding on mistletoe-berries ; 
 from A. S. mist el, mistletoe. 
 
 Mistletoe, lit. ' birdlime-twig,' A. S. mistel-tdn ; from 
 mistel, mistletoe, also that which has mist or bird-lime ; tan, 
 a twig. 
 
 Mole, short for mould-warp, the animal that throws up 
 mould. 
 
 Monday, 'A. S. monan-dceg, day of the moon. So also 
 Tiwes-dcBg, Tuesday, day of Tiw (Mars); Wodnes-dcsg, day of 
 Woden ; Thunres-dceg, day of Thor (or thunder) ; Frige- 
 dcEg, day of Frigu (Love, Venus); Scetern-dceg, day of 
 Saturn ; Sunnan-dccg, day of the Sun. 
 
 Mugwort, midge-wort, A. S. mueg-wor/; cf. myege, a 
 midge, lit. ' a hummer ' ; see Kluge, s. v. Miicke. 
 
 Naught, also Not ; for ne aught \ see Aught. 
 
 Neighbour, lit. ' nigh dweller ' ; A. S. neah, nigh, Mr, a 
 husbandman, dweller. 
 
 Nickname, orig. eke-name, i. e. additional name. 
 
 Nightingale, A. S. nihte-gale, a singer by night. 
 
§ 395-1 
 
 OBSCURE COMPOUNDS. 
 
 427 
 
 Nightmare ; from A. S. mara, an incubus. 
 
 Nostril, nose-thirl, nose-hole ; A. S. nospyrl. 
 
 Nuncheon, M. E. none-schenche, a noon-drink; from A. S. 
 scencan, to pour out drink. Noon is of Lat. origin. [Cf. 
 prov. E. nammut, i. e. noon-meat, with a parallel sense.] 
 
 Oakum, lit. i that which is combed out ' ; A. S. dcumba, 
 tow ; from a-, out, off, and cemban, to comb. 
 
 Oast-house, a kiln for drying hops ; A. S. dst, a drying- 
 house. 
 
 Offal, orig. fallen sticks, that which falls of trees ; refuse. 
 From off and fall. See Notes and Queries, 6 S. ix. 155, 231. 
 
 Or, conj. ; M. E. other, anther, A. S. d-hwaper ; see 
 Either (2) above, p. 422. 
 
 Orchard, A. S. orceard, ortgcard, also wyrtgeard, i. e. 
 wort-yard. 
 
 Ordeal, A. S. or del, orddl, a dealing out, decision, doom ; 
 from or, out, and del, ddl, a dealing. 
 
 Oxlip, A. S. oxan-slyppe, ox-droppings ; see Cowslip 
 above, p. 422. Slyppe — *slup-Ja, with mutation of u to y. 
 
 Pinfold, for pind-fold ; from A. S. pyndan, to pen up. 
 
 Quagmire, formerly <juakemire, a quaking mire. 
 
 Rearmouse, a bat, A. S. hrere-mUs ; from hre'ran, to 
 flutter. 
 
 Scotfree, free from paying scot or shot, i.e. a contri- 
 bution. 
 
 Sennight, for seven night; a week. 
 
 Sheldrake, for sheld-drake, lit. shield-drake; a drake or- 
 namented as with a shield. 
 
 Shelter, (perhaps) the same as M. E. sheltroun, sheldtrume, 
 a squadron, guard; from A. S. scild-irnma, lit. 'shield-troop.' 
 M. E. sheltroun in P. Plowman means defence or shelter. 
 
 Sheriff*, A. S. scir-gerefa, a shire-reeve, officer of the shire. 
 
 Sledge-hammer, where hammer is a needless addition ; 
 from A. S. slecge, a heavy hammer ; from slag-, base of 
 slagen, pp. of slean, to strike, with mutation of a to e. 
 
428 
 
 OBSCURE COMPOUNDS. 
 
 [Chap. XX. 
 
 Soothsayer, one who says sooth or truth. 
 
 Stalwart, a late spelling of stalworth, M.E. stalworp, 
 stalewurde (St. Katharine), A. S. sl&lwyrde, pi., serviceable 
 (said of ships). This difficult word has been solved by 
 Sievers (A. S. Grammar, ed. Cook, § 202 (3), note 2). A. S. 
 stcelan, to found, is for stadelian ; and st/el- is for stadol, 
 foundation. Hence it is for stathol-ivorth, i. e. steadfast, firm. 
 
 Starboard, A. S. steorbord, steer-board ; the side on which 
 the steersman stood. 
 
 Starknaked, M.E. start-naked, lit. 'tail-naked'; hence, 
 wholly naked. 
 
 Stepchild, an orphaned child ; A. S. ste'opcild ; cf. A. S. 
 d-steapian, to render an orphan, deprive of parents. 
 
 Steward, A. S. sti-wcard, warden of the sties or cattle- 
 pens. 
 
 Stickleback, the fish with small spines on its back ; from 
 stick, to pierce. 
 
 Stirrup, A. S. s tig- rap, a rope to climb up by. 
 
 Such, A. S. swylc, Goth, swaleiks = so-like. 
 
 Sweetheart, M. E. swete herte, sweet heart, dear heart. 
 
 Tadpole, a toad nearly all poll or head. 
 
 Titmouse, from ///, small, and A. S. mdse, a small bird 
 (G. meise, not G. maus). 
 
 Topsyturvy, orig. topsytervy (afterwards corruptly topside- 
 turvy), prob. = top so lurvy ; cf. up-so-down, afterwards 
 altered to upsidedown. Turvy means overturned, from M.E. 
 terven, to upset, torvien, to throw, A. S. torjian, to throw. 
 
 Twibill, a two-edged bill ; A. S. twi-, double. 
 
 Twilight, lit. 'double light,' but put for 'doubtful light,' 
 half light. See above. 
 
 Walnut, a foreign nut ; A. S. wealh, foreign. 
 
 Wassail, from A. S. wes Ml, be thou whole, be in good 
 health. 
 
 Wellaway, A. S. wd la wd, i. e. woe ! lo ! wo ! 
 Werwolf, man-wolf; A. S. wer, a man. 
 
§ 395-] 
 
 OBSCURE COMPOUNDS. 
 
 429 
 
 Which, A. S. hwylc, Goth, hwaleiks, lit. ' who-like/ 
 Wilderness, for wildern-ness ; cf. M. E. wilderne, a place 
 
 for wild animals ; from A. S. wild, wild, deor, animal, with 
 
 adj. suffix -ne. 
 
 Woman, M. E. wimman, A. S. wif-man, lit. ' wife-man/ 
 
 Woodruff, A. S. wude-rofe, wudu-rofe, from A. S. rof, 
 noble, excellent ; a name of praise. Cf. G. Waldmeister , 
 wood-master, woodruff 1 . In old Glossaries wuderofe trans 
 lates Hastula regia, i. e. king's spear, usually applied to 
 white asphodel. 
 
 Woodwale, a wood-pecker, oriole ; M. E. wodewale, lit. 
 4 wood-stranger/ from A. S. wealh, foreigner. Cf. M. H. G. 
 witewal, similarly explained by Schade. 
 
 Woof, M. E. oof, A. S. 6-wef, for on-wef, lit. * web upon 1 
 or across the weft. See § 370. 
 
 World, A. S. weoruld, weriild ; lit. 1 age of man/ hence 
 age, &c. From A. S. wer, man ; ccldu, old age ; cf. Icel. 
 verold, world, from ver and old. 
 
 Wormwood, A. S. wermSd, fuller form were- mod 2 , as if 
 • that which preserves the mind ' ; from wcrian, to defend, 
 and mod, mind. But this can hardly be the right solution, 
 as it should then be mod-were. 
 
 Yellow-hammer, for yellow-ammer ; see § 370. 
 
 Yeoman, of disputed origin. The M. E. form is double ; 
 ^A.Y..yeman,yoman. I take the prefix to be A. S. *gea y not 
 found 3 , but equivalent to G. gan, province, village ; the sense 
 being 1 villager/ as is that of O. Friesic gaman. The A. S. 
 *ge'a, if the accent be on e, would become M. E. ye (for A. S. 
 gear gives M. IL.yeer); and *ged, with shifted accent, would 
 become M. IL.yo (for A. S. gedra gives M. H.yore). 
 
 1 Ruff is a corrupt form, due to confusion ; it should be woodrove. 
 We also find woodroiu and ivoodrowel , by confusion with F. roue and 
 rouelle, with reference to its whorls of leaves. 
 
 2 * Absinthium, weremod 1 ; Wright's Vocab. 296. 24. 
 
 3 The A. S. gd, a province, given in Dictionaries, is a complex fiction, 
 due to mistakes. No A. S. d = G. au\ but only A. S. ea has this value. 
 
43° 
 
 HYBRID FORMS. 
 
 [Chap. XX. 
 
 Yes, A. S. gese, explained by me as for A. S. ge sig, ' yea, 
 let it be (so) ' ; but Kluge (s. v. jd) gives it as for A. S. ge se 
 = ge swd, yea, so. Grein gives se for swd. 
 
 Yesterday, A. S. geostra, yester-, and dceg, day. Geos-tra 
 is a comparative from geos- = Gk. x&'s, Skt. hyas, yesterday, 
 orig. perhaps ' morning/ If so yes-ter- — morning beyond. 
 
 A second list of compounds, all of Scandinavian origin, 
 will be found at the end of Chapter XXIII. 
 
 § 396. Some derived forms may be called 'petrified 
 grammatical forms ' ; i. e. they are forms due to grammatical 
 inflexion, preserved as 1 petrifactions 1 long after the notion 
 of inflexion has passed from them. Examples are : live, adj., 
 short for alive, formerly M. E. a Hue, oliue, on lyue, for A. S. on 
 life, in life, where life is the dat. sing, of lif life. On-ce, 
 twi-ce, M. E. on-es, /wi-es, are genitival forms, like backwards, 
 unawar-es. Seld-om, at rare (times), is a dative plural ; so 
 also is whil-om, at times. Whil-s-t is a genitival form, with 
 addition of excrescent /. Why, A. S. hwy, is the instrumental 
 case of who. Since, short for sithen-s, is due to A. S. siS dam, 
 later siddan, with the addition of an adverbial (genitival) s ; 
 and as dd-m is a dative case, we see that the -n- in si-n-ce is 
 due to a dative suffix, and the -ce to a genitive suffix, added 
 at a time when the notion of dative was lost, just as the 
 notion of genitive is lost now. For further examples, see 
 Morris, Hist. Outlines ; such forms, being purely of gram- 
 matical origin, can be explained by the historical method. 
 
 § 397. Hybrids. English further abounds with Hybrid 
 Compounds, i.e. words made up from different languages. 
 Many of these are due to the use of prefixes or suffixes. 
 Thus, in a-round, the prefix is English, but round is French ; 
 so also in be-cause, forefront, out-cry, over-power, un-able. 
 In aim-less, the suffix is English, but aim is French ; so also 
 in duke-dom, false-hood, court-ship, dainti-ness, plentiful, fool- 
 ish, fairy -like, trouble-some, genial-ly, &c. But besides these 
 we have perfect compounds, such as these : beefeater, i. e. 
 
§ 397-] 
 
 HYBRID FORMS. 
 
 43 1 
 
 eater of beef, where eater is English and beef is French ; so 
 also black-guard, life-guard, salt-cellar, smallage. On the 
 other hand, French is followed by English in eyelet-hole, heir- 
 loom, hobby-horse, kerb-stone, scape-goat. Bandy-legged is 
 French and Scandinavian. Archi-trave is ultimately Greek 
 and Latin; while ostrich is ultimately Latin and Greek. 
 Inter-loper is Latin and Dutch, fuxta-position is Latin and 
 French. Mari-gold is Hebrew and English. Partake, for 
 part-take, is French and Scandinavian. Tamar-ind is Arabic 
 and Persian. Spike-nard is Latin and Sanskrit. Mac-adam- 
 is-ed is Gaelic, Hebrew, French, and English. There is no 
 language in which words from very different sources can so 
 easily be fused together as they have frequently been in our 
 own. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 Early Words of Latin Origin. 
 
 § 398. Latin of the First Period. When the English 
 invaded Britain in the fifth century and conquered the Celtic 
 inhabitants, the Latin language had already preceded them. 
 Britain had been a Roman province for nearly four hundred 
 years. The Latin introduced during that time among the 
 Britons, and by them transmitted to the English, has been 
 called Latin of the First Period. It is well known that it has 
 left its mark upon many place-names. The A. S. ceas/er, 
 E. Chester, is nothing but an English pronunciation of the 
 Lat. castrum, a camp. But there are at least two words in 
 common use, viz. street and wall, which also belong to this 
 period ; for the Romans had not left the island without 
 leaving famous traces of their occupation behind them. Our 
 street, Mercian stre't 1 , is an English form of Lat. strata uia, 
 a paved way, strata being the fern, of the pp. of Lat. sterner e, 
 to spread, lay down, pave a road. Our wall, Mercian wall 2 , is 
 merely the Lat. uallum, a rampart, borrowed at a time when 
 the Latin u was still w. It must also be remembered that 
 many Latin words were already familiar to most of the Teu- 
 tonic tribes soon after the Christian era ; so that the English 
 invaders not only learnt some Latin words from the Britons, 
 
 1 Stret is Mercian and Kentish ; A. S. str&t. 
 
 2 Wall is the Mercian form ; Vesp. Psalt. xvii. 30 ; A. S. weall. (I 
 note here that Foss, in place-names, is Latin ; but mod. E. foss is 
 French.) 
 
§ 399-] 
 
 EARLY LATIN WORDS. 
 
 433 
 
 but had brought others with them. Such words also clearly 
 belong to the Latin of the First Period, but it is not easy to 
 say precisely what they were. Still, it is probable that our 
 wine, A. S. win, spelt uuin in the Epinal Glossary, 1. 1040, 
 also belongs to this period ; and the same may be true of 
 wick, A. S. wic, a town, spelt uuic in a Charter dated 740 ; 
 these words are borrowed, respectively, from Lat. uinum and 
 uicus. The A. S.porl, from Lat. por/us, a harbour, is common 
 in place-names \ Of course, it is also possible that such 
 words were already familiar to the English invaders before 
 they left the continent ; but this comes to much the same 
 thing, and we are thus entitled to consider wine, wick (a town), 
 port (a harbour), pool (Welsh pwll, Low Lat. padulis), mile, 
 pine (punishment, whence mod. E. vb. to pine), as well as 
 street and wall, as words belonging to Latin of the First 
 Period. There may even have been a few more, viz. among 
 those which are usually reckoned as belonging to the Second 
 Period ; but this is not a matter of much consequence, and. 
 in the absence of evidence, cannot easily be decided. My 
 list of words belonging to Latin of the First Period is there- 
 fore as follows : mile, pine, v., pool, port, street, wall, wick 
 (town), wine. All these probably found their way into Eng- 
 lish before a. d. 500. 
 
 § 399. Latin of the Second Period. ' The English. 1 
 says Dr. Morris, ' were converted to Christianity about a. d. 
 596, and during the four following centuries many Latin 
 words were introduced by Roman ecclesiastics, and by 
 English writers who translated Latin works into their own 
 language. This is called the Latin of the Second Period! 
 
 It is common to reckon amongst words of this character 
 such words as sand, a saint, calic, a chalice, &c, but this is 
 
 1 Cf. O. Irish fin, wine, fich, a town (municipium), fdl, a hedge, 
 port, a harbour, plan, pine, pain, punishment, all borrowed words ; 
 the Irish f being put for Lat. Again, the borrowed words wint, 
 mile , pine (in the sense of punishment), are all common Teutonic 
 words. So indeed is street (G. Strasse). 
 
 VOL. I. F f 
 
434 
 
 EARLY LATIN WORDS. 
 
 [Chap. XXI. 
 
 likely to mislead. As a matter of fact, these words are 
 certainly found in A. S., and were certainly borrowed from 
 Latin ; but they are as dead to modern E. as if they had 
 never been known. Saint and chalice are purely French 
 forms, and belong to a later period; they effectually sup- 
 planted such forms as sand and ca/ic. In the same way 
 the word balsam is found in A. S. but was afterwards lost, 
 and not reintroduced into English till the sixteenth century. 
 Most of the lists of Latin words of the Second Period seem 
 to me more or less imperfect ; perhaps the fullest is that 
 given by Koch, Grammatik, i. 5. As this is a point of much 
 interest, I propose to give a fuller and more accurate list 
 than such as are generally offered, carefully excluding such 
 words as sanct, which have not survived. At the same time, 
 I take the opportunity of dividing the words into two sets : 
 (1) those of pure Latin origin, and (2) those of Greek or 
 other foreign origin. Some of them, as said above, may 
 really belong to the Latin of the First Period, and I shall 
 include these in the list. 
 
 § 400. Words of pure Latin origin, found in Anglo- 
 Saxon ; including those of the First Period. A liar, 
 A. S. altare, dative (Matt. v. 24); Lat. altare. Ark, A. S. 
 arc ; Lat. area. Beet, A. S. bete ; Lat. beta (Pliny). Box (1), 
 a tree, A. S. box ; Lat. buxus. Box (2), a chest, A. S. box ; 
 Lat. buxus , buxum. Candle, A. S. candel ; Lat. candela. 
 Canker, A. S. cancer (Bosworth) ; Lat. cancer. Castle, A. S. 
 castel, used for Lat. castellum, a village, Matt. xxi. 2 ; but in 
 the sense of 1 castle' in A. S. Chron. an. 11 37. Chalk, A. S. 
 cealc, Lat. acc. calc-em, from calx. Chapman, A. S. ceapman, 
 a merchant, from the sb. ceap below. Cheap, adj., from A. S. 
 cfap s sb., purchase ; which comes perhaps from Lat. caupo, a 
 huckster \ Cheese, Mercian cese (O. E. Texts) ; Lat. caseus. 
 
 1 I leave this, as being the usual account. But Kluge (s. v. kaufeti) 
 shews good reason for supposing that Goth, kaupon, to trade, G.kaufcn, 
 Du. koopen, are words of pure Germanic origin, and in no way related 
 to I. at. caupo. 
 
§ 4°°-] 
 
 EARLY LATIN WORDS, 
 
 435 
 
 Circle (so spelt by the influence of F. cercle), A. S. circul • 
 Lat. circulus, dimin. of circus. Coleplant, Cole, cabbage ; 
 A. S. cole, in the comp. h&p-cole, lit. ' heath-cole/ in Wright's 
 Vocab. 300. 33, 365. 37, and in O. E. Texts; also spelt 
 caul, cawl, cawel (Bosworth) ; Lat. caulis. Cook, A. S. coc, 
 Lat. coquus. Coop, not found in A. S. except in the mutated 
 form cypa, Luke ix. 17; but we find O. Sax. copa in the 
 Freckenhorst Roll, 1. 13; here O. Sax. copa = Low Lat. 
 copa, variant of Lat. cupa, a tub, vat, cask (whence A. S. cypa, 
 with mutation of 6 to y). Cowl, A. S. cugle, cugele 1 ; Lat. 
 cucullus (whence also O. Irish cochulf). Creed, A. S. crida ; 
 from Lat. credo, I believe (the first word of the Apostles' 
 Creed). Crisp, adj., A. S. crisp', Lat. crispus. Culler, 
 Couller, a plough-share, A. S. culler ; Lat. culler. Culver % a 
 dove, A. S. culfre, fuller form culufre (Grein) ; Lat. columba. 
 Cup, A. S. cuppe ; formed from Lat. cupa, a cask, late Lat. 
 cuppa, a drinking- vessel. Dight, prepared, adorned, pp. of 
 M. E. dihten, A. S. dihtan, to set in order ; from Lat. diclare. 
 Disciple, A. S. discipul ; Lat. discipulus; afterwards modified 
 into the O. F. form disciple. 
 
 Fan, A. S. fann (Matt. iii. 12), where f was sounded as v 
 the modern y^sound in this word being due to a Northern 
 pronunciation (Wyclif has fan) ; Lat. vannus, a winnowing- 
 fan. Fennel, A. S. fenol, finol, fimd, finugle\ from Lat. feni- 
 culum, fennel; a dimin. form from fenum, hay. Fever, 
 A. S. fefer, fefor (Matt. viii. 15); from Lat. febris. [Not 
 through French, as said in my Dictionary, but immediately.] 
 Feverfew, A. S. feferfuge, Lat. febrifuga, i. e. dispelling 
 fever. Fiddle, M. E. fidel, fithel, A. S. fiSeh ; perhaps from 
 Lat. vitula, vidula 2 . Font, A. S. fo?it (usually /ant) ; from 
 
 1 Not A. S. cufle, as given in my Diet, from the old edition of Bos- 
 worth's A.S. Diet. 1 Cuculla, cugle ' ; Wright's Vocab. 32S. 14. We 
 find the forms cugele, cuhlc, cule in the Rule of St. Benedict, cap. 55, ed. 
 Schroer, pp. 88, 89. 
 
 2 But Kluge (s. v.fiedel) argues that fifah is a genuine Teutonic word, 
 
 F f 2 
 
436 EARLY LATIN WORDS. [Chap. XXI. 
 
 L&t.fonfem, acc. of fons. Fount, variant of font. Fork, A. S. 
 
 forca 1 ; \aZX.furca. Fuller, a bleacher of clothes, A. S. fuller 'e, 
 from fullan, verb ; the latter is borrowed from Low Lat. 
 
 fullare, a verb due to the sb. fullo, a fuller. Gladen, or 
 Gladden (a plant), A. S. glazdene, Lat. gladiolus (sword-lily). 
 Inch, A. S. ynce, formed by vowel-change from Lat. uncia. 
 Keep, A. S. ce'pan, cypan, a derivative of ceap, a purchase; 
 see Cheap above 2 . Kettle, A. S. celel, Wright's Vocab. 197. 
 19; earlier form cetil, Epinal Gloss. 160 ; formed, with 
 /-mutation, from Lat. catillus, dimin. of catinus, a bowl. Kiln, 
 A. S. cyln, fuller form cyhne, in the Corpus Glossary, 906 ; 
 formed with /-mutation of u toy, from Lat. culina. Kitchen, 
 A. S. cycene, from Lat. coauina, with similar mutation ; cf. 
 * Coquina, cycene' in Wright's Vocabularies, 283. 12. 
 
 Lake, A. S. lac ; Lat. lacus. Lin-en, adj., from A. S. tin, flax ; 
 Lat. linum. Lin(seed), from the same A. S. Un. Lobster, A. S. 
 loppestre, earlier form lopust; Lat. locusta (maris). Mallow, 
 A. S. malwe ; Lat. malua. Mass, A. S. mcesse, earlier messe, 
 from Lat. missa ; cf. ' Saet aeghwilc messepriost gesinge fore 
 Oswulfes sawle twa messan' that each mass-priest sing two 
 masses for Oswulf s soul; O. E. Texts, p. 444. Mile, A. S. 
 mil ; Lat. pi. milia (passuum). Mill, A. S. my In, Lat. molina, 
 with mutation from 0 toy. Mint (1), A. S. mynet, earlier 
 my nit, a coin (O. E. Texts, p. 81); from Lat. moneta, with 
 similar change. Mortar (to pound things in) ; A. S. mortere ; 
 Lat. moriarium. Mount, a hill, A. S. munt, Lat. acc. mont-em. 
 Mulberry), M. E. mool-bery ; where moot is from A. S. mor 
 (\vuh change from r to I) ; cf. ' Mor us, mor-bdam,' Wright's 
 Vocab. 138. 9. Muscle, Mussel (fish), A. S. muscle, Lat. 
 musculus. Must, new wine, A. S. must, Lat. mustunu Noon, 
 
 and independent of the Lat. forms. It is hard to believe that there is no 
 connection. See O. H. G.fduld in Schade. 
 
 1 1 Furcilla, litel forca,' Wright's Vocab. 154. 11 {Forca is omitted 
 in the Index to this work). 
 
 2 If cheap is Teutonic, then keep is the same ; see note on p. 434. 
 
§ 4°°-] 
 
 EARLY LATIN WORDS. 
 
 437 
 
 A. S. non, Lat. nona hora, ninth hour. Nun, A. S. nunne, 
 Low Lat. nonna. Offer, A. S. offrian, Lat. offerre. 
 
 Pall (i), A. S. pcell, Lat. />a//<2. A. S. panne ; Lat. 
 
 patina, a shallow bowl 1 . /W, M.E. pese, A.S. pise, earliest form 
 piose, Corpus Gloss. 1. 1208 ; Lat. pisum. Pear, A. S. pere 
 (Wright's Vocab. 269. 33); Lat. pirum. Penny, A. S.penig, 
 fuller forms pening, pending, probably formed with the suffix 
 -ing from a base pand-, which, like the F. pan (E. pawn), 
 seems to be borrowed from Lat. pannus, a cloth, rag, piece, 
 pledge. Periwinkle, a flower, A. S. peruincce ; Lat. peruinca. 
 The name of the mollusc called a periwinkle is due to con- 
 fusion with the flower-name, and should rather be peniw inkle 
 or piniwinkle, A. S. pine-wincla, where the prefix pint - is 
 merely borrowed from Lat. pina, a mussel ; cf. prov. E. 
 pennywinkle, a periwinkle (Halliwell). Pilch, A. S. pylce, 
 pylice ; Lat. pellicea, fern, of pclliirus, adj., made of skins ; 
 from pellis. Pile (2), a large stake, A.S. pit; Lat. pilum. 
 Pillow, M. E. pilwe, A. S. pyle ; from Lat. puluinus. Pin, 
 A. S. pinn, a peg ; from Lat. pinna, variant of penna. [The 
 A.S. pinn occurs in the phrase * to haepsan pinn,' a peg or 
 fastening for a hasp; see Gerefa, ed. Liebermann, Halle, 1886, 
 p. 15, from the Corpus MS. No. 383, p. 102.] Pine (1), a 
 tree, A.S. pin; Lat. pinus. Pine (2), A.S. pin, Lat. poena, 
 punishment ; whence our verb to pine. Pit, A. S. pyt ; Lat. 
 puleus. Pitch, A. S. pic ; Lat. pix. Plant, A. S. plant (O. E. 
 Texts) ; Lat. planta. Pole, A. S. pal ; Lat. pdlus, 2i stake. 
 Pool (1), A.S. pol (Welsh pwll), probably borrowed from 
 British ; but the British word is from late Lat. padtdis, a 
 marsh. Poppy, Mercian popei (O. E. Texts, p. 85, 1. 1516), 
 A.S.popig; Lat. papauer. Port, a harbour (O. Irish port), 
 A.S. port; Lat. portus. Post (1), A.S. post; Lat. poslis. 
 
 1 Kluge doubts this, but the change is easy. In the Epinal Glossary, 
 1. 784, we find A. S. holo-panna, hollow pan, as a gloss to Lat. patina ; 
 and we actually find this Lat. word twice spelt paneta in the Corpus 
 Glossary, 11. 1489, 1490; which points out the direction of the change. 
 
43» 
 
 EARLY LATIN WORDS. [Chap. XXI. 
 
 Pound, A. S. pund ; Lat. pondo, allied to pondus. Prime 
 (canonical hour), A. S. prim ; Lat. prima hora. Pumice, 
 A. S. pumic-stan ; Lat. pumic-, base of pumex. Punt, A. S. 
 punt) from Lat. ponto, a pontoon. 
 
 Savin, Savine, a shrub, A. S. safine, sauine ; Lat. sabina. 
 Scuttle (i), a vessel, A. S. scutel, Lat. scute/la, dimin. of 
 scuira, a tray. Service-tree, M. E. serves-Ire, a tree bearing 
 serves ; where serves is the pi. of j^rz^ == A. S. £yr/£ ; 
 from Lat. sorbus. Shambles, pi. of shamble, a bench, A. S. 
 scamel ; Lat. scamellum. Shrine, A. S. jfrffl ; Lat. scrinium. 
 Shrive, A. S. serif an, Lat. scribere. Sickle, A. S. raw/; Lat. 
 secula. Sock, A. S. jtfa" ; Lat. soccus. Sole, of the foot, A. S. 
 sole, Lat. solea. Spend, A. S. spendan ; Lat. dispendere (not 
 expendere, as is often wrongly said). *SV0/, A. S. stoppian, to 
 stop up ; from Lat. stuppa, tow (which is perhaps borrowed 
 from Gk. a-rvmrr), arvn-rj). Strap, strop, A. S. stropp ; Lat. 
 struppus. Street, Mercian stret, A. S. street ; Lat. strata uia, 
 paved road. Teynple, A. S. lempel) Lat. templum. Tile, A. S. 
 tigele; Lat. legula. Ton, Tun, A. S. tunne ) Low Lat. tunna. 
 Tunic, A. S. lunice ; Lat. tunica. Turtle (dove), A. S. /*//7/* ; 
 Lat. turtur. Verse, A. S. (with _/* sounded as v) ; Lat. 
 versus. Wall, Wick, Wine have been already mentioned 
 among words of the First Period ; see § 398. Provost, Lat. 
 propositus, may answer either to A. S. prdfost or the O. F. 
 provost (commonly prevost). Gem is rather the F. gemme 
 than the A. S. gimm (from gemma). I also regard the w r ords 
 metre, organ, pearl, prove, and purple as being French words- 
 
 § 401. Unoriginal Latin words found in Anglo-Saxon. 
 It is not a little remarkable that a considerable number of 
 the Latin words found in A. S. are unoriginal, being them- 
 selves borrowed from other languages, mostly Greek. I now 
 give a list of these also. 
 
 Alms, A. S. crlmesse, Lat. eleemosyna ; Gk. Ae^oo-i^. 
 Anchor, better spelt ancor, A. S. ancor, Lat. ancora ; Gk. 
 ayKvpa. Angel, A. S. engel, afterwards modified by F. and 
 
§ 40 1 .] 
 
 LATIN WORDS FROM GREEK. 
 
 439 
 
 Lat. influence; Lat. angelus, Gk. ayycXos. An/hem, A. S. 
 antefn, late Lat. antifona, Gk. <W$a>i/a, a pi. treated as a fem. 
 sing. Apostle , A. S. apostol (afterwards modified by F. in- 
 fluence), Lat. apostolus, Gk. a7rooroXo9. Archbishop, A. S. 
 arcebiscop, Lat. archi-episcopus, Gk. apxi-enio-Konos, chief bishop. 
 [Balsam ; see p. 434. J Bishop, A. S. biscop, Lat. episcopus, Gk. 
 iirio-KOTTos. Butter, A. S. fe/fr, Lat. butyrum, Gk. fiovrvpov ; 
 of Scythian origin. Ca?w?i, A. S. canon, Lat. canon, Gk. 
 *aiw, a rule. Capon, A. S. capun, Lat. acc. caponem, nom. 
 az/0; from Gk. Kanoyv. Cedar, A. S. rrakr, Lat. cedrus, Gk. 
 tc&pos ; of Eastern origin. Chervil, A. S. ca?rfille, Lat. azr^- 
 folium, Gk. gai/w^uXW, lit. ' pleasant leaf/ Chest, A. S. 
 (Wright's Vocab. 276. 6), Lat. Gk. kmtt?. Christ, A. S. 
 Crist, Lat. Christus, Gk. Xpio-ro?. Church, A. S. cyrice, Lat. 
 cyriaca, the Latinised way of writing Gk. Kvpiand, neut. pi. 
 used as fem. sing. Clerk, A. S. f/erf , cleric, Lat. clericus. 
 Gk. kXt7/hko?; from KXrjpns, a lot. Coomb, comb, a measure, 
 A. S. Low Lat. cumba, a stone sepulchre, hence a 
 
 trough ; from Gk. a hollow cup, a bowl ; so that a 
 
 f00ȣ is a * bowlful.' Copper, A. S. r^/Vr (Wright's Vocab. 
 217. 9), Lat. cuprum, Cyprian brass; from Gk. Kwrpoy, 
 Cyprus. Cumin, Cummin, A. S. cymin, Lat. cuminum, Gk. 
 Kvpivov ; a Hebrew word. Deacon, A. S. diacon, Lat. diaconus, 
 Gk. &dKO!/or, a servant. Devil, A. S. deofol, Lat. diabo/us. 
 Gk. diaftoXos, slanderer. 2%>A, A. S. Lat. discus, Gk. 
 
 ftlo-Ko?. Hemp, A. S. henep, Lat. cannabis, Gk. /aii/i>a/3ty ; of 
 Eastern origin ; cf. Skt. ftfn#, hemp. 
 
 7w/>, a scion, M. E. a graft, A. S. imp-an, pi., grafts, 
 adapted from Low Lat. impolus, a graft ; from Gk. e^vro?, 
 engrafted. Zz7>', A. S. /iZr>, Lat. lilium, Gk. Xtlpiov. Martyr, 
 A. S. and L. martyr, Gk. pdprvp, a witness. Minster, A. S. 
 mynster, Lat. monasterium, Gk. povaorrjpiov ; from povaarrt^, 
 one who dwells alone (pW), a monk. il//>// (2), a plant, 
 A. S. Lat. mejita, Gk. /iiVtfa. Monk, A. S. munec, Lat. 
 
 monachus, Gk. /uoi/a^os, solitary ; from /ioi/os, alone. /W/// 
 
44° 
 
 EARLY LATIN WORDS. [Chap. XXI. 
 
 (tree), A. S. palm, Lat. palma ; probably borrowed from Gk. 
 7raXafirj. Paper, A. S. paper (Wright's Vocab. 523. 7), Lat. 
 papyrus, Gk. nanvpos ; of Egyptian origin. Pasch, A. S. and 
 L. pascha, Gk. 7rdax a > from Heb. pesakh, a passing over. 
 Pea(cock), M.E. pekok, pokok; the latter form is from A. S. 
 pawe, pawa, Lat. /<?z/0, Gk. raws ; of Tamil origin. Pepper, 
 A. S.pipor, L. piper, Gk. ninepi ; Skt. pippali. Phenix, A. S. 
 fenix, 1 LdX.phoe?n'x, Gk. $om£ ; of Phoenician origin. Plaster, 
 A. S. plaster, Lat. emplastrum, Gk. cpnXao-Tpov ; from c/jL-nXaa- 
 tos, daubed on or over. Plum, A. S. plume, Lat. prunum, 
 
 Gk. Tipovvov, npovjjLUov. Pope, A. S. papa, L. papa, Gk. Trdmras, 
 
 father. Priest, A. S. preosl ; from L. presbyter, Gk. npeafiv- 
 T€pos, elder. Psalm, A. S. sealm, Mercian (O. E. Texts), 
 L. psalmus, Gk. \j/aXfi6s ; from \lsdXXeiv, to twitch harp-strings, 
 to play the harp. 
 
 A. S. rw*, L. rtfivz ; from Gk. poSoi/, for *Fp6bov; 
 Armen. ward. Sack, A. S. ^rr, L. saccus, Gk. craKKo?, Heb. 
 j<7^ ; probably of Egyptian origin. School, A. S. wo/w, L. 
 schola; from Gk. <rxoXr), rest, leisure, disputation, &c. Shoal (1), 
 a multitude of fishes; doublet of School. Silk, prob. from 
 an O. Mercian form *j/7<t (cf. Icel. m7£i), answering to A. S. 
 jft?Zf; ultimately from Lat. Sericum, silk, neut. of Sericus, 
 belonging to the Seres ; from Gk. S^r, pi. the Seres ; prob- 
 ably of Chinese origin. Stole, A. S. stole, L. stola, Gk. 
 <ttoXt), equipment, robe, stole. Tippet, A. S. tappet, L. tapete, 
 cloth ; Gk. ra^r-, stem of Tarjns, a carpet, rug. 2 rout, A. S. 
 /r«^/, L. iructa, Gk. rpdoKr^ ; from rpctyfiy, to gnaw. 
 
 § 402. Classification of borrowed (Latin) words. It 
 thus appears that the Latin words of the Second Period 
 amount to upwards of one hundred and forty, of which 
 about two-thirds are original Latin words, and about one- 
 third are borrowed from Greek, or (through Greek) from the 
 P>ast. If we examine these words a little more closely, we 
 shall see that they can be roughly distributed into classes, as 
 follows : — 
 
§ 403-] 
 
 REMARKS. 
 
 441 
 
 (1) Words relating to ecclesiastical matters, religion, and 
 the Bible\ alms, altar, angel, anthem, apostle, archbishop, 
 ark, bishop, candle, canon, Christ, church, clerk, cowl, creed, 
 cummin, deacon, devil, disciple, font, martyr, mass, minster, 
 monk, nun, pall, pasch, pope, priest, prime, psalm, sack 
 (Gen. xlii), shrine, stole, 'temple; most of which are rather 
 Greek than Latin. 
 
 (2) Useful implements, materials, and food : anchor, box, 
 butter, chalk, cheese, chest, coop, copper, coulter, cup, dish, 
 fan, fiddle, fork, kettle, kiln, kitchen, linen, mill, mint (for 
 coins), mortar, must (new wine), pan, paper, pile {stake), 
 pillow, pin, pitch, plaster, pole, post, pumice, punt, scuttle, 
 shambles, sickle, strap, strop, tile, tun. Articles of dress : 
 pilch, silk, sock, tippet, tunic. Weights, Measures^ &c: circle, 
 coomb, inch, noon, penny, pound. 
 
 (3) Birds : capon, culver, pea(cock), phcenix, turtle. 
 Fishes : lobster, mussel, peri(winkle), irout. 
 
 (4) Trees : box, cedar, palm, pear, pine, plum, rose, 
 service(-tree). Plants : [balsam], beet, chervil, cole, fennel, 
 feverfew, gladden, hemp, lily, lin(seed), mallow, mint, mul- 
 berry), pea, pepper, periwinkle, plant, poppy, savine. Here 
 belongs imp. 
 
 (5) Miscellaneous-, canker, castle, chapman, cheap, cook, 
 fever, fuller, lake, mount (hill), pit, sole (of the foot), school, 
 shoal (of fish), verse. 
 
 (6) Verbs : dight, keep, offer, shrive, spend, stop. 
 ( 7 ) A djective : c ri sp. 
 
 § 403. Remarks. The number of Latin words of the 
 Second Period which have been supplanted by French 
 forms is probably considerable. We may notice Lat. calix y 
 A. S. calic (E. and O. F. chalice). Lat. ficus, A. S.fic (E. fig, 
 O. F. fige). Lat. lacluca, A. S. lactuce (E. lettuce, of F. origin). 
 Lat. and A. S. leo (E. lion, F. lion). Lat. marmor, A. S. mar- 
 man-stdn (E. marble, O. F. marbre). Lat. metrum, A. S. meter 
 (E. and F. metre). Lat. organum, A. S. organ, very rare (E. 
 
442 
 
 EARLY LATIN WORDS. 
 
 [Chap. XXI. 
 
 organ, F. organ e). Lat. ostrea, ostreum, A. S. osire (E. oyster, 
 O. F. oistre). Lat. persicum, A. S. per sue (E. peach, O. F. 
 pesche). Low Lat. perula, A. S. />#?/7, once only (E. pearl, 
 F. per/e). Lat. prcedicare, A.S. predician (E. preach, O. F. 
 precher). Lat. sanctus, A. S. jtf/z*:/ (E. and F. saint). Lat. 
 tabula, A. S. a game at tables (E. and F. The 
 word /^r/W/z occasionally appears as A. S. ymen, but 
 
 was little used ; it was revived at a later time. The history 
 of pike is obscure ; pipe is probably Latin. There are 
 also some Latin words in A. S. which are now disused 
 altogether. One remarkable example is the Lat. margarita, 
 a pearl, which was turned, by help of popular etymology, 
 into the A. S. mere-greot, as if it meant 1 sea-grit/ It may be 
 here observed, that Latin words were freely introduced into 
 English at various later periods, without always passing 
 through the medium of French. Thus cell, M. E. celle, oc- 
 curring in the Ancren Riwle, about a.d. 1200, is perhaps 
 directly from Lat. cella ; cubit was introduced by Wyclif into 
 his translation of the Bible; Spenser has rite, from Lat. ritus; 
 disc is used by Dryden ; and crate by Johnson. 
 
 Postscript. See A. Pogatscher, zur Lautlehre der Lehn- 
 worte in altenglischen ; Strassburg, 1888. A comparison 
 with the index to this work suggests the addition to the 
 preceding lists of the words ass, belt, camel, cap, centaury, 
 cope, cup, limpet, mat, pipe, purse. Limpet is from A. S. 
 lempedu, which properly means a lamprey; from Low Lat. 
 lamprcda. The A. S. purs is given in Eng. Studien, xi. 65. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 The Celtic Element. 
 
 § 404. This is a difficult subject, and I can but treat it 
 superficially. Owing to recent investigations, our views con- 
 cerning Celtic words have suffered considerable change. It 
 has been proved that, in the case of some words which were 
 once supposed to have been borrowed from Celtic, the 
 borrowing has been the other way. For example, our verb 
 to hover is not derived from the Welsh hofio, but the Welsh 
 hofio was simply borrowed from the M. E. houen, to v/ait 
 about, of which hover is the frequentative form ; whilst the 
 M. E. houen is merely formed from the A. S. hof, a dwelling- 
 place, still preserved in the diminutive hov-el. A list of some 
 Celtic words found in English is given in Morris's Ele- 
 mentary Lessons in Historical English Grammar, and a fuller 
 list in Marsh's Student's Manual of the English Language, 
 ed. Smith, 1862, p. 45. The latter is taken from a still longer 
 list given by Mr. Garnett, in the Proceedings of the Philo- 
 logical Society, i. 171. It is certain that these lists require 
 careful revision, and the same may be said of the list given 
 by myself at the end of my Etymological Dictionary. Many 
 of the words formerly supposed to be Celtic are now known 
 to be nothing of the kind. Thus the word barrow, in the 
 sense of * mound,' is formed with perfect regularity from the 
 A. S. beorg, a hill; see all the various forms in the New- 
 English Dictionary. Kiln is not from the Welsh cilin, but 
 from the Lat. culina, which passed into A. S. in the form 
 cyln, with the usual mutation. Dainty is not borrowed from 
 
444 
 
 THE CELTIC ELEMENT. [Chap. XXII. 
 
 the Welsh dantaeth, but is of Old French origin, and really 
 represents, in spite of the change of meaning, the Lat. acc. 
 dignitatem. Daub is also pure French ; O. F. dauber, from 
 Lat. de-albare, to whiten. In my own list, I have included 
 such words as boast, boisterous, which must certainly be struck 
 out, along with the suggestion that barrow may be ultimately 
 of Celtic origin. 
 
 § 405. I am here principally concerned with the con- 
 sideration of such words of Celtic origin as found their way 
 into English before a. d. 1066. This greatly limits the in- 
 quiry, for I think it will be found that the words borrowed in 
 the modern period from Welsh, Scotch Gaelic, and Irish 
 considerably exceed in number the words that truly belong 
 to the Old Celtic element. But as it will greatly clear the 
 way if we can say with certainty which are the Celtic words 
 of comparatively late introduction, I shall turn aside to con- 
 sider these first. 
 
 § 406. As regards the Celtic words that are of com- 
 paratively late introduction, it is easy to say, in many instances, 
 from which of the Celtic languages they were borrowed. I 
 shall therefore consider each language separately, beginning 
 with Irish. 
 
 Words of Irish origin. It is surprising how little seems 
 to be known of the Irish language in our old authors. Indeed, 
 allusions to Ireland, of any sort, are not at all common in 
 our earlier literature. In the Libell of Englishe Policye, 
 written in 1436, there is a chapter i Of the commoditees of 
 Ireland,* &c. ; but I find no Irish word in it. Stanyhurst's 
 Description of Ireland was first published (as a part of Holin- 
 shed's Chronicles), in 1586, and probably was one of the 
 earliest books to introduce Irish words into our literature. 
 It contains, however, but few, the chief being galloglass, glib 
 (lock of hair), kerne, skein (knife), and shamrock l , of which 
 
 1 I only give the etymologies of such words as are not in my Etymo- 
 logical Dictionary. 
 
§ 406.] 
 
 WORDS OF IRISH ORIGIN. 
 
 445 
 
 galloglass, kerne, and skein occur also in Shakespeare. Our 
 great dramatist also employs the words bog and brogue 
 (wooden shoe). Spenser's View of the State of Ireland, 
 printed in 1633, also contains galloglass, glib, kerne, skeane, 
 and shamroke, but adds to these the words bard 1 , pillion, 
 tanist. Lough occurs in Fairfax, tr. of Tasso, bk. i. st. 44. 
 The word tory occurs as early as 1656, but did not come 
 into more general use till about 1680. The word orrery first 
 occurs about 17 15. The word fun first appears in the 
 eighteenth century. Other words are, for the most part, 
 quite modern, and are to be found in books relating to 
 Ireland, especially in such works as Carleton's Traits and 
 Stories of the Irish Peasantry. On the whole, I think we 
 may consider the following list as giving the principal Irish 
 words that have found their way into English, viz. bard, 
 bog, brogue, dirk (?), fun, galloglass, galore 2 , glib, s., kern, 
 lough, orrery, pillion (?) 3 , rapparee, shillelagh 2 , ska in [stent, 
 skein), shaynrock, spalpeen, tanisi, Tory, usquebaugh*. Of 
 these, bard, bog, brogue, and galore may perhaps be also 
 looked upon as having claims to a Gaelic origin. 
 
 Amongst the modern Irish words not given in my Dic- 
 tionary, I may notice some which take the diminutive suffix 
 -in, which is sometimes used as a term of endearment, or, 
 as in the case of spalp-een, with some touch of contempt. 
 Thus colleen is Irish cail-in, literally 1 little girl/ from caile, 
 
 1 Though this word first occurs in Holland's Houlate, and Sir John 
 Holland was a Scotch writer, the word seems to have been regarded as 
 Irish. Holland has: 'a bard out of Irland ' ; Shakespeare has 'a bard 
 of Ireland '; and Spenser uses it of Irish poets. 
 
 2 For these words, see the Supplement to my Dictionary. 
 
 3 Ultimately of Latin origin, in any case ; perhaps merely borrowed 
 from Span, pel Ion, a long robe of skins or furs, if that be an old word. 
 
 4 The following Old Irish forms, given by Windisch, may help : bocc, 
 soft — brScc, shoe— fonn, tune, song — gall, foreigner, Schick, a youth 
 — cath, battle (whence E. kern is a derivative) — loch, lough — scion, 
 knife — semar, semrdc, shamrock — tdnaise, second — toracht, pursuit — 
 usee, water, bethu, life. See Irische Texte, ed. Windisch, Leipzig, 1880. 
 
446 
 
 THE CELTIC ELEMENT. 
 
 [Chap. XXII. 
 
 a girl. Mavourneen, my darling, is compounded of mo, 
 my, and mhuirnin (mh = v), a mutated form of muirn-in % 
 a darling; from muirn, affection. Shebeen, a small public- 
 house, is (I suppose) merely a diminutive of seapa, a shop, 
 which can hardly be other than the English word shop trans- 
 planted into Irish. The word shanty is probably from the 
 Irish scan, old, and iigh, a house. 
 
 § 407. Words of Scotch Gaelic origin. A few Gaelic 
 words have come to us, through Lowland Scotch, at various 
 times, but the number of these which found their way to us 
 at an early period is extremely small. The word bannock is 
 generally considered as Gaelic, but it occurs in an A. S. 
 gloss, and must therefore, if Celtic, be reckoned amongst 
 the Old Celtic words. As such, it will be reconsidered 
 below. Barbour's Bruce contains the words bog (6. 57), crag, 
 glen, and loch (spelt touch). Crag answers to Gael, creag, a 
 rock ; but is a general Celtic term. Beltane, an old name 
 for the first of May, or a festival held on that day, is men- 
 tioned, according to Jamieson, a.d. 1424, in the Acts of 
 James I. of Scotland. It is doubtless of Gaelic origin (Gael. 
 bcalltainn), and we may rest assured that the first part of the 
 word has nothing to do with Bet, or the Baal of Scripture, 
 as was so amusingly and persistently maintained by the anti- 
 quaries of the last century. In Leslie's History of Scotland, 
 1596, edited for the Scottish Text Society in 1885, I find 
 the words caper caly, p. 39, clachan, 14, clan, 56, inch, 13, 
 strath, 12, and Galloway, 14, as the name of an 'ambling 
 horse/ The notice of the first of these is of some interest. 
 ' In Rosse and Loquhaber, and vthiris places amang hilis and 
 knowis [knolls] ar nocht in missing fir trie sufficient, quhair 
 oft sittis a certane foul and verie rare called the Capercaly 
 to name with the vulgar peple, the horse of the forrest/ We 
 should here note the correct spelling with the symbol 3, 
 which should be represented in modern books byy, not, as 
 usually and absurdly, by z. The explanation ' horse of the 
 
§ 4°7-] 
 
 WORDS OF GAELIC ORIGIN. 
 
 447 
 
 forest ' is the literal meaning of the Gaelic name capull-coille. 
 Clachan is the Gael, clachan, a circle of stones, hence, a rude 
 church, and finally, a small hamlet possessing a church. 
 Clan is ultimately of Latin origin (Supp. to Etym. Dictionary). 
 Inch is the Gael, innis, an island. Strath is a river-valley 
 with a low, flat bottom ; Gael, srath. 
 
 Duncan's Appendix Etymologise, 1595 (E. Dial. Soc.) 
 contains the word spate as a gloss: ' Alluvio, vel-es, diluvium, 
 inundatio, a spate of water ' ; also the word craig (crag). 
 Creel is represented in modern Gaelic only by the dimin. 
 form craidhleag, ' a basket, a creel,' the original word being 
 criol, the same as O. Irish criol, a coffer, a box ; the entry 
 1 A basket and iij kreles ' occurs in the Wills and Inventories 
 published by the Surtees Society, i. 224, under the date 1564. 
 'The dh in craidhleag is merely an orthographical device shew- 
 ing that the preceding ai is a diphthong ' ; H. Mac Lean, 
 in Notes and Queries, 7 S., iii. 44. Dunbar (see Jamieson) 
 has the verb wauch, to drink up, whence was formed the sb. 
 waucht, waughl, a draught, as in the phrase 1 a waught of 
 ale/ and Burns's 1 gudewillie ivaucht' i. e. draught drunk 
 for good will 1 . Hence was formed, needlessly, a new 
 verb to waucht, with the same sense, used by Gawain 
 Douglas. I have no doubt that this wauch is precisely 
 the E. verb to quaff, from which a new verb was formed 
 in precisely the same way ; for Palsgrave has : 1 1 quaughl, I 
 drinke alle out/ And I further think that these verbs wauch 
 and quaff "(= quau gh) are both due to the Gael, cuach, a cup, 
 a bowl, variously spelt in English as quach, quaich, quaigh, 
 quech, queff, and quaff. The last spelling is used by Smol- 
 lett, in his Humphrey Clinker. If these be so, then quaff 
 and quaich are both Gaelic ; and the Gael, word is itself 
 a loan-word from the late Lat. caucus, a drinking-vessel, 
 used by Jerome. Slogan, a war-cry, is curiously spelt 
 
 1 Some people turn it into * glide willie-wancht ' ; which presents us 
 with a new word willic-ivaucht, with a sense unfathomable. 
 
44 8 
 
 THE CELTIC ELEMENT. 
 
 [Chap. XXII. 
 
 slogorne by G. Douglas, which some writers (including Chatter- 
 ton and Browning) have turned into slughorn, as if it were a 
 kind of horn ! See Slughorn in Supp. to Etym. Dictionary. 
 
 Besides these, we have several words which are all (pro- 
 bably) only found in modern authors, viz. banshee 1 (also 
 Irish), cairn, cateran (the Gaelic equivalent of the Irish 
 kern), claymore, cosy 1 , gillie, gowan, inacintosh (from a 
 personal name) 2 , philibeg (fillibeg), ptarmigan (?), reel (a 
 dance), spleuchan, sporran, whiskey. Moreover, we have 
 ingle, kail, and plaid, three words which are not original 
 Celtic, but adapted from Latin. We might further add, from 
 Scott's Poems, the fairly familiar words coronach and come. 
 Coronach is the Gael, corranach, a lamentation, dirge, as at 
 a funeral ; lit. 1 a howling together/ from comh- (Lat. cum), 
 together, and ranaich, a howling, roaring, from the verb ran, 
 to howl, cry, roar. Corrie is the Gael, coire, a circular 
 hollow surrounded with hills, a mountain dell. The word 
 airt in Burns is the Gael, aird, a height, also a quarter or 
 point of the compass ; cf. Gael, ard, a height, O. Irish aird, 
 a point, limit 3 . The list might be slightly extended. 
 
 § 408. Three words demand a special notice, viz. brose, 
 branks, and pibroch. Brose I suppose to be the Gaelic 
 broihas (as suggested by Macleod and Dewar), the th being 
 silent. I further suppose it to be allied to Gael, brot, 
 broth; but this can hardly be anything but a Gael, adaptation 
 of the E. word broth. From which it would follow that brose 
 is a mere adaptation from the English ; just as the O. French 
 broues (in Roquefort), whence M. E. brewes, is a mere adapt- 
 
 1 See the Supplement to Etym. Dictionary. 
 
 2 So also macadamise, perhaps one of the strangest compounds in any 
 language ; for it is obviously a compound of Gaelic and Hebrew, with 
 a French suffix, and is declined as an English verb. 
 
 3 The following Old Irish forms, given by Windisch, may help 
 here : ben, woman, side, fairy —cam, cairn — cath, battle — claideb, sword, 
 mor, great — cnasach, concave, hollow — gilla, servant— /ill-im, I fold, bee, 
 small — usee, water — aird, point, limit (as above). 
 
§ 409.] 
 
 WORDS OF GAELIC ORIGIN. 
 
 449 
 
 ation from the O. H. G. brod, which is the cognate word to 
 our broth. Branks is certainly the same word as Gael. 
 brangas, but when we compare this with the Du. and G. 
 pranger, which had precisely the same sense, we can hardly 
 doubt that the origin of the word is Teutonic. In fact, we 
 find in Gothic the comp. verb ana-praggan (= ana-prang r an), 
 to harass, orig. to press tightly upon. As to pibroch, it is 
 merely English in a Gaelic disguise. The Gael, words piob, 
 piobair, are merely the English words pipe, piper, borrowed 
 from English in the sixteenth century. ' From the latter, by 
 the addition of a Celtic termination, was formed the abstract 
 noun piobaireachdz^Tpiper-age, piper-ship, piping. . . . When 
 the Sasunnach, having forgotten his own pipership, reim- 
 ported the art from the Gael, he brought with it the Gaelicised 
 name piobair eachd, softened into pibroch, where the old 
 English piper is so disguised in the Highland dress as to pass 
 muster for a genuine Highlander V 
 
 § 409. From what precedes, we may make out the fol- 
 lowing list of words borrowed from the Gaelic, viz. banshee 
 (also Irish), Beltane, bog (also Irish), branks, brose, cairn, caper- 
 cailyie, cateran, clachan, clan, claymore, coronach, corrie, cosy, 
 crag, creel, galloway (pony), gillie, glen, goivan, inch, ingle, 
 kail, loch, macintosh, philibeg, pibroch, plaid, ptarmigan (?), 
 quaff, reel, slogan, spate, spleuchan, sporran, strath, whiskey. 
 We may also draw two conclusions ; that the English has 
 borrowed more freely from Gaelic than from Irish, and that 
 the borrowing began at an earlier time. This is the natural 
 consequence of the respective geographical positions and 
 political relations of Scotland and Ireland to England. We 
 should also bear in mind that clan, ingle, kail, and plaid are 
 ultimately of Latin origin, from planla 2 , ignis, caulis, and 
 
 1 The Dialect of the Southern Counties of Scotland, by J. A. H. 
 Murray, p. 54. Dr. Murray here mentions tartan as being a Gaelic 
 word, but rightly says, in the Errata, that it French. 
 
 2 See Rhys, Lectures on Welsh Philology, 2nd ed., p. 352. 
 VOL. I. G g 
 
45° 
 
 THE CELTIC ELEMENT. [Chap. XXII. 
 
 pellis ; whilst brose. pibroch, are really of English origin, from 
 broth and pipe ; and branks is really Northern English, 
 borrowed probably from Holland. Hexham's O. Dutch 
 Dictionary gives the very word : 1 Een Prange, Pranger, ofte 
 [or] Hals-yser, 2l shackle, or a neck-yron ' ; from the verb 
 6 prangen, to oppresse, constraine, compell, or to shackle/ 
 
 § 410. Words of Welsh origin. The words of com- 
 paratively recent introduction may be considered first. 
 Shakespeare has cam, crooked, awry, contrary to the pur- 
 pose, which he may have picked up locally as a word that 
 had strayed over the Welsh border ; from Welsh cam, with 
 the same sense. Coble, a small fishing-boat, seems to be the 
 W. cenbal. Clutter, a confused heap, is now found not 
 to be Welsh. Flannel, prov. E. flannen, is the W.gwlanen, 
 from gwlan, wool. Flummery is the W. llymru, llymruwd. 
 Hawk, in the sense to force up phlegm from the throat, is 
 the W. hochi. Coracle, cromlech, and metheglin, are well 
 known as being of Welsh origin. In Middle English, we 
 find the words braget, bragget, a kind of mead, W. bragod; 
 croud, crouth, later crozvd, a kind of fiddle, W. crwth. I 
 should therefore propose to draw up the list of words of 
 Welsh origin as follows, viz. bragget, cam, coble, coracle, 
 cromlech, crowd (fiddle), flannel, flummery, hawk (to clear 
 the throat), kex, kibe, kick, metheglin. 
 
 § 411. Setting aside the words discussed above, which may 
 be distinctly claimed as being borrowed from Irish, Gaelic, 
 or Welsh later than the twelfth century, it remains that we 
 should enquire (i) whether any Celtic words are found in 
 late English which cannot precisely be traced back definitely 
 to any one of these languages ; and (2) whether any Celtic 
 words can be traced in English of the earliest period. The 
 former of these questions is one of great difficulty, and it is 
 better to leave the question unanswered than to give un- 
 satisfactory guesses. Amongst the words which perhaps 
 have the most claim to be considered as Celtic, or founded 
 
§ 4 I2 -1 
 
 WORDS OF WELSH ORIGIN. 
 
 45 1 
 
 upon Celtic, are some of which the origin is very obscure. 
 It may suffice to mention here the words bald, bat (thick 
 stick), boggle, bots, brag, bran, brat, brill, brisk, bug, bump, 
 cabin, char (fish), chert, clock (orig. a bell), cob, cobble, 
 cock (small boat), coot, cub, Culdee, curd, dad, dandriff, 
 darn, drudge, dudgeon (ill humour), fun, gag (?), gown, 
 gyves, jag, knag, lad, lag, lass (?), loop, lubber, mug, noggin, 
 nook, pilchard (?), pony, puck, pug, rub, shog, skip, taper, 
 whin. As to some of these, there does not seem to be 
 much known. I wish to say distinctly that I feel I am 
 here treading on dangerous and uncertain ground, and that 
 I particularly wish to avoid expressing myself with any 
 certainty as to most of these words. The most likely words 
 are those which can be connected with real Old Irish words, 
 such as those to be found in the Glossary to Windisch's Old 
 Irish Texts. Thus bran probably meant ' refuse/ and is 
 connected with O. Irish bren, stinking, foul. Brat, originally 
 a cloak, pinafore, agrees with O. Ir. brat, a cloak. Clock ; 
 O. Irish cloc, a bell. Cub) O. Ir. cuib, a dog. Culdee is 
 certainly Celtic ; from O. Ir. cele De, servant or associate of 
 God, where De"\§ the gen. of Dia, God. Fun ; O. \x.fonn % a 
 tune, a song. Lag) O. Ir. lac, lag, weak, feeble. Brill (if 
 Celtic) is Cornish ; cf. W. brith, spotted. 
 
 § 412. I now pass on to consider the words, which, though 
 found in A. S., are nevertheless probably of Celtic origin. 
 Such words are but few. Amongst them are : bannock, a 
 kind of cake, A.S. bannuc* ; cf. Gael, bonnach, a bannock. 
 Brock, a badger, A. S. broc ; certainly Celtic ; Irish, Gaelic 
 and Manx broc, Welsh and Breton broch 2 . (Carl, A. S. erect, 
 and clout, A. S. clut, are certainly not Celtic.) Combe, 
 a hollow in a hill-side, A. S. cumb, Welsh cwm. Perhaps 
 cradle, A. S. cradol, is also Celtic ; cf. Irish craidhal, Gael. 
 
 1 Dr. Murray quotes 1 Bticcllam semiplcnam, healfne bannuc' as a 
 gloss given in Haupt's Zeitschrift, ix. 463. 
 
 2 Cognate with Gk. <poptc6s, gray. 
 
 G g 2 
 
452 
 
 THE CELTIC ELEMENT. [Chap. XXII. 
 
 creathall, a cradle ; in fact, a more primitive form, without 
 the suffix, is seen in W. cryd, a shaking, also a cradle, O. Irish 
 - crith, a shaking ; cf. Gk. Kpad-deiv, to quiver ; so that a cradle 
 is named from being rocked. Crock, A. S. croc, also crocca ; 
 Gael, crog, W. crochan, Ir. crogan, O. Ir. crocan. Down, dune 
 A. S. dun, a hill ; O. Irish dUn, a fort (built on a hill) ; the 
 cognate original E. word is tun, an enclosure, town. Dun, 
 i. e. brown, A. S. dunn ; O. Ir. donn, brown (whence Don as 
 a Celtic river-name). Slough, A. S. sloh (stem slog-) ; per- 
 haps Celtic ; see Etym. Dictionary. Mattock, A. S. mattuc, 
 may also be Celtic, as we also have W. matog and Gael. 
 madag; but these words look very like loan-words from 
 English. Hence the E. words found in A. S., but of Celtic 
 origin, are perhaps these, viz. bannock, brock, combe, cradle, 
 crock, down (hill), dim, slough. I doubt if the list can be 
 much increased. 
 
 The net result is, that the Old Celtic element in English 
 is very small, and further research tends rather to diminish 
 than increase it. The greater part of the Celtic words in 
 English consists of comparatively late borrowings ; and the 
 whole sum of them is by no means large. A wild com- 
 parison of English words with modern Celtic forms, such as 
 is so commonly seen in many dictionaries, savours more of 
 ignorance than of prudence. 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 The Scandinavian or Scandian Element. 
 
 § 413. It has long been understood that many words found 
 their way into literary English, and still more into several 
 of our provincial dialects, from the language spoken by the 
 Northmen of Scandinavia, at the time of their numerous 
 incursions in the ninth and tenth centuries. Moreover, there 
 were actually Danish sovereigns upon the English throne 
 from a.d. 1016 till 1 04 1. The period when this influence 
 was greatest may be roughly dated between 850 and 1050, 
 or more exactly, between 950 and 1050. But it is a very 
 remarkable fact that, speaking broadly, the words thus intro- 
 duced made their way into literary English at a very slow 
 rate, so that it is often difficult to find examples of their use 
 before about the year 1200 1 . Nevertheless we may rest 
 assured, from our knowledge of the historical facts, that words 
 of this class properly belong to the period before, rather than 
 after, the Norman conquest. 
 
 § 414. The language spoken by the Northmen was a kind 
 of Old Danish, but has frequently been called Old Norse. 
 As Norse properly means Norwegian, this is not a good 
 name for it, being too limited. The same objection really 
 applies, at the present day, to Old Danish also 2 . It is better 
 
 1 One of the very earliest examples is the word call, borrowed from 
 the Old Scandinavian verb kall-a. It is Englished as ceallian in the 
 poem on the Battle of Maldon, which is dated, in the A. S. Chronicle, 
 in the year 993. The poem was composed just after the battle. 
 
 2 Yet the old title * Donsk tunga,' or Danish tongue, was once used as 
 
454 
 
 THE SCANDIAN ELEMENT, [Chap. XXIII. 
 
 to enlarge the title by calling it Old Scandinavian, and it is 
 usual to drop the adjective ' Old/ because it is understood 
 that the borrowings from Scandinavian nearly all took place, 
 as far as we can tell, at an early period. The only objection 
 to the title ' Scandinavian 9 is its length ; on which account I 
 shall take the liberty to shorten it to ' Scandian,' which is 
 equally explicit \ 
 
 § 415. Owing to the colonisation of Iceland by the North- 
 men in 874-934, the Old Scandian has been fairly well pre- 
 served in Iceland to the present day; in fact, the language 
 has suffered so little alteration, owing to the careful culti- 
 vation of the language and the early codification of the 
 Icelandic law, that Scandian is almost synonymous with Ice- 
 landic ; and it is by the help of Icelandic that we can best 
 discover the true forms of Scandian words. Indeed, if 
 we go so far as to say that certain English words are directly 
 borrowed or derived from Icelandic, we usually express the 
 fact, for philological purposes, with quite sufficient exactness, 
 and no harm is done. I have already shewn that, owing to 
 the scanty remains of the Old Northumbrian and Old Mercian 
 dialects, we are constantly obliged, in practice, to speak of 
 English words as being derived from Anglo-Saxon, i. e. from 
 the dialect of Wessex ; whereas we know, at the same time, 
 that the word is far more likely to have belonged to Old 
 Mercian, or even to the Old Anglian of Northumbria (§ 31). 
 Precisely in the same way, it is frequently convenient to 
 speak of words as being derived from Icelandic ; and, in the 
 absence of better materials, it is the best we can do. See 
 p. 76. It should particularly be remarked that the Anglians 
 
 a wide and general term for Scandinavian ; see Danskr in the Icelandic 
 Dictionary. At a later period, the term employed was Norrcena or 
 Norse. 
 
 1 The name 1 Scandinavia ' occurs in Pliny's Natural History, bk. iv. 
 c. 13, where it is vaguely used of an island of uncertain size. But in 
 c. 16, he speaks of the island of 1 Scandia,' which probably means pre- 
 cisely the same country. See Lewis and Short's Latin Dictionary. 
 
§ 4I5-] 
 
 ICELANDIC. 
 
 455 
 
 were themselves Scandians, as they came from the district of 
 Angeln J , which lies between the towns of Flensborg and 
 Sleswig, in the south of Jutland. The difference between 
 the language of the Angles and of the invading Northmen 
 must have been but slight, and there is no doubt that they 
 could well understand one another. There is not much 
 exaggeration in the statement in the Saga of Gunnlaugr 
 Ormstunga, cap. 7, that there was at that time (the eleventh 
 century) ' the same tongue in England as in Norway and 
 Denmark.' An earlier and more important statement is thai 
 of the author of the first grammatical treatise prefixed to 
 Snorra Edda, from about 1 150 : — ' Englishmen write English 
 with Latin letters such as represent the sound correctly. . . . 
 Following their example, since we are of one language, 
 although the one may have changed greatly, or each of them 
 to some extent ... I have framed an alphabet for us Ice- 
 landers/ &c. ; Sn. Edd. ii. 12. ; Dahlerup and F. J6nsson, Den 
 forste og anden gramm. Afhandling i Snorres Edda, Kjoben- 
 havn, 1886, p. 20. Hence it is hardly possible to say, in the 
 absence of evidence, whether a given word of Scandian origin 
 was introduced by the Northmen or by the Angles before them. 
 We may, however, usually attribute to the Northmen such 
 provincial words (not found in A. S.) as occur in the modern 
 Northumbrian and Anglian dialects, i. e. the dialects of the 
 Lowlands of Scotland, the North of England, Lincolnshire, 
 Norfolk, Suffolk, and even Essex, Cambridgeshire, and 
 counties lying still further to the west 2 . I also take occasion 
 to make here an important remark, which I do not remember 
 to have seen hitherto elsewhere, viz. that our own Scando- 
 English words sometimes present forms more archaic than 
 
 1 'If you look at a map of Denmark or of Northern Germany, you 
 will see on the Baltic Sea a little land called Angeln? — Freeman, Old 
 Eng. Hist., p. 1. I have looked in several maps, without finding any 
 such name. Only the best atlases recognise it. 
 
 2 Scandian words may also be traced in many places lying on the 
 coast, and even up the Severn and other large rivers. 
 
456 
 
 THE SCANDIAN ELEMENT. [Chap. XXIII. 
 
 are to be found in Icelandic. Thus the word brink presents 
 the combination nk, which has been assimilated in Icelandic 
 into M\ the Icel. form being brekka. Swedish and Danish have 
 brink, like English. We must always bear in mind the 
 possibility of such a result. 
 
 § 416. As I have considered, in Chapter V, the English 
 long vowels, as compared with Anglo-Saxon, I shall now 
 likewise consider the same (in words of Scandian origin), 
 as compared with Icelandic. 
 
 The Icel. a (long a). The modern Icel. a is pronounced 
 like ow in cow, but the original pronunciation must have been 
 the same as that of the A. S. long a, which had the sound of 
 aa in baa. See Sweet, Icel. Primer, p. i. Consequently, it 
 shared the fortunes of the A. S. a, and passed into the M. E. 
 long o (pronounced as oa in broad), and finally into the 
 modern E. long o, as in stone, bone. By referring to the 
 tables in § 8o, we see that the Icel. a commonly corresponds 
 to the A. S. a or 6, Swed. d, Dan. aa, Goth, e, Teut. e. 
 
 Examples. E. both, Icel. bd-3ir\ from *bd, both, and 
 peir, they ; cf. A. S. bd, M. E. bo, with the same sense. E. 
 bore, sb., a tidal surge in a river, Icel. bdr-a, a billow caused 
 by wind ; cf. Swed. dial. 1 bdr, a mound. E. fro, Icel. frd, 
 from; hence the adj.fro-ward, i.e. from-ward, perverse. E. 
 low, adj., Icel. Idg-r, where the -r is a characteristic suffix of 
 the nom. case, like the (equivalent and older) -s so common 
 in Gothic. E. oaf (put for *oa/f the / being dropped as in 
 half and calf), Icel. alf-r, an elf; Chaucer uses elv-ish with 
 the sense of simple/ C. T. Group B, 1893; just as the Icel. 
 dlfa-legr, i. e. elf-like, means ' silly/ 
 
 Similarly the Icel. bldr, livid, dark blue, became M. E. bio, 
 livid; but is only preserved in the dialectal variant seen in 
 Lowl. Sc. blae ; whence blae-berry, a bilberry. So also Icel. 
 bra (cognate with E. brow) only appears in the Lowl. Sc. 
 
 1 Swedish dialectal words are taken from Rietz's Svenkst Dialect- 
 Lexicon. 
 
§ 4*8.] 
 
 ICELANDIC LONG /. 
 
 457 
 
 brae, the brow of a hill, M. E. bro. (The latter word is not 
 Celtic, as is wrongly said in my Dictionary.) 
 
 § 417. The Icelandic 6 (long e). This vowel com- 
 monly answers to Swed. d, Dan. cz. In modern Icelandic, a 
 parasitic jy-sound is heard before the vowel, so that it sounds 
 like the E. word yea; but the original vowel was free from 
 this, and sounded like the A. S. e, or like ee in the German 
 See. It therefore becomes ee in mod. E., just as the A. S. e 
 does. I only know of two examples, viz. E. kneel, Dan. 
 knal-e, from Dan. knee, Icel. kne, knee ; and E. Ice, as a 
 nautical term, from Icel. hie, lee (as in E. use), orig. ' shelter ' ; 
 cf. Dan. Ice, Swed. Id, lee, A. S. hleow, a covering, protection, 
 shelter. The A. S. word is preserved in the prov. E. lew, 
 shelter. 
 
 § 418. The Icelandic i (long i). The mod. Icel. ( 
 still preserves the old sound, viz. that of the A. S. *, or ee in 
 beet It is also preserved in Danish and Swedish, whereas in 
 modern Dutch and German the vowel has become a diph- 
 thong, having the same sound as mod. E. long i in bite. But 
 in E. words of Scandian origin it has usually shared the same 
 fate as in native words ; as might be expected. There are, 
 however, one or two interesting exceptions, so that the 
 examples fall into two separate sets accordingly. 
 
 (a) E. leech, as a nautical term, meaning the border or 
 edge of a sail ; Icel. lik, also Hk-sima, a leech-line ; Swed. 
 lik, a bolt-rope; sldende liken, the (standing) leeches. E. 
 sleek, adj., M.E. slik; Icel. slik-r, sleek, smooth. The E. 
 slick is the same word, with a shortened vowel. E. shriek, 
 M. E. schrich-en ; another form of which is screech, M. E. 
 scrich-en ; Icel. skrikja, to titter with suppressed laughter ; 
 Swed. skrika, to shriek. The Icel. skrcekja, to shriek, comes 
 nearer in sense ; but we do not find an M. E. form * screech- 
 en ; and it is remarkable that Shakespeare uses scritch, though 
 his editors often turn it into screech. 
 
 (b) E. grime, a smudge, esp. on the face (cf. 1 be-grimed 
 
458 
 
 THE SCANDIAN ELEMENT. [Chap. XXIII. 
 
 with soot'); Icel. grim-a, a disguise, mask; Swed. dial. 
 grim-a, a smut on the face ; Dan. grim, grime. E. liken ; 
 Swed. Izkna, orig. to be like, resemble. E. rife) Icel. r//-r, 
 0. Swed. rif, abundant. E. rive ; Icel. rif-a, Swed. rifv-a, 
 Dan. riv-e, to tear. E. snipe ; Icel. snip-a, as in myri-snipa, 
 a moor-snipe. E. shive, a thin slice ; Icel. skif-a, Dan. skive, 
 Swed. skifva. E. shrike, the butcher-bird, Icel. sol-skrik-ja, 
 a shrike, lit. 1 sun-shrieker/ E. //Xv, a dog, a low fellow ; 
 Icel. lik, Swed. a bitch. The difficult E. gibe, jibe, seems 
 to answer to Swed. dial, gip-a (Icel. geip-d), to talk nonsense ; 
 cf. Swed. man-gipa. the corner of the mouth; Norweg.geip-a, 
 to grin, make grimaces. 
 
 § 419. The Icelandic 6 (long o). Pronounced as A. S. 
 <?, or the German o in so. It would therefore regularly be- 
 come the mod. E. oo in boot. It appears as long o in Swedish 
 and Danish. 
 
 Examples, (a) E. bloom, s. ; Icel. blom-i, a bloom, a 
 flower. E. boon ; Icel. Mi*. E. loon, the name of a water-bird, 
 more correctly called loom in Shetland ; Icel. lom-r, Swed. and 
 Dan. lorn, a loon. E. root ; Icel. rot, Swed. rot. E. scoop ; 
 Swed. skop-a. E. /ww, empty ; Icel. ; Swed. and Dan. 
 torn. 
 
 (b) The long o is preserved in E. bow-line, Icel. bog-Una l , 
 Swed. boglina, but is altered in the simple word bow (of a 
 ship) ; see below. 
 
 (c) The long o also becomes 0# (as in cow) in English, 
 owing to the influence of a following guttural. E. bow (of a 
 ship) ; Icel. bog-r, Swed. bog, the shoulder of an animal, the 
 bow or t shoulder ' of a ship ; the cognate A. S. word is boh, 
 an arm, also the branch of a tree, which has become the 
 mod. E. bough, with precisely the same sound, though spelt 
 differently. E. plough, A. S. ploh, very rare and only a bor- 
 rowed word from Scandian ; Icel. plog-r, Swed. plog ; but it 
 
 1 * The alleged O. N. boglina occurs only in . . . a rimed glossary com- 
 posed probably in Orkney, and full of foreign terms ' ; Murray's Diet. 
 
§ 4 20 -3 
 
 ICELANDIC LONG U. 
 
 459 
 
 is remarkable that the Scandian word was also borrowed, and 
 the origin of this word, so widely spread not only in the 
 Teutonic but also in the Slavonic languages, is still undis- 
 covered. The true A. S. word was sulh, whence prov. 
 Southern E. zoo/ 1 . E. slouch, orig. a sb. meaning ' a slouch- 
 ing fellow ' ; Icel. sl6k-r 9 with the same sense ; cf. Swed. 
 slok-a, to droop. 
 
 § 420. The Icelandic li (long u). Also long u in 
 Swedish and Danish, and still preserving the old sound. It 
 answers to A. S. 6, and should therefore pass into mod. E. 
 ou, as it usually does. But in a few words, which I give 
 first, the old sound is retained. 
 
 (a) E. booth ; Icel. bud. E. cruse ; Icel. b us. E. droop ; 
 Icel. drup-a. E. gruesome, grewsome, horrible ; cf. Dan. gru, 
 horror. Related words are E. Friesic grits-en, to shudder ; 
 G. grau-en, to shudder, grau-sa??i, horrible ; the last of these 
 is formed in the same way as the E. word. Hexham's Old 
 Du. Diet, also gives ' grouwsacm, horrible, abhominable, or 
 detestable/ E. hoot; O. Swed. hul-a (ul en), to hoot (one 
 out); Swed. hut I begone! E. pooh, interj.; Icel. pu< the 
 same. In the words hus-band, hus-tings, both derivatives 
 from Icel. htis, a house, the u has been shortened by the 
 accentual stress, and then ' unrounded.' See Chap. XXV. 
 
 (b) E. bou?i-d, adj., ready to go (with excrescent d) ; Icel. 
 btiinn, prepared, pp. of M-a. E. cow, v. ; Icel. ktig-a, to 
 tyrannise over, Dan. ku-e, to coerce. E. cower ; Icel. kur-a, 
 Dan. kur-e, to lie quiet, doze ; Swed. kur-a, to doze, roost 
 (as birds). E. down (i), soft plumage ; Icel. dunn, Swed. dun, 
 Dan. dun or duun. E. rouse (i), to stir up, orig. intransitive, to 
 rush (out of covert) ; Swed. rus-a, Dan. rus-e, to rush. E. 
 rouse (2), a drinking-bout(Shakcspeare) ; Swed. r//j,Dan. runs, 
 drunkenness. Hence perhaps E. row (3), a disturbance, up- 
 
 1 • Sewl, Stile, pronounced zule \glossic zeol or zuel], sb. a plow (the 
 only name) ' — referring to West Devon ; Reprinted Glossaries, E. D. S., 
 B. 6. 74. 
 
460 
 
 THE SC AND IAN ELEMENT [Chap. XXII f. 
 
 roar ; by dropping the final s, as in shay for chaise, pea for pease, 
 &c. E. scout (2), to ridicule (an idea) ; Icel. sMt-a, a taunt, 
 skut-yrdi, reproaches, lit. ' scout-words/ E. scowl ; Dan. 
 skul-e, to scowl, cast down the eyes. E. snout ; Swed. snut-a i 
 Dan. snud-e (for *snut-e), E. Friesic snut-a, snut ; cf. G. 
 Schnauze. E. spout (put for * sprout, like jr/^ for *spreak) ; 
 Swed. sput-a, occasional form of sprut-a, to squirt, spout ; 
 Dan. sprud-e (for *sprut-e), to spout. E. sprout, really the 
 same word ; E. Friesic sprut-en, to sprout. The Icel. spretta 
 means both to spout or spirt, and to sprout ; cf. G. spritzen, 
 spricsscn, both from the same root. E. out-law ; Icel. Ht- 
 lag-i, the same. 
 
 To these we may add the verb to doze, which should rather 
 have become *douze; Swed. dial, dus-a, to doze, slumber, 
 Norweg. dusa, to repose ; Icel. dura (for *dusa), to nap, doze. 
 
 Mutation. 
 
 § 421. The /-mutation of A. S. vowels has already been 
 explained in § 181 ; the results being that the original vowels 
 in the row marked (A) below were changed to the secondary 
 or mutated vowels in the row marked (B), whenever the 
 letter i occurred in the following syllable in the original form 
 of the derived word. 
 
 (A) a o u ; a 6 u ; ea, eo ; £a, 60. 
 
 (B) e y y ; ee 6 y ; ie (y) ; ie (y). 
 
 The /-mutations in Icelandic are very similar to these, and 
 may be thus arranged. Cf. Sweet, Icel. Primer, p. 4. 
 
 (A) a(o) o u(o) ; a 6 u ; e(ja, jo) ; au ; jii (j6). 
 
 (B) e 6 y; secey; i ; ey ; y. 
 
 The Icel. a> is always long, and its sound agreed with that 
 of the A. S. <£. The Icel. ce, though of different origin, is 
 frequently written ce. In the modern language, both cc and 
 ce are sounded alike, with the diphthongal sound of E. i in 
 
 bite. 
 
§ 423-] 
 
 ICELANDIC LONG JE. 
 
 461 
 
 I shall now continue the history of the long vowel y and 
 of the diphthongs. 
 
 § 422. The Icelandic y (long y). This was sounded 
 like A. S.y, or G. ii in griin, and the same is true of the Swed. 
 and Dan. \ongy. The Swed. and Dan. long y still keeps its 
 old sound, but the Icel.j/ is now / (E. ee in beef). Like the 
 M. E.j/, this sound was completely confused (in English) with 
 long i (A. S. i), and consequently becomes the mod. E. 1 in 
 bite. As seen above, it properly arises from an /-mutation of 
 long H, or of jH or jo. 
 
 Examples. E. fie ! Icel. fy, Swed. and Dan. fy ! E. 
 mire, Icel. myrr, modern myri, a bog ; Swed. myr-a, Dan. 
 myr-e, myr. E. shy, adj. ; Dan. sky, shy ; cf. Swed. and 
 Norweg. skygg, E. Friesic schoi (G. scheii) ; the primitive 
 diphthong occurs in A. S. sce'oh, timid, where A. S. e'o = Icel. 
 jo. E. sky ; Icel. sky, Swed. and Dan. sky, a cloud ; the 
 primitive diphthong occurs in the O. Saxon form skio, sky ; 
 cf. also A. S. scH-a, shade. E. suite, v., to wipe the nose ; 
 Icel. snyt-a, Swed. snyt-a, Dan. snyd-e (for snyt-e), to wipe the 
 snout ; derived by mutation from Swed. snut, snout. Thus 
 snyt-a = *siifit-ja. 
 
 § 423. The Icelandic long se. This was originally 
 sounded like A. S. d, or E. e in there 1 . Consequently, it 
 passed regularly into later E. ea or ee. The old sound is 
 preserved in Swed. a, Dan. cb, which are corresponding letters. 
 We may divide the examples into those which contain E. ea ; 
 those which contain E. ee ; and those which give the sound 
 of E. i in bite, which is the sound of mod. Icel. << . 
 
 Examples, (a) E. scream, M. E. screm-en\ Icel. skrcem-a, 
 Swed. skrdm-e, Dan. skrccmm-e, to scare, terrify ; here the E. 
 word has preserved the original sense of the word, viz. 1 to 
 cry aloud,' the sense 1 to scare' being secondary. E. seat; 
 
 1 The Icel. ce and a are now confused. The Icel. cc (/-mutation of 6) 
 was different in origin, and equivalent to Swed. and Dan. 0; in Eng- 
 land it was identified with ^(/-mutation of 6), and passed into E. ee. 
 
462 
 
 THE SC AND I AN ELEMENT. [Chap. XXIII. 
 
 Icel. soet-i, Swed. sat-e< . . || sdt-um [i. e. derived by vowel- 
 change from a base 1 parallel to that of sdt-um], pt. t. pi. of 
 sitja, to sit. E. squeak ; Swed. sqvdk-a, to croak. E. squeal ; 
 Swed. sqval-a, to squeal. 
 
 (&) E. sneer, M. E. sner-en, to deride ; Dan. sncerr-e, to 
 grin like a dog, snarl. Here also we may place E. seemly, 
 adj. ; Icel. scutiilig-r, seemly, from sccm-r, becoming, fit. But 
 in this case the a? was originally 02 ; cf. Icel. somi, honour, 
 soma, to beseem, become ; Dan. sommelig, seemly, from 
 somme, to beseem. 
 
 (c) E. eider-duck, a late word, pronounced with ei as 1 in 
 £/7f, though some pronounce it as ee in fof/; Icel. cedr, an 
 eider-duck. E. fry (2), the spawn of fishes, M.E./r/; Icel. 
 
 fr(E,frjo, spawn, fry, Swed. and Dan.yh)', Goth.yrtf/zf;. [In 
 this case the word seems to have been derived through the 
 French, as we find the Anglo-French forms frie,fry, in the 
 Liber Albus, pp. 507, go8.] E. sly, sly, sley ; Icel. 
 
 sloeg-r ; Swed. and Dan. slug. Here, however, the vowel is 
 ee, and it is connected with slog-, stem of pt. pi. of sld, to 
 strike ; the orig. sense was, accordingly, dexterous with the 
 hammer, cunning at a craft, which is the M. E. sense. 
 Hence also E. sleight, Icel. sloeg-d, slyness, cunning, dex- 
 terity. 
 
 (d) E. wail; Icel. vcel-a (=*zvajl-a), from the base vdl- 
 seen in vdl-a, vol-a, to wail; the suffix -la is frequentative, 
 and the ultimate base is vd % woe. The E. vowel is affected 
 by the allied interjection, viz. Icel. vei( = *wei), wo I Curiously 
 enough, the A. S. interj. wd, ld> wd, lit. 'woe! lo! woe!' often 
 appears in M. E. as wei-la-wei, by substitution of O. Icel. wet 
 for A. S. wd. Hence the unmeaning later E. well-away, and 
 even well-aday ! 
 
 § 424. The Icelandic an. The old sound was that of 
 au in G. haus, E. ow in cow. The modern Icel. sound is quite 
 un-English, being like G. 0 followed by short /, or the eui in 
 
 1 From the same base is Icel. sat, a sitting in ambush, an ambush. 
 
§ 4*5- J 
 
 ICELANDIC EI. 
 
 463 
 
 French fauteuil. The proper corresponding Swed. and 
 Danish letter is 6. "The old au seems to have been appre- 
 hended by the English as approaching the sound of their own 
 long 0, as appears from two words of known antiquity, viz. 
 loose, adj., and stoop, a beaker. In other instances it was 
 turned into a u. 
 
 Examples, (a) E. loose, M. E. loos; Icel. lauss, Swed. and 
 Dan. Id's; the long 0 appears in O. Sax. 16s, Du. los. E. stoup, 
 stoop, a beaker, M. E. stoop, stop', Icel. staup,* beaker; Swed. 
 stop, a liquid measure containing three pints. 
 
 (b) E. fluster ; Icel. flaustr, sb., hurry, flaustra, v., to be 
 flustered. E. trust; Icel. traust, Swed. and Dan. trbst. An 
 exception is seen in gawk-y, from M. E. gowk, a cuckoo, 
 a simpleton, from Icel. gaak-r, cuckoo. 
 
 § 425. The Icelandic ei. This important diphthong is 
 very characteristic of Scando-English words. The sound is 
 that of Icel. and A. S. e followed by that of Icel. and A. S. /; 
 but there was no such sound in the oldest A. S. It appears, 
 however, in native Early English, wherein it arose from the 
 weakening of g in such words as A.S. weg, a way ; E.E. wei. 
 The sounds of ei and at were confused ; hence also the 
 spelling wai, way, and mod. E. way. The Icel. ei commonly 
 appears as at or ay in mod. E., (as in hail, ?tay) ; as ea 
 (in steak) ; or as ei and ey (in their, they); but the E. sound 
 is usually the same in each case. See further below. It 
 answers to Swed. long e, Dan. long e, formerly ee ; also to 
 A.S. a, Goth, au 
 
 Examples, (a) E. aye; Icel. et\ ever, E. bait, v.; Icel. 
 beita, causal of btta, to bite. E. dai-ry, from M. E. dey>e, a 
 dairymaid ; Icel. deig-ja, a maid, orig. 1 kneader of bread ' ; 
 from deig, dough. E. hail I as an exclamation ; Icel. halt, 
 the same word, as used in greetings. (E. hale is merely 
 O. Northumbrian.) E. nay; Icel. net. E. raid (Northern) ; 
 Icel. reid, a raid, riding, also a road; doublet of E. road, 
 A. S. rdd. E. raise ; Icel. reisa, causal of visa, to rise. E. 
 
464 
 
 THE SCANDIAN ELEMENT. [Chap. XXIII. 
 
 rein-deer, where the first element is Icel. hreinn, O. Swed. 
 ren, a reindeer; a word of Lapp origin. E. steak) Icel. 
 steik, a piece of meat stuck on a spit or peg, and roasted 
 before the fire. E. swain ; Icel. sveinn, Swed. sven, a boy, 
 lad, servant ; borrowed whilst the Icel. v was still w. E. sway ; 
 Icel. sveig-ja, to bend aside ; a causal verb from an older 
 verb svig-a, to bend, still preserved in Swedish dialects. E. 
 their) Icel. peirra, of them. E. they ; Icel. pei-r, nom. pi., 
 they. E. thwaite ; Icel. front. 
 
 (b) E. weak, M. E. waik, weik; Icel. veik-r ( = *weifi-r), 
 Swed. vek } weak, pliant < || vcik, pt. t. of vik-ja, to turn aside. 
 E. queasy, feeling nausea; Norweg. kveis ( = *Aweis), sickness 
 after a debauch, Icel. kveis-a, or idra-kveis-a, colic. 
 
 (c) E. groin, the same word as prov. E. grain, a branch, 
 hence, the fork of the body ; Icel. grein, a branch, arm. 
 
 § 426. The Icelandic ey. This is the /-mutation of aw, 
 formerly pronounced as Icel. and A. S. e, followed by Icel. j 
 and A. S. y, but now pronounced simply the same as 
 Icel. ei. 
 
 Examples, (a) It occurs in the modern Icel. geysir, lit. 
 'gusher' < .. || gaus, pt. t. of gjos-a, to gush. 
 
 (b) It answers to M. E. ey in dey-en, E. die (Lowl. Sc. dee), 
 now pronounced with ie— i in bite; Icel. dey-ja, to die. 
 
 (c) It is confused with E. long e. E. steep, to soak in a 
 liquid ; Icel. steyp-a, to make to stoop, pour out liquids, cast 
 metals ; Swed. stop-a, to cast metals, steep corn. The Icel. 
 steyp-a is the causal of stup-a (pt. t. *siaup), to stoop. 
 
 (d) As the E. trust answers to Icel. traust (§ 424), so the 
 E. tryst is used as a mutated form of trust, as if from Icel. 
 treyst-a (i.e. *traust-Ja), to make trusty or strong or safe, 
 confirm ; hence the M. E. sb. tryst or trist, meaning ori- 
 ginally a fixed station (a term in hunting) ; and hence, a sure 
 meeting-place. 
 
 § 427. The Icelandic j6, jii. These both answer to 
 A. S. e'o, Goth, iu, Teut. eu. The E. shea/, shiel, shielin, or 
 
§ 428.] 
 
 MUTATION. 
 
 465 
 
 shealing, a temporary hut, answers to Icel. skjol, a shelter, 
 cover ; Swed. and Dan. skjul. The E. meek answers to Icel. 
 mjuk-r, soft, meek. But it is difficult to believe that these 
 can really be of Scandian origin ; they are probably Anglian. 
 The E. words would result at once from the equivalent 
 A. S. forms *sce'ol, *me'oc, but they are unauthorised. We 
 find, however, the form meoc in the Ormulum. 
 
 § 428. Mutation. Some examples of vowel-mutation 
 have already occurred. The following also deserve notice. 
 Some of them involve gradation also. See § 421. 
 
 a > . . e. E. beck, a brook ; Icel. bekk-r, Swed. back ; see 
 G. Bach in Kluge. E. dregs ; Swed. dragg. E. ged, a pike 
 (fish), IceL gedd-a, is doubtless a derivative of gadd-r, a spike ; 
 the fish is called pike in English on account of its thin shape. 
 E. keg ; Icel. kaggi. E. ken, M. E. kennen, to teach, also to 
 know; Icel. kenna (Goth, kannjan). TL. smell; Swed. smalt-a. 
 E. hinge, M. E. henge ; from Icel. heng-ja, to hang ; cf. E. 
 hang. See § 192. 
 
 o> . . y. E. drip, M. E. drypp-en ; Dan. drypp-e, to drip 
 < . . II Icel. drop-id, pp. of drjtip-a, to drop, drip. E. filly, Icel. 
 fyl-ja < . .fol-i, a foal, Goth. E.////; Icel. flytja, to 
 remove, used reflexively as flyt-ja-sk, to flit < . . || flot-inn, pp. 
 of fljota, to float. E. lift, Icel. lypt-a (pronounced as lyft-a), 
 to exalt in air < . . Icel. lopt (pron. as loft), air, Goth, lu/l-us. 
 So also shirt, skirt, skittish, skittles. See § 193. 
 
 u > . . y. E. skim, i. e. to take off scum, answers to an 
 Icel. *skym-Ja, not found ; cf. Swed. skumm-a, Dan. skumm-e, 
 to skim, from Swed. and Dan. skum, scum. This is a remark- 
 able instance in which the E. form is more archaic than the 
 known Scandian forms \ See § 194. 
 
 Other mutations have already been exemplified in the 
 
 1 Yet we have Swed. skymma, to darken, from skum, obscure. Prac- 
 tically, these are equivalent words ; for E. scum, s., means a ' covering,' 
 and Swed. sku?n means 1 covering/ i. e. obscuring. All from the root 
 sku, to cover. 
 
 VOL. I. H h 
 
4 66 
 
 THE SCANDIAN ELEMENT. [Chap. XXIII. 
 
 words suite, § 422, p. 461; seat, § 423 (a), p. 462; geysir, 
 steep, tryst, § 426, p. 464. 
 
 It remains to be said that there is also a ^-mutation, 
 changing a into 0 ; thus dog-r, & day, makes ddg-um in the 
 dative plural. In this way we may explain E. bark (of a 
 tree), from Icel. bork-r (stem bark-ii) ; and E. brindled, for- 
 merly brinded, as in Shakespeare (Macb. iv. 1. 1), from Icel. 
 br '6nd-6ttr, brindled, lit. marked as with a brand ; cf. brond- 
 um, dat. pi. of brand-r, a brand. E. ledge answers to Icel. 
 logg, the ledge or rim at the bottom of a cask < . . || *lag 
 (now Id), pt. t. of liggja, to lie. 
 
 § 429. Gradation. The Icelandic vowel-gradation has 
 already been given, in § 153. Omitting conjugation 1, we 
 have (2) skak-a, to shake, pt. t. skdk; (3) ber-a, to bear, bar, 
 bdr-um, bor-inn (where bar is the pt. t. s. 1st person, bdrum is 
 the pt. t. pi. 1st person, and borinu is the pp.); (4) gef-a, to 
 give, gaf, gdf-um, gef-inn ; (5) drekk-a, to drink, drakk, 
 drukk-um, drukk-inn ; (6) drif-a, to drive, dreif, drif-um, drif- 
 inu ; (7) kj6s-a, to choose, kaus, kns-um, kos-i?iu. More 
 briefly : shake, a, 6 ; bear, e, a, a, o ; give, e, a, a, e ; 
 drink, e, a. u, u ; drive, 1, ei, i, i ; choose, j6, au, u, o. 
 These gradations appear in derivatives from strong verbs, 
 which I shall here only enumerate ; they can easily be worked 
 out by help of my Dictionary. Some of these derivatives 
 exhibit mutation as well. [Dregs exhibits mutation only.) 
 
 -S^zZv-conjugation ; dregs. Cf. § 172. 
 
 GVz>£-conjugation : seat, wag. Cf. § 174. 
 
 Z>/7>/Z'-conjugation : band, brind-ed, brind-led, brun-t, clam- 
 b-er, shing-le (coarse round crunching or ' singing ' gravel), 
 slang, slang. Cf. § 175. 
 
 Driv ^'-conjugation : bait, dirt, raid, raise, rift, sway ; § 176. 
 
 C^^f-conjugation : bigh-t, clef-t, clif-t, drib-ble, drip, 
 fledge, flit, gey s-ir, gush, gus-t, ru-th, scud, scuff-le, scutt-le (to 
 run away quickly), shuff-le, skitt-ish, skittles) § 177. 
 
 It may here be remarked that Icelandic has contributed to 
 
NEUTER FINAL -T. 
 
 467 
 
 our use some strong verbs, viz. fling, rive, take, thrive ; as well 
 as the common and useful verbs call, cast, die, and, indeed, 
 many others, as clip (to cut), drag, drip, gasp, gaze, &c. 
 Rott-en, Icel. rot-inn, is evidently the pp. of a lost strong 
 verb ; see O. H. G. riuzan and rdzen in Schade. 
 
 § 430. The various Aryan suffixes have been so fully 
 illustrated in Chapters XIII and XIV, that it is hardly 
 necessary to shew how these suffixes appear in Icelandic. 
 Indeed, some of the illustrations have been taken from Ice- 
 landic already, and the mode of forming words with suffixes 
 in Icelandic is much the same as in Anglo-Saxon. 
 
 The Aryan suffix -TO occurs as -th in boo-lh, Icel. bu-3, 
 from bu-a, to dwell ; and in ru-th from rue, v. 
 
 The -/ is also a suffix in bigh-t, brun-t, cas-t, clef-t, 
 fraugh-t, gns-t, raf-t, rif-t, sleigJi-t, thrif-t, tigh-t ; and pro- 
 bably in jaunt and still. 
 
 § 431. But there is another suffixed -/ almost peculiar to 
 Scandian, which requires special consideration, viz. the -/ 
 which marks the neuter gender in adjectives and pronouns. 
 We have it in E. and A. S. in the words l/ia-l, wha-t 
 (A. S. hi-t, p<z-t, hwce-f), which are closely related, respec- 
 tively, to E. he, the, who. The same suffix appears as -d in 
 the Latin illu-d, islu-d, qui-d, quo-d, from ille, isle, quis, qui. 
 It only appears in A.S. in the above three words, but in 
 Icelandic it is the regular suffix of the neuter gender of 
 strong adjectives, so that the neuter of ung, young, is ung-t ; 
 Sweet, Icel. Primer, p. 14. Moreover, this neuter singular 
 is often used adverbially, and it is only thus that we can 
 explain the final -/ in the words athwar-t, scan-l, lhwar-l, 
 tof-t, wan-t 9 and wigh-t, adj. (valiant). All these words, from 
 the nature of the case, are of Scandian origin. Thus scan-l 
 (for *scamt), is from Icel. skam-t, neuter of skamm-r, short, 
 brief, whence skamt-a, to scant, stint, dole out. Thwar-t is 
 M. E. pwert, adj., across ; Icel. pver-t (orig. *piver-t), neut. 
 of pverr, adj., perverse, cognate with A. S. piveorh. Hence 
 
 h h 2 
 
4 68 
 
 THE SCANDIAN ELEMENT. [Chap. XXIII. 
 
 a-thwart, for on thwart, across. Tof-t, a green knoll; Icel. 
 top-t (pron. toft), also tom-t, a. knoll, toft, clearing, orig. neuter 
 of tom-r, empty (North E. toom). Wan-t, s., from M. E. want, 
 adj., deficient ; Icel. van-t (for * wan-t), orig. neuter of van-r, 
 lacking. Hence also want, v., Icel. vant-a, to lack, from the 
 same neuter form. Wigh-t, adj., valiant, vigorous ; Icel. vig-t, 
 orig. neuter of vig-r, fit for war, from vig, war ; cf. Swed. vig, 
 nimble, active, clever. 
 
 § 432. There is another suffix, altogether Scandian, which 
 only appears in the two words bask and busk, both of which 
 were originally reflexive verbs ; the former means ' to bathe 
 oneself/ and the latter ' to prepare oneself/ to get ready. 
 The sk stands for sik (cf. G. sich), the accusative case of a 
 reflexive pronoun of the third person, of which no nominative 
 occurs. Bask answers to Icel. *bab r ask, orig. form of badast 
 (an obvious corruption), to bathe oneself; from bada, to 
 bathe, and sik, self 1 . Busk is from Icel. buask, to get oneself 
 ready ; from bHa, to prepare, and sik, self ; as before 2 . 
 
 The suffix in sis-ter is discussed above, § 227 (c), p. 247 ; 
 that in blus-ter in § 228 (c), p. 248; and the suffix st in 
 trust, tryst, in § 233, p. 254. 
 
 § 433. Verbal Suffixes. These have been discussed 
 above, in §§ 260-263. The Scandian verbs in -en or -n are 
 batt-en, faw-n, gai-n, happ-en, hast-en, lik-en. The verbs in 
 -k are lur-k, scul-k; to which we may add fil-ch (weakened 
 from *fil-k), a derivative of Icel. fel-a^ to hide, which has 
 also produced the prov. Y^.feal, with the very sense of ' filch ' 
 or ' hide slily ' (Halliwell). * He that feels can find/ says 
 Grose, is a Northern proverb. 
 
 1 The suggestion that bask means 'to bake oneself' is simply a bad 
 guess, made in ignorance of the fact that the M. E. bathen was used 
 reflexively in the very sense of bask ; see Chaucer, Nonnes Prestes Tale, 
 446. So also Swed. 1 badda sig i solen, to bask in the sun ' ; Widegren's 
 Swed. Diet. (1788). 
 
 2 See Remarks on the Reflexive Pronoun in Icelandic, by G. Vigfus- 
 son, in the Phil. Soc. Transactions, 1866, p. 80. At p. 100, upwards of 
 forty examples of busk are given, from A. D. 1320 to 1829. 
 
§ 434-] 
 
 PAL A TALIS A TION. 
 
 469 
 
 The verbs in -le or -el, mostly frequentative, and formed 
 from a Scandian base, are numerous, viz. bung-le, bust-le(J), 
 dagg-le, dang-le, dapp-le, dazz-le (from dase), dibb-le (for 
 *dipp-le), dragg-le, dribb-le (for *dripp-le), gabb-le, grov-el, 
 jumb-le, pratt-le, rif-le, ripp-le, rust-le, scuff-le (from Swed. 
 skuff-a, to shove about), scutt-le (to scud away), shriv-el, 
 shuff-le (from shove), smugg-le, sniv-el, squabb-le, stif-le, 
 slrugg-le, slumb-le, tipp-le, wagg-le. Those in -/ seem to 
 express continuance rather than frequency, thus to hiee-l is 
 to remain on the knees ; to wai-l is keep on crying wai \ 
 (Icel. vet ! wo !). The list is : knee-l, pur-l, spraw-l, squea-l, 
 swir-l, wai-l, whir-l. 
 
 The verbs in -er, from a Scandian base, are blund-er, 
 blust-er, clamb-er, gli?nm-er, glitt-er, jabb-er, lumb-er (to make 
 a rumbling noise), palt-er, shiv-er, simp-er, slav-er, slubb-er, 
 small-er, splutt-er, sputt-er, squaiid-er, slagg-er, slull-er, 
 sivagg-er ; in many of these, the -er is an E. addition. 
 
 The suffix -se in cleanse, answering to A. S. si-an, Goth. 
 -is-on, has been explained in § 263, where rinse is noted as 
 being a F. word of Scand. origin. We find this also, I think, 
 in glim-pse, from M.E. glim-sen, to glimpse; and in clum- 
 s-y, allied to Swed. dial, klumm-s-en, benumbed. The suffix 
 of clumsy has been imitated in tipsy, as well as in the E. 
 word tricksy. I should also explain gasp (Icel. geispa, Swed. 
 gd'spa) as being a derivative of the verb to gape ; for just as 
 we have hasp for haps, and clasp for claps (§ 263), we may 
 explain Swed. gaspa as = gdpsa = *gapsia. Rietz explains 
 Swed. dial, gapsig, noisy, as being from gapa, to gape. 
 
 § 434. The various modes of consonantal change enu- 
 merated in § 322 are all in operation in the case of Scandian 
 words. I give some examples of most of them. 
 
 Palatalisation. There is a strong tendency in Scandian 
 words to resist palatalisation, as is well shewn in comparing 
 the Northern kirk (Icel. kirk-ja) with the Southern church 
 (A. S. cyrice). This is particularly noticeable in E. words 
 
470 
 
 THE SC AND IAN ELEMENT. [Chap. XXIII. 
 
 beginning with the sound of sk, many of which are of Scan- 
 dian origin, viz. scald, adj. scabby, scald, a poet, scall, a scab, 
 scant, scar, a rock, scare, scarf, v., scoop, scotch, v., scout, v., 
 scoivl, scraggy, scrap, scrape, scratch, scream, screech, scrip, 
 a bag, scad, scuffle, sculk, scull, a light oar, scum, scuttle, to 
 scud away ; also skewer, skid, skill, skim, skin, skirt, skittish, 
 skittles, sky. But the tendency to turn sk into sh was so 
 strong that we find amongst the words of Scand. origin such 
 words as sheer, pure, shelve, shirt, shiver, a splinter, and some 
 others. So also mil-ch is a derivative of mil-k; to which add 
 fil-ch (§ 433), p. 468, and slouch (§ 419 c) p. 459. 
 
 Similarly, the Northern English brig, rig, stand in striking 
 contrast to the Southern palatalised forms bridge, ridge, and 
 the like. The number of Scand. words ending in g or gg is 
 very striking. Examples are drag, dreg-s, egg, s., egg (on), v., 
 flag, a paving stone, flag, an ensign, hug, keg, leg, log, rig, 
 to fit a ship, rig, a ridge, sag, slag, slug (for *sluk), smug 
 (for *smuk), snug, slag, lag, wag ; to which may be added 
 many words in which the g is doubled, such as daggle, 
 draggle, muggy, swagger, &c. ; and the remarkable form 
 ug-ly, Icel. ugg-ligr. The verb to egg on, i. e. instigate, is 
 sometimes written edge on. Fledge and ledge are instances of 
 palatalisation in Scand. words. 
 
 The sb. egg is particularly noticeable. I have inadvertently 
 given the derivation from the A. S. ceg, but this is certainly 
 wrong. For just as the A. S. dag became day, so A. S. ceg 
 became ay or ey ; and the curious A. S. pi. czg-ru, eggs, pro- 
 duced an M. E. eire, or (with the favourite Southern pi. suffix 
 -en) the commoner form eiren or eyren. This form occurs, 
 for instance, in Wyclif s Works, ed. Arnold, iii. 157, where 
 the Glossary unluckily explains it as 1 heirs V Caxton, in 
 his Eneydos, 1490, tells a good story of a Kentish woman 
 who was asked by some Northern English sailors to sell 
 
 1 In M. E., heir appears as eir or eyr. The plural is eires, eyres, 
 eiris, or eyris, and cannot possibly become eiren. 
 
§ 435-] 
 
 VOICING. 
 
 47* 
 
 them some 6 eggys] which drew from her the remark that 
 1 she coude speke no Frenshe/ Fortunately a bystander 
 interpreted the word as 6 eyren ' ; whereupon ' the good wyf 
 sayd that she understod hyrn wel V The fact is, that eggs is 
 the Northern form ; and, as such, is derived, not from the 
 A. S. ceg y but from Icel. egg (Swed. agg) ; just as the verb to 
 egg is the Icel. egg-ja. 
 
 On the other hand, the Scandian -sk, when final, con- 
 stantly becomes -sh ; thus dash answers to Swed. dask-a ; 
 gnash, Dan. gnask-e) pash, Swed. pask-a, Norweg. bask-a, to 
 dabble in water, Dan. bask-e, to slap; smash, Swed. dial. 
 smask, a slight report, smisk-a, to slap ; swash, Swed. dial. 
 svassk-a, to make a swashing noise, as when one walks with 
 water in the shoes ; bush, Swed. busk-e, a shrub. But -sk 
 remains in whisk, misspelling for *wisk, from Swed. visk-a, 
 'a whisk, a small broom' (Widegren), Icel. visk, a wisp of 
 hay ; also, for distinctness, in bask and busk. We even find 
 final -sh for final -s ; as in gu-sh, Icel. gus-a ; flush, v., to 
 redden, Swed. dial, floss-a, to burn, flare ; and, strangest of 
 all, sh for initial s in shingle, the ' singing 9 coarse gravel on 
 the sea-shore. 
 
 Initial g may pass into /; this seems to be the case in the 
 difficult words jabber , jaunt, jibe, jumble, jump. 
 
 § 435. Voicing of voiceless letters. See §§ 323, 363, 
 Examples: p > b; dibble, from dip ; dribble, from drip ; flabby, 
 from flap', gaby, from gape) jumble, from jump. See also^vfo, 
 nab, snob, snub, squab, squabble in my Dictionary. Also k > g', 
 as in fog, hug, slug, smug, snug ; scragg-y, probably allied to 
 shrink) stagger, M.E. s taker en) sprag, for sprak (Merry Wives, 
 iv. 1. 84). T>d\ as in scud, with its frequentative scutt4e\ 
 allied to shoot. F > v ; as in rive, thrive, throve, Icel. rif-a. 
 prtf-a, pref-i) the Icel. f being voiceless. S > z) as in 
 craze, daze, Swed. kras-a, das-a, the Scand. s being voiceless ; 
 
 1 See the whole passage, cited in Halliwell's Dictionary, Introd. 
 p. xxi, col. 2 ; and see p. 486 below. 
 
472 
 
 THE SCANDIAN ELEMENT. [Chap. XXIII. 
 
 so also in maze, doze. The same is true with regard also to 
 raise, queasy, rouse ; but our spelling takes no note of it. 
 Englishmen mispronounce the Icel. geysir with the sound 
 of z, and even turn the ey into E. ee ; as if it were geezer. 
 See note i on p. 475. 
 
 § 436. Vocalisation of voiced letters. See § 362 (3). 
 The medial or final Scand. g is frequently vocalised, as in 
 fawn = Icel. fagna ; so also in Sow (of a ship), gain, profit, 
 how, a hill, low, adj., low, lowe, a flame, roe, spawn (Icel. 
 hrogn). Sometimes the g has been previously voiced from 
 k, as in flaw, Svved. flaga, allied to flake ; fraught, Dan. 
 fragt-e, Swed. frakt-a. 
 
 § 437. Assimilation. See § 362 (4). This is a marked 
 feature of Icelandic, which has, for example, the forms 
 drekk-a, drakk, drukk-inn, in place of our drink, drank, drunk. 
 Examples are seen in brad, M. E. brad, brod, Icel. brodd-r, 
 a spike, A. S. brord, Teut. brozda ; gad, a wedge of steel, a 
 goad, Icel. gadd-r, Goth, gazd-s, Teut. gazda ; ill, Icel. ill-r, 
 ill-r, perhaps = A. S. {del, idle, but this is doubtful ; odd, 
 Icel. odd-i, orig. a triangle, allied to odd-r, a. point, cognate 
 with * A. S. ord, Teut. uzda ; ruck, a crease, wrinkle, Icel. 
 hrukk-a, Swed. rynk-a. Ransack is' from Icel. rann-saka, to 
 search a house, where ra?m (for *razn = *rasri) is cognate 
 with the Gothic razn, a house. The Northern E. force, a 
 waterfall, is the O. Icel.fors, mod. lce\.foss. E. brink, Dan. 
 and Swed. brink, is assimilated to brekka in Icelandic. 
 
 § 438. Substitution. See § 362 (5). T is substituted 
 for k in nasty, formerly nasky ; and in mill, substituted for 
 milk (cf. Swed. mjolke, milt), by confusion with E. milt, the 
 spleen. Flaunt answers to Swed. dial, flanka, to waver, to 
 be tossed about 1 . Sh is put for finals in gush, flush; § 434, 
 p. 471. A very curious substitution is that of sledge for sleds, 
 a plural which was mistaken for a singular. 
 
 1 Rietz gives the example : okstokken flankdr pa vago som en span, 
 the little boat is tossed about on the waves like a chip. 
 
§ 44 1 -] 
 
 UNVOICING, 
 
 473 
 
 § 439. Metathesis. See § 362 (6). Gas-p is probably 
 for gaps; § 433, p. 469. R is shifted in dirt, M. E. drit, 
 Icel. drit. 
 
 § 440. Contraction. See § 363. The usual loss of 
 initial h occurs before / in lee ; and probably in leak (cf. A. S. 
 hlec-e, leaky) and in lurk ; before n, in neif, fist, and nigg-ard; 
 before r, in rap, to seize hastily, rape, haste, rape, a county 
 division in Sussex, roe, spawn, ruck, a fold, crease, ruck, a 
 heap, ruth. Initial w is lost in rack, vapoury cloud, Icel. 
 rek, drift, sky-rek, drifting clouds, put for *wrek 1 ; also in 
 root, Icel. rot, if it be allied to wort. Initial th is lost in 
 riding, by confusion between North thriding and North 
 riding. Medial voiced th (dh) is lost in bask, put for *bathsk 
 (*badhsk). Final /// is lost in quandary, if it be from M.E. 
 wandreth (Icel. vandrccdi). A d is lost in wall-eyed, put for 
 wald-eyed (Icel. vald-eygdr, itself a corruption of vagl-eygr). 
 In the Wars of Alexander, both forms occur, viz. wald-eyed 
 ( = Icel. vald-eygdr), 1. 608, and wawil-eycd ( = Icel. vagl-eygr), 
 1. 1 706. F is lost before / in whirl, put for *whirfle, Icel. 
 hvirfla ; and after r in wherry, answering to Icel. hverfr, easily 
 turned, crank, unsteady (said of a boat). Doubtless more 
 examples of various kinds of contraction might be added ; 
 and perhaps one of the most curious instances of loss of 
 a final letter occurs in the word roe (of a fish). This is the 
 Lowl. Sc. roun, raun, Lincolnsh. roan, mistaken for a plural 
 (like shoo-n from shoe). Skinner, in 167 1, made this very 
 mistake, for his Dictionary gives us : ' The Roan or Roes 
 of fish, ova piscium! But the Icel. form is hrogn. 
 
 § 441. Unvoicing of voiced consonants. See § 368. 
 This process is rare, as the change is usually made the other 
 way. Blunt is used in the Ormulum, 16954, to signify dull 
 in mind, and may be connected with Icel. blund-a, to doze. 
 Shunt is the M. E. shunt-en, to start aside, escape, a word so 
 
 1 Icelandic always drops w in initial wr ; Icel. rek-a, to drive = A. S. 
 wrec-an, E. wreak. 
 
474 
 
 THE SCANDIAN ELEMENT. [Chap. XXIII. 
 
 well preserved in the North of England that it has been re- 
 vived in literary English from the language of our navvies. 
 It is allied to Icel. skund-a, to hasten, an extension of the 
 verb to shun. 
 
 § 442. Additions to the forms of words. See § 369. 
 
 The most noticeable additions are due to the insertion of the 
 excrescent letters b and d after m and b. Examples : lum-b-er, 
 to rumble, Swed. dial, /om-ra, to resound, Swed. ljumm, a 
 great noise ; stum-b-le, Swed. dial. stom-la, Icel. stum-ra. 
 The history of the b in clamber and wimble is obscure. 
 
 D is added after n in boun-d, i. e. ready to go, Icel. bHinn ; 
 and in boul-d-er, Swed. dial, buller-sfeen, a large rolling stone, 
 possibly from bullra, to thunder, crash. See Boulder in 
 the New E. Diet. The n in squa-n-der seems to be an inser- 
 tion, the Lowland Scotch word being squatter. The n in 
 slatter-n is excrescent (after r), as in bitter-n (§ 347). 
 
 The d in fo?t-d is not excrescent, but a real addition, the 
 M. E. form being fonn-ed, formed as pp. of fonn-en, to act 
 foolishly. 
 
 Whisk contains a useless h, and should be wisk (§ 434); a 
 wisk is properly a kind of wiper or brush, and ' to wisk past ' 
 contains the same metaphor as ' to brush past/ The / might 
 seem to be intrusive in wind-l-ass, by confusion with wind- 
 lace, a winding course ; the usual Icel. word being vind-dss 
 (for * wind-ass), from vind-a, to wind, and ass, a pole. But 
 Mr. Magnusson tells me that the Icel. form vindil-dss is also 
 in common use, where vindil- is the stem of vindill, a winder. 
 Mid. Eng. also had the term windel, as in yarn-w inde I, a reel 
 for yarn; see Prompt. Parv., p. 536. Hence windlass may 
 be explained as put for windel-ass, where ass = Icel. ass. 
 And in fact, I now find that the Prompt. Parv. actually has 
 the expression 1 wyndynge with wyndelas, or wyndas 1 ; which 
 may be held to settle this disputed point at last. 
 
 § 443. Graphic changes. See § 371. Of course Scan- 
 dian words were spelt after an English fashion. The chief 
 
§ 443-1 
 
 GRAPHIC CHANGES. 
 
 475 
 
 exception is the modern E. word geysir *, which is spelt as in 
 Icelandic, but pronounced as if turned into an E. geezer 
 (§ 435). Many Icel. words begin with sk, where English 
 uses sc and sk indiscriminately (434). 
 
 A few peculiarities of Icelandic spelling may be here 
 noticed. The vowels and diphthongs are numerous, viz. a, < , 
 z, 0, u,y; d, e, i, 6,y, where the accent denotes length; au, 
 ei, ey, cc, ce, d 2 . The ce and ce are both now sounded as 
 E. t in bite, and the same symbol (ce) often does duty for 
 both. In the sounds denoted by jo and ju, the j (E. y) is 
 almost a vowel, makingy'^ and jii almost diphthongs, answer- 
 ing to A. S. e'o) so also with regard to ja, jd,ju,j'6. 
 
 Initial th is always voiceless, like E. th in thin, and is 
 denoted by p. Medial and final th is always voiced, like E. 
 th in this, and is denoted by 3*. V (though now sounded as 
 E. v) had originally the sound of w % and several E. words 
 beginning with w are of Scandian origin, such as wag, want, 
 weak, wing. Similarly hv was originally sounded as A. S. 
 hw (E. wh); so that E. whirl is from Icel. hvirfl-a ( = Jnvirfl-a), 
 the f being dropped. We have needlessly turned the words 
 wiking and Walhalla into viking and valhalla ; as both 
 words relate to very early times, the initial w is better. 
 So also the symbol kv had originally the sound of kw, A. S. 
 cw, E. qu; the symbol q being hardly ever used. Thus 
 E. queas-y is from Icel. kveis { = kweis), as in kveisa, colic. 
 C is also disused, k being always employed for the /'-sound. 
 Hence E. cast is from Icel. kast-a. Other particulars must 
 be learnt from books that deal specially with the language. 
 
 1 Pronounce it as E. gay seer, trilling the r, and accenting gay ; and 
 this will come somewhat near the right sound. 
 
 2 For the sounds of the Old Icelandic, see Sweet, Icel. Primer, and 
 Vigfusson and Powell, Icel. Reader, p. 467 ; for the modern sounds see 
 Sweet's Handbook of Phonetics. 
 
 3 Mr. Magnusson considers the E. voiceless th as more nearly equiva- 
 lent to Icel. )>J>, and the E. voiced th as more like Icel. $o\ We may 
 note that the Scand. J> becomes /, and # becomes d, in Swedish and 
 Danish, as a general rule. Cf. A.S. ping, Swed. ting\ A.S. wid, Swed. vid. 
 
476 
 
 THE SCANDIAN ELEMENT, [Chap. XXIII. 
 
 § 444. Misuse of symbols. See § 372. The Icelandic 
 spelling is very good, but there is one peculiarity which does 
 not seem to be a happy one. This is the rather frequent 
 use of pt to represent the sound of ft, as in Icel. /op/, pro- 
 nounced /of/ (whence E. /of/), and Icel. /ypt-a, pronounced 
 /yf/-a (whence E. If/). This practice arose from a too close 
 imitation of Latin spcUing, in which p/ appears frequently, 
 and ft not at all. Ft is now used also, and it would be well 
 if its use were universal ; it occurs occasionally in very early 
 MSS. 
 
 § 445. Vowel- changes due to consonantal influence 
 or other cause. See § 375. In the case of monosyllables 
 from words once dissyllabic, a lengthened vowel is pre- 
 served. In the Icel. sala both as are properly short, but 
 in the E. sa/e the a is now a diphthong (romic ei). So 
 also in craze, daze, flake, gat/ (better gate), hake, &c. This 
 is even the case in haste, from O. Swed. hast-a. The Icel. e 
 is lengthened in E. teak, Icel. tek-a ; E. neif Icel. hnefi, the 
 fist ; E. ihrave, Icel. prefi, a number of sheaves. The Icel. 
 /' is lengthened in riding, a third part of a county; Icel. 
 prifijmigr, a third part. The Icel. 0 is lengthened in bote, 
 Icel. bol-r ; and the u has become a diphthong in down, Icel. 
 ktunn-i. The change of en into in in hinge, M. E. henge 9 
 from Icel. heng-ja, to hang, has been already noticed in 
 §377. So also E. fling, M. E. fli?ig-en, fleng-en \ answers 
 to O. Swed. fleng-a, to strike, Dan. fleng-e, to slash, Icel. 
 fleng-ja, to whip, with the notion of violent action. 
 
 On confluence of forms and homonyms, see §§ 385, 
 386. 
 
 § 446. List of Compounds, of Scandian origin, in 
 which the origin has been more or less obscured. A 
 
 list of native words of this character has already been given 
 in § 395 ; and may be usefully supplemented by one in which 
 the compounds are from Scandian elements. 
 
 ' He flenges to sir Florent ' ; Morte Arthure, ed. Brock, 2762. 
 
§ 44 6 -] 
 
 COMPOUND WORDS. 
 
 477 
 
 Bulwark, really bole-work, a work made cf the boles or 
 trunks of trees. (A probable guess). 
 
 Bylaw, a town-law, municipal law, from by, sb., in the 
 sense of ' town ' ; cf. Whit-by, Der-by, &c. Usually misunder- 
 stood as being compounded with the preposition by. 
 
 Fellow, lit. a partner in a ' laying together of property/ 
 or in an association relating to ownership. Icel. fe-lag-i, a 
 partner in a fe-lag ; from fe, property (E.fee), and lag, a 
 laying together, an association. 
 
 Fetlock, a tuft or lock of hair growing behind the pastern- 
 joint of horses. Not, as might be supposed, a direct deriva- 
 tive from feet, but only allied to foot in a more circuitous 
 manner. This is proved by the occurrence of a M. H. G. 
 vizzeloch, cited by Kluge, s. v. Fuss (but not in Schade), sig- 
 nifying the hinder part of a horse's foot, and of an O. Du. 
 vitlok, vitslok, which (says Wedgwood) is given by Halma, 
 s. v. f anon. Kluge concludes that the first syllable is due to 
 a base fet- (allied to foot), which appears in Icel.fet, a pace, 
 step ; cf. also Icel.yf/, the webbed foot of water-birds, the web 
 or skin of the feet of animals. Indeed, we have the same fet- 
 in our fett-er, which may be compared with Lat. ped-ica. 
 
 Flotsam, goods lost in shipwreck, and left floating on the 
 waves. (Mentioned here by mistake in the first edition. 
 It now turns out to be of Anglo-French origin ; from A. F. 
 flotteson = Lat. *fluctationem.) 
 
 Furlough, a military term of Swedish origin, though it 
 may have come to us through the Du. form verlof. It is the 
 Swed. for-lof leave; compounded of Swed. /or- (=E.for-, 
 prefix), and /of praise, also leave, permission ; cf. G. Verlaub, 
 leave. Lof is cognate with G. lob (and -laub in Ver-laub), 
 and allied to E. leave and lief. 
 
 Gantlet, Gauntlet, in the phrase ' to run the gauntlet ' ; 
 corrupted, by confluence with gauntlet, a glove, from the older 
 form ga?itlope, which again is altered from Swed. gat-lopp, a 
 ' running down the lane ' formed by two files of soldiers who 
 
478 
 
 THE SCANDIAN ELEMENT. [Chap. XXIII. 
 
 strike the offender as he passes. From Swed. gala, a lane, 
 street, and lopp, a running, which is from l'6p-a, to run (E. 
 leap). Thus gant-let = 1 gate-leap ' ; taking gate in the sense 
 of street, way. 
 
 Greyhound ; Icel. grey-hundr. The Icel. grey is used 
 alone in the same sense, and Icel. grey-baka means a bitch. 
 The origin of grey is unknown ; it does not mean gray (Icel. 
 grdr). 
 
 Handsel, Hansel, first instalment of a bargain. Icel. 
 hand-sal, the conclusion of a bargain by shaking hands ; but 
 literally ' hand-sale.' 
 
 Harbour ; Icel. her-bergi, lit. 1 army-shelter/ 
 
 Husband, lit. ' dweller in a house,' and so the goodman 
 of the house. Icel. hus-bondi\ the goodman of a house, from 
 hus, house ; and bdndi = bfiandi, dwelling in, pres. pt. of btia, 
 to dwell. (In no way allied to band.) 
 
 Hussif, a case for needles ; due to confusion with hussif 
 = house-wife. But the Icel. word is simply husi, a case. 
 
 Hustings, properly Husting ; A. S. Ms-ling, borrowed 
 from Icel. hus-ping, a council, lit. ' house-thing/ 
 
 Jetsam, things thrown overboard from a wreck. (Men- 
 tioned here by mistake in the first edition. It turns out to 
 be from the Anglo-French jettison = Lat. iactalionem.) 
 
 Jollyboat, lit. yawl-boat; from Dan.jolle, a yawl. 
 
 Keelson, a piece of timber next a ship's keel. Swed. 
 kol-svin, lit. ' keel-swine 9 ; probably a corruption of the 
 Norweg. term kj'Ol-svil, a keelson, lit. ' keel-sill V [I find that 
 Koolman, in his E. Friesic Dictionary, s. v. kol-svin, gives, 
 independently, the same solution.] 
 
 Kidney, M. E. kidnere, kidneer ; from Icel. kvid-r, womb, 
 belly, and nyra, a kidney. 
 
 Narwhal, the sea-unicorn ; Swed. nar-hval, Icel. nd- 
 hval-r, lit. ' corpse-whale ' ; from its (occasional) pallid colour. 
 
 1 Another Old Icel. name for the same was kjol-syja v or simply syjd) f 
 lit. ' keel -suture ' ; from syj'a, to sew. 
 
§ 44<5.] 
 
 COMPOUND WORDS. 
 
 479 
 
 Quandary, perhaps the same as M. E. wandreth, evil 
 plight, peril ; Icel. vand-rced-i, difficulty, trouble. From Icel. 
 vand-r, difficult; with suffix -ra#/(=E. -red in hat-red). 
 
 Rakehell, a dissolute man, a late corruption of M. E. 
 rakel, rash ; Swed. dial. rakkel, Icel. reikall, vagabond. From 
 Icel. reik-a, to wander. Now shortened to rake. 
 
 Ransack; Icel. rann-sak-a, to search a house; from 
 rann, a house (Goth, razri) and sak-, base of scek-ja, to seek, 
 cognate with A. S. se'c-an. 
 
 Riding (of Yorkshire); for *lhriding, Icel. pridjung-r, a 
 third part. 
 
 Spick and Span-new, lit. ' spike-and-spoon-new/ where 
 spike is a point, nail, and spoon is a chip ; new as a nail just 
 made or a chip just cut. Icel. spdn-nyr, span-new, new as a 
 chip ; from span, a chip, a spoon. 
 
 Tungsten, a heavy metal. Swed. tungsten, lit. ' heavy 
 stone 9 ; Icel. pung-r, heavy. 
 
 Valhalla, better Walhall, the hall of the slain ; Icel. 
 valholl (gen. case valhallar). From Icel. val-r, the slain, car- 
 nage ; libll, hall, a hall. 
 
 Viking, better Wiking, Icel. viking-r, O. Icel. *wiking-r, 
 a creek-dweller ; from Icel. vik, O. Icel. *wtk i a creek, bay, 
 with suffix -ing-r, belonging to. 
 
 Wall-eyed, said of a horse ; Icel. valdeygdr, corruption of 
 vagl-eygr, lit. ' beam-eyed ' ; from vagi, a beam, also a 
 disease in the eye ; and eyg-r, formed by mutation from 
 aug-a, eye. See p. 473. 
 
 Walrus ; a Dutch spelling of a Scand. word ; Du. walrus, 
 from Dan. hval-ros, lit. whale-horse. Cf. A. S. hors-hwcel, a 
 horse-whale, seal. The Icel. form rosm-hvalr has not been 
 explained. 
 
 Wapentake, a district; Icel. vdpna-tak, lit. 'weapon- 
 touching/ hence a vote of consent expressed by men touch- 
 ing their weapons ; finally, a district governed by one elected 
 by such a vote. 
 
4 8o 
 
 THE SCANDIAN ELEMENT. [Chap. XXIII. 
 
 Whitlow, historically a corruption of quick-flaw, a flaw in 
 the quick or sensitive part of the ringer near the nail. The 
 word flaw is Scandian; Swed.flaga, a flake, crack. Cf. Icel. 
 flaka, to gape as a wound. See § 436, p. 472. 
 
 Windlass, shortened from M. E. windelas, Prompt. Parv., 
 p. 529 ; from Icel. vindil-dss, more commonly vind-dss ; from 
 vind-a, to wind, and ass, 2l pole, rounded beam. See p. 474. 
 
 Window, i. e. ' wind-eye/ an eye or hole to admit air and 
 light. Icel. vind-auga, a window ; from vind, wind, and 
 auga, eye. 
 
 Note on Modern Scandian Words. 
 
 I may here add, by way of postscript, that the words 
 borrowed from Scandinavian languages in the modern period, 
 since 1500, are very few. The following list is taken from 
 my Dictionary. 
 
 From Icelandic : geysir, saga. (The latter is given in my 
 Diet, as Scandinavian ; but is properly Icelandic.) 
 
 From Swedish : dahlia, flounce, v., flounder (a fish), gantlet 
 (in the phrase run the gantlet or gantlope), kink, slag, lung- 
 sten ; and perhaps smell, u eld, v., znd trcp(-rock). 
 
 From Danish : cam, floe, fog, jib, jolly-boat, siskin. 
 
 From Norwegian : lemming. 
 
 The Scand. words furlough, walrus have reached us 
 through Dutch ; droll, through Dutch and French ; knout, 
 through Russian. Several have reached us through the 
 medium of French, viz. abet, bet, blemish, bondage, brandish, 
 braze, brazier, equip, frisk, frown, gauntlet (glove), grate, 
 v., grimace, grudge, hale or haul, v., hue (in phr. hue and 
 cry), jib, v. (said of a horse), jolly, locket, Norman, rinse, 
 rivet, sound, v. (to plumb a depth), strife, strive, waif, waive, 
 wicket. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 The Old Friesic and Old Dutch Element. 
 
 § 447. When we consider that it has long been an admitted 
 fact, that numerous English words were directly borrowed 
 from Scandinavian, being brought over from Denmark in the 
 tenth and eleventh centuries, it seems strange that so little is 
 said in our grammars about the borrowing of English words 
 from the Old Dutch and Old Friesic. Morris, in his His- 
 torical Outlines of English Accidence, gives a meagre list of 
 thirteen words borrowed from Dutch, none of them being 
 of any great antiquity in English. Koch, in his Grammatik, 
 iii. 150, gives a list of about forty words which he supposes 
 to be of 1 Niederdeutsch ' origin. Such a treatment of the 
 subject is surely inadequate. It remains for me to shew 
 that this element is of considerable importance, and should 
 not be so lightly passed over, as if the matter were of little 
 account. 
 
 § 448. The first question is, at what period are we to date 
 the borrowing of English words from the Netherlands ? The 
 right answer is, that the dates are various, and the occasions 
 may have been many. It is conceded that several sea-terms 
 are really Dutch. Dr. Morris instances boom, cruise, sloop, 
 yacht (Du. boom, kruizen, jagt, older spelling jacht) ; as well 
 as the word schooner. But the last instance is incorrect ; the 
 original name was scooner \ and originated in America, but 
 
 1 From prov. E. scoon, to glide over water. See the story as told in 
 Webster's Dictionary ; a story which I once doubted, but find to be 
 true; see Whitney, Study of Language, 1868, p. 38. Schooner has no 
 sense in Dutch, and is known to be borrowed from us. 
 
 VOL. I. I i 
 
482 THE DUTCH ELEMENT [Chap. XXIV. 
 
 was afterwards turned into schooner because such was the 
 Dutch spelling of the word after they had borrowed it from us ! 
 It is just one more instance of drawing a false induction from 
 correct premises. Because should and would are spelt with /, 
 could is spelt so too ; and because sloop and yacht are Dutch, 
 schooner is supposed to be the same. But we may, I think, 
 safely add to the list the nautical terms ahoy, aloof avast, 
 belay 1 , caboose, hoist, hold (of a ship), hoy, hull, lash (to bind 
 spars together), lighter (a barge), marline, moor (to fasten a 
 boat), orlop (a kind of ship s deck), pink (fishing-boat), reef 
 (of a sail), reef (a rock), reeve, rover (sea-robber), to sheer off, 
 skipper, smack (fishing-boat), splice, strand (of a rope), swab, 
 yawl\ which, with the four already mentioned, give more 
 than thirty Dutch words in nautical affairs alone. Even 
 pilot is nothing but Old Dutch, disguised in a French 
 spelling 2 . 
 
 § 449. But there is another set of words of Dutch origin, 
 of a different kind, which must also be considered. It is from 
 the Netherlands that some at least of the cant terms cur- 
 rent in the time of Elizabeth were borrowed, though a very 
 few may be of Gipsy origin, and may thus be traced to the 
 East. When Fletcher the dramatist wrote his play of the 
 Beggar's Bush in 1622, it is remarkable that he laid the 
 scenes in Ghent and in the neighbourhood of Bruges, and 
 makes Gerrard, who is disguised as the King of the Beggars, 
 and understands a cant dialect, the father of a rich merchant 
 of the latter town. It is clear whence Fletcher obtained 
 the cant words which he introduces into his dialogue so 
 copiously. They are much the same set as may be found 
 in Awdeley's Fraternitye of Vacabondes, first printed in 
 
 1 In some senses, all obsolete, belay is a native English term. As a 
 nautical term, it first appears in The Complaint of Scotland, ed. Murray, 
 ch. vi. p. 41 (1549). 
 
 2 See the note on this difficult word in the Supplement to my Dic- 
 tionary. 
 
§ 450.] 
 
 THE DUTCH ELEMENT. 
 
 483 
 
 1 56 1, and in Harman's Caueat for Vagabones, printed in 
 1567 ; see FurnivalFs edition of these books for the Early 
 English Text Society, which contains a Glossary, and an 
 additional list of words at p. xxii. Harrison, in his Description 
 of England, bk. ii. c. 10 (ed. 1587), says that the trade of the 
 vagabonds, or roving Gypsies, had begun some sixty years 
 previously, and that their number was said to exceed ten 
 thousand. I suppose they reached England by way of Hol- 
 land, and picked up some Dutch by the way ; though it will 
 be found that the main portion of the cant language is 
 nothing but depraved and debased English, coined by using 
 words in odd senses and with slight changes, as when, e. g., 
 food is called belly cheer, or night is called darkmans. The 
 following are some of the old cant terms which I should 
 explain from Dutch. Bufe, a dog 1 ; from Du. baffen, to bark. 
 Bung, a purse ; Friesic pung, a purse. Kinchin, a child 
 (Harman, p. 76); Du. kindekin, an infant (Hexham). Pad, 
 a road, as in high pad, high road ; Du. pad, z path, hence 
 the sb. padder, a robber on the road, now called a footpad, 
 and pad-nag, a road-horse, now shortened to pad. Prad, a 
 horse ; Du. paard, a horse. Slates, sheets ; Du. slet, a rag, 
 clout. Hexham, in his Old Dutch Dictionary (1658) records 
 a verb facken, 1 to catch or to gripe ' ; which suggests a 
 plausible origin for the cant word fake, to steal. It is to be 
 remarked that some of the cant terms seem to be borrowed 
 from parts of the continent still more remote than Holland ; 
 for fambles, hands, is plainly Danish, from the Dan._/tf////< , 10 
 handle; whilst nase, drunk, is precisely the High G. nass, 
 used literally in the sense of 'wet/ but figuratively in the 
 sense of ' drunk ' ; the Low G. form being nat. 
 
 § 450. There was a rather close contact between English 
 and Dutch in the days of Elizabeth, due to the war against 
 Spain. After Antwerp had been conquered by the Duke of 
 Parma, i a third of the merchants and manufacturers of the 
 1 The modern slang word for dog is buffer (Hotten). 
 I i 2 
 
4«4 
 
 THE DUTCH ELEMENT 
 
 [Chap. XXIV. 
 
 ruined city/ says Mr. Green, ' are said to have found a refuge 
 on the banks of the Thames/ We should particularly note 
 such a poem as that entitled the Fruits of War, by George 
 Gascoigne, where he describes his experiences in Holland. 
 He and other English volunteers picked up Dutch words, 
 and brought them home. Thus, in st. 136 of that poem, he 
 says that he 'equyppt a Hoye' ; where hoy, a boat (Du. heii) 
 is a word still in use. In st. 40, he uses the a.d].frolicke, to 
 express cheerful or merry, which is borrowed from Du. 
 vrolijky spelt vrolick by Hexham ; Ben Jon son, who also 
 had served in Holland, spells it frcdich y as if it was hardly 
 naturalised, in The Case is Altered, Act i. sc. 1. In his 
 Voyage to Holland, Gascoigne quotes several Dutch sen- 
 tences, which he explains by means of notes. He also 
 introduces the word pynhe, which he explains by c a small 
 bote ' ; this is mod. E. pink (Du. pink). 
 
 In Ben Jonson's well-known play of Every Man in his 
 Humour, we may find several Dutch words. Thus he has 
 guilder as the name of a coin, Act iii. sc. 1 ; this is a sort of 
 E. translation of Du. gulden, lit. golden, also the name of 
 a coin; Hexham gives: 1 ecn Gulden, or Carol us gulden, 2l 
 Gilder, or a Charles Gilder ; een Philippus gulden, a Philips 
 Gilder/ Again, he has lance-knights, foot-soldiers, in Act ii. 
 sc. 4. [or 2] ; this is merely the Du. landsknecht, which has also 
 been taken into French (and even into English) in the form 
 lansquenet. In Act iii. sc. 1, he has the sb. leagure, and the 
 derivative beleagring \ we still use beleaguer, from the Du. 
 belegeren, to besiege, the Du. sb. being leger, a camp. In 
 Act ii. sc. 1, he has quacksalvers, mountebanks, from Du. 
 kzcakzalver ; the word is still common in the abbreviated 
 form quack as applied to a physician. 
 
 There are several Dutch words in Shakespeare, who quotes 
 one word as Dutch when he says — ' lustig, as the Dutchman 
 says'; All's Well, ii. 3. 47 ; where lustig means 'in excellent 
 spirits/ The list of Dutch words in Shakespeare is a much 
 
§ 451.] 
 
 THE DUTCH ELEMENT. 
 
 4«5 
 
 longer one than might be expected. I give it here, referring 
 to my Dictionary for the etymologies. It runs thus : boor, 
 brabble, burgomaster, buskin(ed), canakin 1 J cope, v., copes-mate 2 , 
 crants (Du. krans or G. Kranz), deck (of a ship), deck, v., 
 doit, foist, fop, frolic, fumble, geek, a fool (Du. gek), gilder, 
 a coin (see p. 484), glib, adj., glib, v. (M. Du. gelubben, to 
 castrate), groat, heyday or hoy day, used as an interjection, 
 hogshead, hoise, now hoist, hold (of a ship), holland, hoy, hull 
 (of a ship), jeer, jerkin, leaguer, a camp (Du. leger), link, a 
 torch, linstock, loiter, lop, manakin, minikin, minx 3 , mop, mope, 
 rant, ravel, rover, ruffle, slovenly), snaffle, snap, snip, snuff, 
 v., to sniff, sprat, sutler, swabber, switch, toy, trick, uproar, 
 waggon 4 , ivainscot. Many of these terms are nautical, 
 such as deck, hoise, hold, hoy, hull, rover (sea-pirate), sprat, 
 swabber) others are just such words as might easily be 
 picked up by roving English volunteer soldiers, viz. boor, 
 burgomaster, buskin, doit, fop, frolic, geek, gilder, heyday, hogs- 
 head, jerkin, leaguer, link, linstock, loiter, hp, maiiakin, minx, 
 snaffle, sutler, switch, trick, uproar, waggon; indeed, in the 
 case of some of these, as doit, gilder, jerkin, leaguer, link, 
 linstock, snaffle, sutler, trick, waggon, the connection with 
 military affairs is sufficiently obvious. 
 
 For other words of (presumably) Dutch origin, see the 
 list in my Etym. Diet., 2nd ed. 1884, p. 750 ; or my Concise 
 Etym. Diet., p. 607. 
 
 § 451. In the case of the majority of these words, the 
 certainty of their being borrowed from the Low Countries 
 is verified by their non-occurence in Middle English. They 
 
 1 ' Een kanneken, A small Canne ; ' Hexham. 
 
 2 From Du. koopen, to barter, and M. Du. maet, a mate (Hexham . 
 But mate is also E., though hardly so in this compound. 
 
 3 This difficult word has been at last explained by me, in the Phil. 
 Soc.'Trans. 1886. It is merely the Friesic (and Bremen) minsk, variant 
 of Du. mensch, a man, or (when neuter) a wench. 
 
 4 Waggon was re-introduced into England from abroad, long after the 
 A.S. weegn had passed into E. wain. 
 
4 86 
 
 THE DUTCH ELEMENT 
 
 [Chap. XXIV. 
 
 nearly all belong to what I have called the modern period, 
 viz. the period after 1500, when the introduction of new 
 words from abroad excites no surprise. A more difficult 
 and perhaps more important question remains, viz. as to the 
 possible introduction of Dutch or Low German words into 
 Middle English. We are here met by the difficulty that 
 Old Dutch and Middle English had a strong resemblance, 
 which may easily mislead an enquirer. Thus Mr. Blades, 
 in his Life of Caxton, 1882, p. 2, speaks of 4 the good wife 
 of Kent, who knew what the Flemish word eyren meant, but 
 understood not the English word eggs! But the whole 
 point of the story depends upon the fact that the word for 
 'eggs' was eggis in Northern and Midland English, but 
 eyren in the Southern dialect ; in fact, eiren occurs in the 
 Ancren Riwle, p. 66, and is formed by adding the Southern 
 -en to the form eyr-e, resulting regularly from the A. S. pi. 
 cegru. Mr. Blades tells us we must 1 bear in mind that the 
 inhabitants of the Weald had a strong admixture of Flemish 
 blood in their best families, and that cloth was their chief 
 and, probably, only manufacture/ All this may be true, 
 but the particular anecdote which is quoted to prove it does, 
 in effect, prove nothing of the kind. It proves, rather, that 
 the language of the Saxons who came to England did not 
 originally differ from the language of those of their fellows 
 whom they left behind ; and the points we have to determine 
 are rather, to what extent had the differentiation between 
 these two tongues proceeded at any given date, and what 
 evidence have we of the actual borrowing of Dutch, Friesic, 
 or Low German words at various periods ? A convenient 
 period for consideration is that which extends over the 
 fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, when there were especially 
 close commercial relations betw r een the English and Flemish. 
 The Libell of English Policye, written in 1436, speaks of 
 the ' commoditees of Flaundres ' at some length, and reminds 
 the Flemings that their great manufacture of cloth was de- 
 
§ 451.1 
 
 THE DUTCH ELEMENT. 
 
 487 
 
 pendent upon England, as it was nearly all made of English 
 wool, to which Spanish wool was inferior. The writer adds 
 that merchandise from Prussia and even from Spain reached 
 England by way of Flanders, which was indeed 1 but a staple 1 
 to other landes/ We might expect such Flemish or Dutch 
 words as occur in Middle English to apply to various imple- 
 ments used in such trades as weaving and brewing, and in 
 mechanical arts, but it is very difficult to investigate these 
 matters, since the English were already well supplied with 
 necessary words. Still, I think the word spool is a clear 
 instance of a borrowed word. It occurs, spelt spole, in the 
 Promptorium Parvulorum, about 1 440, and in another Vocabu- 
 lary of the fifteenth century ; and answers to M.Du. spoele, Du. 
 spoel ; Low G. spole. The native E. word is reel (A. S. hreot). 
 
 Other old words which I regard as having been borrowed 
 from various forms of Low German rather than as form- 
 ing part of the stock of native English are the following : 
 — botch, to patch, bounce, boy, brake (for flax), bulk (in the 
 obsolete sense of trunk of the body), cough, curl, duck, v., 
 to dive, fop, girl, groat, hawker, huckster, kails (a game), 
 knurr or knur, a knot in wood, wooden ball, lack, s. and v., 
 lash, to bind together, loll, loon, luck, mazer, mud, muddle, 
 nag, a horse, nick, notch, oris, pamper, patch, plash, a pool, 
 rabbit (?), rabble, scoff, scold, shock, a pile of sheaves, shudder, 
 skew, slabber, slender, slight, slot, a bolt, spool, sprout, tub, 
 tuck, v., tug, unto. All these words are, I believe, found in 
 the Middle English period, but not earlier ; and in some 
 cases the fact of the borrowing is certain. Thus groat is 
 Low G. groot, the E. form being great) mazer is a bowl 
 made of the spotted wood of the maple, the M.II.G. word 
 for ' spot ' being mdse 2 ; tub, Low G. tubbe, may have been 
 
 1 The very word staple is certainly Low German, slightly disguised by 
 a French spelling. 
 
 2 It may be a Scand. word, from Icel. mosurr; but masar is also 
 O. H. German, and mascr is O. L. German. 
 
488 
 
 THE DUTCH ELEMENT [Chap. XXIV. 
 
 brought in by the brewing trade, together with vat (Du. vat) ; 
 hawker and hukster are certainly not native words ; kails is 
 a Dutch game, from the Du. kegel, a cone, a sort of ninepins. 
 Some of these words appear in Friesic, and it is possible that 
 they belonged to the word-stock of the Friesians who came 
 over with the Saxons, but this will always be, in the absence 
 of evidence, a very difficult point. 
 
 The E. Friesic Dictionary by Koolman gives some help ; 
 I note the following : — Bummsen, to bounce, from bumms, 
 the noise of a heavy fall ; boy, a boy, nearly obsolete in 
 Friesic ; brake, a flax-brake ; kuchen, to cough (the A. S. 
 word is hivostan) ; krul, 2i curl, krullen, to curl ; duken, to 
 duck, bend down ; foppen, to befool (the M. ~E.foppe being 
 used to mean a foolish person, see my Supplement) ; grote, 
 grot, a groat ; Jwker, a hawker ; kegel, a kail : knure, a bump ; 
 lak y a defect ; lasken, to lash together ; 16m, tired, slow, whence 
 M. E. lowmish, slow, stupid, and E. loon or town (for *lowm) ; 
 liik, luck; mudde, mud; muddelen, to muddle; ort 1 , ort, 
 remnant ; plas, plasse, a plash, pool ; rabbeln, rappeln, to 
 chatter, rappalje, a rabble ; schelden, to scold ; schiiddern, to 
 shudder ; slabbern, slubbern, to slabber or slubber ; slicht, 
 smooth, also slight ; slot, a lock ; spole, spot, 2l spool ; sprute, 
 a sprout, bud, spruten, to sprout ; tubbe, 2l tub. The difficult 
 word louch-zvood is easily explained when we find that the 
 M. E. form was tache, tinder, or inflammable stuff, answering 
 to E. Friesic takke, a twig, takje, a little twig. 
 
 Richtofen's O. Friesic Dictionary also gives some help ; 
 we should especially notice the following : dekka, to thatch ; 
 frOy glad (cf. JL.fro-lic) ; grata, a groat ; luk, luck ; minska, 
 a man, for menska, which is short for manniska (cf. E. minx) ; 
 pady a path (cf. E. foot-pad) ; skelda, to scold; skof, a scoff; 
 slot, a lock ; snavel, mouth (cf. E. snaffle) ; spruta, to sprout ; 
 ond-y und-y on-, a prefix, the same as E. un- into un-to. 
 
 1 Koolman utterly misses the etymology; he seems to have trusted 
 to Jamieson's Dictionary for English, as he mentions no other authority. 
 
§ 45 2 -l 
 
 THE DUTCH ELEMENT. 
 
 489 
 
 There is a glossary to Heyne's Kleinere altniederdeutsche 
 Denkrnaler, which gives several hints ; I note particularly 
 the words be-scoffon, to scoff at ; scok, a shock of corn ; slot, 
 a lock; unt, unto. The Bremen Worterbuch also throws 
 much light upon Low German forms ; for example, it gives 
 lumen, to bounce, from the interj. bums, signifying the noise 
 of a fall, shewing that the n in this word is due to putting n 
 for m before a following s. 
 
 A most useful Dictionary of Old Low German has lately 
 appeared, by K. Schiller and A. Ltibben. As a specimen of 
 the information to be derived from it, I quote the following : 
 — ' Bosse, botze, boitze, Art grobes Schuhwerk ' ; which ex- 
 plains E. botch, to patch. The authors add the following 
 curious passage : 1 Nullus allutariorum ponet soleas sub 
 calceis, quae botze dicuntur.' Again, they remark that g&r, 
 a girl (whence E. girl) is much used in dialectal speech, 
 though it seems scarce in books. I also find hoken, to 
 hawk about, and hokeboken, to carry on the back, which 
 makes me think that my guess as to huckaback, viz. that 
 it originally meant 1 pedlars' ware/ may be right. Other 
 useful entries are : k?ierreholt, thin oaken boards (evidently 
 wood with knurrs or knots in it) ; lucke, luck ; ?nasele, 
 measles, spots ; maser, maple, 1 enen maseren kop,' a maple 
 cup, a mazer ; mudde, mud ; ort, ort ; placke, a patch ; 
 plasken, to plash or plunge into water ; p/ump, interjection, 
 used of the noise made by King Log when he fell into the 
 water ; plunder, booty, plunder -waare, household stuff, espe- 
 cially bits of clothing; rabbat, a rabble, mob; schock, a shock, 
 or heap of corn, schocken, to put corn into shocks ; schudden, 
 to shake, shudder ; slampampen, to live daintily (cf. E. pam- 
 per)', sprot, a sprat, &c. It is somewhat surprising to find 
 in this work the phrase ut unde ut, which is precisely our out 
 and out. We want all the light that is obtainable to guide 
 us in this matter. 
 
 § 452. After all, some of the above words may be found 
 
49° 
 
 THE DUTCH ELEMENT [Chap. XXIV. 
 
 in A. S. glosses, or may occur in unpublished texts. The 
 word dog seemed to me to be borrowed, the E. word being 
 hound \ in fact, we find Du. dog, M. Da. dogge, Swed. dogg, 
 Dan. dogge, Low G. dogge. But in the A. S. glosses to Pru- 
 dentius, we find : ' canum, docgena 9 ; shewing that the A. S. 
 form was docga. I have supposed the word split to be 
 Scandian ; but the occurrence in O. Friesic of the original 
 strong verb split-a renders it probable that split may, after 
 all, be of A. S. or Mercian origin. The word mane is not in 
 the A. S. dictionaries, so that I believed it to be a borrowed 
 word from Scandinavian. But the publication (in 1885) of Mr. 
 Sweet's Oldest English Texts shews that the A. S. form was 
 manu, which occurs in the very old Erfurt Glossary. We 
 must also bear in mind that the Northumbrian and Mercian 
 of the oldest period have almost entirely perished. 
 
CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 Effects of the English Accent. 
 
 § 453. As much has been said, in the preceding pages, 
 about the necessity of attending to the length of English 
 vowel-sounds, it is incumbent upon me to add a few remarks 
 as to the effect of accent, or stress, in altering such length. 
 It frequently happens that, especially in compound words, 
 a long vowel, if accented, is sooner or later shortened. The 
 results have been given by Koch, in his Englische Gram- 
 matik, i. 70, 71, 144, 152, 204, 205, 208-222, &c. An endea- 
 vour on my part to state these results succinctly was made in 
 the pages of Notes and Queries, 7th Series, i. 363, 443, 482, 
 ii. 42 ; and was criticised by Dr. Chance in the same, ii. 90, 
 235. I now repeat some of these remarks, adopting at the 
 same time some of Dr. Chance's suggestions. 
 
 § 454. Rule 1. When a word (commonly a monosyl- 
 lable) containing a medial long accented vowel is in any way 
 lengthened, whether by the addition of a termination, or, 
 what is perhaps more common, by the adjunction of a second 
 word (which may be of one or two syllables), then the long 
 vowel (provided it still retains the accent, as is usually the 
 case) is very apt to become shortened \ For example, the ea 
 
 1 I copy the whole of this from a note by Dr. Chance, in N. and Q. 
 7 S. ii. 236 ; where he amends what I had said in the same, i. 363. It 
 is almost enough to say that, ' in words of augmented length, an original 
 long vowel is apt to be shortened by accentual stress.' It follows from 
 this, that if a short vowel (as in A. S. hard) has been lengthened (as in 
 E. hare), it remains short in the augmented form (as in harrier). 
 
49^ 
 
 EFFECTS OF ACCENT. [Chap. XXV. 
 
 in heath is shortened in heather (though not in heathen) ; and 
 the A. S. gosling, i. e. goose-ling, is now gosling. 
 
 I add several illustrations, confining them, however, to 
 words of native origin. Most of them are to be found in 
 Koch's work above alluded to. 
 
 (a) Words augmented by a suffix. Heather is from heath. 
 Rummage, for room-age, is from room. In the word throat, 
 the vowel was originally short, A. S. prote, proiu ; it remains 
 short in throll-le; cf. M. E. protlen, v., to throttle. In the 
 word hare, A. S. hara, the vowel was also originally short ; 
 it remains so in harrier ( = har-ier). The A. S. short i, 
 though lengthened in child, remains short in children. 
 
 Long vowels are especially liable to be shortened if fol- 
 lowed by a cluster of two or more consonants ; hence wide 
 gives wid-th ; broad gives bread-th (A. S. brdtd-u, M. E. bred-e) ; 
 blithe gives bliss (for *blilhs, A. S. blids). Such vowel-short- 
 ening is especially noticeable in the past tenses of some weak 
 verbs ; thus lead (M. E. le~d-en) made the M. E. pt. s. led-de, 
 owing to the doubling of the d; hence mod. E. led. Simi- 
 larly feed (M. E. fed-en) made the M. E. pt. s./ed-de, now fed. 
 Read (M. E. red-en) made the M. E. pt. s. red-de, now read 
 (pron. as red). Hide (M. E. hid-en) made the M. E. pt. s. 
 hid-de, now hid. Hear (M. E. he'r-en) made the M. E. pt. s. 
 her-de, now heard (pron. as herd). It is not quite easy to say 
 at what date such vowel-shortening commenced. The short 
 vowels in the past participles led, fed, hid, &c, may be simi- 
 larly explained as occurring in contracted forms ; thus the pp. 
 of A.S.fe'd-an, to feed, was originally fed-ed, later fedd, and 
 lastly fed. Vowel-shortening has sometimes attacked even 
 the infinitive mood, as in the case of A. S. suc-an, M. E. souk- 
 en, E. suck ; this was probably due to the fact that the 
 pt. t. souk-ede and pp. souk-ed were contracted to suckl 1 , 
 whence the infinitive suck was easily evolved. Such a short - 
 
 1 1 1 would say thou had'bt suckt wisdome from thy teat ' ; Romeo 
 and Juliet, i. 3. 68 (ed. 1623). 
 
§ 454-1 
 
 EFFECTS OF ACCENT, 
 
 493 
 
 ening was further assisted by the contraction of M. E. soukest 
 and soukes to suck's/ and such. 
 
 (b) In compound words the effect is very marked ; in 
 many cases the shortening is caused by the occurrence of 
 two consonants after the accented vowel, as in the case of 
 A. S. gos-ling already mentioned. Other examples of the 
 same kind are these, the etymologies of some of which have 
 been already explained. Bone-fire is now bon-fire, as shewn 
 by the quotations in the New Eng. Dictionary. The e in 
 A. S. brecan, originally short, has become long in mod. E. 
 break, but it remains short in breakfast. Craneberry is now 
 cranberry (it need hardly be said that the e in crane is only 
 intended to indicate vowel-length, and is not sounded) l . Foot- 
 hooks has become futtocks. Goose-ling is represented by gos- 
 ling. Husband and hustings are both derivatives from house 
 (A. S. hits, M. E. hous, riming with goose) 2 . Housewife was 
 shortened to hussif and even to hussy. A. S. hldf-ma?sse, 
 lit. * loaf-mass,' became hlammccsse in the twelfth century, and 
 is new lammas ; where it should be particularly noticed that 
 the A. S. d was shortened to a before it had passed into the 
 M.E. 5, as it did in loaf (M. E. lof, loof) s . Lemon is properly 
 lemman, M. E. lemman, lefman, leofman, i. e. 1 lief man 9 ; 
 where man is applicable to either sex. Mere-maid has given 
 us mermaid. Nose-thirl is now nostril, though here again 
 the A. S. o in nosu was originally short 4 . Sheriff represents 
 A. S. scir-refa, later or variant form of scir-ge-refa, a shire- 
 reeve, so that the r was originally double. 
 
 1 It may be said that the vowel in crane was originally short, but 
 the compound may have been formed after it had become long. The 
 example fairly illustrates the principle at work. 
 
 2 In the M.E. huscbonde, sometimes written for husbonde, the middle 
 c merely marks the length of the u, and was not sounded. Hence the 
 consonants s and b were in actual conjunction. 
 
 3 It will be long before the despisers of history can be taught to 
 leave off deriving lammas from Iamb. 
 
 4 Marked long in my Dictionary by mistake. 
 
494 
 
 EFFECTS OF ACCENT. 
 
 [Chap. XXV. 
 
 The A. S. steor-bord became M. E. sterebord, later slerbord; 
 whence, with the usual change from er to ar, came the mod. 
 E. starboard. It meant, originally, the side of the ship on 
 which the man stood who steered it. White yields the deriva- 
 tives Whitby, Whitchurch, whitster, whitleather, and Whit- 
 sunday (formerly accented on the first syllable) ; but in the 
 derivative whit-ing the long t remains. The A. S. winberige 
 i. e. wine-berry, has given us the modern wimberry (for win- 
 berry). With such examples we may compare such names as 
 Essex, put for Est-sex, where est is shortened from A. S. 
 east, east ; Sussex, put for Suthsex, where suth is shortened 
 from A. S. s6d, south ; Suffolk, put for Suthfolk, in the same 
 way. 
 
 (c) In other cases, a similar shortening of the vowel has 
 taken place, where the result seems to have been produced 
 by stress only, independently of the effect caused by clusters 
 of consonants. An easy example is seen in heather, from 
 heath. Similar examples are the following. 
 
 The A. S. cilsceote, with long u, is now cushat (where the sh 
 is a simple sound), but in provincial English it occurs as cow- 
 shot (E. D. S. Glos. B. 15) 1 . Forehead, i.e. fore head, is 
 often pronounced as if riming with horrid. Halyard is for 
 hale-yard, a rope that hales the yards of a ship. Heifer is 
 from A.S. heah-fore, where heah is E. high, and -fore is allied 
 to Gk. nopis. Knowledge is often pronounced so as to rime 
 with college. Neatherd is commonly called netturd by the 
 people ; Neatherd Moor, called Netturd Moor, lies close to 
 East Dereham, in Norfolk. Shepherd signifies sheep-herd. 
 Steelyard was sometimes called stilyard, and is so spelt in 
 Blount's Glossographia (1681). Stirrup stands for sty-rope, 
 A. S. stig-rdp. Similarly two pence, three pence, five pence are 
 
 1 My guess is, that the original sense was 1 coo-shooter ' ; where 
 shooter refers to swift flight. The A. S. sceota occurs in the sense of 
 1 a trout,' lit. ' a shooter/ or darter, and is equally applicable to a bird. 
 The syllable cii may have been imitative, like the modern coo. 
 
§ 455-1 
 
 EFFECTS OF ACCENT. 
 
 495 
 
 familiarly called tuppence, threppence or thrippence, fippence 
 (romic tdpdns, threpdns or thripdns, fipdns). Trisyllabic words 
 of the same character are seen in holiday, which is a familiar 
 form of holy day ; in halibut or holibut, lit. ' holy but ' ; and 
 in hollyhock, which stands for holy hock, i. e. ' holy mallow.' 
 
 For other examples of syncope see § 366, p. 389. 
 
 § 455. Rule 2. In dissyllabic compounds accented on 
 the former syllable (as usual), the vowel in the latter syllable, 
 if originally long, is almost invariably shortened by the want 
 of stress. 
 
 Thus, in the A. S. name Dtinstan, which has an original 
 long a in the second syllable, the a was shortened, giving 
 DUnstan. Moreover, by Rule 1 above, the u was also 
 shortened. Hence the mod. E. Dunstan, as usually pro- 
 nounced. This name of Dunstan serves as a memorial 
 word for remembering both rules ; we have only to remember 
 that, in the A. S. form, both vowels were originally long. 
 Koch gives several examples, including words of Latin and 
 French origin. I here mention some such words, restricting 
 the examples to words of native origin. 
 
 In boat-swain, cock-swain, the long ai is not only shortened, 
 but absorbed, giving the familiar bos'n, cox 71. Brimstone, 
 grindstone are frequently reduced to brimstun, grindslun, (or 
 grinstun). Foot-hooks has become futtocks. Housewife has 
 become hussif, and even hussy. Neighbour is from A. S. neah- 
 btir or ntah-gebtir, with long u. Sheriff represents shire-reeve ; 
 and stirrup stands for sty-rope, A. S. stig-rdp, a rope to mount 
 by. The A.S. hfis, M. E. hous, when shortened, properly gives 
 a mod. E. hus, not house (cf. hus-band, hus-sy) ; this is why the 
 old word bake-house used to be pronounced extremely like the 
 name of the god Bacchus ; a pronunciation which may still 
 be heard. So also the vulgar pronunciation of wash-house is 
 wash-us ; of brew-house, brew- us ; of mall-house, malt- us ; 
 and of work-house, work- us. The latter is familiar to readers 
 of Oliver Twist. Waist-coat, by the shortening of both 
 
496 
 
 EFFECTS OF ACCENT, 
 
 [Chap. XXV. 
 
 vowels, has become the familiar weskul. i Dash my veskit, 
 says my father, I never thought of that 9 — is an utterance of 
 Sam Weller; Pickwick, ch. x. 
 
 Similarly, the A. S. suffixes -dom, -lac, -r&den have all 
 suffered vowel-shortening. Hence the mod. E. king-dom, 
 beadle-dom, &c. The suffix -lac should have given a mod. E. 
 -loke, but appears with a short o in wcd-lock. The suffix 
 -r&den is reduced to -red in hat-red, kin-d-red (for kin-red). 
 The e in the suffix know-ledge is now short ; but the Icel. 
 suffix is -leiki. In Monday, Tuesday, &c, the -day is reduced 
 to -dy or -di in familiar speech. 
 
 In like manner, short vowels in the second part of a com- 
 pound are still further reduced; forehead is often called 
 for rid) and the -fore in A. S. he ah fore is now the -fer in 
 heifer. 
 
 Perhaps the most striking examples are seen in place- 
 names, especially in words compounded with hd?n, i. e. home ; 
 dun, i. e. doivn ; and tiln, i. e. town. If ham occurs in the 
 former half of a name, it commonly becomes ham by Rule i ; 
 and if in the latter half, it commonly also becomes ham by 
 Rule 2 ; and the same remarks apply to dun and tun. Hence 
 we have Ha??i-to?i or Hampton (with excrescent p after m) for 
 A. S. Ham-tun ; Hampstead for A. S. Hdm-stede ; and the 
 familiar final -ham in Bucking-ham, Totten-ham, &c. So also 
 the A. S. tun has become ///;/ in Tun-bridge, Tu?t-stall, Tun- 
 worth ; and has given us the final -ton in Taun-ton, Nor-ton 
 (i. e. North-town), Sut-ton (i. e. South-town), Es-ton as well 
 as Eas-ion (i. e. East-town), Wes-ton (i. e. West-town). The 
 A. S. dUn appears as down in Down-ham, Dow?t-ton ; but 
 more frequently as dun, viz. in Dun-bar, Dun-ham, Dun- 
 mow, Dun-ton, Dun-wich ; and has given us the final -don in 
 Chal-don (Surrey), A. S. Cealfdun, lit. calf-down ; Elm-don 
 (Essex) ; Farn-don, i. e. fern-down (Cheshire) ; Hey-don 
 (Essex), probably ' high down/ An excellent example of 
 both rules is seen in Stanton, for A. S. Stan-tun, i. e. stone 
 
§ 456.] 
 
 EFFECTS OF ACCENT, 
 
 497 
 
 town. In the same way the old compound wild-deer -ness 
 is our wilderness. 
 
 § 456. Two simple extensions of the principle seen in 
 these Rules are worth a brief notice. I shall call them Rules 
 3 and 4 for the sake of clearness. 
 
 Rule 3. In dissyllabic words, the vowel of the unac- 
 cented syllable, if short, may disappear. A good example 
 is seen in hern, the shortened form of heron. Such examples 
 of what may be called 1 crushed forms ' chiefly occur in 
 words of French origin, the word heron being one of them. 
 In words of native origin, we may particularly notice the past 
 participles in -ed, such as lov-ed, look-ed, &c; these were for- 
 merly dissyllabic, but are now reduced to lov'd, look'/, &c. ; 
 and, of course, the same principle applies to words of a 
 greater number of syllables, such as believd. Hence we ob- 
 tain the etymologies of the words fon-d, lew-d, shrew -d. 
 Fon-d is for M. E. fonn-ed, made like a fonne or fool, and is 
 of Scand. origin ; cf. O. Swed. fane, a fool, fan-ig, foolish. 
 Lew-d is for M. E. lew-ed, A. S. Idw-ed, unlearned, belonging 
 to the laity. Shrew-d is for M. E. schrew-ed, wicked, originally 
 accursed, pp. of shrew-en, to curse, from the M. E. adj. 
 schrewe, malicious (whence E. shrew). Similarly the word 
 fold, as occurring in sheep-fold, is really a contracted form, and 
 has nothing to do with folding ; the A. S. form is fald, short- 
 ened from an earlier falod, also spelt falud and falaed; 
 see Sweet's Oldest Eng. Texts, and the Supplement to my 
 Dictionary. Holm-oak is contracted from holin-oak, where 
 holin is the M. E. form of holly, from A. S. holegn ; our 
 holly has resulted from the same M. E. holin by loss of the 
 final n. 
 
 In extreme cases, the whole of the unaccented syllable 
 disappears, as in the M. E. mold-warp, now shortened to 
 mole. It is also variously obscured or disguised, as in stal- 
 wart for stalworth, wanioji for waniand, wanlon for wantowen. 
 Other examples of ' crushed forms ' are seen in lark for 
 
 vol. 1. k k 
 
498 
 
 EFFECTS OF ACCENT. 
 
 [Chap. XXV. 
 
 M. E. laverk, since for sithence, nor for M. E. nother, and or for 
 M.E. other. See § 366. 
 
 If, on the other hand, the dissyllabic word be accented on 
 the latter syllable, then the former syllable (or a part of it) 
 may disappear. Hence the remarkable forms lone for alone, 
 and drake for end-rake or and-rake; cf. the O. Swed. form 
 anddrake, a drake, given by Ihre ; see p. 372. 
 
 Even in A. S. we find such a form as spend-an, to spend, ob- 
 tained from the Low Lat. dispendere (not, as often said, from 
 Lat. expendere) by the loss of the two first letters. Other 
 examples occur in words of Romance origin, such as sport 
 for disport, splay for display, fend for defend, &c. 
 
 § 457. Rule 4. In trisyllabic words accented on the first 
 syllable the effect of the accent is, in many cases, that the middle 
 vowel, or even the middle syllable, disappears. The simplest 
 example is fortnight, shortened from four teen-night, with 
 which compare sennight for seven-night. So also forecastle 
 has become fdcsle. Most of the days of the week exhibit 
 * crushed forms ' ; thus Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 
 Thursday, and Friday are all trisyllabic in A. S., being spelt, 
 respectively, Sunnan-dccg, Monan-dcEg, Tiwes-dceg, Wodnes- 
 dag, Punres-d&g, Frige-dceg. But the chief examples occur 
 in words of French origin, such as butler for M. E. botiler, 
 i. e. bottler, and the like. Sutler is of Dutch origin, from the 
 Du. zoet-el-aar, derived from the verb zoetelen, explained 
 by Hexham as meaning 1 to sullie, to suttle, or to victuall/ 
 
 The same principle is at work in place-names, which 
 furnish very familiar examples. I may instance Gloster 
 for Glou-ces-ter, Leister for Lei-ces-ter, Lemster for Leo- 
 minster, Dainiry for Daventry. The reader will readily 
 think of others of the same kind. 
 
 § 458. Emphasis. The effect of emphasis upon mono- 
 syllabic words is also well worthy of remark, as pointed out 
 by Mr. Sweet. Thus to and loo, of and off, are distinguished 
 by emphasis, the former being the unemphatic, the latter the 
 
§ 459-1 EFFECTS OF SYLLABIC DIVISION. 
 
 499 
 
 emphatic forms. We can say ' I go to London too', or ' I saw 
 him off, and saw the last of him/ The word him, if em- 
 phatic, keeps the h, as in 'I did not see her, but I saw him ' ; 
 but if we say i I saw him yesterday/ the h is weak, and is by 
 many speakers entirely dropped. Hence we can explain the 
 loss of h in the unemphatic it (A. S. hit), so common in the 
 phrases ' it rains ' or ' it snows/ In such common words as 
 with, thou, the, they, &c, the th was originally voiceless (p. 105, 
 note 4), but is now voiced owingto lack of emphasis (p. 107). 
 In a sb. like goose, the s is kept voiceless by emphasis ; but 
 in the common words is and was the s has become voiced, 
 and is sounded like z, a change which probably took place 
 at an early period. In the M. E. dissyllabic word day-es, the 
 s in the latter syllable, being entirely unaccented, soon passed 
 into z ; hence the mod. E. plural of day is really dayz. So also 
 in numerous other cases, such as bees, bows, hues, where the s 
 is unaffected by a preceding consonant. The same reasoning 
 applies to verbs ; as in mod. E. runs from M. E. runn-es. 
 
 The foregoing considerations may suffice to impress upon 
 the reader the great part played by accent and emphasis 
 in altering the forms of words from time to time. They fre- 
 quently cause phonetic changes, of which our conservative 
 spelling takes no notice. 
 
 § 459. Effects of syllabic division. Closely allied to 
 the question of accent is the consideration of the effect pro- 
 duced upon the pronunciation of a vowel by the mode in 
 which a word is practically divided into syllables. 
 
 At p. 71, 1 have given a brief note on short vowels. Very 
 little alteration has taken place in the sound of such vowels, 
 wherever they still remain short in modern English. But 
 there are cases in which they have been lengthened, at the 
 same time suffering considerable change. The present is a 
 convenient opportunity for explaining this matter, so as to 
 render the history of the short vowels somewhat more 
 complete. 
 
 k k 2 
 
5oo 
 
 EFFECTS OF ACCENT. [Chap. XXV. 
 
 Vowel-lengthening is frequently due to the manner in 
 which words are practically divided into syllables in pro- 
 nouncing them. A syllable can be either open or closed, and 
 the vowel in that syllable is said, accordingly, to be either 
 free or enclosed. Thus, in the words ba-ker, ta-ken, to-ken, 
 which are practically divided as marked by the hyphen, the 
 syllables ba-, la-, to-, are open ; and the vowels with which 
 they terminate are free. In the words can-die, hem-lock, the 
 syllables can-, hem- are closed, i. e. they do not terminate in 
 a vowel; and the vowels a, e, in these words are enclosed, 
 being followed, or shut in, by the consonants n or 
 
 The usual rule in modern English (as in other languages) 
 is that a syllable is open when its vowel is followed by a 
 single consonant ; but closed when followed by two or more 
 consonants, or by a consonant such as x, that is equivalent 
 to two consonants, or by a consonant at the end of a word. 
 Hence the first syllable is open in ba-ker, cree-per, chi-na, 
 clo-ver, cu-bic ; also in cli-ent, pli-ant, where the vowel of the 
 former syllable is followed by another vowel. But the first 
 syllable is closed in car-ter, fet-lock, ci?i-der, sor-did, cus-tom, 
 box-er. Such syllables as man, den, sin, not, hut, are all 
 closed ; so also are the final syllables in to-ken, hem-lock, 
 plcn-ii-ful. 
 
 § 460. As regards that part of our language which is of 
 native origin, we should expect to find that free vowels are 
 long, and enclosed vowels are short. Such is the case, for 
 example, with ba-ker, cree-per, clo-ver, fet-lock, cin-der, man, 
 den, sin, not, hut, already cited. Exceptions should be in- 
 vestigated, and admit of various interpretations. 
 
 Examples. In fa-ther, the ih is not really a double con- 
 sonant, but a symbol for a single simple sound. 
 
 In comparing bank with fast, we observe that the com- 
 bination st has not the same effect in shortening a vowel that 
 nk has. In comparing old with cod, we observe a similar 
 difference between the effects of Id and d; the vocalic nature 
 
§ 462.] EFFECTS OF SYLLABIC DIVISION. 501 
 
 of the / reinforces the vowel rather than the consonant. 
 For a like reason, the vowel in ark is longer than that in 
 cat', and the vowel in cool (A. S. col) is longer than that in 
 cook (A. S. coc). Different consonants produce different 
 effects. 
 
 In the words cow, they, the w and^ are vocalic. 
 
 § 461. We must also pay great attention, in every case, to 
 the original form of the word. We find, in A. S., a large 
 number of words, having a short accented vowel, in which 
 the vowel was followed by a single consonant only. Examples 
 are : bit-en, pp., bitten ; bit-er, adj., bitter ; gid-ig, giddy ; 
 cal-u, callow ; pen-ing, penny ; irod-en, trodden ; pop-ig, poppy; 
 sum-or, summer. Modern English spelling surmounts this 
 difficulty by doubling the consonant in writing, though the 
 alteration in the vowel-sound is very slight, the shortness of 
 the vowel having been preserved. As we are never allowed 
 to write a double v (see p. 317, note 1), we still write liver, 
 from A. S. lif-r, and driven, from A. S. drif-en, though 
 livver and drivven would be more phonetic, in order to 
 separate the vowel in these words from that in diver and 
 driver. On the other hand, as we are never allowed to 
 write a final v, we write sieve for siv (A. S. sif-e), and give 
 for giv (A. S. gif-an). As to this doubling of consonants, 
 see above; § 374, p. 399. 
 
 § 462. Vowel-lengthening. But the most important 
 fact about originally short vowels is the frequency with which 
 they have been lengthened in modern English. Typical 
 examples are seen in bake, break, broke, from A. S. bacan, 
 brecan, brocen, all with short vowels. This is really an effect 
 of syllabic division. The words were divided, in M. E., as 
 ba-ken, bre-ken, bro-ken, the vowels being thus left free. The 
 result of a strong accent upon the free vowels was to lengthen 
 them; and this vowel-length remained after the words be- 
 came monosyllabic. We also use the longer form broken for 
 the pp., whilst the clipped form broke of the same word has 
 
502 
 
 EFFECTS OF ACCENT. [Chap. XXV. 
 
 almost entirely supplanted brake, as a form of the past tense. 
 Even in brake (A. S. brcec), the vowel was lengthened, by 
 constant association with the forms break and broke. 
 
 § 463. The words break and broke are worthy of close 
 attention, for a special reason. In the A. S. brecan, the e, 
 being short, was an open e, like the e in bed. When lengthened 
 it became, as a matter of course, a long open e, like the e in 
 there; and this open e was denoted, in Tudor English, by 
 the use of the symbol ea. Hence it was written break, not 
 breek ; and that is the reason why it is spelt break to this 
 day. Similarly, the A. S. sprecan, M. E. speken, became 
 speak (with open e) in Tudor English. It has since been 
 changed to (spiik), riming with leek, in modern English ; so 
 that we have now nothing but the spelling to point back 
 to the original short e. Of course we may some day come 
 to say (briik), to be consistent ; and it is doubtless well 
 known that the sound (briik) may be heard occasionally. 
 
 Similarly, the A. S. o in brocen, being short, was open. 
 When lengthened, it remained open, like the o in glory or 
 the drawled vowel in dawg for dog. Consequently, it has 
 become a long close and impure o in modern English ; quite 
 distinct from the mod. E. oo in cool, from the A. S. long 
 close o in col. The modern English still sharply distinguishes 
 the o in broken (due to the lengthening and closing of an 
 A. S. short open o) from the oo in cool (due to a shifting from 
 the A. S. long close o to the sound of long u). Hence we 
 can at once perceive that the A. S. o in brocen must have 
 been open, and must therefore have also been short. 
 
 § 464. Vowel-lengthening also occurs in the case of 
 syllables that are closed by such combinations as Id, It, nd ; 
 as in A. S. ct'ld, child, Mercian aid, later did, old, A. S. bind- 
 an, to bind, A. S. bunden, bound ; see § 378, p. 402, § 382, 
 p. 407. For the effect of r upon a preceding vowel, see 
 § 381, p. 405. 
 
 § 465. I subjoin a list of some examples in which vowel- 
 
§ 465.] EFFECTS OF SYLLABIC DIVISION. 503 
 
 lengthening has taken place in native E. words owing to the 
 effect of syllabic division. 
 
 (1) A. S. short a (a): — cradol, cradle; hladan, to lade; 
 hlcedel, ladle ; scadu, shade ; spadu, spade ; wadan, to wade ; 
 ceafer, cock-chafer ; — acan, to ache; cecer, acre; cecern, acorn; 
 bacan, to bake ; macian, to make ; nacod, naked ; cwacian, to 
 quake; raca, a rake ; sacu, sake; scacian, to shake; slacian, 
 to slake ; snaca, snake ; staca, stake ; Icel. taka, to take ; 
 A. S. wacan, to wake ; — Mercian alu (A. S. eahi), ale ; Icel. 
 sala, sale ; A. S. talu, tale ; — gamen, game ; laina, lame ; na??ia, 
 name ; scamu, shame ; — bana, bane ; lane, lane ; manu, mane ; 
 /^#<z, vane ; wanian, to wane ; — apa, ape ; Icel. gapa, to 
 gape ; mapu/dor, maple-tree ; sceapen, pp., shapen, shaped ; 
 scr apian, to scrape; stapol, staple; tapor, taper; — cam, care; 
 cearig, chary; faran, to fare; ^dr#, hare ; mara, a (night- 
 mare ; scearu, a share ; sparian, to spare ; starian, to stare ; — 
 A*/?, adv., late ; hatian, to hate ; — bafiian, to bathe ; — crafian, 
 to crave ; grafan, to grave ; cnafa, knave ; nafu, nave (of a 
 wheel) ; hrcrfen, raven ; s/afas, pi., staves ; wafian, to wave ; 
 — blaze; brcesen, brazen; grasian, to graze; AtSf*/, 
 hazel. 
 
 Compare also A. S. hrador, fader, with E. rather, father. 
 In A. S. water, M. E. water, the z# turned the a into short 
 open 0, which is now lengthened. 
 
 (2) A. S. short e (eo) ; mod. E. ea, pronounced as in 
 bear : — A. S. bera, a bear ; ber-an, to bear ; per e, per u, a pear ; 
 swerian, to swear ; teran, to tear ; werian, to wear. In one 
 case, a different spelling is now used, viz. in mere, a mare ; 
 a better spelling would, clearly, be mear, but it has been con- 
 fused with night-mare, from A. S. mara. With these words 
 we may connect A. S. brecan, to break, with ea as in great. 
 
 In some words, the mod. E. ea is pronounced as ee in 
 meet, or ea in meat: — cnedan, to knead; meda, mead (sweet 
 drink); — sprecan, to speak; wrecan, to wreak; — melu, meal; 
 ste/an, to steal ; wela, weal ; — hleonian, to lean ; cwene, a 
 
5°4 
 
 EFFECTS OF ACCENT, [Chap. XXV. 
 
 quean; wenian, to wean; — reopan*, to reap; — seer an, to 
 shear ; smeru, smeoru, butter, hence, a smear ; spere, a spear ; 
 — wesule, a weasel; — elan, to eat; mete, meat; — becwedan, 
 to bequeath ; beneodan, beneath ; — cleofian, to cleave (stick 
 to) ; efes, eaves ; hebban, whence imp. s. hefe and pr. s. indie. 
 hefed, giving E. heave ; wefan, to weave. 
 
 In a few words, the spelling with e has been kept, instead 
 of being altered to ea. Examples are : — mere, a mere ; metan, 
 to mete ; fefer, fever ; efen, even. For fever, Minsheu's 
 Diet. (1627) has the spelling feauer. 
 
 (3) A. S. 1. The A. S. short t is very rarely lengthened in 
 the manner here indicated. The only clear examples are 
 seen in A. S. glida, a glede (kite) ; wicu, wice, a week ; wifel, 
 a weevil ; Icel. bikarr, a beaker (cup). In the case of stigu, 
 a sty, the mod. E._>> results from the short vowel i and the 
 vocalised_j/ (for g). We may here notice E. evil, from A. S. 
 yfel, with shorty. 
 
 (4) A. S. 0 ; mod. E. oa. The examples with the spelling 
 oa are scarce. The chief are : — socian, to soak 2 ;—fola, a 
 foal ; scolu, a shoal ; flotian, to float ; prote, throat. 
 
 But many examples occur of E. 0, followed (after a con- 
 sonant) by e. Such are : — bodian, to bode ; — brocen, broken ; 
 ceocian, to choke ; smocian, to smoke ; — stolen, stolen ; — open, 
 open ; — beforan, before ; borian, to bore ; scoru, a score 
 (mark) ; — hose, hose ; nosu, nose ; rose, rose ; — clofen, cloven ; 
 cofa, cove ; ofer, over. Spoken, woven, are formed by as- 
 sociation with broken, cloven ; the A. S. forms are sprecen, pp., 
 wefen, pp. Observe that, in before, score, bore, the 0 still 
 remains open before r. 
 
 (5) The A. S. u usually remains short, as in butere, butter. 
 
 1 This remarkable form occurs in the Vespasian Psalter, Ps. 125. 5, 
 in the Mercian dialect. It explains the mod. E. reap, which is quite 
 distinct from A. S. rtpan. 
 
 2 Very rare; it occurs in Cockayne's Leechdoms, ii. 240, 252; 
 iii. 14. 
 
§ 466.] EFFECTS OF SYLLABIC DIVISION. 505 
 
 The A. S. duru became M. E. dore, with short 0 ; hence E. 
 door rimes with before, from M. E. before. 
 
 § 466. Besides the above instances, there are many more 
 in which the A. S. nom. sing, was monosyllabic, the mod. E. 
 sb. being formed from other cases. The standard case, as 
 regards form, is the dative) see pp. 309, 310. Thus the 
 mod. E. coal may be compared with col-e, dat. of A. S. col, 
 coal ; though, doubtless, the pi. forms cola, colu, assisted the 
 change. I subjoin examples. 
 
 (1) A. S. a {ee). A. S. bleed, dat. bleede, pi. blado, blade ; — 
 A. S. deel, dat. deele, pi. dalu (cf. Icel. dalr, old dat. dali, old 
 pi. dalar), dale ; A. S. hweel, dat. hweele, pi. hwalas, whale ; — 
 scear, dat. sceare, a plough-share ; — A. S. geet, dat. geele l , 
 gate. We also find vowel-lengthening in mod. E. awan . 
 M. E. y-war, pi. y-war-e, from A. S. ge-wcer ; in the adj. 
 bare, A. S. beer, def. form bar-a ; and even in the pt. t. bare 
 from A. S. beer, and in dare, answering to A. S. dearr. In 
 these words, the vowel has been affected by the following r. 
 
 (2) A. S. e. A. S. bed, a prayer, dat. bede, pi. bedu, is the 
 mod. E. bead, with a curious change in the sense ; beads 
 were used for counting prayers. (Both A. S. bed and gebed 
 are wrongly marked with long e in Bosworth's Dictionary.) 
 The adj. hlec, full of cracks, is the origin of leaky ; we find 
 'on Ipddt hlece scip/ i.e. into the leaky ship; Gregory's 
 Pastoral Care, tr. by King Alfred, ed. Sweet, p. 437. The 
 adj. ge-met, def. form ge-meta, answers to E. meet, i. e. fit. 
 
 (3) A. S. 0. A. S. geoc, dat. geoce, a yoke ; — hoi, dat. hole, 
 a hole ; pol, dat. pole, a thole ; gor, dat. gore, gore ; mot, 
 dat. mote, a mote, atom. 
 
 I may observe, further, that a syllable closed by st often 
 has a long vowel in mod. E. Thus beast, feast, are des- 
 
 1 Very rare ; the form gate occurs in Alfred's translation of Beda, 
 ed. Smith, bk. iii. c. 1 1 ; and gat occurs in the O. Northumb. version of 
 Matt. vii. 13. The usual form was gcat, mod. prov. E. yat or yet. It 
 was probably confused with Icel. gata, a road. 
 
EFFECTS OF ACCENT. 
 
 cendants of the Anglo-French beste, feste, with short open e, 
 and are therefore spelt with ea, as explained above. We 
 have one similar case in a word of native origin, viz. in the 
 word. yeasty M. E. yeest, from A. S. gist. 
 
 In conclusion, I give useful general formulae for dis- 
 tinguishing between the open and close e, and between the 
 open and clo e d, in Middle-English. 
 
 (A) . Open long e, in M. E., usually arises from A. S. a}, ea, 
 or lengthening of short e ; it was pronounced as romic (ae), 
 or like e in there. Cf. p. 336. 
 
 Examples : A. S. wceron, M. E. iveren, were, E. were. 
 A. S. eac, M. E. eek (aek), E. eke. A. S. brecan, M. E. breken 
 (braekan), E. break. Such words, in mod. E., are frequently 
 spelt with ea ; as in sea, A. S. see; dream, A. S. dream ; speak, 
 A. S. sprecan. 
 
 Close long e, in M. E., usually arises from A. S. e or eo, 
 and takes the spelling ee in later English ; as in A. S. grene, 
 M. E. grene (greens), E. green (griin) ; A. S. deop, M. E. deep 
 (deep), E. deep (diip). Cf. p. 340. 
 
 (B) . Open long 0, in M. E., usually arises from A. S. a, or 
 from lengthening of 0 ; the mod. E. sound is that of 0 in no 
 (nou). 
 
 Examples: A. S./d, M. IL./0 (fao), Y,.foe (fou). A. S. open, 
 M. E. open (aopan), E. open (oupn). 
 
 Close long 0, in M. E., usually arises from A. S. 0; the 
 mod. E. sound is that of 00 in cool) as in A. S. col, M. E. 
 cool (kool), E. cool (kuul) ; A. S. to, M. E. to (too), E. too 
 (tuu). 
 
NOTES 
 
 Note to page 14, last line. 1 It was directed by Act of Parliament 
 that all pleadings in the law-courts should henceforth be conducted in 
 English, because, as is stated in the preamble to the Act, French was 
 become much unknown in the realm ; ' Morris, Hist. Outlines of Eng. 
 Accidence, § 25, p. 31. The Act is that of 36 Edw. ITI. c. 15. 
 
 Note to p. 39. Compare the following passage. * Our maker 
 therfore at these dayes shall not follow Piers plowman nor Gaiuer nor 
 Lydgate nor yet Chaucer, for their language is now out of vse with vs : 
 neither shall he take the termes of Northern-men, such as they vse in 
 daylv talke, whether they be noble men or gentlemen, or of their best 
 clarkes, all is a matter : nor in effect any speach vsed beyond the riuer 
 of Trent, though no man can deny but that theirs is the purer English 
 Saxon at this day, yet it is not so Courtly nor so currant as our 
 Southerne English is, no more is the far Westerne mans speach : ye 
 shall therefore take the vsuall speach of the Court, and that of London 
 and the shires lying about London within lx. myles, and not much 
 aboue. I say not this but that in euery shyre of England there be 
 gentlemen and others that speake, but specially write, as good 
 Southerne as we of Middlesex or Surrey do, but not the common 
 people of euery shire, to whom the gentlemen, and also their learned 
 clarkes do for the most part condescend, but herein we are already 
 ruled by th' English Dictionaries and other bookes written by learned 
 men, and therefore it needeth none other direction in that bchalfe.' — 
 1589, G. Puttenham, The Arte of English Poesie; lib. iii. c. 4 
 (ed. Arber, p. 157). 
 
 Note to p. 73, 1. 20. The notion that English is * derived from 
 German' is so strange, that I may be accused of caricature in asserting 
 
5 o8 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 its existence. But see p. 78, note 2 ; and compare the following 
 statement made at a meeting of the College of Preceptors. 
 
 * Without pretending to be a German scholar myself, I venture to 
 say that of all modern languages the most useful to English people is 
 the German, partly because it is a grand original language, with no 
 foreign admixture, and because it is the true parent of our own mother 
 tongue;' Educational Times, March 1, 1887, p. 118, col. 2. 
 
 Note to p. 279, § 263. The word grapscn, to grasp, actually occurs 
 in the Bremen Worterbuch, and even in modern High German. But it 
 is still more important to record its M. E. use. It is employed by 
 Hoccleve, De Regimine Principum, ed. T. Wright, p. 8 : — 
 
 * That grapsest here and there as doth the blynde.' 
 
APPENDIX A. 
 
 Further Illustrations of §§ 60-65 (pp. 81-83). 
 
 § 60. Teutonic d becomes German t. (Cf. § 119, p. 136). 
 
 (a, initially) : daughter, Tochter ; deaf, taub ; death, Tod ; 
 deep, tief ; dike, Teich ; dough, Teig ; doughty, tiicJitig ; dove, 
 Taube; draw, tragen; dream, Traum; dreary, traurig; drink, 
 trinken ; drive, treiben ; drop, Tropfen ; dull, toll : (also) dale, 
 Thai 1 ; dear, theuer ; deed, That ; deer, Utter ; dew, Thau ; 
 do, /Afltti ; dole, Theil ; -dom (suffix), -thum ; door, Thiir. 
 (b, medially) : adder (formerly nadder), Natter ; fodder, 
 Futter ; idle, eitel ; ladder, Leiter ; middle, mittel ; saddle, 
 Sattel ; shoulder, Schulter; udder, Euter\ widow, Wittwe. 
 (c, finally) : beard, Bart; bed, Bett\ blade, Blatt; blood, Blut ; 
 bid (to offer), bitten ; bid (to pray), bitten ; bride, Braut ; 
 broad, breit; brood, Brut ; -fold (suffix), -fait; gird, giirt-en ; 
 good, hard, hart; head (A. S. he'afod), Haupt 1 ; heed, 
 
 v., hiiten ; hide, Haut ; hood, /fa/ ; lead, s., Z0/// ; lead, v., 
 leit-en; mead (strong drink), Af^M ; mead (meadow), Matt-e; 
 meed, Mieth-e; mood, Afuth; need, Noth; reed, Rieth\ red, 
 ; ride, reit-en ; rood, rod, Ruth-c ; seed, 6tf<2/ ; shide (a 
 thin slice of wood), Scheit; shred, Schrot ; spade, Spat-en ; 
 sward (rind of bacon), Schwart-e ; sword, Schwert ; third, 
 dritt-e; thread, Draht; tide, Z*?z/ ; tread, tret-en; wad (wad- 
 ding), Watt-e; wade, wat-en ; word, Wort; world, Welt*. 
 
 But remain unchanged ; as in mild, G. ; end, G. 
 
 Ende. 
 
 1 The spelling with makes no real difference ; the G. /A is pro- 
 nounced precisely as /, and many good German scholars now drop 
 the h, and write Tal, teuer, Tat, Tier, Tau, tun, Teil. 
 
 1 A euphonic form for the unpronounceable Haubt. 
 
 3 The G. Brod, bread, is pronounced Brot, and should be so spelt. 
 Welt is for an older Werlt. 
 
APPENDIX A. 
 
 § 61. Teutonic t becomes German z (initially) ; or ss 
 (medially) ; or z, tz, ss, or s (finally). (Cf. § 117, p. 134.) 
 
 tale (number), Zahl ; tame, zahm ; tap, Zaftfen ; tear, s., 
 Zdhre ; tear, v., zehren ; teat, Zitze ; tell, zdhl-en ; ten, zehn ; 
 tilt (of a cart), Zelt ; tide, Zeit\ timber, Zimmer (a room) ; tin, 
 Zinn; tinder, Zunder\ to, zu; toe, Zehe ; token, Zeichen ; toll, 
 Zoll ; tongs, Zange ; tongue, Zunge ; tooth, Z«^^ ; tough ; ; 
 town, Zaun (hedge) ; twenty, zwanzig ; twig, Zweig ; twitter, 
 zwitschen ; two, But observe that, in the combination tr, 
 
 the r preserves the / from change, as in : tread, treten ; true, 
 treu ; trough, Trog 1 . Medial : better, besser ; fetter, Fessel; 
 gate (iji 4fc 5Y7/^' ^/street), Gyzjj* ; nettle, Nessel ; rattle, rasseln ; 
 settle, s., Sessel; water, Wasser 2 . Final (i.e. ending the E. 
 word): bolt, Bolz-en; heart, Herz\ milt, MHz; salt, S^Zs; 
 smart, s., Schmerz ; snout, Schnauz-e ; start, s. (a tail), .SV^r^ ; 
 swart, schwarz ; wart, Warz ; wort, Wurz : — net, AVte ; sit, 
 sitz-en ; set, setz-en ; smut, Schmutz ; whet, wetz-en : — bite, 
 beiss-en; eat, ess-en; foot, Fuss; goat, Geiss; great, gross ; 
 greet, griiss-en ; hate, /fatt ; hot, ^/w ; let, lass-en ; nit, 
 -Afcw ; nut, ; shoot, schiess-en; smite, schineiss-en ; sweat, 
 
 Schweiss ; sweet, Ji&fi ; vat, /Vwi* ; white, a/mj ; wit, v., wissen ; 
 write, reissen (to tear, to design) : — lot, ; that, dfoj ; 
 
 what, a/aw. But observe that the final / is preserved from 
 change when preceded by ch, f, or s, as in : fight, fecht-en ; 
 flight, Flucht ; fright, Furcht ; sight, Sicht ; wight, Wicht ; 
 oft, oft ; soft, sa?ift ; brist-le, Borst-e ; burst, berst-en ; fist, 
 Faust; frost, Frost; guest, Cast; hurst (wood), Horst ; rust, 
 
 § 62. Teutonic th becomes German d. (Cf. § 118, p. 135.) 
 
 thank, danken ; that, dass ; thatch, Dach ; then, dann ; thence, 
 dannen\ thick, dick; thief, Dieb ; thin, diinn; thing, Ding; 
 think, denken ; third, ^r///^ ; thirl, thrill, drillen ; thirst, Durst; 
 this, t&V^ir ; thistle, Distel ; thorn, ZWvz ; through, ^z/r<^ ; 
 thorp, ZV?;/; thou, dfo ; though, dock ; thresh, dreschen ; thread, 
 Draht ; three, drei ; throng, Drang ; throstle, Drossel ; thumb, 
 
 1 And generally, observe that combinations of letters, such as sp, st, 
 f r i g r t &c., do not shift at all. 
 
 2 E. butter and G. Butter coincide only because they are both foreign 
 words, being of Greek origin. 
 
APPENDIX A, 
 
 Damn- en ; thunder, Donner ; thy, dein K Also : bath, Bad ; 
 both, beid-e; broth-er, Brud-er\ cloth, Kleid; death, Tod\ 
 feath-er, Fed-er ; foth-er (a cart-load), Fud-er; furth-er,furd-er ; 
 heath, Heid-e ; heathen, Heid-en ; leather, Led-er ; mouth, 
 Mund ; north, Nord ; oath, Eid ; other, a7ider ; path, ; 
 seethe, sied-en ; sheath, Scheid-e ; smith, Sch??iied ; withe (withy, 
 willow), Weid-e. 
 
 § 63. The Teutonic b, when initial, remains as such in 
 modern German, though the O.H.G. often has p. There 
 are a few exceptions, in which p appears. (Cf. § 122, p. 
 140.) 
 
 Examples are very numerous ; it must suffice to quote the 
 following : 
 
 bath, Bad ; bean, Bohne ; beard, Bart ; bed, Bett ; bee, 
 Biene ; beer, Bier ; bench, Bank ; bent (grass), Binse ; berry, 
 Beere ; besom, Besen ; better, besser, &c. 
 
 Exceptions are : 
 
 babble, pappeln ; blare (to roar, blubber), fldrren ; bolster, 
 Bolster ; brawl, prahlen (?). 
 
 But the medial and final b, preserved in Gothic and 
 German, is f ( = f, v) in Anglo-Saxon, and f iff) or v (ve) in 
 English. (Cf. p. 141) 2 . 
 
 (a) calf, Kalb\ deaf, taub\ (be)lief, (G)taube 3 ; half, halb\ 
 leaf, Latib ; lief (dear), lieb ; of, off, ab ; self, selb-e ; staff, Stab ; 
 thief, Dieb. 
 
 (b) carve, kerben ; cleave (A. S. c/eof-an), kleben ; dove, 
 Taube ; drive, treiben ; even, 060* ; give, geben ; grave, 6>tf^ : 
 have, haben ; heave, heben ; knave, Knabe ; live, ; liver, 
 Z^r ; love, lieben ; (be)lieve, (g)lauben ; over, 7/&v ; reave 
 (rob), rauben ; seven, sieben ; shave, schaben ; shove, schieben ; 
 shive (a slice), Scheibe ; sieve, 6/V£ ; silver, Silber ; nave, : 
 navel, Nabel ; weave, weben. 
 
 The Teutonic p, when initial, is usually pf in German, 
 
 1 E. thousand answers to O. H. G. (Old High German" diisunt , aftc r- 
 wards altered to tit sunt, G. tausend. 
 
 2 Note that this is the only case in which the Anglo-Saxon fails U» 
 keep the original Teutonic consonant. 
 
 3 The initial G-, for Ge-, is a mere prefix, like the be- in be- lief, 
 bc-lieve. 
 
APPENDIX A. 
 
 and sometimes appears as pf finally; but the regular 
 German equivalent of Teutonic final p is f. 
 
 (a) path, Pfad ; pipe, v.,p/ei/en ; plight, v., allied to Pflicht. 
 
 (b) carp (fish), Karp/en ; crop (of a bird), Krop/; damp, s., 
 Damp/; drop, Tropfen ; hop, hiipfen ; stamp, stamp/en ; step, 
 stapfen ; swamp, Sump/; top, -ZV?^/". 
 
 (c) deep, drip, /rsV/fctf ; gripe, grei/en ; harp, Har/e ; 
 heap, Hau/e; help, hel/en; hip, Hitf-te, O. H. G. leap, 
 
 (to run) ; nip, knei/en ; pipe, p/ei/en ; ripe, ra/; sap, 
 0. H.G. Saf\ sharp, schar/; sheep, Schaf\ -ship 
 (suffix), -scha/t; sleep, schla/en; slip, schlei/en; soap, 
 step -mother, Stie/ - mutter ; thorp, ZW/; up, az^/"; warp, 
 wer/en. 
 
 (d) ape, 4^ ; cla P> klaffen (to bark, yelp) ; gape, ^vz^tz ; 
 hope, /fctf^T* ; rap (to seize hastily), tt^/z ; shape, schaffen ; 
 ship, Schiff\ weapons, Waff en. 
 
 In the word lip, G. Lippe, the ^ is preserved, because it was 
 originally double, as in A.S. lippa, lippe. 
 
 §> 64. The Teutonic initial f commonly remains as f in 
 German ; but some archaic words exhibit the O. H. G. v. 
 
 (a) fall, /alien ; fallow, /ahl ; far, fern ; fare, /ahren ; fast, 
 fest ; fathom, Faden ; feather, Feder; feel, fichlen; fell (skin), 
 ; felly, i*>/^ ; felt, i 7 //^ ; fern, i 7 ^^ ; feud, Fehde ; field, 
 /^/^ ; fiend, Feind ; fight, /echten ; finch, ; find, finden ; 
 
 finger, Finger; fir, Fdhre ; fire, Feuer ; fish, i^ir^ ; fist, Faust ; 
 f\ve y /un/; flax, Flachs ; flea, T 7 /^ ; r\ee,ffie/ien ; fleece, Fliess ; 
 flesh, Fleisch ; flight, Flucht ; flood, Fluth ; r\y, ffiegen ; foal, 
 Fohlen\ foam, Fcim ; fodder, Flitter; fold, /alten; follow, 
 folgen ; foot, i 7 *^ ; forth, /<?r/ ; foul, ; fox, Fuchs ; free, 
 /ra; freeze, /riereii ; fresh, /risc/i ; friend, Freund ; fright, 
 Furcht ; frost, frw/ ; furrow, Fur die ; further, far der. 
 
 (6) father, Vater; fee, F/V^ (cattle); folk, £W£; for, ; 
 for- (as a prefix), wr- ; four, ; fowl, (bird) ; full, 2/0//. 
 
 Note that the difference is only apparent, for this German 
 initial v is now pronounced as /, and might much more sensibly 
 be so written. 
 
 § 65. The Teutonic and English initial g usually re- 
 mains as g in German. (Cf. §§ 113, p. 131 ; 116, p. 134.) 
 gall, Galle ; gallows, Galgen ; gape, gaffen ; (for)get, (ver)ges- 
 
APPENDIX A. 
 
 513 
 
 sen ; girdle, Giirtel ; give, geben ; glass, Glas ; glide, gleiten ; 
 glow, gliihen ; go, gehen ; goat, Gf/w ; God, Gott ; gold, Gold ; 
 good, ; goose, Gans ; gore, Gehren ; grasp, grapsen ; grass, 
 G>72.y ; grave, 6>tf£ ; gray, grau ; great, ^raw ; green, griin ; 
 greeting, Gruss ; gripe, greifen ; ground, Grund ; guest, ; 
 guild, Gilde ; gums, Gatt?nen. 
 
 But in many cases the Eng. g becomes y. (See p. 131.) 
 
 yard (rod), Gerte ; yard (court), Garten ; yarn, Gam ; yar- 
 row, (Schaf)-garbe ; yawn, gahnen ; yearn-ingly, ; yellow, 
 gelb ; yesterday, gestern ; yield, gelten. 
 
 Medially and finally, the g is almost always lost in 
 modern English (or forms part of a diphthong) ; it is 
 retained in German. (Cf. p. 132.) 
 
 (a) day, Tag ; lay, legen ; may, mbgen ; play, pflegen ; say, 
 sagen ; slay, schlagen ; way, 
 
 Also : honey, Honig ; holy, heilig ; and all equivalent words 
 ending in E. with the suffix -y (A. S. -ig) have the suffix -ig 
 in German. 
 
 Also : eye, Ange ; lie, liegen ; lie, Liige ; roe (Icel. hrogn), 
 Rogen ; rye, Roggen. 
 
 (b) craw (of a bird), Kragen ; draw, tragen ; follow, folgen ; 
 gnaw, nagen ; haw, ; maw, Magen ; morrow, morgen ; 
 saw, ; saw, iSVggV ; sorrow, Sorge ; swallow, schwelgen. 
 
 (c) maid, Magd ; hail, Hagel ; nail, Nagel ; sail, Segcl ; tail, 
 
 'gainst, gegen ; lain, gelegen ; rain, Rege?i ; wain, Wagen ; 
 stair, stile, S/eige. 
 
 § 66. The Teutonic k, when initial, appears as k in 
 German ; medially and finally, it commonly appears as 
 ch. English has c or k, sometimes palatalised to ch. (See 
 p. 126.) 
 
 (a) callow, kahl ; can, ka?in ; carve, kerbe?i ; clay, Klei ; 
 cleave, kleben; cleft, Kluft\ cloth, Kleid; clover, Klee ; coal, 
 Kohle ; cold, ; comb, Ka?nm ; come, komme?i ; cool, £*rA/ ; 
 corn, A^r;z ; cow, ; craft, Kraft ; crane, Kranich ; craw, 
 Kragen ; cress, Kresse ; cripple, Kriippel ; crop (of a bird), 
 Kropf; crow, Krahe ; crumb, Krume ; keen, kuhn\ kernel, 
 A"<?r# ; kid, A7/#<2 ; king, K'6?iig ; kiss, ; knop, knob, 
 Knopf; knot, Knoten ; knuckle, KnocheL 
 
 (b) chafer, Kafcr ; chary, yfor^- ; chew, kauen ; chin, A7>/// ; 
 choose, kiesen ; churl, A"^r/ ; churn, kemen, 
 
 vol. 1. l 1 
 
5H 
 
 APPENDIX A. 
 
 (c) bleak, bleich ; book, Buck ; break, breche?i ; brook, v., 
 brauchen ; dike, Teich ; eke, aitch ; hark, horchen ; lark, Lerche ; 
 leek, Lauch ; like, (g)leich ; -like (suffix), -//V/z ; make, machen ; 
 milk, Milch ; oak, Eiche ; reek, ranchen ; sake, Sache ; seek, 
 suchen ; speak, spree hen ; spoke, s., Speiche ; stick, s tec hen ; 
 stork, Storch ; stroke, Stretch ; wake, wachen ; weak, weich ; 
 week, Woche ; wreak, rdchen ; yoke, y<?<:^. 
 
 (df) beech, Buche ; reach, reichen ; rich, mV/i ; speech, 
 Sprache ; such, solcher ; which, welcher. 
 
 N. B. — In some combinations German keeps the final £ ; as 
 in E. bench, ; birch, Birke ; finch, Fink. Observe also 
 
 such examples as E. bake, G. backen ; naked, nackt ; work, 
 £F<?ry£ ; thatch, decken. The A. S. written .sr, commonly 
 becomes E. j/j, where German has jyt/z, e.g. ash, Esche; ashes, 
 Asche; flesh, Fleisch \ fish, Fisch; thresh, dreschen ; wash, 
 waschen. So also initially, as in shape, schaffen ; sharp, 
 scharf, &c. 
 
 The Teutonic initial qu is almost ignored in German ; thus 
 E. quick is G. ; but we find E. quitch-grass or quick-grass 
 represented by G. Quecke, and E. quicksilver is G. Queck- 
 silber. 
 
 The Teutonic h, when initial, remains as h in English 
 and German, or is lost ( before 1, n, r) ; medially and finally, 
 it appears as English gh, German h or ch, or is lost. (See 
 p. 130.) 
 
 (a) hail, Hagel; hair, Haar\ &c. 
 
 (b) loud (A. S. hlud) y laut \ nut (A. S. hnutu), Nuss ; raven 
 (A. S. hrcefri), Babe. 
 
 (c) high, hoch; laugh, lachen; nigh, nahe; neighbour, Nachbar; 
 rough, rauh ; though, dock ; through, durch ; tough, zahe. 
 
 (d) eight, acht ; fight, fechten ; flight, Flucht ; fright, Furcht\ 
 knight, Knecht ; light, adj., licht ; might, Macht\ night, Nacht; 
 plight, v., PJlicht, s. ; right, ra7z/ ; sight, (Ge)sicht ; wight, 
 
 The Anglo-Saxon initial hw (English wh ) is w in German. 
 
 (See p. 133.) wharf, Werf-t\ what, was ; wheat, Weizen ; whelp, 
 Welf\ when, wann ; where, wo ; whet, weizen ; which, welcher ; 
 while, a/£*7 ; whirl, s., Wirbel ; whisper, wispeln ; white, ; 
 who, wer. 
 
APPENDIX B. 
 
 Specimens of Spelling. 
 
 The following Specimens merely give a general idea of the 
 appearance of English writing at various periods. Much longer 
 and more numerous extracts are required for complete illustration. 
 
 (i) From the Ancren Riwle, ed. Morton, p. 384 ; Sweet's 
 First Mid. Eng. Primer, p. 32. Date, about 1230. Dialect, 
 Southern. (The long vowels are marked). Cf. p. 303. 
 
 Seint Powel witness )>et alle uttre herdschipes, and alle vlesshes 
 plnunge, and alle licomes swinkes, al is ase nout a;ean luue, )>et 
 schlre^ and brihte^ ^e heorte. ' Licomliche bisischipe is to 
 lutel wurS ; auh swote and schlr heorte is god to alle J)inges ; ' 
 (1 Tim.\v.8). ' |?auh ich ku¥e,' he ser£, 'alle monne ledene 
 and englene ; and f>auh ich dude o mine bodie alle £e pinen, 
 and alle )>e passiuns |?et bodi muhte J>olien ; and J?auh ich 5eue 
 poure men al f>et ich hefde ; but 5if ich hefde luue |>er-mide to 
 God and to alle men, in him and for him, al were aspilled' 
 (1 Cor. xiii. 1-3). 
 
 \witfl£&) testifies ; uttre, outward ; licomes swinkes, toils of 
 the body ; schire^, purifieth ; Licomliche bisischipe, Bodily 
 diligence ; swote, sweet ; schir, pure ; kifSe, knew ; monne ledene 
 and englene, languages of men and of angels ; \olien, endure ; 
 yue, were to give ; hefde, had ; but ytf 3 unless ; aspilled, lost.] 
 
 As regards the spelling, we may note k for c, as in ku¥>e for 
 A. S. cute ; 5 for g, as in yf, if, A. S. gif\ yue, were to give, A. S. 
 geafe ; u for E. v, A. S.f, as in luue, dat. or acc. of A. S. lufu, 
 love ; cli for A. S. c, as in ich, A. S. ic, I ; sch for A. S. sc, as in 
 schir, A. S. scir, sheer, pure. Note that in the word poure, the 
 u means v ; cf. E. pover-ty ; this word offers almost the sole 
 exception, at least at a later period, to the rule that u can only 
 mean v when a vowel follows. We do, however, sometimes 
 find eure = evre, ever ; and 7ieure = nevre, never. A very 
 curious spelling occurs in the M. E. vuel (P. Plowman) ; this 
 represents uvel, i.e. evil ; A. S.j'/c/. 
 
 The above specimen illustrates some of the remarks on 
 p. 303 ; but, in order to understand the whole scheme, many 
 extracts must be consulted from many works. This is why a 
 
 L 1 2 
 
5i6 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 
 particular reference is made to the ' Specimens of English ' in 
 the Clarendon Press Series. 
 
 (2) From Chaucer's Tale of the Man of Lawe, as given in 
 the Ellesmere MS. Compare this with the edited text in my 
 edition, p. I. Date of MS., about 1400. Dialect, Midland. 
 (See p. 307.) 
 
 In Surrye whilom dwelte a compaignye 
 Of chapmen riche | and therto sadde and trewe 
 That wyde where | senten hir spicerye 
 Clothes of gold | and satyns riche of hewe 
 Hir chaffare | was so thrifty and so newe 
 That euery wight | hath deyntee to chaffare 
 With hem | and eek | to sellen hem hir ware. 
 
 Now fil it that the maistres | of that sort 
 Han shapen hem | to Rome for to wende 
 Were it for chapmanhode | or for disport 
 Noon other message | wolde they thider sende 
 But comen hem self to Rome | this is the ende 
 And in swich place | as thoughte hem auantage 
 For hire entente | they take hir herbergage. 
 
 We may here note the equivalent use of i and y ; there is no 
 difference between the sound of in, prep., and the sound of yn 
 in satyns. The Corpus MS. has spicerie for spicerye. The^/z in 
 wight represents the A. S. h in wiht. The ey in deyntee is an 
 Anglo-French symbol ; and so are the at in compaigfiye, the 
 final ge in message, the ou in thought, and the ow in now. In 
 whilom, the wh is for the A. S. hw. In riche, the ch is for the 
 A. S. c in rice ; in cJiap7ne?i, it replaces the A. S. ce in ceap7nenn. 
 The double e in deyntee and eek denotes the length of the vowel ; 
 so also with regard to the double 0 in Noon. The A. S. J?and^ 
 are replaced by th. The final e is suppressed in pronunciation 
 in Surrye, where, chaffare, message, wolde, e7itente ; it is elided 
 (before a following vowel or h) in dwelte, riche (twice), sadde, 
 Were, chapma?ihode, the (in the ende), place, thoughte, take ; 
 but forms a distinct syllable in compaigny-e, trew-e, wyd-e, 
 spicery-e, hew-e, new-e, chaffar-e, war-e, Ro??i-e, wend-e, send-e, 
 end-c, auantag-e, herbergag-e. It is just this full pronunciation 
 of the final -e in so many words that gives to Chaucer's metre 
 its peculiar melody. 
 
APPENDIX B. 
 
 517 
 
 (3) From Caxton's translation called the Recuyell of the His- 
 toryes of Troye ; see Specimens of Eng. Literature from 1393- 
 1579, ed. Skeat, p. 89. Date, 1471. (See p. 315.) 
 
 Whan Dyomedes and vlixes [Ulysses] were retorned in to 
 their oost. Athenor wente hym vnto the kynge pryant [Priam] 
 and said to hym that he shold assemble aft his folk to counceyft. 
 And whan they were alle comen. Anthenor sayd to hem that 
 for to come to J?e peas of the grekes they muste nedes paye 
 twenty thousand marc of gold and of good poys | and as moche 
 of syluer | And also an hondred thousand quarters of whete. 
 And this muste be maad redy with in certayn terme. And than 
 whan they haue this | they shaft sette sewrtee to holde the peas 
 wyth out ony frawde or malengyne [evil design\ There it was 
 ordeyned how this some shold be leueyed and whylis they were 
 besy their abowtes. Anthenor wente to the preest y kepte the 
 palladyum | the whiche preest had to name Thoant | and bare 
 to hym a grete quantitee of gold. And there were they two at 
 counceift Anthenor sayd to hym that he shold take this some of 
 gold, whereof he shold be ryche att hys lyf | and that he shold 
 gyue to hym the palladyum | and that noman shold knowe 
 therof I fTor I haue. sayd he. grete fere and so moche drede as 
 thou, that ony man shold knowe therof. And I shaft sende hit 
 to vlixes I and he shaft bere the blame vpon hym. and euery 
 man shaft saye that vlixes shaft haue stolen hyt | and we shall 
 be quyte therof bothe two &c. 
 
 We may here note the very frequent use of y for i ; the use of 
 00 in oost ; ea in peas ; oy in poys ; ou in t hot/ sand ; aa in maad ; 
 ay in certayn ; ew in sewrtee ; ee in the same ; aw in frawde ; 
 ey in ordeyned ; ei in connceill ; &c. The ^*in ffor really denotes 
 the capital F. V occurs for u in vlixes; ue for ve is common. 
 It may be remarked that the final // is printed with a stroke 
 across it ; this is in imitation of MSS., and was originally 
 used as an abbreviated way of writing final lie ; but it became 
 unmeaning when the final e was lost, and frequently appears in 
 a wrong place. 
 
 (4) From the second Part of King Henry the Fourth; A. i. 
 sc. 2 ; first folio edition. Date, 1623. 
 
 Fal. My Lord, I was borne with a white head, & something 
 a round belly. For my voice, I have loft it with hallowing and 
 singing of Anthemes. To approue my youth farther, I will 
 not : the truth is, I am onely olde in iudgement and vnderftand- 
 
5 i8 
 
 APPENDIX B. 
 
 ing : and he that will caper with mee for a thoufand Markes, let 
 him lend me the mony, & haue at him. For the boxe of th' 
 eare that the Prince gaue you, he gaue it like a rude Prince, and 
 you tooke it like a fenfible Lord. I haue checkt him for it, and 
 the ybng Lion repents : Marry not in afshes and facke-cloath, 
 but in new Silke, and old Sacke. 
 
 We may notice here the distinction between the ea in eare^ 
 and the ee in mee. The former word was pronounced with ea as 
 e in mod. E. ere ; but the latter like mod. E. me. These symbols 
 occur in words which had, respectively, the open and close e of 
 Middle English. So also the oa in cloath represents the open o ; 
 and in fact we still pronounce cloth with the oa of broad. In the 
 word onely, the insertion of the e shews that the vowel o was 
 long ; we still sound it so, but omit to shew this in our spelling. 
 
 (5) From the History of England, by John Milton; bk. v. 
 p. 248. Date, 1695. The spelling is, practically, that of Shake- 
 speare's time, petrified and rendered nearly uniform. The chief 
 difference is in the omission of final e where it is wholly idle. 
 See p. 329. 
 
 He [King Alfred] was of perfon comlier than all his Brethren, 
 of pleafing tongue and gracefull behaviour, ready wit and 
 memory ; yet through the fondnefs of his Parents towards him, 
 had not bin taught to read till the twelfth year of his Age ; but 
 the great defire of learning which was in him, soon appear'd, by 
 his conning of Saxon Poems day and night, which with great 
 attention he heard by others repeated. He was befides, excel- 
 lent at Hunting, and the new Art then of Hawking, but more 
 exemplary in devotion, having collected into a Book certain 
 Prayers and Psalms, which he carried ever with him in his 
 bofome to ufe on all occafions. He thirfted after all liberal 
 knowledge, and oft complain'd that in his Youth he had no 
 Teachers, in his middle Age so little vacancy from Wars, and 
 the cares of his Kingdom, yet leafure he found fometimes, not 
 only to learn much himfelf, but to communicate therof what he 
 could to his People, by tranflating out of Latin into Englifh, 
 Orofius, Boethius, Beda's History and others, [and] permitted 
 none unlern'd to bear Office, either in Court or Common-wealth. 
 
INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 In the following Index, Middle-English words are distinguished by 
 being printed in italics. Anglo-Saxon words are further distinguished 
 by being marked 1 A. S.' But, in general, no references are given for 
 A.S. words, as they are almost always to be found in close proximity to 
 the mod. E. word to which they correspond. 
 
 The references are to the pages. The letter i n ' after a number 
 signifies that the word occurs in a footnote. 
 
 a (in), 33 ; (they), 33, 
 a- {prefix), 213, 214. 
 abbot, 369. 
 abdomen, 235. 
 abet, 480. 
 abide, 166, 213. 
 abide, aby, 350. 
 abode,//, s., 57, 184. 
 about, 52, 66, 372. 
 abscind, abscissa, 290. 
 accurse, 213. 
 ache, 162, 354, 503. 
 acorn, 238, 503. 
 acre, 236. 
 adage, 321. 
 adder, 216, 248, 372. 
 a-do, 214, 366. 
 a-doors, out, 214. 
 a-down, 213. 
 advance, 325. 
 adze, 252, 378. 
 cefe ling (A.S.) , 259. 
 affright, 213. 
 afford, 214, 367. 
 a- foot, 213. 
 after-, 214. 
 aftermath, 232. 
 against, 367. 
 aghast, 2T3, 322 n. y 
 
 369. 
 agnail, 420. 
 a-go, 213; a-gone, 
 
 33 ». 
 
 ahoy, 482. 
 
 ail, 199, 266, 364, 
 
 412. 
 aimless, 430. 
 airt, 448. 
 ajar, 356. 
 
 alchemy, 286, 287. 
 alder, 370. 
 alderfirst, 370. 
 ale, 412, 503. 
 all, 44, 407. 
 alias, 26. 
 allay, 213. 
 allegro, 13. 
 alms, 352, 380, 438, 
 441. 
 
 alone, 56, 420; lone, 
 
 415.' 
 along, 213. 
 aloof, 482. 
 also, 376, 377. 
 altar, 434, 441. 
 alway, always, 273. 
 amaze, 213; amazed, 
 
 20. 
 
 amazon, 13. 
 ambrosia, 13. 
 amidst, 367. 
 among, 404. 
 amongst, 367. 
 amuck, 13. 
 an, a, 56. 
 anchor, 438, 441. 
 
 and, 26. 
 andante, 13. 
 anent, 367. 
 aneurism, 328. 
 angel, 438, 441. 
 anger, 236. 
 angle, s. (hook), 237. 
 angle (2 7uords), 411. 
 ankle, 239. 
 ann-eal, 214. 
 anon, 56. 
 
 answer, 214, 370, 377. 
 ant, 375 ; emmet, 41 5. 
 anthem, 439, 441. 
 antic, antique, 25 
 antistrophe, 13. 
 anvil, 366, 374. 
 any, 205, 210, 271. 
 ape, 503. 
 
 apeyred, apeyryng, 34. 
 apocope, 291. 
 apostle, 439, 441. 
 apple, 82, 137, 237. 
 apricot, 357. 
 apron, 216. 
 ar, 26. 
 
 archbishop, 439, 441. 
 architrave, 431. 
 are, 44, 379. 
 arise, 166, 213. 
 ark, 434, 441, 501. 
 arm, 235. 
 armada, 13. 
 
520 
 
 INDEX OE ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 armadillo, 13. 
 arose, 55. 
 around, 430. 
 arouse, 213. 
 arrow, 232, 377. 
 as, also, 376. 
 ash (tree), 357, 381. 
 ashen, 264. 
 ashes, 226, 357. 
 ask, 352 ; ax, 382. 
 aspen, 264, 382. 
 asphodel, 13. 
 assets, 107 n. 
 ast (ask), 357. 
 at, 134. 
 
 athwart, 467, 468. 
 atone, 56, 214, 420. 
 Attenborough, 194. 
 Atterbury, 193. 
 auger, 216, 372, 421. 
 aught, 214, 377, 421 ; 
 
 (= naught), 372. 
 august, 25 n. 
 aunt, 375. 
 avast, 482. 
 
 awake, 162 ; awaken, 
 
 276. 
 aware, 505. 
 awe, 124, 132, 252. 
 awkward, 262. 
 ax, 252, 358. 
 ax (= ask), 382. 
 axle, 222, 252. 
 
 ay* 36. 
 
 aye, 20, 463. 
 a-zent, 33 n. 
 
 babble, 132, 278. 
 backward, 262, 273. 
 bairn, 181, 239. 
 bait, 184, 463, 466. 
 bake, 129, 162, 503. 
 bake-house, 495. 
 balcony, 25 n. 
 bald, 270, 369, 407, 
 45 1 - 
 
 bale, 230; (2 words), 
 411. 
 
 balsam, 434; balm, 
 
 414. 
 band, 466. 
 bandog, 370, 421. 
 
 bandylegged, 431. 
 bane, 140, 503. 
 bannock, 446, 451, 
 452. 
 
 banshee, benshee, 1 33, 
 
 448, 449. 
 bantam, 14. 
 barb re, 26. 
 bard, 445. 
 bare, 379, 503. 
 bark (3 words), 412; 
 
 (of tree"), 466. 
 Barking (Essex), 258. 
 barley, 199, 356, 357, 
 
 421. 
 
 barm (lap), 181 ; 
 
 (yeast), 235, 406. 
 barn, 406, 421. 
 barrow (mound), 406, 
 
 443, 444- 
 
 barrow (wheel-), 232. 
 
 barse, 410. 
 
 bask, 468, 471, 473. 
 
 bass (fish), 410. 
 
 bat (stick), 451 ; (ani- 
 mal), 352, 357. 
 
 batch, 355. 
 
 bath, bathe, 368,503. 
 
 batten, 468. 
 
 Baxter, 256. 
 
 bazaar, 13. 
 
 be, 69, 140. 
 
 be- (prefix), 214. 
 
 beacon, 68, 239. 
 
 bead, 182, 505. 
 
 beaker, 504. 
 
 beam, 68, 176, 233. 
 
 bean, 68, 175. 
 
 bear, s. } 226, 503; v., 
 119, 140, 157, 159, 
 163, 168, 503. 
 
 beat, 68, 161 ; (cf. 
 beet), 412. 
 
 beaver, 140, 141, 236. 
 
 because, 430. 
 
 bed, 81, 199, 228. 
 bedizen, 378. 
 
 bee, 69, 1 76 ; bees, 
 499- 
 
 beech, 59, 109, 129, 
 140, 174, 207, 210, 
 354- 
 
 beechen, 264. 
 beefeater, 430. 
 beer, 69, 176. 
 beet, s. y 52, 59, 69, 
 
 434, 441 ; v. 
 
 (Scotch), 198, 210. 
 beetle (mallet), 237. 
 before, 371, 504, 505; 
 
 before, 38. 
 begin, 165, 363. 
 behave, 374. 
 behest, 206, 367. 
 behind, 403. 
 behold, 161. 
 behove, 63, 374. 
 belay, 482. 
 beleaguer, 484. 
 believe, 58, 212, 374. 
 belly-cheer, 483. 
 bellows, 199. 
 Beltane, 446, 449. 
 belyve, 38. 
 ben, 26. 
 
 bench, 201, 210, 354. 
 bend, 182, 199, 210. 
 beneath, 371, 504. 
 bequeath, 504. 
 bereave, 68, 167, 176, 
 
 187. 
 berry, 199, 379. 
 beseech, 354. 
 beside, 372. 
 besom, 235, 379. 
 best, 349, 366. 
 bet, 480. 
 
 better, 134, 140, 152, 
 
 155^99;^, 152- 
 between, 69. 
 betwixt, 44, 367. 
 bid, 164, 167. 
 bide, 62, 166. 
 bier, 67, 181. 
 bight, 202, 210, 242, 
 
 466, 467. 
 bile ( = boil, s.), 412. 
 billion, 19. 
 Billiter Lane, 288. 
 bind, 119, 136, 140, 
 
 165, 402, 502. 
 birch, 140, 354; birk, 
 
 414. 
 birchen, 264. 
 
INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 521 
 
 bird, 376. 
 
 birth, 181, 202, 210, 
 
 240, 244. 
 bisect, 289. 
 bishop, 352, 439,441. 
 bishop-ric, 220. 
 bismuth, 85. 
 bit, 185. 
 bitch, 355. 
 
 bite, 52, 62, 73, 78, 
 80, 135, 140, 166. 
 
 bitter, 265, 313, 352. 
 
 bittern, 372. 
 
 black, 129, 140, 263. 
 
 blacken, 276. 
 
 blackguard, 431. 
 
 bladder, 248. 
 
 blade, 243, 505. 
 
 blaeberry, 456. 
 
 blain, 239, 364. 
 
 blare, 379. 
 
 blatch {pbs.), 356. 
 
 blaze, 378, 503. 
 
 bleach, 68, 354. 
 
 bleak, 129, 184, 205, 
 263. 
 
 bleat, 68. 
 
 bleed, 59, 90, 207, 
 
 210. 
 blemish, 480. 
 blench, 354. 
 blend, 161, 201. 
 bless, 207, 210, 370 ; 
 
 blest, 268. 
 blind, 263, 403. 
 blink, 402. 
 bliss, 252, 368, 492. 
 blithe, 60. 
 
 blood, 64, 83, 174, 
 
 bloom, 63, 235, 255, 
 458. 
 
 blossom, 63, 235, 255, 
 
 366, 381. 
 blow (as wind), 55, 
 
 140, 161 ; blown, 
 
 159. 
 
 'blow (flourish), 63, 
 
 140, 161. 
 blunder, 469. 
 blunt, 473. 
 
 bluster, 248, 468, 469. 
 
 blythe, 38. 
 boar, 55. 
 
 boat, 52,54>57,89,95- 
 boatswain, 366, 495. 
 bode, 187, 504. 
 bodice, 380. 
 body, 257. 
 
 bog, 445, 44 6 , 449- 
 
 boggle, 451. 
 
 bold, 270. 
 
 bold (A. S.), 249. 
 
 bole, 476. 
 
 bolster, 249. 
 
 bond, 178. 
 
 bondage, 480. 
 
 bone, 56, 172, 173, 
 
 309, 3 IQ - 
 bonfire, 493. 
 book, 64, 86 140, 
 
 195. 
 
 boom, 233, 235, 481. 
 boon, 458. 
 boor, 485. 
 
 boot, s., 52, 64, 177, 
 198. 
 
 booth, 459, 467. 
 
 Bootle, 250. 
 
 bore (billow), 456; v. y 
 
 140, 504. 
 born, 26, 304. 
 borough, 183, 190, 
 
 J 93, 194, 361. 
 borrow, 183, 364. 
 bosom, 63, 233. 
 botch, 487, 489. 
 both, 456. 
 bdtl (A. S.), 250. 
 bots, 451. 
 bottom, 233. 
 bough, 63, 177, 361, 
 
 458- 
 
 bought, bout, s. f 242. 
 bought,^., 268. 
 boulder, 474. 
 bounce, 487, 488, 489. 
 bound,//., 404, 502. 
 bound (ready), 370, 
 
 459, 474- 
 bourn, 226 ; (2 words), 
 410. 
 
 bow, v., 65, 167, 364 ; 
 s. (weapon), 188, 
 
 226, 364; (of a ship), 
 
 i78,45 8 ,47 2 ;bows, 
 
 s.pl., 499. 
 bow (2 words), 411. 
 bower, 65, 237, 418. 
 bowline, 458. 
 box (1), box (2), 434, 
 
 441. 
 boy, 487, 488. 
 boycott, 6, 20. 
 brabble, 485. 
 bracken, 230, 380. 
 brad, 472. 
 brae, 457. 
 brag, 451. 
 braget, 450. 
 braid, 165. 
 brain, 239, 364. 
 brake, s., 487, 488. 
 bramble, 222, 237, 
 
 375- 
 bran, 451. 
 brand, 243. 
 brandish, 480. 
 branks, 448, 449, 450. 
 brat, 451. 
 braze, 480. 
 brazen, 264, 503. 
 brazier, 480. 
 bread, 186, 243, 252. 
 breadth, 205, 210, 241, 
 
 492. 
 
 break, 83, 129, 140, 
 157, 163, 168 
 501-6; broken, 157, 
 
 5QI-4- 
 breath, breathe, 368. 
 brew, 167. 
 brew-'us, 495. 
 breech, breeks, 59, 
 
 354 ; breeches, 59, 
 
 354- 
 
 breed, 59, 174, 208, 
 
 210. 
 brethren, 207. 
 brickie, 266. 
 bridal, 421. 
 bride, 67, 175, 212. 
 bridegroom, 376, 421. 
 bridge, 229, 353, 365, 
 
 470. 
 
 bridle, 62, 237, 253. 
 
522 
 
 INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 brig (bridge), 365, 
 470. 
 
 bright, 269, 376; 
 
 brighten, 276. 
 brill, 451. 
 
 brimstone, 371, 421, 
 495- 
 
 brinded, brindled, 
 466. 
 
 brink, 456, 472. 
 brisk, 451. 
 bristle, 237, 249. 
 British, 272. 
 brittle, 189, 204, 266. 
 broad, 57, 263, 305, 
 
 320, 322 ; broaden, 
 
 276. 
 
 brock, 451, 452. 
 
 brogue, 445. 
 
 brood, 50, 64, 83, 
 
 174, 243. 
 brook, v., 65, 71, 140, 
 
 167 ; s., 64. 
 broom, 50, 63. 
 brose, 448, 449, 450. 
 broth, 188, 240, 449, 
 
 450. 
 
 brother, 63, 91, 97, 
 98, 104, 108, 112, 
 117, 140, 145-149, 
 174, 246. 
 
 b vouch, 34. 
 
 Brough, 194. 
 
 brought, 268. 
 
 brow, 65, 140, 175. 
 
 brown, 65, 266. 
 
 brunt, 242, 466, 467. 
 
 Buckingham, 258, 
 496. 
 
 bufe (dog), 483. 
 buffer (dog), 483 n. 
 bug, 451. 
 
 build, 203, 250, 407. 
 bulchin, 224. 
 bulge, 165. 
 bulk (of body), 487. 
 bullock, 221. 
 bulwark, 477. 
 bump, 451. 
 bumpkin, 224. 
 bundle, 183, 222, 237. 
 bung (purse), 483. 
 
 bungle, 469. 
 
 burden, 181, 203, 210, 
 
 368 ; (2 tvords), 410. 
 burgomaster, 485. 
 burial, 238, 253," 380. 
 burn, 165, 376, 407 ; 
 
 burnt, 268. 
 burst, 164, 165, 407. 
 bury, v., 183, 203, 
 
 210 ; s. (town), 193. 
 bush, 471. 
 busk, 468, 471. 
 buskin, 224, 485. 
 bustle, 469. 
 busy, 271. 
 but, 23, 26. 
 bu]>, beth, 33. 
 butler, 498. 
 butter, 81, 439, 44 1, 
 
 504- 
 buxom, 262. 
 buy, 365, 401. 
 by, 60, 174. 
 bylaw, 477. 
 byre, 418. 
 
 -c (suffix), 221. 
 cabin, 451. 
 caboose, 482. 
 cachinnation, 132. 
 cackle, 132, 278. 
 caesura, 290. 
 cairn, 449. 
 
 caldron, chaldron, 414 
 n. 
 
 calf, 132,141,252,407. 
 call, 453 n., 467. 
 callow, 264, 501. 
 calve, 374. 
 cam, 450, 4S0. 
 camellia, 85. 
 can, 126. 
 
 canakin, 223, 485. 
 canary, 14. 
 candle, 99, 434, 441. 
 canine, 264. 
 canker, 434, 441. 
 canon, 439, 441. 
 canto, 13. 
 
 capercailzie, 317, 352 ; 
 capercailyie, -cal^e, 
 446, 449/ 
 
 capon, 291, 439, 441. 
 caravan, 13. 
 care, 145, 226, 503. 
 cart, 451. 
 
 carve, 127, 141, 164, 
 
 165, 406. 
 cast, 127,467, 475. 
 castle, 366, 434, 441. 
 cat, 23. 
 
 cateran, 448, 449. 
 caterwaul, 278, 421. 
 catkin, 224. 
 cause, 34. 
 -ce (suffix), 274. 
 cedar, 439, 441. 
 cell, 442. 
 chafer, 503. 
 chaff, 299, 353. 
 chaise, 460. 
 Chaldon, 496. 
 chalice, 441. 
 chalk, 353, 434, 441. 
 changeling, 223. 
 chaos, 131. 
 chap, 291. 
 chapman, 434, 441. 
 char (fish N , 451. 
 character, 291. 
 chare, charwoman, 
 
 353, 406. 
 charlock, 353, 406. 
 chary, 354, 503. 
 chatter, 278. 
 cheap, 68, 94, 176, 
 
 190, 434, 441. 
 cheapen, 276. 
 cheek, 44, 59, 354. 
 cheese, 354, 434, 441. 
 chemist, 287. 
 chert, 451. 
 chervil, 439, 441. 
 chest, 439, 441. 
 Chester, 432. 
 chew, 128, 167, 354. 
 chicken, 222, 354. 
 chide, 62, 166, 354. 
 child, 303, 351, 354^ 
 
 407, 502 ; children, 
 
 252, 492. 
 childhood, 57. 
 chill, 354. 
 chin, 128, 227, 354. 
 
INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 5 2 3 
 
 chincough, 422. 
 chine, 183, 354; chink, 
 
 185, 354- 
 chip, 291. 
 chisel, 290. 
 choke, 504. 
 chop, 291. 
 
 choose, 128, 159, 166, 
 167, 169, 171 it., 
 354; chosen, 152. 
 
 chorister, 256 n. 
 
 chough, 361. 
 
 Christ, 439, 441. 
 
 Christmas, 366. 
 
 chuckle, 278. 
 
 chump, 291. 
 
 church, 355>439> 44 1 5 
 kirk, 414. 
 
 churl, 303, 354, 407. 
 
 churlish, 272. 
 
 chyle, 2^6. 
 
 chyme, 286, 289. 
 
 cicerone, 13. 
 
 cinder, 378, 403. 
 
 circle, 435, 441. 
 
 circumcise, 290. 
 
 clachan, 446, 447, 
 449. 
 
 clamber, 469, 474. 
 clan, 13, 446, 447, 
 449- 
 
 clasp, 279, 352, 382. 
 clatter, 278. 
 claw, 231. 
 clay, 68. 
 
 claymore, 13, 448, 
 
 449- 
 
 clean, 67. 
 
 cleanse, 207, 279. 
 
 cleave (to split), 69, 
 127, 141, 167 ; (to 
 adhere), 166, 504. 
 
 cleft,//., 268 ; s., 467. 
 
 clerk, 407, 439. 441. 
 
 client, 285, 286. 
 
 cliff, 185. 
 
 clift, cleft, 466. 
 
 climb, 165, 404. 
 
 cling, 165. 
 
 clip, T37, 467. 
 
 cloam, 56. 
 
 clock, 451. 
 
 clod, clot, 366. 
 cloth, clothe, 55 ; 
 cloth, 173 ; clothes, 
 
 369. 
 clough, 362. 
 clout, 66, 451. 
 cloven, 504. 
 clover, 374. 
 clown, 476. 
 clumsy, 469. 
 clutter, 450. 
 coal, 132, 505. 
 cob, 451. 
 cobble, 451. 
 coble, 450. 
 cobweb, 373, 422. 
 cock (boat), 451. 
 cockerel, 222. 
 cockswain, 495. 
 codling, 223. 
 cognate, 84 n. 
 cold, 44, 127, 177, 
 
 270, 407. 
 cole (plant), 435, 441. 
 colleen, 445. 
 comb, 127, 375, 401. 
 combe, 451, 452. 
 come, 132, 163; 
 
 come, 37. 
 comma, 291. 
 commyxshouHy 34. 
 compelled, 34. 
 concise, 290. 
 cone, 311. 
 confederate 34. 
 confound, 287, 2S9. 
 confute, 289. 
 construe, 34. 
 contray, 34 ; con/re, 
 
 $6. 
 
 convey, convoy, 32 1 ;/. 
 cook, 64, 435, 441, 
 501. 
 
 cool, 50, 54, 63, 174, 
 
 !77> 26 3> 5° 2 > 506. 
 coomb, 439, 441. 
 coop, 435, 441. 
 coot, 451. 
 cope, v., 485. 
 copes-mate, 485. 
 copper, 31 3, 439)44! • 
 coracle, 450. 
 
 corn, 127, 239. 
 coronach, 448, 449. 
 corrie, 448, 449. 
 cosecant, 289. 
 cosy, 448, 449. 
 couch-grass, 122. 
 cough, 361, 487, 488. 
 could, 65, 71, 93, 36S. 
 
 37 1 * 377- 
 counterscarp, 291. 
 courtship, 430. 
 cove, 226, 374, 504. 
 
 COW, 65, IIO, 120, 
 122, 132, I75, I9O, 
 
 195' 501. 
 cow, v., 459. 
 cower, 459. 
 cowl, 435, 441. 
 cowslip, 422. 
 crackle, 278. 
 cradle, 45 z >45*>5°3; 
 
 cradel, 34. 
 craft, 242 ; -craft 
 
 (suffix), 218; crafty, 
 
 271. 
 
 crag, 446, 447, 449. 
 cram, 182. 
 cranberry, 422, 493. 
 crane, 127. 
 crants, 485. 
 crate, 442. 
 crave, 503. 
 craze, 471, 476. 
 creed, 59, 435, 441. 
 creel, 447> 449- 
 creep, 69, 158, 167. 
 creese, 13. 
 cress, 376. 
 crib, 229. 
 cringe, 165, 365. 
 cripple, 59, 186, 237. 
 crisp, 435, 441. 
 Crist, 26. 
 crock, 452. 
 cromlech, 450. 
 crook, 64. 
 
 crow, v., 55, 127, 
 
 161 ; s., 226. 
 crowd (throng), 167, 
 
 186 ; (fiddle), 450; 
 
 (2 words), 411. 
 cruise, 481. 
 
524 
 
 INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 crumb, 183, 375. 
 crumble, 278, 375. 
 cruse, 459. 
 cub, 451. 
 cubit, 442. 
 
 ^d, 377, 409, 415 ; 
 
 quid, 230. 
 cuff, 20. 
 cuirass, 291. 
 Culdee, 451. 
 culter, coulter, 435, 
 
 441. 
 
 culver, 435, 441. 
 cumin, 439, 441. 
 ^up, 435> 44 1 - 
 curd, 451. 
 curdle, 278. 
 curl, 487, 488. 
 curt, 292. 
 cushat, 494. 
 cuttle-fish, 352, 369. 
 czar, 14. 
 
 dad, 451. 
 
 daft, 269. 
 
 daggle, 469, 470. 
 
 dahlia, 480. 
 
 daintiness, 430. 
 
 dainty, 443, 444. 
 
 dairy, 463. 
 
 daisy, 422. 
 
 dale, 418, 505. 
 
 Dalziel, 317. 
 
 dan drift, 451. 
 
 dangle, 469. 
 
 Danish, 272. 
 
 dapple, 469. 
 
 dare, 136, 379, 380, 
 
 505- 
 dark, 263, 406. 
 darken, 276. 
 darkling, 275. 
 darkmans, 483. 
 darling, 223, 422. 
 darn, 451. 
 dash, 471. 
 daub, 444. 
 
 daughter, 107, 136, 
 
 247. 
 Daventry, 498. 
 dawn, 276, 364. 
 day, 226, 304, 341, 
 
 35 J > 364, 4 01 ; days, 
 
 499- 
 daze, 471, 476. 
 dazzle, 278, 469. 
 deacon, 439, 441. 
 dead, 154, 270. 
 deaf, 82, 86 n., 263. 
 deafen, 276. 
 deal, v. 9 67 ; s., 415. 
 dear, 69, 263. 
 dearth, 241. 
 death, 81, 154, 245. 
 debt, 324. 
 decide, 290. 
 deck, v., 368 ;/. ; s. 
 
 and v., 485, 488 ; 
 
 thatch, 415, 416. 
 ded, 35 36. 
 deed, 68, 87, 175, 
 
 245> 340. 
 deem, 58, 90, 207, 
 210. 
 
 deep, 69, 82, 86 
 96 «., 137, 263, 
 506. 
 
 deepen, 276. 
 
 deer, 69, 176, 226. 
 
 defile, 67, 208. 
 
 deft, 269. 
 
 delf, 13. 
 
 delight, 362. 
 
 dell, 418 ; dale, 416. 
 
 delve, 165. 
 
 den, 228. 
 
 dentist, 254. 
 
 depth, 209, 211, 241. 
 
 dervish, 13. 
 
 d esert ( 2 wo?'ds) ,411. 
 
 develop, 319. 
 
 devil, 439, 441. 
 
 dew, 231. 
 
 dibble, 469, 471. 
 
 didapper, 422. 
 
 die, 464, 467. 
 
 dig, 35 z s 356. 
 dight, 435, 441. 
 dike, ditch, 62, 355. 
 din, 228. 
 
 dingy, 204, 210, 365. 
 dint, dent, 402, 415. 
 dirk, 445. 
 dirt, 466, 473. 
 
 disciple, 435, 441. 
 dish, 99, 357, 439, 
 
 44T. 
 dissect, 289. 
 distaff, 422. 
 ditch, dike, 62. 
 divan, 13. 
 
 dive, 167, 189, 208, 
 211. 
 
 dizzy, 271, 378. 
 
 do, 62, 83, 107, 136, 
 
 174. 
 dodkin, 224. 
 doe, 54. 
 dog, 490. 
 doge, T3. 
 doit, 485. 
 
 dole, 55, 88, 173; 
 
 deal, 415. 
 dollar, 85. 
 
 -dom {suffix), 218, 
 
 496. 
 don, 13. 
 
 Don (river), 404. 
 -don {suffix), 496. 
 done, 63, 92. 
 doom, 50, 63, 136, 
 
 233- * 
 door, 116, 136, 146, 
 
 505- 
 doubt, 324. 
 dough, 56, 107, 136, 
 
 173, 184, 226, 361. 
 doughty, 271. 
 dove, 186, 20S. 
 down (hill), 65, 452. 
 down (of birds), 459. 
 Downham, Downton, 
 
 496. 
 doze, 460, 472. 
 drag, 467, 470. 
 draggle, 278, 469, 
 
 470. 
 drake, 372, 498. 
 draught, draft, 242. 
 draw, 162, 364, 409. 
 drawl, 278. 
 dread, 161. 
 dream, 68, 176, 233, 
 
 34°, 34 x > 5°6. 
 dreary, 69, 186, 379. 
 dregs, 465, 466, 470. 
 
INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 525 
 
 drench, 165, 182, 199, 
 
 210. 
 drew, 63. 
 
 dribble, 278, 373,466, 
 
 469, 471. 
 drift, 185, 241. 
 drill, 415 n.\ thrill, 
 
 416. 
 
 drink, 159, 164, 165, 
 169. 
 
 drip, 167, 189, 203, 
 
 210, 465-7. 
 drive, 60, 159, 166, 
 
 169 ; driven, 501. 
 drizzle, 203, 210, 378. 
 droll, 480. 
 drone, 136. 
 droop, 459. 
 drop, s., 188, 226. 
 drosky, 13. 
 dross, 188, 371. 
 drought, 241. 
 drove, 56, 184. 
 drown, 276, 277. 
 drudge, 451. 
 drugster, 256. 
 drunkard, 183. 
 dry, 401. 
 
 duck, v., 487, 488. 
 duckling, 223. 
 dudgeon, 451. 
 duenna, 13. 
 duet, 13. 
 dukedom, 430. 
 dumb, 263. 
 dun, 404, 452. 
 Dunbar, Dunham, 
 
 496. 
 Dunstan, 495. 
 dup, 276. 
 durst, 380. 
 dusty, 271. 
 Dutch, 85. 
 dwarf, 364. 
 dwell, 201. 
 dwindle, 185, 27S, 
 
 -ea~ (A. S. diphthong^, 
 45 ; (for a, in dia- 
 lects), 45 
 
 each, 376, 422. 
 
 ear, s., 68, 175, 226, 
 
 379; (of corn), 252, 
 
 362. 
 earl, 407. 
 
 earnest, s. (serious- 
 ness), 254, 407 ; 
 (pledge), 367. 
 
 earth, 240, 407. 
 
 earwig, 422. 
 
 east, 68, 94, 175, 242, 
 243, 249, 269. 
 
 Easter, 68, 249. 
 
 eastern, 267. 
 
 Easton, 496. 
 
 eat, 108, 134, 164, 282, 
 504- 
 
 eaves, 252, 380, 504. 
 ebb, 229. 
 
 -ed, -t [suffix], 267. 
 
 edd-y, 214. 
 
 edge, 201, 229, 365. 
 
 eel, 67, 175. 
 
 egg, s. 9 365, 366 ; v., 
 
 365, 47o, 471. 
 eider-duck, 462. 
 eight, 131. 
 eighth, 154. 
 eighty, 366. 
 either, 270, 422. 
 eke, 44, 59, 1 28, 506. 
 -el (suffix), 222. 
 elbow, 371, 422. 
 eld (old age), 209, 
 
 229; eld, 35 n. 
 elder, adj., 209. 
 elder (tree), 370. 
 eleven, 44, 371, 422 ; 
 
 eleventh, 154. 
 elixir, 8. 
 
 ell, i99> 37i. 
 Elmdon, 496. 
 elmen, 264. 
 else, 199, 274. 
 ember-days, 214,423. 
 embers, 375. 
 emmet, ant, 415. 
 empty, 352, 373. 
 -en, -n {verbal suffix), 
 275 ; -en {adj. suf- 
 fix), 222. 
 end, 199, 227, 340. 
 
 England, 376, 402. 
 English, 201, 210, 
 272. 
 
 enough, 63, 214, 361 , 
 364. 
 
 en trance ( 2 zuords ) , 
 
 411. 
 envelop, 319. 
 -eo- (A.S. diphthong , 
 
 45, 503. 
 episode, 13. 
 equip, 480. 
 
 -er {suffix), 256; (adv. 
 
 suffix), 274. 
 er, 36. 
 
 -ern (suffix), 267. 
 em (eagle), 239. 
 errand, 228, 250. 
 es, 36. 
 
 escarpment, 291. 
 
 Essex, 494. 
 
 -est {suffix), 273. 
 
 Eston, 496. 
 
 etch, 85. 
 
 -ep {suffix), 33. 
 
 eve, s., 303, 371; 
 
 even, 67, 251, 371. 
 even, adj., 266, 504. 
 evening, 67, 175. 
 ever, 274, 303. 
 every, 357, 423. 
 evil, 266, 504. 
 excerpt, 291. 
 excision, 290. 
 experience, 138. 
 ewe, 377. 
 
 eye, 44, 58, 226, 401. 
 eyelet-hole, 431. 
 eyren (eggs), 366, 470, 
 486. 
 
 fain, 266, 267, 364. 
 fair, 265, 266, 364. 
 fairylike, 430. 
 fake, 483. 
 falcon, 325 ;/. 
 fall, 44, 139,159, l6o > 
 
 161, 167. 
 fallow, 264. 
 falsehood, 430. 
 fambles, 483. 
 fan, 435, 441. 
 
526 
 
 INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 fandian (A.S.), 31 n. 
 far, 406. 
 
 fare, 138, 162, 168 n., 
 
 i74> 503. 
 P'arndon, 496. 
 farrow, 138, 257 n. 
 farthing, 258, 406, 
 
 423. 
 
 -fast (suffix), 261. 
 
 fasten, 276. 
 
 father, 82, 97, 98, 99, 
 103, 108, 117, 138, 
 147-9, 246, 369. 
 
 fathom, 138, 233. 
 
 fatling, 223. 
 
 fatten, 276. 
 
 fault, 325. 
 
 fawn, v., 276, 277, 
 
 468, 472. 
 fayle, 36. 
 fcal,fcel, v., 468. 
 
 fear, 67. 
 
 feather, 81, 136, 138, 
 236. 
 
 fed, pt. t. and pp., 492. 
 
 fee, 44, 69, 82, 139, 
 176, 227, 362. 
 
 feed, 59, 207, ail. 
 feel, 58, 173. 
 feet, 59, 90, 173. 
 feign, 136. 
 felaivs, 38. 
 feldspar, 85. 
 fell, v., 180, 201, 210, 
 
 s. (skin), 130. 
 fell (pt. t. of falls, 
 
 160; (//.//.), 44- 
 fellow, 477. 
 felt, 268. 
 felun, 38. 
 female, 323 n, 
 fen, 199. 
 fend, 498. 
 fennel, 435, 441. 
 fetch, 318, 319. 
 fetlock, 477. 
 fetter, 279. 
 feud, 206, 210. 
 fever, 435, 441, 504. 
 feverfew, 435, 441. 
 few, 139, 265. 
 -ff {fnal) f 329. 
 
 Ffinch, 318. 
 fibster, 256. 
 fickle, 266. 
 fiddle, 238, 368, 435, 
 
 441. 
 fie, 461. 
 field, 316. 
 
 fiend, 69, 176, 250, 
 
 251. 
 fierce, 316. 
 fifth, fift, 268 ; fifth, 
 
 154- 
 fifty, 60, 374. 
 
 fig, 44 1 - 
 
 fight, 81, 165, 401. 
 filch, 468, 470. 
 file, v., 67, 208. 
 fill, s., 230 ; v., 203, 
 210. 
 
 filly, 203, 210, 465. 
 film, 233. 
 
 filth, 67, 71, 175, 208, 
 
 211, 241. 
 finch, 355. 
 find, 165, 402. 
 finger, 236. 
 fire, 67, 139, 175,340, 
 
 341- 
 firkin, 224. 
 first, 203, 210. 
 firstling, 223. 
 fish, 79, 139, 225, 226, 
 
 357, 381. 
 fist, 67, 71, 212, 255. 
 fitz, 107 n. 
 five, 60, 91, 374-5. 
 flabby, 471. 
 flag (banner), 470 ; 
 
 (stone), 470. 
 flagrant, 140. 
 flake, 472, 476. 
 flannel, 371, 450. 
 flatling, 275. 
 flaunt, 472. 
 flaw, 472. 
 flaxen, 264. 
 flay, 162. 
 flea, 68, 175, 401. 
 fledge, 466, 470. 
 flee, 167 ; fly, 401. 
 fleece, 378. 
 fleet, s., 69, 134. 
 
 flesh, 357. 
 flight, 244. 
 fling, 476. 
 flit, 465-6. 
 flitch, 355. 
 
 float, 134, 167, 188, 
 
 504- 
 floe, 480. 
 
 flokmel (M.E.), 273. 
 flood, 64, 246. 
 floor, 62, 174, 236. 
 florist, 254. 
 flotilla, 13. 
 flotsam, 477. 
 flounce, v., 480. 
 flounder, s., 480. 
 flow, 63, 139, 161. 
 flummery, 450. 
 flush, v., 471-2. 
 fluster, 463. 
 flutter, 278. 
 fly, s., 226 ; v., 167. 
 foal, 139, 465, 504. 
 foam, 56, 233. 
 foamy, 271. 
 fodder, 248. 
 foe, 56, 506. 
 fog, 471, 480. 
 foison, 287, 289. 
 foist, 485. 
 
 fold, v., 161 ; sheep- 
 fold, 497. 
 
 -fold (suffix),^ 139, 
 261. 
 
 folk, 257. 
 
 fond, 370, 474, 497. 
 font, fount, 288, 405, 
 
 417, 435, 441- 
 
 food, 64, 177, 246. 
 
 fool, 20 ; -ish, 430. 
 
 foot, 64, 74, 79, 80, 
 83, 84, 86, 86 n., 
 96, 109, 134, 138, 
 194-5 ; feet, 96. 
 
 footpad, 483, 488. 
 
 fop, 485, 487-8. 
 
 fopling, 223. 
 
 for, 26, 138. 
 
 for- (prefix^, 215. 
 
 force (waterfall), 472. 
 
 fore-, 215. 
 
 forecastle, 498. 
 
INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS, 527 
 
 forefront, 430. 
 forehead, 494, 496. 
 foremost, 197, 265. 
 forget, 164. 
 fork, 436, 441. 
 forlorn, 152, 155, 188. 
 former, 265. 
 fors, 26. 
 
 forsake, 162; forsook, 
 
 64. 
 
 forth-, 215. 
 fortnight, 371, 423, 
 
 498. 
 forward, 262. 
 foster, 248. 
 fother, 83. 
 
 foul, 65, 92, 139, 175, 
 
 266, 352. 
 found, v., 288-9 '■> PP"> 
 
 405- 
 foundling, 223. 
 fount, 436. See font, 
 four, 123, 377. 
 fourth, 154, 268. 
 fowl, 237, 352, 364, 
 
 401. 
 fox, 358. 
 fragment, 140. 
 fraternal, 97. 
 fraught, 467, 472. 
 free, 69, 176, 263. 
 freeze, 69, 94, 139, 
 
 167, 37 8 - 
 French, 192, 210, 272. 
 fresh, 201, 210, 272, 
 
 357, 376. 
 freshen, 276. 
 fret, 164. 
 Friday, 426, 498. 
 friend, 139, 250, 251. 
 friendship, 220. 
 fright, 376. 
 frighten, 276. 
 frisk, 480. 
 frith, 376. 
 
 fro, froward, 456 ; 
 
 from, 401, 416. 
 frolic, 484, 485, 488. 
 from, fro, 416; from, 
 
 401. 
 
 frore, from, 155, 379. 
 frost, 1 88, 243. 
 
 froward, 215, 262. 
 frown, 480. 
 fruit, 140. 
 fry i^spawn), 462. 
 fuchsia, 85. 
 fugleman, 85. 
 -ful {suffix), 261. 
 fulfille, 25-6; fulfil, 
 
 203. 
 full, 139, 263. 
 fuller, 436, 441. 
 fumble, 485. 
 fun, 445, 451. 
 furlong, 423. 
 furlough, 477, 480. 
 furrow, 257 n. 
 furze, 378. 
 fuse, v., 287, 289. 
 fusil, 289. 
 futile, 287, 289. 
 futtocks, 423, 495. 
 
 gabble, 469. 
 gaby, 471. 
 gad, s., 472. 
 gag, 451. 
 gaggle, 132, 278. 
 gain, 468, 472. 
 gain-say, 215. 
 gait, 476. 
 
 gall, 44, 123, 131, 226. 
 galloglas, 444, 445. 
 galloway, 446, 449. 
 gallows, 364. 
 galore, 445. 
 gamble, 375. 
 gamboge, 14. 
 game, 239, 371, 503; 
 
 gammon, 415. 
 gamester, 256. 
 gander, 370. 
 gannet, 242. 
 gantlet, 477, 480. 
 gape, 503. 
 garlic, 423. 
 garth, 299, 353, 369. 
 gasp, 467, 469, 473. 
 gather, 369. 
 gauntlet, 477, 480. 
 gawky, 463. 
 gaze, 467. 
 gear, 231, 363. 
 
 geek, 485. 
 ged, 465. 
 geese, 90. 
 gem, 438. 
 genially, 430. 
 genius, 126. 
 gentil, 34. 
 get, 164, 363. 
 geysir, 13,288-9,464, 
 
 466, 472, 475, 480. 
 ghastly, 262,322,363. 
 gherkin, 322. 
 ghost, 55, 173, 322, 
 
 363- 
 
 ghoul, 13, 322 n. 
 
 gibber, 278. 
 
 gibe, 458, 471. 
 
 giddy, 363, 501. 
 
 gift, 244, 363. 
 
 giggle, 278. 
 
 gild, 190, 193, 202, 
 
 210, 363, 407- 
 gilder, 484, 485. 
 gill (2 words), 41 r. 
 gillie, 13, 448-9. 
 gird, 363. 
 
 girdle, 237, 253, 279. 
 give, 159, 164, 168, 
 
 363, 501. 
 girl, 487, 489. 
 glad, 71, 263. 
 gladden, 276. 
 gladen, gladden, s., 
 
 2 4°, 436, 44 1 - 
 gladness, 254. 
 glasen, 264. 
 gleam, 68, 184, 234. 
 glede (kite), 504. 
 glee, 69, 831,377. 
 gleed, glede, 59, 90, 
 
 208, 211, 245. 
 glen. 446, 449.' 
 glib, s. f 444, 445. 
 glib, adj., 485. 
 glib, v., 485. 
 glide, 62, 166. 
 glimmer, 234, 278, 
 
 469. 
 
 glimpse, 373, 469. 
 glint, 40a. 
 glisten, 276, 381. 
 glitter, 278, 469. 
 
528 INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 gloom, 50, 63, 234. 
 glory, 285, 286. 
 Gloucester, 498. 
 glove, 63, 374. 
 glow, 161. 
 glum, 404. 
 gnarled, 358. 
 gnash, 358, 471. 
 gnat, 358. 
 
 gnaw, 162, 358, 364. 
 gneiss, 85. 
 
 go, 54, no, 161, 173. 
 goad, 57. 
 goat, 57, no. 
 Godhead, 57. 
 godwit, 423. 
 gold, 192, 243. 
 golden, 264. 
 gon t 26. 
 
 good, 64, no, 263. 
 
 goodbye, 423. 
 
 goose, 50, 63, 82, 92, 
 no, 123, 131, 178, 
 I9°> J 94> 320, 371, 
 402. 
 
 gorcrow, 423. 
 
 gore, 55, =05. 
 
 gorse, 366. 
 
 goshawk, 423. 
 
 gosling, 63, 223, 
 
 49 2 -3. 
 gospel, 370, 423. 
 gossamer, 424. 
 gossip, 370, 375, 424. 
 gover fiance, 25, 26. 
 gowan, 448-9. 
 gown, 451. 
 grace, 26. 
 grandee, 13. 
 grasp, 279, 382, 508. 
 grass, 226, 376. 
 grate, v., 480. 
 grave, v., 162, 503. 
 gray, grey, 67, 364, 
 
 401. 
 
 graze, 353, 503 ; 
 
 grasier, 353. 
 great, 263. 
 greedy, 68. 
 green, 58, 174, 208, 
 
 211, 267, 340, 506. 
 greensward, 369. 
 
 greet, 59, 174. 
 greyhound, 478. 
 grim, 263. 
 grimace, 480. 
 grimalkin, 223. 
 grime, 457, 458. 
 grin, 402. 
 grind, 165, 402. 
 grindstone, 495. 
 grip, 62, 185; gripe, 
 
 62, 166. 
 griskin, 223. 
 grist, 255. 
 groan, 56. 
 
 groat, 485, 487, 48S. 
 groin, 464. 
 groom, 376. 
 groove, 180. 
 grope, 57, 184. 
 ground, 405. 
 groundsel, 370, 424. 
 groundsill, 424. 
 grovel, 469. 
 grow, 63, 159, 161. 
 growth, 240, 244. 
 grudge, 480. 
 gruesome, 459. 
 grunsel, 424. 
 guard, 417. 
 guelder-rose, 13. 
 guest, 81, 124, 131, 
 
 x 99> 244, 363- 
 guggle, 278. 
 guild, 363, 408. 
 guilder, 484. 
 guile, guise, 417. 
 guilt, 363. 
 guinea, 14. 
 gums, 63. 
 
 gush, 288-9,379,466, 
 
 471-2. 
 gust, 466-7. 
 gut, 187, 288-9. 
 gutter, 313. 
 gyves, 451. 
 
 h {initial), sound of, 
 
 359- 
 habbeP, 33. 
 had, hath, hast, 374. 
 haddock, 221. 
 Hades, 13. 
 
 haft, 242. 
 hail, s., 237, 364. 
 hail !, whole, 416. 
 hake, 476. 
 
 hale, 463 ; haul, 480. 
 
 half, 44, 225-6, 407. 
 
 halfpenny, 374. 
 
 halibut, 424, 495. 
 
 halidom, 38. 
 
 hallow, 364. 
 
 halt, 44. 
 
 halter, 248. 
 
 halyard, 424, 494. 
 
 -ham {suffix), 496. 
 
 hammer, 236. 
 
 hammock, 221. 
 
 Hampstead, 496. 
 
 Hampton, 496. 
 
 hand, 227. 
 
 handcuff, 424. 
 
 handicap, 424. 
 
 handicraft, 424. 
 
 handiwork, 424. 
 
 handle, 237. 
 
 handsel, hansel, 478. 
 
 handsome, handker- 
 chief, 370. 
 
 handywork, 364, 424. 
 
 hang, 161. 
 
 Hants, 375. 
 
 hap, 38. 
 
 happen, 468. 
 
 harbour, 406, 478. 
 
 hard, 130, 136, 154, 
 263, 340. 
 
 harden, 276. 
 
 hards,//., 406. 
 
 hare, 155, 492, 503. 
 
 harebell, 424. 
 
 hark, 277. 
 
 harrier, 492. 
 
 harry, v., 406. 
 
 hart, 130, 242, 406. 
 
 harvest, 130,254,292, 
 
 352, 374- 
 hasp, 382. 
 haste, 476. 
 hasten, 468. 
 hate, 252, 503. 
 hatred, 219, 220, 496. 
 haulm, halm, 130, 
 
 233-4- 
 
INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 529 
 
 haven, 240, 374. 
 haw, 201, 365 n. y 
 409. 
 
 hawk, 258, 374 n. \ v., 
 45o. 
 
 hawker, 256, 487-9. 
 hay ward, 365 11. 
 hazel, 130, 237, 378, 
 
 503. 
 he, 58. 
 
 head, 130, 243, 374. 
 headlong, 275. 
 heal, 67, 94-5, 175, 
 
 194, 205, 210. 
 health, 150, 241. 
 heap, 68, 82, 86, 94, 
 
 133, 138, 176. 
 hear, 58, 379; heard, 
 
 44, 58, 492. 
 hearken, 277. 
 heart, 81, no, 131, 
 
 226, 406, 417. 
 hearten, 276. 
 hearth, 406. 
 heat, 68, 206, 210, 
 
 229. 
 
 heath, 67, 130, 136. 
 heathen, 67, 267. 
 heathenish, 272. 
 heather, 492. 
 heave, 130, 162, 197, 
 
 504- 
 heavy, 271. 
 heed, 59, 174. 
 hedge, 201, 365. 
 heel, 58, 238. 
 heft, 242. 
 
 heifer, 424, 494, 496. 
 height, 241, 368. 
 heighten, 276. 
 heirloom, 431. 
 held, 158, 160. 
 hell, 199, 229. 
 helm, 234. 
 help, 165, 340. 
 helve, 248. 
 hemlock, 424. 
 hemp, 99/2., 109, 118, 
 
 37o, 439. 44 1 - 
 hempen, 264. 
 hen, 130, 199, 229. 
 hence, 378. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 henchman, 364, 379, 
 425- 
 
 herd (flock), 226; 
 
 (shepherd), 227. 
 here, 58. 
 heriot, 425. 
 hern, heron, 497. 
 herring, 258, 259. 
 hest, 206, 367 ; hestes, 
 
 25-6. 
 
 hew, 133, 161 ; hewn, 
 *59- 
 
 heyday, 401, 425 ; 
 
 hoyday, 485. 
 Heydon, 496. 
 hiccough, 362, 425. 
 
 hid, pt. t. and pp., 
 492. 
 
 hidalgo, 13. 
 hide, s.j 67, 130, 136, 
 175, 208, 212 ; v., 
 
 67. 
 
 hie, 401. 
 
 hieroglyphic, 292 n. 
 high, 58,89, 174, 263, 
 
 361, 401. 
 hill, 228, 340. 
 hillock, 221. 
 him, 499. 
 
 hind (peasant), 370, 
 403; (deer), 402; 
 adj. j 403. 
 
 hinder, z/., 403. 
 
 hindmost, 265. 
 
 hinge, 402, 465, 476. 
 
 hint, 402. 
 
 hip, 227. 
 
 hire, 67. 
 
 hireling, 223. 
 
 his, 26. 
 
 hithe, 67. 
 
 hither, 369. 
 
 hither ward, 273. 
 
 hoar, 55, 263. 
 
 hoarhound, 425. 
 
 hoarse, 55, 173, 376. 
 
 hobble, 278. 
 
 hobbyhorse, 431. 
 
 hobnob, 425. 
 
 hock, 85. 
 
 hogshead, 485. 
 
 hoise, hoist, 482, 485. 
 
 M m 
 
 hold, v., 158-9, 161 ; 
 holden,i58~9; held, 
 158; holdefi, 33. 
 
 hold (of ship), 482, 
 485. 
 
 hole, 181, 340, 505. 
 holiday, holibut, 495. 
 holland, 13, 485. 
 hollow, 256. 
 holly, holm-oak, 371, 
 
 497- 
 hollyhock, 495. 
 holm, 234. 
 holm-oak, 497. 
 holster, 249. 
 holt, 226. 
 
 hol y> 55> 4 01 - 
 home, 56, 89, 130, 
 
 173, 235. 
 homicide, 290. 
 Zionde, 38. 
 honey, 257. 
 hood, 83, 174. 
 -hood, -head {suffix^ , 
 
 57, 154, 218-9. 
 hoof, 63, 91, 174, 
 
 177. 
 hook, 64. 
 hoot, 459. 
 hope, 82. 
 horn, 130, 239. 
 hornet, 242. 
 horse, 50 //. 
 hose, 504. 
 
 hot, 57, 88, 263, 378. 
 hough, 361. 
 hound, 226, 405. 
 houri, 13. 
 
 house, 65, 174-5, 195, 
 341, housctij 195 
 
 housel, 252. 
 
 hovel, 222, 374. 
 
 hover, 443. 
 
 how, 65. 
 
 how (hill), 472. 
 
 hoy, 4S4-5. 
 
 huckaback, 489. 
 
 huckster, 256, 487-8. 
 
 hue, 60, 228, 377, 
 409 ; hues, 499. 
 
 hue and cry, 480. 
 
 hug, 470-1. 
 
530 INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 hull, 482,485; (husk), 
 255- 
 
 humble-bee, 375. 
 humbug, 425. 
 hummock, 221. 
 hund-red, 122, 131, 
 220. 
 
 hunger, 198, 237. 
 hurdle, 237. 
 hurtle, 278. 
 husband, 459, 478, 
 
 493. 
 husk, 255. 
 
 hussif, hussy, 425, 
 
 478, 493, 495. 
 hustings, 478, 493. 
 huzzah, 85. 
 
 ty> 33. 
 hymn, 442. 
 
 I, 26, 128, 357. 
 ice, 60, 300, 378. 
 ichor, 13. 
 
 icicle, 237, 364, 425. 
 idle, 62, 8t, 266. 
 if, 364. 
 ill, 472. 
 
 im-bed, im-park, 215. 
 imp, 439, 441. 
 in, 71. 
 
 in- {prefix), 215. 
 inch, 205, 417, 436, 
 
 441- 
 inch (island), 446, 
 
 447, 449- 
 incise, 290. 
 incognito, 13. 
 Ind (India), 403. 
 indexes versus indices, 
 
 19. 
 
 -ing {suffix), 222,259, 
 260 ; (pres. pt.), 
 250 ; -ing (A.S. 
 suffix), 258. 
 
 ingle, 448-9. 
 
 ingot, 188, 288-9. 
 
 inmate, 357. 
 
 inmost, 265. 
 
 insect, 289. 
 
 intaglio, 13. 
 
 interloper, 431. 
 
 intersect, 289. 
 
 ioye, 36. 
 
 iron, 60, 174, 238, 
 379- 
 
 ironmonger, 425. 
 iron-mould, 370. 
 irrevocable, 280. 
 is, 26, 499. 
 -ise, -ize {suffix), 327. 
 -ish {stiffix), 271-2. 
 island, 30 n., 380, 425. 
 -ist-er {suffix), 256 n. 
 it, 26, 359, 362^467, 
 
 499- 
 itch, 355, 364. 
 ivy, 257. 
 
 jabber, 278, 469, 
 471. 
 
 jag, 45 1- 
 jangle, 278. 
 jaunt, 467, 471. 
 jeer, 485. 
 jerkin, 224, 485. 
 jetsam, 478. 
 jib, v., 480. 
 jibe, 471. 
 jingle, 278, 356. 
 joggle, 278. 
 jolly, 480. 
 
 jolly-boat, 478, 480. 
 jolt, 356. 
 jowl, jole, 356. 
 jumble, 469, 471. 
 jump, 471. 
 junta, 13. 
 justle, jostle, 278. 
 juxtaposition, 431. 
 
 -k {verbal suffix?) 277. 
 kail, kails, 487, 488. 
 kangaroo, 14. 
 Katharine, 21. 
 keel, 69, 176 ; v., 208, 
 
 an. 
 keelson, 478. 
 keen, 58, 174, 263, 
 
 3°3- 
 
 keep, 190, 211, 436, 
 
 441. 
 keg, 465. 
 
 ken, 126, 200, 210, 
 
 465- 
 kept, 268. 
 kerbstone, 431. 
 kerne, 444, 445. 
 kernel, 203, 210, 222. 
 kettle, 200, 436. 
 kex, 450. 
 key, 364, 401. 
 khan, 14. 
 kibe, 45°- 
 kick, 450. 
 kidney, 478. 
 kilderkin, 224. 
 kiln, 436, 441, 443. 
 kin, 110, 120, 122, 
 
 126, 203, 228, 303, 
 
 35 2 - 
 
 -kin {suffix), 223. 
 kinchin, 483. 
 kind, 403. 
 kindle, 403. 
 kindred, 219, 220, 
 
 370, 403, 496. 
 kine, 66, 93, 195. 
 king, no, 126, 259. 
 kingdom, 496. 
 kink, 480. 
 kirk, 469. 
 kiss, no, 203. 
 kitchen, 203, 240, 
 
 436, 441. 
 kith, 208, 211, 241. 
 kitten, 222. 
 kn- {initial), 358. 
 knag, 451. 
 knave, 373, 503. 
 knead, 127, 164, 503. 
 knee, 69, 121, 127, 
 
 231, 377- 
 kneel, 278, 457, 469. 
 knife, 60, 127. 
 knight, 241. 
 knit, 203, 210. 
 knob, 373. 
 knop, 358, 373. 
 knot, 127, 417. 
 knout, \\n., 127,480. 
 know, 55, 121, 126, 
 
 161. 
 
 knowledge, 219, 356, 
 494, 496. 
 
INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 531 
 
 knurr, 487-9. 
 
 ky (cows), 66, 195. 
 
 kythe, 198. 
 
 lack, s. and v., 487, 
 
 488. 
 lad, 451. 
 ladder, 248, 360. 
 lade, 162, 360, 503 ; 
 
 ladle, 237,360, 503. 
 lady, 186, 360, 374, 
 
 425- 
 laid, 240, 267. 
 lair, 182, 237, 364. 
 lake, 436, 441. 
 lama, 13. 
 lamb, 252. 
 lambkin, 223. 
 lame, 503. 
 
 Lammas, 352, 360, 
 374, 425, 493. 
 
 lance-knight, 484. 
 
 land, 226, 401. 
 
 landau, 85. 
 
 land-scape, 220. 
 
 lane, 503. 
 
 lank, 360. 
 
 lansquenet, 484. 
 
 lap, v., 360 416. 
 
 lapwing, 360, 425. 
 
 lark, 377, 497 ; 
 (sport), 219. 
 
 lash, v., 482, 487-8. 
 
 lass, 451 ; lassie, 257. 
 
 lasso, 13. 
 
 last, s. (burden), 254, 
 360; adj., 366. 
 
 latch, 355. 
 
 late, 503. 
 
 lath, 366. 
 
 lather, 247. 
 
 laugh, 162, 360-1, 
 401. 
 
 laughter, 248. 
 
 lava, 13. 
 
 laverock, 221. 
 
 law, 182, 341, 409. 
 
 lay, v., 181, 200, 210, 
 365. 
 
 -le, -1 (verbal suffix), 
 
 278. 
 lea, 362, 401. 
 
 lead, v. y 68, 155, 206, 
 210, 368; (2 words) j 
 411. 
 
 leaden, 264. 
 
 leaf, 68, 176. 
 
 leaguer, 485 ; leagure, 
 484. 
 
 leak, 473, 476, 505. 
 lean, adj., 67, 267, 
 
 360; v., 131, 360, 
 
 5°3- 
 
 leap, 68, 82, 161, 176, 
 360. 
 
 learn, 276, 277, 379. 
 learning, s., 259. 
 lease (2 words), 411. 
 leasing, 187. 
 leather, 237, 248. 
 leathern, 264. 
 leave, 67, 184, 206. 
 led, pt. t. and pp., 
 
 492. 
 ledge, 466, 470. 
 lee, 231, 457, 473. 
 leech, 68, 228, 355; 
 
 (nautical term), 
 
 457- 
 leek, 59. 
 leer, 69. 
 left, adj., 269. 
 leg, 470. 
 Leicester, 498. 
 leman, 374, 426, 493. 
 lemming, 480. 
 lend, 184, 206, 210, 
 
 37o. 
 
 length, 201, 210, 241. 
 lengthen, 276. 
 lent, s., 365. 
 Leominster, 498. 
 -less (suffix) t 187, 
 
 261. 
 lessen, 276. 
 lessons, 34. 
 let (hinder), 200, 210; 
 
 (permit), 160-1. 
 lettuce, 441. 
 level, 250. 
 lew (shelter), 457. 
 lewd, 497. 
 lice, 67, 195, 378. 
 lich-gate, 355, 426. 
 
 lid, 185, 360. 
 
 lie, v., 132, 164, 365 ; 
 
 (to tell lies), 44, 
 
 167, 401. 
 lief, 69, 94, 96, 141, 
 
 263. 
 life, 60. 
 lifeguard, 431. 
 lift, 203, 210, 465, 
 
 476. 
 
 light, s., 44, 82, 123, 
 133, 241, 303, 362 ; 
 adj., 44, 269. 
 
 lighter, 482. 
 
 like, 61. 
 
 -like, -ly (suffix), 261. 
 liken, 276, 458, 468. 
 likewise, 274. 
 lily, 439, 441. 
 limb, 375. 
 limbeck, 403. 
 lime, 61, 234 ; (tree), 
 
 370-1, 403. 
 limp, v., 404. 
 linchpin, 379. 
 line, 60 n. 
 
 linen, 264, 436, 441. 
 linseed, 436, 441. 
 ling, 402. 
 
 -ling, -long, 223, 275% 
 
 linger, 402. 
 
 link, 360, 402 ; 
 
 (torch), 485. 
 linstock, 485. 
 lion, 441. 
 lipogram, 156. 
 lisp, 279, 360 ;/., 377, 
 
 382. 
 
 lissom, 262, 368. 
 
 list (please), 204, 210; 
 
 (listen), 360. 
 listen, 255, 276, 283, 
 
 284, 286, 360, 381. 
 lithe, 60, 371. 
 little, 266. 
 live, adj., 430. 
 livelihood, 219, 426. 
 liver, 236, 501. 
 lo, 54- 
 
 loaf, 56, 226, 360. 
 loam, 56, 234. 
 loan, 184, 239. 
 
 M m 2 
 
532 INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 loath, 55, 173, 263, 
 368 ; loathe, 55, 
 368. 
 
 lobster, 357, 373,4! 7, 
 
 436, 441. 
 loch, 13, 446, 449. 
 lock, 167, 188. 
 -lock, -ledge, 218. 
 locket, 480. 
 locust, 417. 
 lode, 57, 184, 368. 
 lodestone, 426. 
 loft, 245, 476. 
 log, 470. 
 logic, 257. 
 loiter, 485. 
 loll, 487. 
 lone, 215, 498. 
 lonely, 56. 
 long, 402. 
 longage, 33. 
 look, 50, 64. 
 loon, 458, 487-8. 
 loop, 451. 
 
 lose, 187, 261, 263, 
 
 4 6 3- 
 loot, 139. 
 lop, 485. 
 
 lord, 303, 360, 374, 
 • 426. 
 
 lordling, 223. 
 
 lore, 55, 155, 173, 
 
 184, 379- 
 lorn, 379. 
 
 lose, 167, 188, 379. 
 lost, 268. 
 lot, 188, 360. 
 loud, 66, 131, 150, 
 
 154, 270, 284, 286, 
 
 360. 
 lough, 445. 
 louse, 65, 175, 195. 
 lout, 186. 
 love, 71. 
 
 low, v., 63, 161 ; adj., 
 
 56, 456, 472. 
 low (mound), 231 ; 
 
 (flame), 472. 
 lower (2 words) } 411. 
 lubber, 451. 
 Lucentio, 21. 
 luck, 487, 488, 489. 
 
 luke-warm, 360 n. 
 lumber, v., 285, 286, 
 
 469, 474. 
 lurk, 277, 468, 473. 
 lust, 245. 
 lustig (Du.), 484. 
 -ly {suffix), 273; {adv. 
 
 suffix), 49, 61. 
 lyking y 35 n. 
 
 macadamised, 431. 
 macaroni, 13. 
 macintosh, 448-9. 
 madden, 276. 
 madness, 254. 
 maid, maiden, 246; 
 
 maiden, 222, 364. 
 maidenhead, 57. 
 main, s., 132, 230, 
 
 364. 
 make, 503. 
 Malkin, 223. 
 mallow, 232, 436, 
 
 441. 
 malt, 182, 407. 
 maltster, 256. 
 malt-'us, 495. 
 man, 71, 340. 
 manakin, 485. 
 mane, 490, 503. 
 maner, 33, 36. 
 mangle, s., 238. 
 manhood, 57, 218. 
 manner, 313. 
 mannes, 25, 26. 
 mannikin, 224. 
 many, 271. 
 maple-tree, 503. 
 mar, 406. 
 mar (more), 36. 
 marble, 441. 
 march, s. } 355. 
 mare, 504. 
 marigold, 431. 
 marline, 482. 
 marrow, 257 
 marsh, 272, 357, 406. 
 marten, 372. 
 martyr, 439, 441. 
 mass, 436, 441. 
 matador, 13. 
 match, 355. 
 
 mate, 357. 
 maternal, 97. 
 matins, 313. 
 matter, 313. 
 Matthew, 319 n. 
 mattock, 221. 
 maulstick, 85. 
 maund, 405. 
 mavourneen, 446. 
 maw, 364, 409. 
 maze, 472. 
 mazer, 487, 489. 
 me, 26, 58. 
 mead, meadow, 231, 
 5°3- 
 
 meal (repast), 67,175, 
 273; (of corn), 230, 
 5°3- 
 
 -meal {suffix), 273. 
 mean, adj. y 67, 263; 
 
 v., 67. 
 meant, 268. 
 measles, 489. 
 meat, 200, 227, 340, 
 
 5°4- 
 meed, 59. 
 meek, 465. 
 meerschaum, 13, 85. 
 meet, v., 59, 207, 211. 
 meet, adj., 505. 
 mellow, 264. 
 melt, 165. 
 mellyng, 33. 
 men, 190, 192. 
 mense, 271. 
 Menzies, 317. 
 mere, 200, 504. 
 mermaid, 426, 493. 
 mesmerise, 85. 
 metal, mettle, 313. 
 mete, 164, 504. 
 metheglin, 450. 
 me-thinks, 402. 
 metre, 441. 
 mew,//./, (mowed), 
 
 48 71. 
 
 mewl, 278. 
 mezzotinto, 13. 
 mice, 67, 93, 96, 175, 
 
 .195, 378. 
 mickle, 266. 
 mid, 263. 
 
INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 533 
 
 midge, 365. 
 midriff, 426. 
 midst, 367. 
 midwife, 215, 426. 
 might, 244, 362. 
 mighty, 270, 271. 
 milch, 470. 
 mild, 407. 
 mildew, 426. 
 mile, 60, 62,433,436. 
 milk, 129, 196, 416 ; 
 
 milt, 357, 416,472. 
 milksop, 426. 
 mill, 203, 371, 436, 
 
 441. 
 million, 19. 
 milt, 357, 4i6, 472. 
 mince, 378. 
 Minchin, 198. 
 mind, 245, 402. 
 mine, 61. 
 mingle, 402. 
 minikin, 222, 485. 
 minster, 203, 210,439, 
 
 441. 
 
 mint (herb), 402, 439, 
 441 ; (for money), 
 203, 210. 
 
 minx, 485, 488. 
 
 mire, 461. 
 
 mirth, 241. 
 
 misdeed, 216. 
 
 misselthrush,38i, 426. 
 
 mist, 255. 
 
 mistletoe, 366, 371, 
 
 381, 426. 
 mix, 358. 
 mizzle, v., 382. 
 mob, 7. 
 
 moccassins, 14. 
 
 moisten, 276. 
 
 mole (spot), 55 ; (an- 
 imal), 426, 497. 
 
 Monday, 63, 372, 426, 
 496, 498. 
 
 money, 203. # 
 
 monger, 404 ; mon- 
 grel, 222, 404. 
 
 monk, 198, 404, 439, 
 441. 
 
 month, 63, 240. 
 
 mood, 50, 64, 243. 
 
 moon, 50,63, 95,177. 
 moor, v., 482 ; s., 62. 
 moose, 14. 
 moot, 207. 
 mop, 485. 
 mope, 485. 
 more, 55, 173. 
 morn, 239 n. 
 morrow, 364. 
 mortal, 136. 
 mortar, 436, 441. 
 mosquito, 13. 
 moste, 25, 26, 27. 
 mote, 505. 
 
 mother, 64, 97, 98, 
 104, 108, 147-9, 
 J 74> 246, 369. 
 
 mound, 405. 
 
 mount, 404-5, 436, 
 441. 
 
 mourn, 165, 277. 
 mouse, 65, 96, 175, 
 195. 
 
 mouth, 65, 92, 371. 
 mow, s. y 364; v., 55, 
 
 161. 
 much, 129. 
 mud, 487, 488, 489. 
 muddle, 487, 488. 
 mug, 451. 
 
 mu ggy> 47°- 
 
 mugwort, 365, 426. 
 mulberry, 436, 441. 
 mule, 64, 69. 
 mullein, 364. 
 murder, 247,248,352, 
 
 368. 
 murky, 35 n. 
 murther (murder), 
 
 136, 247, 352, 368. 
 muscle, mussel, 436, 
 
 441. 
 
 must, s.j 436, 441 ; v., 
 
 63- 
 
 mutter, 278. 
 myriad, 13. 
 myth, 13. 
 
 n- (prefix), 216; -n 
 
 (suffix) , 276. 
 nab, 471. 
 
 naeioun, 25, 26, 33. 
 nag, 487. 
 
 nail, 134, 146, 237, 
 364- 
 
 naked, 133, 154, 270, 
 
 4!7> 5°3- 
 nail (awl), 372. 
 name, 235,340-1,417, 
 
 503- 
 
 nap (on cloth), 358 ; 
 
 v., 360. 
 napkin, 223. 
 narrow, 44, 264. 
 narwhal, 478. 
 nase (drunk), 483. 
 nass (ass), 372. 
 nasty, 472. 
 
 naught, 377 ; not,426 ; 
 
 naughty, 55. 
 naunt, 216, 372. 
 nave (of awheel), 141, 
 
 5°3- 
 
 navel, 222, 23S, 374. 
 
 nay, 463. 
 
 near, 68. 
 
 neat, s., 68, 187. 
 
 neatherd, 494. 
 
 neck, 229, 360. 
 
 need, 59, 69, 212,245. 
 
 needle, 68, 175, 249. 
 
 needs, 274. 
 
 neeld, 249. 
 
 neeze (to sneeze), 379, 
 
 381, 386. 
 negro, 13. 
 neif, 361, 473, 476. 
 neigh, 67, 360, 364, 
 
 401. 
 
 neighbour, 65 , 7 1 , 40 1 , 
 
 426, 495. 
 nepenthe, 13. 
 nesh, 357, 361. 
 -ness (suffix), 253. 
 nestling, 223. 
 net, 71, 81, 200, 228. 
 nettle, 81, 201, 238, 
 
 361. 
 never, 274. 
 new, 263, 377, 409. 
 newfangled, 370. 
 newt, 216, 372, 374. 
 nibble, 278, 358. 
 
534 
 
 INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 nick, 487. 
 
 nickname, 216, 426. 
 niggard, 361, 473. 
 niggot, 216. 
 nigh, 58, 89, 265, 361, 
 
 401. 
 night, 244, 362. 
 nightingale, 372, 426. 
 nightmare, 427, 503. 
 nill (ne will), 216. 
 nim, 402. 
 nimble, 181, 375. 
 nine, 364, 401. 
 ninth, 154. 
 nip, nibble, 358. 
 nipple, 222. 
 nit, 361. 
 no, 26, 54. 
 nod, 361. 
 node, 417. 
 noggin, 451. 
 nonce, 216. 
 none, 56. 
 nook, 451. 
 
 noon, 50, 63, 69, 436, 
 
 437> 441- 
 nor, 498. 
 Norfolk, 369. 
 Norman, 369, 480. 
 north, 268. 
 northern, 267. 
 Norton, 496. 
 Norway, 369. 
 Norwich, 369. 
 nose, 379, 504. 
 nostril, 368, 376, 427, 
 
 493- 
 
 not, 55, 362, 426. 
 notch, 487. 
 Nottingham, 258. 
 noun, 417. 
 now, 65, 92, 175. 
 nowise, 274. 
 nozzle, 222, 378. 
 nude, 417. 
 nugget, 216. 
 numb, 181, 375. 
 nun, 404, 437, 441. 
 nuncheon, 427. 
 nuncle, 216, 372. 
 nursling, 223. 
 n ut, 3°3> 361. 
 
 oaf, 456. 
 
 oak, 57, 172 ; oaken, 
 
 264. 
 oakum, 427. 
 oar, 55. 
 
 oast-house, 427. 
 
 oaten, 264. 
 
 oath, 55, 88, 172-3, 
 
 226. 
 oats, 57. 
 odd, 472. 
 
 of, off, 139, 373, 415, 
 
 498, 499. 
 offal, 427. 
 
 offer, 348, 373, 384, 
 
 437, 441- 
 
 oft, 71, 81, 340. 
 
 old, 44,154,407, 502. 
 
 -om {suffix), 275. 
 
 on, 71, 340, 401 \ {pre- 
 fix) 9 216. 
 
 once, 274, 378. 
 
 one, 56, 173. 
 
 only, 56. 
 
 ooze, 377-8. 
 
 open, 276, 504, 506. 
 
 opera, 13. 
 
 opossum, 14. 
 
 or, 427, 498. 
 
 orange, 216. 
 
 orchard, 364, 365, 
 427. 
 
 ordeal, 216, 427. 
 organ, 441, 442. 
 orlop, 482. 
 orrery, 445. 
 orts, 217, 487-9. 
 ostrich, 431. 
 other, 63, 92, 108, 
 
 J 49> !54> J 78> 270, 
 
 37i, 402. 
 otter, 135, 236. 
 ouch, 216. 
 ought, 54. 
 ounce, 417. 
 our, 26, 65. 
 ousel, 252, 375. 
 out, 66, 134; {prefix), 
 
 217 ; out and out, 
 
 489. 
 outcry, 430. 
 outer, utter, 415. 
 
 outlaw, 460. 
 outmost, 265. 
 oven, 239. 
 
 over, 137, 139, 504; 
 
 {prefix), 217. 
 overpower, 430. 
 owe, 277, 364. 
 owl, 65. 
 
 own, 56, 276, 277, 
 
 364- 
 ox, 358. 
 oxlip, 427. 
 oyster, 442. 
 
 pad, 483, 488. 
 padder, 483. 
 paddle, 222, 380. 
 paddock, 221, 376. 
 pad-nag, 483. 
 pain, 61. 
 
 pall (1), 437, 441. 
 palm, 407, 439, 440, 
 
 441. 
 palter, 469. 
 pamper, 487, 489. 
 pan, 437, 441. 
 panoply, 13. 
 papal, 57. 
 paper, 440, 441. 
 paroxysm, 327. 
 parricide, 290. 
 partake, 431. 
 Pasch, 440, 441. 
 pash, 471. 
 pasha, 13. 
 patch, 487, 489. 
 paternal, 97. 
 path, 81, 82, 137. 
 patter, 278. 
 pea, 380, 437, 441; 
 
 pease, 460. 
 peace, 314. 
 peach, 442. 
 pear, 437, 441, 503. 
 pearl, 442. 
 pease, 460. 
 pebble, 373. 
 peccadillo, 13. 
 penance, 25, 26. 
 penny, 201, 259,437, 
 
 441, 501. 
 pent, 268. 
 
INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 535 
 
 people, 33, 306, 316. 
 pepper, 440, 441. 
 peri, 13. 
 
 periwinkle, 437, 441. 
 periwinkle (fish), 371. 
 Pers (name), 38. 
 pese, 36. 
 
 phenix, 440, 441. 
 philibeg, 448-9. 
 pianoforte, 13. 
 pibroch, 13, 448-9. 
 piecemeal, 273. 
 pikerel, 222. 
 pilch, 437, 441. 
 pilchard, 451. 
 Pile (2), 437, 441. 
 pillion, 445. 
 pillow, 232, 437, 441. 
 pilot, 482. 
 pimple, 222. 
 
 Pin, 437> 44 1 - 
 pindar, 204, 210; pin- 
 ner, 204. 
 pine, v., 61, 433, 437. 
 pine (tree), 61, 62, 
 
 437, 44 1 - 
 pinfold, 427. 
 pink (boat), 482, 484. 
 pint, 403. 
 pipkin, 223. 
 pit, 205, 437, 441. 
 pitch, 437, 441. 
 plaid, 448-9. 
 plant, 437, 441. 
 plash, 487, 488, 489. 
 plaster, 440, 441. 
 plentiful, 430. 
 plight, 244. 
 plough, 361, 458,459. 
 plough-share, 252. 
 plover, 139. 
 plum, 440, 441. 
 plump, 489. 
 plunder, 85, 489. 
 poetaster, 256. 
 pole, 437, 441. 
 pontoon, 404. 
 pony, 451. 
 poodle, 85. 
 pooh, 459. 
 pool, 433, 437. 
 P°pe, 57>, 6 9> 440- 1 - 
 
 poppy, 437, 441, 501. 
 por-e (poor), 38. 
 pork, 138. 
 porridge, 376. 
 port, 433, 437. 
 post (1), 437, 441. 
 pound, 404, 438,441. 
 prad (horse), 483. 
 prance, 356. 
 prattle, 278, 469. 
 preach, 442. 
 precise, 290. 
 present, 411. 
 prickle, 237. 
 pride, 66, 67, 208, 
 
 211, 366. 
 priest, 20, 69, 440, 
 
 441. 
 prime, 438, 441. 
 primero, 13. 
 prince, 356. 
 proud, 66, 208, 351, 
 
 366. 
 provost, 438. 
 psalm, 407, 440, 441. 
 ptarmigan, 448-9. 
 puck, 451. 
 
 pug, 451- 
 pumice, 438, 441. 
 punster, 256. 
 punt, 404, 438, 441. 
 pur charitc, 38. 
 purl, 469. 
 
 quack, s., quacksalver, 
 
 484. 
 quadroon, 13. 
 quaff, 447, 449. 
 quagmire, 427. 
 quaigh, 447. 
 quail, z/., 163, 181. 
 quake, 503. 
 qualm, 133, 181, 234, 
 
 407-8. 
 quandary, 473, 479. 
 quartz, 85. 
 quash, 408. 
 quean, 504. 
 queasy, 464, 472,475. 
 queen, 58, 132, 227, 
 
 303, 358. 
 quell, 133, 201, 210. 
 
 quench, 165, 182, 201, 
 355- 
 
 quern, 133, 239. 
 quick, 122, 133, 263. 
 quicken, 276. 
 quid, 230, 409, 415. 
 quitch-grass, 122. 
 quoth, 155, 164. 
 
 rabbit, 487. 
 
 rabble, 487, 488, 489. 
 
 racoon, 14. 
 
 rack (cloud), 473. 
 
 raft, 467. 
 
 raid, 416, 463, 466. 
 rail (night-dress), 237, 
 
 361, 364. 
 rain, 72, 239, 364. 
 raise, 151, 205, 416, 
 
 463, 466, 472. 
 rake, v., 416. 
 rakehell, rake, 266, 
 
 479, 5°3- 
 rakel (M. E.), 266. 
 ramsons, 361. 
 ransack, 472, 479. 
 rant, 485. 
 rap, z\, 361, 473. 
 rape, 473. 
 rape (Sussex), 361. 
 rapparee, 445. 
 rash, 272. 
 ratch, 355. 
 
 rath, 48//., 361 ; rather, 
 
 3 6l > 5°3- 
 rattle, 278, 361. 
 ravel, 485. 
 
 raven, 239, 361, 374, 
 503 ; (2 words), 41 1. 
 
 raw, 265, 361. 
 
 reach, 68, 355, 416 ; 
 (retch), 361. 
 
 read, 59, 68, 161 ; pt. 
 492. 
 
 ready, 184. 
 
 real (coin), 13. 
 
 reap, 166, 504. 
 
 rear, v., 67, 150, 185, 
 205, 210, 379, 416. 
 
 rearmouse, 361, 427. 
 
 reave, 139, 187 ; be- 
 reave, 139. 
 
536 INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 red, 81, 108, 116, 136, 
 
 187, 263. 
 -red {suffix) , 218. 
 redden, 276. 
 reechy, 355. 
 reed, 69, 361. 
 reef, s., 482. 
 reek, 59, 167, 187. 
 reel (dance), 448-9 ; 
 
 (for yarn), 361. 
 reeve, 482. 
 reft, 268. 
 refund, 287, 289. 
 refute, 289. 
 rein, 72, 73. 
 reindeer, 464. 
 rend, 303, 361. 
 rescind, 290. 
 retch, 361. 
 rhyme, 61, 91, 334. 
 rhymester, 256. 
 rib, 228. 
 
 -ric (suffix), 21S. 
 rich, 61, 129, 355. 
 rick, 59, 361. 
 riddle, 238, 253, 361, 
 > 380. 
 
 ride, 62, 166. 
 
 ridge, 228, 361, 365, 
 
 460 ; rig, 414. 
 Riding, 259, 473, 476, 
 
 479- 
 rife, 458. 
 
 rifle, v., 361, 469. 
 rift, 241, 466-7. 
 rig (ridge), 365, 414, 
 470. 
 
 right, adj., 129, 269, 
 
 401. 
 righteous, 262. 
 rigidness, 254. 
 rime, 61, 361. 
 rimer, 209. 
 rind, 361, 402. 
 ring, 131, 165, 361. 
 rink, 361. 
 
 rinse, 279, 469, 480. 
 ripe, 62, 184. 
 ripen, 276. 
 ripple, 361, 469. 
 rise, 60, 150, 151, 
 166. 
 
 rite, 442. 
 
 rive, 20, 166, 458, 
 
 467, 471. 
 rivet, 480. 
 rix-dollar, 85. 
 road, 57, 184, 416. 
 roar, 55. 
 
 roe, 54, 173, 239, 362, 
 
 472-3- 
 rokked, 34. 
 
 rood, 50, 64, 83, 174. 
 roof, 361. 
 rook, 64, 128, 361. 
 room, 65, 71, 234. 
 roomy, 209. 
 roost, 63, 361. 
 root, 377, 416, 458, 
 473- 
 
 root up, rout up, v., 
 
 377- 
 rope, 57, 89. 
 rose, 440, 441, 504. 
 rotten, 188, 467. 
 rouble, 13. 
 
 rough, 65, 71, 263, 
 
 361. 
 roughen, 276. 
 round (to whisper), 
 
 37°- 
 
 rouse, 361, 459, 472. 
 rover, 482, 485. 
 row, v., 63, 161. 
 row (noise), 459. 
 rub, 451. 
 ruck, 361, 472-3. 
 rudder, 247, 368. 
 ruddock, 221. 
 ruddy, 255. 
 rue, v., 167, 361. 
 ruffle, 485. 
 rumble, 2 7 8. 
 rummage, 492. 
 rumple, 361. 
 run, 165, 376; runs, 
 499. 
 
 rung, s., 226, 561. 
 runnel, 222. 
 rush, v., 361. 
 rust, 254, 255. 
 rustle, 278, 469. 
 ruth, 240, 361, 466, 
 4 r >7> 473- 
 
 -s, pi. suffix, 48. 
 -s, -ce, -se, 274. 
 sabbath, 10. 
 sack, 440, 441. 
 sadden, 276. 
 saddle, 237. 
 sadness, 254. 
 sag, 470. 
 saga, 480. 
 sail, 237, 364. 
 saint, 442. 
 sake, 207, 503. 
 sal, 36. 
 
 sale, 202, 476, 503. 
 sallow, 264. 
 sally (willow), 257. 
 salt, 81, 269. 
 salt-cellar, 431. 
 salve, 407 n. 
 sapling, 223. 
 sark, 406. 
 sassafras, 289. 
 sat, 340. 
 Saturday, 426. 
 savacioun, 25, 26. 
 save, 38. 
 savine, 438, 441. 
 saw (tool), 202, 290, 
 
 364, 409; (saying), 
 
 202, 416. 
 saxifrage, 289. 
 say, 201, 341. 
 scab, 291 ; scabby, 
 
 381, 415 ; shabby, 
 
 4!5. 
 scald, adj., 470. 
 scald (poet), 470. 
 scale, 291, 381. 
 scall, 291, 470. 
 scallop, scalp, 292. 
 scalpel, 292. 
 scant, 467, 470. 
 scantling, 223. 
 scape-goat, 431. 
 scar (rock), 291, 406, 
 
 470 ; scaur, 291. 
 scarce, 292. 
 scare, 470. 
 scarf, 291, 470. 
 scarify, 291. 
 scarp, 291. 
 scathe, 136, 162. 
 
INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 537 
 
 scatter, 290, 415 ; 
 
 shatter, 415. 
 scent, 328, 334. 
 scite {for site), 328. 
 schedule, 290. 
 schism, schist, 290. 
 school, 440, 441. 
 schooner, 381, 481, 
 
 482. 
 science, 328. 
 scion, 289. 
 scissors, 290. 
 scoff, 487, 488. 
 scold, 487, 488. 
 scole, 34. 
 scoop, 458, 470. 
 scop (A. S.), 179, 180. 
 score, 181, 291, 504. 
 scorpion, 138, 291. 
 scotch, 470. 
 scot-free, 188, 427. 
 Scottish, 272. 
 scoundrel, 370. 
 scourge, 291. 
 scout, v., 460, 470. 
 scowl, 460, 470. 
 scraggy, 470-1. 
 scrap, scrape, 291, 
 
 47°> 503- 
 scratch, 470. 
 scream, 461, 470. 
 screech, 416, 457, 470. 
 screed, 292, 414. 
 scrip, 291, 470. 
 scroll, 292. 
 scruple, 292. 
 scrutiny, 292. 
 scud, 466, 470-1. 
 scuffle, 188, 416, 469, 
 
 470. 
 
 sculk, 277, 468, 470. 
 scull (oar), 470. 
 sculpture, 292. 
 scum, 465 470. 
 scuttle, 466, 469, 
 
 470; s. y 438, 441. 
 scythe, 290, 334, 378. 
 -se {verbal suffix), 
 
 279. 
 
 sea, 22, 67, 94, 320, 
 
 322, 340-1, 506. 
 seam, 68, 176, 234. 
 
 seamstress, 256. 
 sear, 68. 
 
 seat, 182, 461-2, 466. 
 secant, 289. 
 second, 19. 
 section, sector, 289. 
 sedge, 202, 210, 229, 
 
 290, 365. 
 see, 69, 164, 176, 
 
 340-1, 362. 
 seed, 68, 175, 245. 
 seek, 59, 207,211,354. 
 seem, 58. 
 seemly, 462. 
 seethe, 69, 155, 167, 
 
 176. 
 
 seg (sedge), 365. 
 segment, 289. 
 seid-e, 38. 
 seke, 38. 
 
 seldom, 275, 430. 
 sell, 202, 210. 
 sempster, 373; semp- 
 stress, 256. 
 send, 155, 200. 
 sennight, 427, 498. 
 seraph, 10. 
 serrated, 289. 
 service-tree, 438,441. 
 set, 181, 200, 210. 
 settle, s., 181, 237. 
 seven, 155, 340. 
 seventh, 154. 
 sew,//, /.(sowed), 48 
 shabby, 291, 381. 
 shade, shadow, 232, 
 
 shaft, 242, 291. 
 shah, 13. 
 
 shake, 159, 162, 16S, 
 
 353, 357> 5°3- 
 shale, 85, 291. 
 shambles, 438, 441. 
 shame, 357, 381, 503. 
 shamefaced, 261. 
 shamrock, 221, 444, 
 
 445- 
 shank, 226. 
 shanty, 446. 
 shape, 162, 179, 291, 
 
 5°3- 
 shard, 291. 
 
 share, 181, 291, 503, 
 505 ; (of a plough), 
 252. 
 
 sharp, 82, 138, 291. 
 sharpen, 276. 
 shatter, 290, 415. 
 shave, 139, 162, 291. 
 shaveling, 223. 
 shaw, 364, 381. 
 she, 69, 176. 
 sheaf, 68, 187. 
 shear, 163, 291, 504. 
 sheath, 67, 290, 368 ; 
 
 sheathe, 290, 368. 
 shebeen, 446. 
 shed, 161, 290, 303. 
 sheen, 58. 
 sheep, 44, 82. 
 sheer, 470. 
 sheer off, 291, 482. 
 sheet, 59, 187. 
 sheldrake, 427. 
 shelf, 292. 
 
 shell, 200, 229, 291, 
 
 381. 
 shelter, 427. 
 shelve, 470. 
 shepherd, 494. 
 sherd, 291. 
 sheriff, 427, 493, 495. 
 shide, 290. 
 shield, 246. 
 shielin, shealing, 465. 
 shift, 244. 
 shillelagh, 445. 
 shilling, 259. 
 shine, 61, 166, 303, 
 
 381. 
 
 shingle (tile), 290; 
 
 (gravel), 466, 471. 
 ship, 82, 226, 417. 
 -ship, 218. 
 
 shirt, 291, 416, 465, 
 
 470. 
 shive, 458. 
 
 shiver, v., 469 ; s. y 
 470. 
 
 shoal, 440, 441, 504. 
 shock (of corn), 487, 
 489. 
 
 shoe, 62, 174, 226, 
 362 ; shoes, 44. 
 
53» 
 
 INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 shog, 451. 
 
 since, 378, 430, 498. 
 
 sleek, 457. 
 
 
 shone, 56, 299. 
 
 sinew, 232. 
 
 
 sleep, 68, 82, 
 161, 175, 226. 
 
 158, 
 
 shook, 64. 
 
 sing, 165. 
 
 
 shoot, 167. 
 
 singe, 182, 202, 
 365, 402. 
 
 210, 
 
 sleeve, 58. 
 
 
 shore, 291. 
 
 
 sleight, 244, 
 
 462, 
 
 short, 263, 291. 
 
 sink, 165. 
 
 
 467. 
 
 shorten, 276. 
 
 sir, 20. 
 
 
 slender, 487. 
 
 
 shot, 188. 
 
 siren, 327. 
 
 
 slept, 44, 268. 
 slew, 63. 
 
 
 shoulder, 381. 
 
 sirloin, 5. 
 
 
 
 shove, 141, 167, 188. 
 
 siskin, 223, 480. 
 
 
 slick, 457. 
 
 
 shovel, 237. 
 
 sister, 247, 377, 468. 
 
 slide, 62, 136, 166. 
 
 shower, 65. 
 
 sit, 135, 164. 
 
 
 slight, 269, 487- 
 
 8. 
 
 shred, 292, 414 ; 
 
 six, 358. 
 
 
 slime, 61, 234. 
 
 
 screed, 414. 
 
 sixth, 154, 268 ; 
 
 sixt, 
 
 sling, 165. 
 
 
 shrewd, 497. 
 
 268. 
 
 
 slink, 165. 
 
 
 shriek, 416, 457. 
 
 skarf, 291. 
 
 
 slip, 167, 185. 
 
 
 shrift, 185, 241. 
 
 skates, 380. 
 
 
 slippery, 266. 
 
 
 shrike, 458. 
 
 skein, 444, 445. 
 
 
 slit, 166, 185. 
 
 
 snnne, 01, 62, 09, 430, 
 
 skerry, 291. 
 
 
 sloe, 54, 173. 
 
 
 441. 
 
 skew, 487. 
 
 
 slogan, 13, 447, 
 
 449- 
 
 shrink, 165. 
 
 skewer, 470. 
 
 
 sloop, 481. 
 
 
 shrive, 60, 166, 438, 
 
 skid, 290, 470. 
 
 
 slop, 188. 
 
 
 441. 
 
 skiff, 417. 
 
 
 slope, 184. 
 
 
 shrivel, 469. 
 
 skill, 291, 470. 
 
 
 slot, 487, 488. 
 
 
 shroud, 66, 292. 
 
 skim, 465, 470. 
 
 
 sloth, 241. 
 
 
 Shrove-Tuesday, 184. 
 
 skin, 381, 470. 
 
 
 slouch, 459, 470 
 
 
 shudder, 48 7, 488, 489. 
 
 skink, 402. 
 
 
 slough (mire), 
 
 361, 
 
 shuffle, 188, 416, 460, 
 
 skip, 451. 
 
 
 452. 
 
 
 469. 
 
 skipper, 482. 
 
 465, 
 
 sloven, 485. 
 
 
 shunt, 473, 474. 
 
 skirt, 291, 416, 
 
 slubber, 469, 48! 
 
 3. 
 
 shut, 189, 204, 381. 
 
 470. 
 
 
 slug, 470-1. 
 
 
 shuttle, 189, 237, 239, 
 
 skittish, 465-6, 470. 
 
 slughorn, 448. 
 
 
 253- 
 
 skittles, 465-6, 470. 
 
 slumber, 367, 375. 
 
 shy, 461. 
 
 skull, 291. 
 
 
 sly> 245, 462. 
 
 
 sick, 263. 
 
 skunk, 14. 
 
 
 smack (boat), 
 
 37*> 
 
 sicken, 276. 
 
 sickle, 238, 289, 438, 
 
 sky, 461, 470. 
 
 
 482. 
 
 
 slabber, 487, 488 
 
 
 smallage, 431. 
 
 
 441. 
 
 slack, 130. 
 
 
 smart, v., 406. 
 smash, 471. 
 
 
 side, 02. 
 
 slacken, 276. 
 
 
 
 sideling, 275. 
 
 slag, 470, 480. 
 
 
 smatter, 469. 
 
 
 sieve, 334, 501. 
 sigh, 166, 356. 
 
 slain, 152, 154. 
 slake, 503. 
 
 
 smear, 504. 
 
 
 
 smelt, ^.,380, 465, 480. 
 
 sight, 244, 368. 
 
 slang, 466. 
 
 
 smile, 277. 
 
 
 silk, 258, 440-1. 
 
 slates, 483. 
 
 
 smirk, 277. 
 smite, 62, 166. 
 
 
 silken, 264. 
 
 slattern, 474. 
 
 
 
 sill, 229. 
 
 slaughter, 248. 
 
 
 smoke, 167, 188 
 
 , 226, 
 
 silly, 271 
 
 slave, 285, 286. 
 slaver, 469. 
 
 
 504. 
 
 
 silver, 44, 196. 
 silvern, 264. 
 
 
 smooth, 107. 
 
 
 slay, 162, 362. 
 
 
 smother, 376. 
 
 
 simper, 469. 
 
 sledge, 472. 
 
 365, 
 
 smoulder, 376. 
 
 
 sin, 179, 229. 
 
 sledge-hammer, 
 
 smug, 470-1. 
 
 
 sin (since), 26. 
 
 427. 
 
 
 smuggle, 469. 
 
 
INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 539 
 
 snaffle, 48^5, 488. 
 snail, 237, 364. 
 snap, 485. 
 sneak, 61. 
 sneer, 462. 
 
 sneeze, 378, 379, 381. 
 
 snip, 485. 
 
 snipe, 458. 
 
 snite, 461. 
 
 snivel, 469. 
 
 snob, 471. 
 
 snout, 460. 
 
 snow, 55, 231, 377. 
 
 snub, 471. 
 
 snuff, 485. 
 
 snuffle, 278. 
 
 snug, 470-1. 
 
 so, 26, 54, 377. 
 
 soak, 504. 
 
 soap, 57, 172. 
 
 sock, 438, 441. 
 
 sod, 188. 
 
 sodden, 155. 
 
 soft, 269, 375, 402. 
 
 soften, 276. 
 
 soke, sokcn, 180, 239. 
 
 sold, 44, 407. 
 
 sole, s. y 438, 441. 
 
 solo, 13. 
 
 -some (suffix), 262. 
 son, 71, 240, 341, 
 
 404, 412-3. 
 sonata, 13. 
 song, 182, 202, 402. 
 songster, 256. 
 songstress, 256. 
 soon, 50, 63. 
 sooth, 49, 50, 63, 178, 
 
 250, 368, 402. 
 soothe, 368. 
 soothsayer, 428. 
 sophist, 254. 
 soprano, 13. 
 sordid, 135. 
 sore, 55, 173, 226. 
 sorry, 314. 
 sought, 268, 362. 
 soul, 55, 237, 377. 
 sound (of sea), 243, 
 
 405 ; adj., 405 ; v. 
 
 (to plumb), 480; (3 
 
 words), 410. 
 
 sour, 65, 175. 
 south, 65, 93, 268. 
 sow, v., 55, 161, 230, 
 
 401 ; s., 364 ; (2 
 
 words), 411. 
 spade, 503. 
 spdld (A.S.), 249. 
 spalpeen, 445. 
 span, 161. 
 spangle, 222. 
 spare, 503. 
 spark, 226. 
 sparkle, 222, 278. 
 sparrow, 232, 377. 
 spate, 447, 449. 
 speak, 130, 157, 164, 
 
 376, 502, 5°3, 5°6. 
 spear, 504. 
 
 speech, 68, 175, 182, 
 376. 
 
 speed, 59, 150, 208, 
 
 245, 320. 
 spend, 438, 441, 498. 
 spew, spue, 60, 166. 
 spick and span-new, 
 
 479- 
 spider, 368, 371. 
 spikenard, 431. 
 spille, 25, 26, 28. 
 spilt, 268. 
 spin, 165. 
 spindle, 237, 370. 
 spinster, 256. 
 spit, v., 44. 
 spittle, 237, 249. 
 splay, 498. 
 spleuchan, 448-9. 
 splice, 482. 
 splint, 402. 
 split, 490. 
 splutter, 469. 
 spoke, s. t 57. 
 spoken, 157, 504. 
 spool, 487, 488. 
 spoon, 63, 92. 
 sporran, 448-9. 
 sport, 498. 
 spout, 460. 
 sprag, adj., 471. 
 sprat, 485, 489. 
 sprawl, 469. 
 sprig* 356. 
 
 sprightly, 362. 
 spring, 165. 
 sprout, 487, 488. 
 spurn, 165. 
 sputter, 469. 
 squab, 471. 
 squabble, 469, 471. 
 squander, 469, 474. 
 squash, 381. 
 squaw, 14. 
 squeak, 462. 
 squeal, 462, 469. 
 squeeze, 381. 
 squill, 290. 
 staff, stave, 415. 
 stag, 470. 
 stagger, 469, 471. 
 stair, 185, 206, 237, 
 
 364, 401. 
 stake, 226, 503. 
 stalk, v., 277. 
 stalwart, 262, 368, 
 
 428, 497. 
 stand, v., 157, 162. 
 stang, s. t 183, 466. 
 Stanton, 496. 
 stanza, 13. 
 staple, 237, 487 
 
 503- 
 star, 406. 
 
 starboard, 428, 494. 
 starch, 355. 
 stare, 503. 
 starf, 26, 28. 
 starknaked, 428. 
 starling, 223. 
 starve, 28, 165, 406. 
 starveling, 223. 
 staves, pi., 503. 
 stead, 136, 200, 245. 
 steadfast, 261. 
 steak, 464. 
 steal, 163, 340, 503. 
 stealth, 240. 
 steam, 68, 234. 
 stee, 61 n. 
 
 steed, 59, 208, 211, 
 
 245. 
 steel, 58. 
 steelyard, 494. 
 steep, v.y 464. 
 steeple, 209, 211, 237. 
 
54° 
 
 INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 steer, s., 191, 236. 
 stem (of tree), 375. 
 stench, 182, 202, 210. 
 step, 138, 162, 202. 
 stepchild, 428. 
 steppe, 13. 
 -ster (suffix), 256. 
 sterling, 223. 
 stern, adj., 267. 
 steruen, 28. 
 steward, 60, 364,409, 
 
 428. 
 stick, 129, 164. 
 stickle, 237, 253. 
 stickleback, 428. 
 stickler, 366. 
 stiff, 263. 
 stiffen, 276. 
 stifle, 469. 
 
 stile, 61, 134, 185, 
 
 237> 327,364- 
 stiletto, 13. 
 stilt, 467. 
 sting, 165. 
 stingy, 365. 
 stink, 165. 
 stint, 165, 204, 210. 
 stirk, 191, 195, 209, 
 
 311, 221. 
 
 stirrup, 61, 184, 428, 
 
 494-5- 
 stole, 440, 441. 
 stolen, 504. 
 stone, 56, 87-8, 172, 
 
 ^73, 239, 309, 3io. 
 stony, 270. 
 stood, 64. 
 
 stool, 50, 63, 91, 174, 
 
 *77i 238. 
 stop, 438,441. 
 storm, 234. 
 stoup, 463. 
 stow, 232. 
 straight, 269. 
 straighten, 276. 
 strand (of rope), 
 
 482. 
 strange, 33. 
 strap, strop, 417, 438, 
 
 441. 
 
 strath, 446, 447, 449. 
 straw, 231. 
 
 stream, 68, 93, 96, 
 
 175, 234. 
 street, 68, 432, 433, 
 
 438. 
 
 strength, 150, 202, 
 
 210, 241. 
 strengthen, 276. 
 Strid, 186. 
 stride, 166. 
 strife, strive, 480. 
 strike, 130, 166. 
 string, 202, 227. 
 stripling, 223. 
 strive, 166. 
 stroke, 57, 184. 
 strong, 402. 
 strop, strap, 417, 438, 
 
 441. 
 strophe, 13. 
 struggle, 469. 
 *tryf> 36. 
 stubborn, 372. 
 stud, 208, 245. 
 stumble, 469, 474. 
 stunt, 165. 
 stutter, 469. 
 sty, 61, 184, 409, 504. 
 such, 355, 376-7, 
 
 428. 
 
 suck, 167, 492, 493. 
 suckling, 223. 
 suds, 187, 368. 
 Suffolk, 494. 
 sulky, 371. 
 sultry, 377. 
 summer, 236, 501. 
 sun, 71, 240, 404, 
 
 4 I 2-3- 
 Sunday, 372,426,498. 
 sup, 167. 
 surd, 135. 
 surf, 376. 
 surloin, 5. 
 Sussex, 494. 
 sutler, 485, 498. 
 suttee, 179. 
 Sutton, 496. 
 swa- (words beginning 
 
 with), 408. 
 swab, 482 ; swabber, 
 
 485. 
 
 swagger, 469, 470. 
 
 swain, 464. 
 swallow, s., 232 ; v., 
 
 165, 3 6 4- 
 swamp, 183. 
 swarm, 234. 
 swart, 135, 269, 366 ; 
 
 swarthy, 366. 
 swash, 471. 
 sway, 464, 466. 
 swear, 162, 197, 200, 
 
 503. 
 
 sweat, v., 135, 206. 
 swell, 165. 
 sweep, 161. 
 sweet, 59, 135, 174, 
 
 263-4. 
 sweeten, 276. 
 sweetheart, 428. 
 swept, 268. 
 swift, 269. 
 swim, 165. 
 swindler, 85. 
 swine, 61, 230. 
 swing, 165. 
 swinge, 365, 402. 
 swirl, 469. 
 switch, 485. 
 swivel, 237. 
 swoop, 161. 
 sword, 377, 406. 
 swore, 62, 1 74 ; swore 
 
 38. 
 
 sylvan, 327. 
 syncope, 291. 
 syren, 327. 
 
 -t (pp. suffix), 268. 
 table, 442. 
 tadpole, 428. 
 tag, 470. 
 
 tail, 238, 364, 401. 
 take, 20, 162, 467, 
 
 503. 
 tale, 503. 
 talk, 277 n. 
 tamarind, 431. 
 tame, 81, 134. 
 tanist, 445. 
 tantalise, 13. 
 taper, 451, 503. 
 tapster, 256. 
 tar, 230, 231, 406. 
 
INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 541 
 
 tart, adj., 269. 
 tartan, 449 n. 
 tattle, 132, 278. 
 tattoo, 14. 
 taught, 268. 
 Taunton, 496. 
 tawdry, 366. 
 tea, 13, 21. 
 teach, 68, 355. 
 team, 68, 234. 
 teamster, 256. 
 tear, s., 68, 115, 134, 
 236, 362, 411 ; v., 
 
 i34> ^3, 4H> 5°3- 
 tease, 67. 
 teasel, 67, 237. 
 teem, 58, 209, 211. 
 teen, 240. 
 -teen, 58. 
 teeth, 58, 90. 
 tegument, 135. 
 tell, 202, 210. 
 temple, 438, 441. 
 ten, 58, 108, 131, 134. 
 tether, 369. 
 -th (ordinal), 268. 
 thane, 239, 364. 
 thank, 81. 
 
 that, 26, 81, 135, 
 467. 
 
 thatch, 128, 135, 355, 
 
 415-6. 
 thaw, 55, 161. 
 the, 26, 499. 
 thee, 58. 
 
 theft, 209, 211, 241, 
 
 368. 
 their, 464. 
 thence, 378. 
 they, 33, 304, 464, 
 
 499, 501 ; their, 
 
 464. 
 
 thick, 129, T35, 355. 
 thicken, 276. 
 thief, 69. 
 thigh, 361. 
 thimble, 375. 
 thin, 135. 
 thine, 61. 
 
 think, 129, 135, J04, 
 
 402. 
 third, 154, 376. 
 
 thirl, 205, 415 ; thrill, 
 
 4!5- 
 thirst, 135, 245. 
 thirteen, 376. 
 thistle, 237. 
 thither, 369. 
 thole, 135, 505. 
 thong, 183, 377, 402. 
 thorn, 86 135, 240. 
 thorough, through, 
 
 361. 
 
 thorough-fare, 217. 
 thorp, 82,83, 135, 137. 
 those, 55, 379. 
 thou, 65, 108, 135, 
 
 I75» 499- 
 though, 26, 304, 361. 
 thought, 242, 362. 
 thousand, 65, 81. 
 thraldom, 26, 218. 
 thrash, 165. 
 thrave, 471, 476. 
 thread, 206, 210, 243. 
 threaten, 135. 
 three, 69, 108, 117, 
 
 136, 176. 
 threnody, 13. 
 thresh, 357. 
 threshold, 250. 
 thrice, 274, 37S. 
 thrift, 38, 1S6, 467. 
 thrill, drill, 416; 
 
 thrill, 204-5, 2IO > 
 
 376. 
 
 thrive, 20, 166, 467, 
 47i. 
 
 throat, 492, 504. 
 throe, 187. 
 throng, 165, 183. 
 throstle, 238, 249. 
 throttle, 492. 
 through, 376. 
 throw, 55, 161, 206. 
 throwster, 206. 
 thumb, 375. 
 thumbkin, 223. 
 thunder, 135, 236, 
 
 3^7, 37o. 
 Thursday, 371, 426, 
 498. 
 
 thwack, whack, 369. 
 thwaite, 464. 
 
 thwart, 467. 
 tide, 62, 235. 
 tidings, 250, 251. 
 tie, 134. 
 tight, 269, 467. 
 tighten, 276. 
 tike, 458. 
 
 tile,238, 364,438,441. 
 tilt, s., 369. 
 tilth, 240. 
 
 timber, 134, 237,375. 
 time, 61, 235. 
 tind, v., 402. 
 tinder, 237, 403. 
 tine, s. y 370. 
 tinkle, 278. 
 tippet, 440, 441. 
 tipple, 469. 
 tipsy, 469. 
 tiro, 327. 
 tithe, 371. 
 titmouse, 428. 
 titter, 278. 
 
 to, 26, 62, 134, 341, 
 
 4 J 5> 49 8 > 409 I to °' 
 62, 174, 341, 415, 
 498, 499, 506. 
 
 toad, 57. 
 
 to-brake, 217. 
 
 to-day, 217. 
 
 toe, 54, 173, 340-1. 
 
 toft, 468. 
 
 together, 369. 
 
 token, 57, 176, 239. 
 
 told, 407. 
 
 tolerate, 135, 313, 314, 
 
 324- 
 tomahawk, 14. 
 ton, tun, 404, 417, 
 
 43S, 441. 
 -ton {stiffix), 496. 
 tongue, 116, 134, 226, 
 
 328, 328 334, 
 
 404. 
 too ; see to. 
 took, 38, 64. 
 tool, 50, 63. 
 toom, 458. 
 
 tooth, 50, 63, 92, 10S, 
 
 I34> 136, 178, 195* 
 371, 402. 
 topsyturvy, 428. 
 
542 
 
 INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 tornado, 13. 
 Tory, 445. 
 Tottenham, 496. 
 totter, 313, 377. 
 touch-wood, 488. 
 tough, 62, 361. 
 toughen, 276. 
 touse, tease, 415. 
 tow, 134. 
 toward, 262. 
 town, 65, 134. 
 toy, 485. 
 trade, 181. 
 tramp, 134. 
 trample, 278. 
 trap-rock, 480. 
 trauayle, 36. 
 tread, 81, 134, 164. 
 tree, 69, 134,231, 377- 
 treen, adj., 264. 
 trick, 485. 
 trickster, 256. 
 tricksy, 469. 
 trigger, 356. 
 trim, 205. 
 trio, 13. 
 trisect, 289. 
 troth, 240. 
 troublesome, 430. 
 trough, 361. 
 trout, 362, 440-1. 
 truce, 378. 
 true, 265, 377. 
 trull, 85. 
 
 trust, 254,463-4, 468. 
 truth, 241. 
 
 tryst, trist, 254, 464 ; 
 
 tryst, 468. 
 tub, 487, 488. 
 tuck, v., 487. 
 Tuesday, 426, 496, 
 
 498. 
 
 tug, 134,167,187, 487. 
 tumble, 278. 
 Tunbridge, Tunstall, 
 
 Tunworth, 496. 
 tungsten, 479, 480. 
 tunic, 438, 441. 
 turf, 141. 
 turtle, 438, 441. 
 tusk, 255, 377. 
 twain, 364. 
 
 twang, 408. 
 twelfth, 154, 374. 
 twelve, 200. 
 twibill, 428. 
 twice, 274, 378, 430. 
 twig, 364. 
 twilight, 217, 428. 
 twine, 61. 
 twinge, 365, 402. 
 twist, 254. 
 twit, 166, 217. 
 twitch, 355. 
 twitter, 278. 
 two, 54,108,134,173, 
 408. 
 
 two-pence, 494, 495. 
 tyne, 198. 
 
 udder, 116, 136, 237. 
 
 ugly, 47°- 
 umpire, 216. 
 un- (prefix), 217. 
 unable, 430. 
 uncouth, 65, 71, 268, 
 
 371. r 
 under, 26, 150, 154; 
 
 {prefix), 217. 
 unkempt, 202, 210, 
 
 375- 
 
 unto, 26-7, 487-8. 
 up, 27,82, 137; (pre- 
 fix), 217. 
 upbraid, 364. 
 upholsterer, 370. 
 upper, 137. 
 uproar, 485. 
 urge, 129. 
 us, 92, 371. 
 usquebaugh, 445. 
 
 vain, 321 71. 
 
 Valhalla, 475, 479. 
 
 vane, 373, 503. 
 
 vanilla, 13. 
 
 varmin, 407. 
 
 'varsity, 407. 
 
 vat, 373, 374 n., 488. 
 
 vault, 325 n. 
 
 -ve (for final -v), 329. 
 
 veneer, 85. 
 
 verb, 417. 
 
 verbal, 136. 
 
 vermicelli, 13. 
 verse, 438, 441. 
 verst, 13. 
 victuals, 325. 
 viking, 475, 479. 
 vinewed, 373. 
 vineyard, 360. 
 vista, 13. 
 
 vixen, 29, 203, ^io, 
 
 239 n -> 374- 
 understond-e, 38. 
 vsage, 34. 
 vseth, 34. 
 
 wa- (words beginning 
 
 with), 408. 
 wabble, 373. 
 wacke, 85. 
 waddle, 278. 
 wade, 162, 503. 
 wag,*;., 466, 470, 475. 
 waggle, 278, 469. 
 waggon, wain, 416, 
 
 485. 
 waif, 480. 
 wail, 462, 469. 
 wain, 132, 182, 239, 
 
 364, 416, 485 n. 
 wainscot, 485. 
 waistcoat, 495, 496. 
 waive, 480. 
 wake, 129, 158, 162, 
 
 503; woke, 64, 158. 
 waken, 276. 
 Wales, 202. 
 walk, 161, 277, 407. 
 wall, 44, 432-3, 438. 
 wallet, 408, 415. 
 wall-eyed, 473, 479. 
 wallow, 408. 
 walnut, 408, 428. 
 walrus, 479, 480. 
 waltz, 85. 
 wampum, 14. 
 wan, 408. 
 wand, 183, 227. 
 wander, 183. 
 wane, 503. 
 wanion, 370, 497. 
 want, 408, 468, 475. 
 wanton, 217, 408, 497. 
 wapentake, 479. 
 
 \ 
 
INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 543 
 
 waps = wasp, 382. 
 war, 408. 
 warble, 278. 
 ward, 243, 408, 417. 
 -ward (suffix), 183, 
 
 262, 273. 
 warlock, 408. 
 warm, 265, 408. 
 warmth, 241. 
 warn, 408. 
 warp, 165, 183, 408. 
 warrant, 360 n. 
 wart, 408. 
 -wart (suffix), 262. 
 was, 164, 408, 499. 
 wash, 162, 357, 408. 
 wash-' us, 495. 
 wasp, 382, 408. 
 wassail, 428. 
 waste, 269, 270. 
 watch, 355, 408. 
 water, 81, 135, 237, 
 
 408, 503. 
 wattle, 237, 408, 415. 
 wauch, v., 447. 
 waucht, s.j 447. 
 waul, 278. 
 wave, v., 503. 
 wax, v., 131, 162, 
 
 35 8 ; s -> 358. 
 
 waxen, 264. 
 way, 226, 401. 
 -way, -ways, 273, 274. 
 wayward, 262. 
 we, 58, 89. 
 weak, 185,464, 475. 
 weaken, 276. 
 weal, 503. 
 weald, wold, 246. 
 wealth, 150, 240. 
 weapon, 239. 
 wear, 158, 163, 200, 
 
 503; worn, 158. 
 weary, 58, 271, 379. 
 weasel, 504. 
 weather, 248, 369. 
 weatherwise, 262. 
 weave, 141, 164, 504. 
 web, 202, 228. 
 Webster, 256. 
 wed, v., 200 ; s., 200, 
 
 228. 
 
 wedge, 228, 365. 
 wedlock, 219, 496. 
 Wednesday, 370, 426, 
 498. 
 
 weed (1), 68 ; (2), 69. 
 week, 226, 504. 
 ween, 58. 
 
 weep, 59, 158, 161, 
 
 207. 
 weet, 135. 
 weevil, 504. 
 weft, 241. 
 
 weigh, 164, 364, 401. 
 weight, 242. 
 weird, 227. 
 weld, v., 480. 
 well, v., 161 ; s. y 229; 
 
 (2 words), 41 2. 
 wellaway, 428, 462. 
 Welsh, 202, 210, 272, 
 
 362. 
 welter, 278. 
 wend, 183, 200, 210. 
 wept, 268. 
 were, 379, 506. 
 wert, 145 n. 
 werwolf, 428. 
 west, 269. 
 Weston, 496. 
 whale, 504. , 
 wharf, 408. 
 what, 134, 362, 408, 
 
 467 ; who, 362. 
 wheat, 68. 
 wheaten, 264. 
 wheedle, 85. 
 wheel, 69. 
 
 wheeze, 133, 161,379. 
 whelk, 258, 362 ; (2 
 
 words), 410. 
 whence, 378. 
 wherry, 473. 
 whether, 270. 
 whey, 67. 
 
 which, 355, 376, 429. 
 while, 60, 90, 95, 133, 
 
 174, 238. 
 whilom, 275. 
 whilst, 367, 430. 
 whimper, 371, 373 n. 
 whin, 451. 
 whipster, 256. 
 
 whirl, 469, 473, 475. 
 whisk, 471, 474. 
 whiskey, 13,448-9. 
 whisper, 278. 
 whistle, 278. 
 whit, 362. 
 
 Whitby, Whitchurch, 
 494- 
 
 white, 62, 81, 263. 
 whiten, 276. 
 whither, 369. 
 whiting, 259. 
 whitlow, 480. 
 whitster, whitleather, 
 494- 
 
 Whitsunday, 494. 
 
 whittle, 185, 369. 
 
 who, 54, 123, 133, 
 362, 377>4°8. 
 
 whole, 55, 88, 95, 
 172-3, 190, 194, 
 263, 377-8, 416. 
 
 whoop, 64 378. 
 
 whortleberry, 363. 
 
 whose, 379. 
 
 why, 66, 303, 430. 
 
 wick, 433, 438. 
 
 wicket, 186, 480. 
 
 wide, 62. 
 
 widow, 1 16, 136, 232. 
 width, 241, 492. 
 wield, 161. 
 wight, s., 245, 362; 
 
 adj., 468. 
 wigwam, 14. 
 wife, 60. 
 wild, 263, 407. 
 wilderness, 429, 497. 
 wile, 60, 417. 
 wilk, 258, 362. 
 will, 229. 
 
 wille, 25-6, 28, 38. 
 wimberry, 370, 494. 
 wimble, 474. 
 win, 165. 
 winch, 129, 355. 
 wind, s., 250, 251, 
 
 403; v., 165, 402. 
 windlass, 474, 480. 
 window, 480. 
 wine, 61, 62, 175, 
 
 34°-i> 433. 438. 
 
544 
 
 INDEX OF ENGLISH WORDS. 
 
 wing, 475. 
 winkle, 129. 
 winnow, 372. 
 winsome, 205, 210, 
 
 262. 
 winter, 237. 
 wire, 60. 
 
 wise {suffix) , 274. 
 wise, 60, 263; s., 417. 
 -wise (suffix), 262. 
 wiseacre, 85. 
 wish, 67, 71, 208-9, 
 
 357- 
 wist, 268. 
 
 wit, v., 135, 340, 415 ; 
 s., 228 ' f (wise man), 
 226. 
 
 witch, wicked, 355. 
 with, 304, 499. 
 within, 372. 
 without, 372. 
 withstand, 218. 
 witling, 223. 
 wittol, witwall, 409. 
 wivern, 360 n. 
 wizen, 379. 
 
 wo- {words beginning 
 
 with), 408. 
 woad, 57. 
 woe, 54, 173. 
 woke, 64, 158. 
 wold, weald, 246, 41 5 . 
 wolf, 123, 226. 
 woman, 374, 429 ; 
 
 women, 60. 
 womb, 226, 408. 
 wombat, 14. 
 womman, 26. 
 wonder, 237, 248. 
 wonep, 33. 
 
 wont, 30 n., 269 ; 
 
 wonted, 369. 
 woo, 63. 
 wood, 409. 
 woodbine, 370, 402-3, 
 
 409. 
 wooden, 264. 
 woodruff, 429. 
 woodwale, 409, 429. 
 woof, 378, 429. 
 woollen, 264. 
 word, 136, 417. 
 
 work, s., 129, 209, 
 
 228, 406. 
 work-'us, 495. 
 world, 406, 429. 
 worldling, 223. 
 worm, 235. 
 wormwood, 429. 
 worship, 368. 
 wort, root, 416. 
 worth, v., 165 ; adj., 
 
 263 ; s.y 406. 
 wot (I), 57, 88, 135. 
 wound,//., 405. 
 woven, 504. 
 wrack, 202. 
 wrangle, 183. 
 wrap, lap, 415, 416. 
 wreak, 129, 164, 503. 
 wreath, 67, 185, 206, 
 
 210, 368 ; wreathe, 
 
 368. 
 
 7vrecche, 25, 26. 
 wreck, 182, 210. 
 wrench, 355. 
 wrest, 206. 
 wrestle, 278, 366. 
 wretch, 182, 202, 210, 
 
 229, 318, 355. 
 wright, 245, 376. 
 wring, 165. 
 wrinkle, 237. 
 wrist, 254, 368. 
 writ, 185. 
 
 write, 62, 166, 377. 
 writhe, 60, 91, 166. 
 wrong, 183, 402. 
 wrote, 57. 
 wroth, 55, 184. 
 wrought, 268, 376. 
 wuss (Scotch), 209. 
 
 y {letter), 66. 
 
 y- (prefix), 33. 
 
 yacht, 481. 
 
 yard (court), 131, 299, 
 
 35 2 » 353, 363,369; 
 
 (rod), 44, 352,363. 
 yare, 44, 231, 265, 
 
 363. 
 yarn, 239, 363. 
 yarrow, 232, 265. 
 
 yawl, 482. 
 yawn, 131, 363. 
 y-clept, 218, 363. 
 
 ye, 58, 303, 363, 375- 
 
 yea, yes, 363, 375. 
 yean, 364. 
 yeanling, 223. 
 year, 68, 226, 363, 
 
 375 5 yore, 375. 
 yearling, 223. 
 yearn (to desire), 131, 
 
 363; (to grieve), 
 
 364. 
 yeast, 363, 506. 
 yede, 48 n., 363. 
 yell, 165, 363. 
 yellow, 131, 264,363. 
 yellow-hammer, 429. 
 
 yelp, 363- 
 
 y-en (eyes), 38. 
 yeoman, 429. 
 yes, 363, 430. 
 yesterday, 132, 274, 
 363, 372, 430. 
 
 yet, 363, 375- 
 yeue, 26. 
 yew, 377, 409. 
 yex, 358, 363. 
 yield, 165, 363. 
 y-knowe, 33. 
 y-mclled, 33. 
 yoke, 44, 122, 133, 
 226, 299, 375, 505. 
 yolk, 258. 
 yon, 363, 375- 
 yore, 55. 
 
 you, 375, 377 ; your, 
 375- 
 
 young, 263, 303, 363, 
 
 375- 
 youngling, 223. 
 your, 26, 375. 
 youth, 44, 241, 250-1, 
 
 375- 
 Yule, 363. 
 ywis, 218, 363. 
 
 zanana, zenana, 133. 
 zest, 290. 
 zinc, 85. 
 
 zool (plough), 459. 
 
GENERAL INDEX OF THE PRINCIPAL 
 MATTERS DISCUSSED. 
 
 Abbreviation, including aphaeresi>, 
 
 aphesis, &c, 351-2, 385. 
 Accent, effects of, 491-9. 
 Alphabet, Irish printed, 297 ; 
 
 Anglo-Saxon, 297 ; changes in, 
 
 302, &c. 
 Ancren Riwle quoted, 515. 
 Anglo-French writing, influence 
 
 of, 308- 
 
 Anglo-Saxon or Wessex dialect, 
 
 45? 77 1 specimen of, 47-8. 
 Aphesis defined, 385 ; examples 
 
 of, 385. 
 Apocope, 390. 
 
 Aryan family of languages, 101-2 ; 
 Aryan types, 1 1 3-4 ; dental 
 sounds, 115; labials, n 7-9; 
 gutturals, 119, &c. 
 
 Assimilation, 351-2, 368, 472. 
 
 B, history of, 375. 
 
 Celtic origin, words of, ch. xxii., 
 
 p. 443 ; (A.S. words), 451-2. 
 Caxton's spelling, 315; quotations 
 
 from, 470, 486, 517. 
 Chaucer quoted, 24, 25, 26, 516. 
 Chronology, use of, 5-7. 
 Cognate words explained, 85-6. 
 Compound words, 418-420; lists 
 
 of obscure compounds, 420- 
 
 430, 476-480. 
 Confluence of forms, 351-2, 409; 
 
 the term defined, 409. 
 Consonants, classification of, 344 j 
 
 changes in sound of, 350; 
 
 changes in symbols for, 351 ; 
 
 history of, 353-383 ; table of 
 
 regular substitution of, 125; 
 VOL. I. N 
 
 insertion of, 395 ; influence of, 
 on vowels, 476. 
 
 D, history of, 369. 
 Danish language, 76 ; words bor- 
 rowed from, 480. 
 Dates, useful, 14. 
 Doublets, 414-8. 
 
 Doubling of consonants, 351-2, 
 399- 
 
 Dutch language, 77 ; words of 
 Dutch origin, 481-7. 
 
 -e final, account of, 309-312. 
 East-Midland dialect, 36-8. 
 Editors and printers, errors of, 39S. 
 English, Vocabulary of, 2-4, 6, 7 ; 
 
 Sources of, 8-18 ; brief History 
 
 of, 15-18; Dialects, 19-49; 
 
 Pronunciation, 17, &c. ; modern 
 
 period of, 17. 
 Excrescent letters, 351-2, 396 ; /, 
 
 366; d, 370, 474; «, 372 ; p % 
 
 373 ; 375> 474- 
 
 F, history of, 373. 
 
 Friesic language, 481 ; Old Friesic, 
 77, 488 ; East Friesic, 488. 
 
 G, history of, 363 ; vocalisation 
 of, 401. 
 
 Gaelic origin, words of, 446-9. 
 
 German, 77-8 ; not the origin of 
 English, 73-4 ; compared with 
 English, 83-4, 509-14; list of 
 English words borrowed from, 
 84-5 ; Low German, 486-490. 
 
 Germanic, used to mean Teutonic, 
 74- 
 
 n 
 
546 
 
 GENERAL INDEX OF THE 
 
 Ghost- words, 399 (note). 
 
 Gothic language, 75 ; Gothic 
 stems, 79. 
 
 Gradation of vowels, ch. x., p. 
 156; in Icelandic, 466. 
 
 Graphic changes, 396, 474. 
 
 Greek language, 99, 100 ; borrow- 
 ings from, 438-440. 
 
 Grimm's Law, 104; the same, 
 simplified, 115, &c. ; examples, 
 126, &c. 
 
 H, history of, 359. 
 Hampole quoted, 34. 
 Homographs, 411. 
 Homonyms, 41 1-2. 
 Homophones, 41 1-2. 
 Hybrid words, 430-1. 
 
 Icelandic language, 76, 454-5 ; 
 
 words borrowed from, 480. 
 Influence of consonants upon 
 
 vowels, 351-2, 400-9. 
 Irish origin, words of, 444-6. 
 
 K, history of, 353 ; >ck, 354 ; 
 kk > tch y 355 ; k », 356 ; >g t 
 356, &c. 
 
 L, history of, 376; affects a vowel, 
 407. 
 
 Latin forms compared with Eng- 
 lish, 97, &c. ; early borrowings 
 from Latin, 98, 432-442. 
 
 M, history of, 375 ; affects a vowel, 
 401-4. 
 
 Mercian dialect, 41-44; specimens 
 of Old Mercian spelling, 44. 
 
 Metathesis, 35 I "2, 385* 473- 
 
 Milton quoted (for spelling), 518. 
 
 Mutation of vowels, ch. xi., p. 
 190 ; in Icelandic, 460, 465. 
 
 N, history of, 370; affects a vowel, 
 
 401-2, 404. 
 Northern dialect, 34-6. 
 Northumbrian dialect, 41. 
 Norwegian, word borrowed from, 
 
 480. 
 
 P, history of, 372. 
 
 Palatal and velar sounds, 120. 
 
 Palatalisation, 350, 351, 384, 469. 
 Phonetic spelling ; glossic, 335 ; 
 
 romic, 336 ; specimen of, 339 ; 
 
 use of, 340, &c. 
 Prefixes, 213-218. 
 Pronunciation, changes in, 21, &c. 
 
 R, history of, 376; affects a vowel, 
 4°5- 
 
 Robert of Brunne quoted, 37. 
 
 Romic spelling, 336. 
 
 Roots, theory of, 280-282 ; list 01 
 fifty Aryan roots, 282-3; ex- 
 amples, 283-293. 
 
 S, history of, 378. 
 Sanskrit language, 99. 
 Saxon, Old, 77. 
 
 Scandian origin, words of, ch. 
 xxiii., p. 453. 
 
 Shakespeare quoted, 1, 20, 517. 
 
 Sk, initial, 357, 381; final, 381. 
 
 Sound-shifting, 85 ; triple, 105-6. 
 
 Southern dialect, 29-34. 
 
 Spelling, changes in, 26-28 ; ac- 
 count of the growth of English, 
 2 94-333 ; ' etymological,' 323- 
 8; phonetic, 334-343 i glossic, 
 335 ; romic, 336. 
 
 Substitution of consonants, 351-2, 
 385, 472. 
 
 Suffixes: substantival, 218-260; 
 adjectival, 261-272 ; adverbial, 
 273-5; verbal, 275-9; (Scand.), 
 467 ; suffixed /, 467 ; verbal 
 (Scand.), 468-9. 
 
 Swedish language, 76 ; words 
 borrowed from, 480. 
 
 Symbols, change of, 351-2, 396 ; 
 misuse of, 397-9, 476. 
 
 Syllabic division, effects of, 499. 
 
 Syncope, 389. 
 
 T, history of, 366. 
 
 Teutonic group of languages, 74 ; 
 types, 78-9 ; dental sounds, 
 So-i ; labial and guttural 
 sounds, 82-3 ; long vowels and 
 diphthongs, 87-95 ; table of, 
 95-6; dental sounds, 116; 
 labial sounds, 119; guttural 
 sounds, 1 19, &c. 
 
PRINCIPAL MATTERS DISCUSSED. 547 
 
 Th, history of, 367. 
 Trevisa quoted, 29, 30. 
 
 Unvoicing of voiced consonants, 
 351-2, 392, 473-4. 
 
 Velar and palatal sounds, 120. 
 Verner's Law, 146-153. 
 Vocabulary of English, 2-4 ; ad- 
 ditions to the, 6, 7. 
 Vocalisation of voiced letters, 350, 
 
 35.i> 384, 472. 
 Voicing of voiceless letters, 350, 
 
 35 1 * 384> 471- 
 Vowel-gradation, ch. x., ^ 156; 
 vowel - lengthening, 500 - 6 ; 
 vowel-mutation, ch. xi., p. 190. 
 
 TABLES. 
 
 Table of useful dates, 14; of Old Mercian words, 44; of long vowels, 
 95, 96 ; of regular substitution of consonants, 125; of the seven Teutonic 
 conjugations of strong verbs, 167-9 * °* vowel-sounds, as deduced from 
 verbal stems, 170; brief table of gradation, 189; of mutation, 191 ; of 
 the principal vocalic changes, 340 ; of the principal consonantal changes, 
 382 ; of mutation in Icelandic, 460. 
 
 THE END. 
 
 Vowels in Middle-English, 25 ; 
 comparison of, in Old, Middle, 
 and Modern English, 340 ; long 
 vowels discussed, 50-70 ; short 
 vowels, 71, 500-6; vowels in- 
 serted, 393. 
 
 W, history of, 377 ; affects a 
 
 vowel, 408-9. 
 Welsh origin, words of, 450-1. 
 Wessex ; see Anglo-Saxon. 
 West-Midland dialect, 38-9. 
 
 Y, history of, 375. 
 
 N n 2 
 
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