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Title: Outline of the history of the English language and literature
Author: Anonymous
Language: English
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OUTLINE OF THE HISTORY
OF
THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
AND
LITERATURE
[Illustration]
W. & R. CHAMBERS
LONDON AND EDINBURGH
1882
Edinburgh:
Printed by W. & R. Chambers.
PREFACE.
The object of this book, as indicated in the title, is to give an
outline of the History of the English Language and Literature.
It aims, however, at being something more than a mere statement of
facts. It is intended to excite an interest in English philology, and in
the leading authors that from the time of Cædmon have used the English
tongue.
It is therefore to be regarded as an introduction to English philology
and literature; and is adapted for use in the advanced classes of
elementary schools, in secondary schools, and for pupil teachers, as
well as for private students.
CONTENTS.
_LANGUAGE._
CHAPTER I.
=HISTORY OF THE VOCABULARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.=
PAGE
1. What a Language is 7
2. The English Language 7
3. Family 8
4. Teutons 8
5. High-German 9
6. Low-German 9
7. Scandinavian 10
8. The chief Teutonic Languages 10
9. Where the English came from 11
10. The Periods of English 12
11. Anglo-Saxon 12
12. Early English 13
13. Middle English 13
14. Modern English 13
15. English Words in English Language 14
16. Changes in English 15
17. Loss and Gain 16
18. Foreign Elements in English 16
19. Welsh 17
20. Keltic Element 18
21. Latin Element of First Period (i) 18
22. “ “ (ii) 19
23. Latin Element of Second Period (i) 20
24. “ “ (ii) 20
25. Scandinavian Element (i) 21
26. “ “ (ii) 22
27. “ “ (iii) 22
28. Latin Element of Third Period (i) 23
29. “ “ (ii) 24
30. “ “ (iii) 24
31. “ “ (iv) 25
32. “ “ (v) 25
33. “ “ (vi) 26
34. Synonyms from Norman-French 26
35. Bilingualism 27
36. Doublets 28
37. Doublets 28
38. Pronunciation 28
39. Latin of Fourth Period 29
40. Mouth Latin and Book Latin 30
41. Greek Doublets 32
42. English and French Words in Sentences 33
43. English Words Lost 33
CHAPTER II.
=HISTORY OF THE GRAMMAR OF ENGLISH.=
1. An Inflected Language 34
2. Grammar of Nouns 35
3. Grammar of Adjectives 35
4. Grammar of Definite Article 35
5. Grammar of Personal Pronoun 36
6. Grammar of Verbs 36
7. Fragments of Noun Inflections 36
8. “ Adjective Inflections 37
9. “ Pronoun Inflections 37
10. “ Verb Inflections 37
11. “ Inflections in Adverbs 38
12. “ Inflections in Prepositions 39
CHAPTER III.
=CHANGES IN MODERN ENGLISH.=
1. Formation of Modern English 39
2. Continued History 39
3. Spanish and Italian 40
4. Dutch Words 41
5. Latin and Teutonic Element 41
6. Influences affecting our Language at the present time 42
CHAPTER IV.
1. Words adopted from Foreign Languages 43
2. Chief Dates in the History of the English Language 45
CHAPTER V.
=NOTES ON THE GROWTH OF ENGLISH WORDS.=
1. Roots; Influence of Imitation on Language 46
2. Hybrids 46
3. Words disguised in Form or in
Meaning 48
4. Words that have changed their Meaning 53
5. Words from the Names of Persons 54
6. Words from Names of Places 55
7. English (or Teutonic) Roots 56
8. Latin Roots 57
9. Greek Roots 63
10. Branching of Words from Latin Stems 65
11. Branching of Words from English Stems 69
CHAPTER VI.
=PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES.=
PREFIXES.
1. English (or Teutonic) 70
2. Latin 71
3. Greek 72
SUFFIXES.
4. English (or Teutonic) 72
5. Latin 74
6. Greek 75
_LITERATURE._
=I. OUTLINE OF OUR EARLY LITERATURE.=
PAGE
1. The _Beowulf_ 76
2. Cædmon 76
3. Bæda 77
4. King Alfred 77
5. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 78
6. Archbishop Ælfric 78
7. Anglo-Saxon Gospels 78
8. Old English Dialects 79
9. First English Book after Norman Conquest 80
10. Orm’s _Ormulum_ 80
11. Langland and Chaucer 81
12. Alliteration or Head-Rhyme 82
13. John Gower 83
14. John Barbour 83
15. Sir John Mandeville 83
16. John Wicliffe 84
17. Our English Bible and its History 85
=II. TABULAR OUTLINE OF MODERN ENGLISH LITERATURE= 87
[Illustration]
THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
CHAPTER I.
=History of its Vocabulary.=
1. =WHAT A LANGUAGE IS.=--A language is a number of different sounds which
are made by the =tongue= and the other organs of speech. But a spoken
language is, or may be, written or printed upon paper by the aid of a
number of =signs= or =symbols=--which are generally printed in black ink
upon white paper.--The parts of a spoken language are called =sounds=; the
smallest parts of a written or printed language are called =letters=.--A
language is also called a _tongue_ or a _speech_.--A language, like a
living being, does not remain always the same. It _grows_. As it grows,
it alters in appearance; small and great changes take place in it; and
the story of these changes is called the _History of the Language_.
2. =THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE= is the name given to the language which is
spoken in Great Britain and Ireland, in the United States, in Canada, in
Australia and New Zealand, in South Africa, and in many other parts of
the world where Englishmen, Scotchmen, and Irishmen are found. In the
middle of the =fifth century= it was spoken by a few thousand men who
came over to Britain from the north-west of Europe, and by many
thousands of men and women who dwelt on the banks of the lower parts of
the great German rivers--the Rhine, the Elbe, and the Weser. It is now
spoken by more than 100 millions of people. But the English spoken in
the fifth century was a very different language from the English that is
spoken now. It was different, yet still the same. It was different in
appearance, as a child of one year old is different in looks from a man
of forty; but both the English of to-day and the English of the fifth
century are the same--because the one has grown out of the other, just
as the tall strong man of forty has grown out of the child of one year
old.
3. =FAMILY.=--To what family of languages does our English speech belong?
It belongs to the =Indo-European family= of languages. This family is so
called, because the languages which belong to it are spoken both in
India and in Europe. Many thousand years ago, the people from whom we
are descended lived on the high table-lands in the heart of Asia. Bands
of them kept travelling always farther and farther west; and it is from
their language that most of the tongues spoken in Europe are derived.
These bands left their friends and relations and country, just as young
men and women nowadays leave the homes of their parents to go and settle
in distant countries. The Indo-European is also called the Aryan family
of languages. Altogether, it embraces seven great languages--(1) The
Indian or Sanskrit; (2) Persic; (3) Greek; (4) Latin; (5) Keltic; (6)
Teutonic; and (7) Slavonic, which includes Russian, Polish, &c.
4. =TEUTONS.=--The English language was introduced into this country by
bands of warlike colonists from Northwestern Germany, who drove the old
inhabitants to the mountainous regions in the west of the island. Those
colonists were variously called Angles, Saxons, and Jutes; but they all
belonged to the Teutonic race, and their speech was a branch of the
Teutonic group of languages. The Teutonic group of languages contains
three main sections, from which all the others spring. These three main
sections are: =High-German=, =Low-German=, and =Scandinavian=. High-German is
the name given to the kind of German which is spoken on the higher lands
or table-lands of South Germany--those table-lands which slope from the
Central Plain of Europe up to the Alps; and its northern boundary is the
pretty river _Main_, which falls into the Rhine. Low-German is the name
given to the kind of German spoken in the lowlands of Germany; and the
southern boundary of this kind of speech is the river Main--its northern
boundary being the Baltic and the North Sea. Scandinavian is the wide
general name given to those kinds of Teutonic speech which are found in
Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland. These divisions may be placed in a
table in the following manner:
TEUTONIC.
|
+---------------------+---------------------------+
| | |
=High-German.= =Low-German.= =Scandinavian.=
| | |
+------+-----+ +-----+--+--+------+ +--------+--+---+-------+
| | | | | | | | | | |
Old. Middle. New. Dutch. | Frisian. | Icelandic. | Norwegian. |
Flemish. English. Danish. Swedish.
5. =HIGH-GERMAN.=--High-German is spoken in the southern parts of
Germany--such as Bavaria, Swabia, and other hilly regions; and also in
the north and east of Switzerland.--It is this form of the language that
has become the book-speech or literary language of the Germans; and its
technical name is =New High-German=.
6. =LOW-GERMAN.=--The languages which belong to this division are spoken
in the plains of Germany, especially along the lower courses of the
rivers, in Holland, in part of Belgium, in England, Scotland, and
Ireland, and the British Colonies, and in the United States of North
America. The Low-German spoken in Holland is called _Dutch_; the
Low-German spoken in Belgium is called _Flemish_; the Low-German spoken
in Friesland--a wealthy province of Holland--is called _Frisian_; and
the Low-German spoken in England is called _English_. (But, as we shall
soon see, English contains many thousands of words in addition to those
which are purely Low-German.) The language on the continent which is
most like English is the Frisian language. There is indeed a well-known
couplet, every word in which is said to be both Frisian and English. It
runs thus:
Good butter and good cheese
Is good English and good Fries.
The following are the chief subdivisions of
LOW-GERMAN.
|
+------------------+--------+-------+------------------+
| | | |
=Dutch= =Flemish= =Frisian= =English=
(Spoken in Holland). (in Flanders). (in Friesland). (in England, etc.).
7. =SCANDINAVIAN.=--Scandinavian is the general name given to the
different kinds of Teutonic speech which are employed in Denmark,
Norway, Sweden, and Iceland. The oldest and purest kind of Scandinavian
speech is that spoken in the far-off country in the middle of the North
Atlantic, called Iceland; and it is the purest, because for many
centuries there has been very little communication with that country.
Indeed, the Icelandic of the 12th century differs very little from the
Icelandic of to-day. But the English of the twelfth century differs so
much from the English of the nineteenth century, that we should at first
sight hardly know them for the same speech.--One peculiar mark of a
Scandinavian speech is the preference for hard consonants--the
preference, for example, of a _k_ over a _ch_ or _sh_. Thus the Danes
say _Dansk_ for _Danish_; and it is Danish influence that has given to
Scotchmen and to the north of England the form _kirk_ instead of
_church_.
8. =THE THREE CHIEF TEUTONIC LANGUAGES.=--The three most important
languages belonging to the great Teutonic stock are =English=, =Dutch=, and
=German=. If we look at the words used in these languages, we shall at
once see that they are sister-languages. If we look at the way in which
their words are changed--or at their inflections--we shall also see
that they are very closely related. Thus the commonest words appear in
these three languages in the following shape:
=English= Three. Mother. Brother. Have (inf.).
=Dutch= Drie. Moeder. Broeder. Hebben.
=German= Drei. Mutter.[1] Bruder.[2] Haben.
Again, the inflections of these three languages are very similar--are in
fact, different shapes of the same changes. Thus the possessive case of
nouns in all three languages ends in =s= or =es=[3] or =’s=. The second person
singular of verbs in all three ends in _st_; and the ending of the past
participle in all three is generally _en_. We know, then, both from
history and from a comparison of the actual facts in the present state
of the languages, that all three are sister-tongues.
9. =WHERE THE ENGLISH CAME FROM.=--Those Teutons who brought over the
English tongue to this island, came from the north-west of Europe--most
of them from that part of the German coast which lies between the river
Elbe and the river Weser. The kind of Low-German spoken by them is much
the same as that still spoken in the lowlands of Hanover, Holstein, and
Schleswig. There is in Holstein--upon the west coast--a small district
which is called =Angeln=--that is, _England_--to this day. The Teutons who
came over to Britain belonged to three tribes. They were =Jutes= and
=Angles= and =Saxons=. The Jutes came from Jutland.[4] The Angles came from
Schleswig and Holstein. The Saxons came from Hanover and the land to the
west of it. The Jutes settled in Kent and the Isle of Wight. The Saxons
settled in Essex (or East Sex), Wessex[5] (or West Sex), Sussex (or
South Sex), and Middlesex; and the ending _sex_ is an indication of the
fact. The Angles settled chiefly in the north and east. One of the
kingdoms founded by them was called East Anglia; and the northern and
southern settlers in it gave their names to the two counties of Norfolk
and Suffolk, which are only later forms of the words _North folk_ and
_South folk_. These three tribes all spoke different dialects of the
same speech. The early predominance of the Angles, especially as the
Angles in Northumbria were the first to have a literature, gave to the
language the name of _English_, though the Keltic people still call it
_Saxon_ or _Sassenach_. The country also in time acquired, from the same
cause, the name of _Engla-land_, or the _land of the English_. The first
landing of Teutons took place in the year 449; and for about a hundred
years afterwards, bands of strong young warriors and colonists continued
to arrive at short intervals.
10. =THE PERIODS OF ENGLISH.=--The language brought over to Britain by
these three tribes has grown very much since the fifth century. It has
been growing for fourteen hundred years. It has therefore altered very
much in every way; its appearance has changed; and we have to learn the
English of the fifth, or the eighth, or the eleventh century, almost as
if it were a foreign language. There are four chief periods in the
history of the English language. These are:
I. Old English, commonly called Anglo-Saxon 450-1100
II. Early English 1100-1250
III. Middle English 1250-1485
IV. Modern English 1485-1882
But it must not be forgotten that there is no hard and fast line between
one period and another. A living language, like a living body, is always
changing. It takes on new additions of new matter; it loses the old.
With these new additions, its form also changes. We are rarely sensible
of these changes; but they are going on all the time for all that.
11. =THE OLDEST ENGLISH OR ANGLO-SAXON, 450-1100.=--This form of the
English language contained a very large number of inflections. The
definite article was inflected for gender, number, and case; nouns and
adjectives were highly inflected; and the verb had a very much larger
number of inflections than it has now. The words of the English
vocabulary during this period were almost entirely English; a few Latin
and Greek words--brought in chiefly by the church--and a few Keltic
words, had found their way into the English vocabulary. The rhyme used
in poetry was not end-rhyme, as at the present date, but head-rhyme or
alliteration--as we find it in the well-known line from Pope:
Apt alliteration’s artful aid.
To this period belong the writings of the poet Cædmon and of King
Alfred.
12. =EARLY ENGLISH, 1100-1250.=--The Normans had seized all power in the
state and in the church, and had held it since the year 1066. During the
early part of this period, English was not written, had ceased to be
employed in books; and French words began to creep in even among the
spoken words of the English people. The inflections of words began to
drop off, or to be carelessly used, and then to be mixed up and confused
with each other. One of the chief writers of this period is a priest
called =Layamon=, who wrote a poem called the _Brut_ (_Brutus_), which
gave some account of the beginnings of the English people, who were
believed to be descended from Brutus, the fabled son of Æneas of Troy.
13. =MIDDLE ENGLISH, 1250-1485.=--Nouns and adjectives during this period
lost almost all their inflections. The inflections of verbs were very
much altered and greatly simplified.--In the year 1349, boys in school
were allowed to cease translating their Latin into French, and began to
translate it into English. In the year 1362 Edward III. passed an act of
parliament ordering the use of English in the pleadings of cases in all
courts of law, instead of Norman-French, which had hitherto been
employed. To the first half of this period belong such works as the
_Metrical Chronicle_ and the _Lives of the Saints_, supposed to have
been written and translated by Robert of Gloucester; to the second half
belong the works of the great poet Chaucer, of William Langland, and of
the reformer Wicliffe.
14. =MODERN ENGLISH, 1485-1882.=--The year 1485 marks the accession of
the House of Tudor to the throne, in the person of Henry VII. By this
time almost all inflections had disappeared from our language. Many
hundreds of French words had come into the language. From the time of
the Revival of Letters[6]--which may be said to have begun in the
sixteenth century--several thousands of Latin words were poured into the
English vocabulary. The period which lies between 1485 and 1603--the
year in which James I. came to the throne--is sometimes called the
period of =Tudor English=. Its greatest verse-writer is Shakspeare; its
greatest prose-writer is Hooker, who wrote _The Laws of Ecclesiastical
Polity_.
15. =ENGLISH WORDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.=--The English language has for
centuries been importing words from many foreign tongues into its own
vocabulary; and it has given a hearty welcome to all kinds of strangers.
So much is this the case, and so far has this habit of taking in
strangers gone, that we can now quite accurately say: _Most of the words
in our English language are not English._ There are more Latin words in
our tongue than there are English. But this statement is true only of
our words as we find them _in the dictionary_. The words which we use
every day--the language _of the mouth_--is almost entirely English. The
_fixed vocabulary_--the vocabulary printed in the dictionary--is more
Latin than English; the _moving vocabulary_--the words which are daily
spoken--is English. Thus, if we take a passage in our translation of the
Four Gospels, we shall find from 90 to 96 per cent. of the words used
are English--and pure English. In the _Prologue_ which Chaucer wrote to
his famous set of poems called _The Canterbury Tales_, 88 per cent. of
the words are English; while, in Mrs Browning’s _Cry of the Children_,
the English words rise to the large proportion of 92 per cent.
The following is a list of a few more percentages of purely English
words in the writings of well-known authors:
Spenser (_Faerie Queene_, ii. 7) 86 per cent.
Shakspeare (_Henry IV., Part I._, Act ii) 91 “
Milton (_Paradise Lost_, Book VI.) 80 “
Swift (_John Bull_) 85 “
Johnson (Preface to _Dictionary_) 72 “
Gibbon (_Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire_,
I., cap. vii.) 70 “
Macaulay (_Essay on Lord Bacon_) 75 “
Tennyson (_In Memoriam_, first twenty poems) 89 “
16. =CHANGES IN ENGLISH.=--Let us take a passage from the Saxon
translation of the Old Testament--and it is the oldest English version
we have--and notice what differences there are between this English and
the English of the present day. This translation was made by Abbot
Ælfric, who lived and wrote late in the tenth century. He translated
into English the five books of Moses--commonly called the
Pentateuch--Joshua, Judges, and part of the book of Job. Let us see how
he writes (Genesis, ix. 1):
God blet[~t]sode God blessed
Noe and his suna Noah and his sons
and cväd hem tô: and quoth to them:
Veahxađ Wax (ye)
and beođ gemenigfilde and be manifolded
and âfyllađ and fill
þâ eorđan! the earth!
Now every word in the above verse is modern English; but every word has
been changed--with the exception of _God_, _his_, and _and_. All the
other words have changed enormously in the course of the eight centuries
since the verse was written. The words have changed; and the grammar has
changed. The word _bletsian_ has become _bless_. The grammar of the
verbs has changed enormously. For example, the imperative ending _ath_
in _Veahxath_ and _âfyllath_ has quite fallen away. It existed, in the
form of _eth_, down to the time of Chaucer, who writes _Standeth up!_ in
addressing several persons.--Next, we ought to notice that _all_ the
words are pure English. The modern version which we still use, and
which was published in 1611, has been obliged to use Latin and French
words. It says--and the words in italics are all foreign words: ‘Be
_fruitful_, and _multiply_ and _replenish_ the earth’! That is, it
employs three Latin words in the most important parts of the sentence.
17. =LOSS AND GAIN.=--But, while the English language has, in the course
of centuries, lost almost all its inflections, it has been all that time
gaining new words, and at the same time gaining new powers of
expression. In fact, the history of our language is a history of both
loss and gain. It has lost _inflections_ and gained new _words_. An
inflected language is generally called a =Synthetic Language=, because it
expresses changes of relations by the _adding-on_ (_synthesis_) of
something to the end of the word. A language which expresses relations
by little words like prepositions is called an =analytic language=. We may
therefore say that:
=English was in its earlier forms a synthetic language; but it is
now an analytic language.=
So much for the form or grammar of it. But, on the other hand, if we
look at the matter or words or vocabulary of it, we shall find that:
=English was originally a pure or unmixed language; but is now an
extremely composite one.=
18. =THE FOREIGN ELEMENTS IN ENGLISH.=--These have come into our language
chiefly because the English people have come so much into contact with
other peoples and tribes and nations. They came over to this island in
the fifth century, and found Kelts here; and from them they took some
Keltic words. About the end of the eighth century, the Danes came to
them; and a number of Danish words entered the language. Then another
set of Danes or Scandinavians--called Normans--came to them, conquered
them, and gave them many hundred Norman-French words. Then, with the
Revival of Letters, many scholars came over here, taught the English
people to read Greek and Latin books; and these books gave the language
several thousand words. Then the English people have always been the
greatest travellers in the world. They have gone to China and brought
home Chinese words (as well as things); they have long held India, which
has given us Hindu words; they have imported names and terms from North
and from South and Central America; they have borrowed from Spaniards
and Italians; they have taken words, nearer home, from the Dutch and
from the Germans; they have gone to the farthest east and to the
farthest west, and there is hardly a language on the face of the globe
from which they have not imported some words that live and make
themselves useful in our language.
19. =WELSH.=--When the English settled in this island, they found a people
who were called Britons, and who spoke a language called =British= or
=Kymric=. It is a language very different from English; and at first the
English warriors and the British people did not understand one single
word of what each other said. The Old English word for _foreigners_ was
_Wealhas_--or, as we call it now, _Welsh_; and the English fighting men
who came over called the British people, not by the name which they
themselves used, but simply the _foreigners_--the _Welsh_. In the same
way, a German to this day calls an Italian or a Frenchman a _Welshman_;
and he calls France or Italy _Welshland_. The language spoken by the
Welsh belongs to the =Keltic group= of languages. This group contains also
=Erse=, which is spoken in the west of Ireland; =Manx=, which is spoken in
the Isle of Man; =Gaelic=, which is spoken in the Highlands of Scotland;
and =Breton=, which is spoken in Brittany--a mountainous and rugged
peninsula in the north-west of France. It at one time embraced also
=Cornish=--the language spoken in Cornwall, which was also called _West
Wales_. But that language died out in 1778; and it is not now spoken by
any one. The following is a table of the Keltic group:
KELTIC.
|
+-----------------+----------------+
| |
GADHELIC. KYMRIC.
| |
+--------+----------+ +-----------+----------+
| | | | | |
=Erse.= =Gaelic.= =Manx.= =‘Welsh.’= =Breton.= =Cornish.=
(dead)
20. =THE KELTIC ELEMENT.=--The words given to the English language by the
Kelts are of two kinds:
(i) Names of mountains, rivers, lakes, and other natural features;
(ii) Names of common things, which the English picked up in their
daily intercourse with the British or Welsh.
(i) The Keltic name for a mountain is _Pen_--a word which we find in
_Pennine_ and _Apennine_. The Gaelic or Scotch Keltic form of the word
is _Ben_. Thus we have _Ben More_--which means the _Big Mountain_--_Ben
Nevis_, and many others. The commonest Keltic word for a river is
_Avon_. There are fourteen Avons in Great Britain. _Esk_ is another
common Keltic name for a river; and there are eight _Esks_ in Scotland
alone. In England the name takes the form of _Ex_ or _Exe_ (the
consonants having changed places, _Ex_ = _Eks_). The name appears as
_Ex_ in _Exeter_ (the old form was _Exanceaster_)--that is, _the camp on
the Ex_; as _Ax_ in _Axminster_; as _Ox_ in _Oxford_; as _Ux_ in
_Uxbridge_; as _Usk_, in Wales; and even as _Ouse_, in Yorkshire and
other counties.--_Aber_ is a Keltic word which means _the mouth of a
river_; and we find it in _Aberdeen_ (the town at the mouth of the Dee);
_Arbroath_, which is = _Aberbrothock_; _Aberystwith_; _Berwick_--the old
form of which was _Aberwick_. _Berwick_ accordingly means the _wick_ or
town at the mouth of the Tweed. _Car_ or _Caer_ is the Keltic word for
_castle_ or _stronghold_; and we find this name in _Carlisle_,
_Cardiff_, _Caernarvon_, and others.
(ii) The names of common things which we have received from the Kelts
are--_basket_, _bran_, _cradle_, _crockery_, _clout_, _cuts_ (= _lots_),
_darn_. Such words as _button_, _ribbon_, _barrel_, _car_, and _cart_,
are also Keltic, but have come into the English language through the
Norman-French, who received them from the descendants of the ancient
Gauls. Some Keltic words have come to us from Scotland--such as _pony_,
_clan_, _whisky_, _claymore_ (a kind of sword), _pibroch_, and _plaid_;
and it is chiefly to Sir Walter Scott’s writings that we owe the common
use of these words. Ireland has also sent us a few Keltic words, such as
_Tory_, _brogue_, and _shamrock_.
21. =THE LATIN ELEMENT OF THE FIRST PERIOD= (i).--The Roman power, as is
generally known, was settled in Britain from the year 43 till the year
410. In the beginning of the year 410, the very existence of the Roman
Empire was threatened by the Goths and other warlike peoples; and the
Roman forces were withdrawn to defend the very heart of the empire. The
Romans, though conquerors, were true benefactors. They gave the Britons
good laws; cut roads for them through the island; established camps;
built forts and strongholds; dug harbours or ports; and planted military
settlements--which they called _colonies_--here and there among the
conquered people. When the Romans went away, they left these important
benefits behind them; and, with the things themselves, the words also
remained. But they left only six words behind them, and all of these
have combined themselves, or gone into composition, with words that are
purely English. The following are the six words: =Castra=, a _camp_;
=Strata= (_via_), a _paved road_; =Vallum=, a _rampart_; =Fossa=, a _ditch_;
=Colonia=, a _settlement_; and =Portus=, a _harbour_.
22. =THE LATIN ELEMENT OF THE FIRST PERIOD= (ii).--(_a_) The Latin word
=Castra= has become _chester_, _caster_, _cester_, and even _ter_ (in
_Exeter_). We generally find it in the form of _chester_ in the south
and west; _cester_ in the middle; and _caster_ in the north and east of
England. Thus we have Chester, Manchester, and Winchester in the west
and south; Leicester and Towcester in mid-England; and Tadcaster,
Doncaster, and Lancaster in the north.
(_b_) =Strata.=--The Romans drove a strongly-built military road from the
south-east to the north-west of the island--from =Richborough=, near
Dover, up to the standing camp on the river Dee, which is now called
=Chester=. This was _the_ =Strata= or =Street=. It was afterwards carried
farther north, and even into Scotland. It went right over the crest of a
hill in Westmoreland, which is called =High Street= to this day. We can
trace the path of this great military road by the names of the towns and
villages that are strung upon it. Thus there are =Streat=ham (near
London), =Stret=ton, =Strat=ford-on-Avon, Stony =Strat=ford, =Stret=ford (near
Manchester), =Strad=broke, and many others.
(_c_) =Vallum= is found in _wall_.
(_d_) =Fossa= is found in the names _Fossway_, _Fosbrooke_, _Fosbridge_,
and others.
(_e_) =Colonia= is found in _Colne_, _Colchester_, _Lincoln_, and others.
(_f_) =Portus= appears in _Portsmouth_, _Portsea_, _Bridport_, and some
other names.
23. =THE LATIN ELEMENT OF THE SECOND PERIOD= (i).--This element was not
introduced by the Romans themselves, but by Christian missionaries who
came from Rome, sent by Pope Gregory the Great to convert, not the
Britons, but the English, to Christianity. A band of forty monks, with
St Augustine at their head, landed in Kent in the year 597. For four
centuries from this date a large number of Latin words came into the
English language, chiefly words relating to the church and church
observances.
=Church Terms.=--_Calic_, from _calix_, a cup; _cluster_, from
_claustrum_, a closed place; _priest_, from _presbyter_, an elder;
_sanct_, from _sanctus_, a holy man; _sacrament_, from _sacramentum_, a
sacred oath; _predician_, from _prædicare_, to declare; _regul_, from
_regula_, a straight piece of wood. But the old form of most of these
words has disappeared, to make room for Norman-French forms from the
same Latin source. Along with these were adopted a few Greek words--such
as _bishop_, from _episkopos_, an overseer; _angel_, from _anggelos_, a
messenger; _apostle_, from _apostolos_, a person sent; _monk_, from
_monăchos_,[7] a person who lives alone; and a few others.
24. =THE LATIN ELEMENT OF THE SECOND PERIOD= (ii).--The introduction of
Christianity proved to be the beginning of an intercourse with Rome,
Italys, and the Continent; and this intercourse brought with it
commerce. Commerce imported many new things; and the names of these
things came into the island along with the things themselves. Thus we
have _butter_ from _butŷrum_; _cheese_ from _caseus_; and _tunic_ from
_tunica_. We have also _fig_ from _ficus_; _pear_ from _pirum_;
_lettuce_ from _lactuca_, which itself comes from _lac_--milk (and hence
means _the milky plant_); and _pease_ from _pisum_. (_Pease_ is really
the singular; and _pea_ is a false singular--not a plural.) We have also
from the same source some names of animals. Such are _camel_ from
_camēlus_; _lion_ from _leo_; _oyster_ from _ostrea_; _trout_ from
_trutta_. A few miscellaneous words have also come to us from this
quarter--such as _pound_ from the Latin _pondus_, a weight; _candle_
from _candēla_; and _table_ from _tabŭla_. The Latin word _uncia_, which
means the twelfth part of anything, is, as it were, split up into
two--and gives the two words _inch_ and _ounce_, which are fundamentally
but two forms of one word. (But with regard to this class of words also
it should be observed that the words directly introduced from the Latin
have either been greatly changed in form; or they have been subsequently
borrowed again from the French.)
25. =THE SCANDINAVIAN ELEMENT= (i).--In the year 787, the Northmen,
Norsemen, or Normans of Scandinavia, began to make descents on the east
coast of England. These attacks were so dreaded by the English that
prayers were regularly used in the churches against them; and a part of
the Litany of the time contained the utterance: ‘From the incursions of
the Normans, good Lord, deliver us!’ These attacks went on for three
centuries. In the ninth century, these Danes obtained a permanent
footing in the northern and eastern parts of England; and by the
eleventh century they had become so strong that Danish kings sat upon
the throne of England from 1016 to 1042. These Norsemen were Teutons.
They were Teutons who had migrated to the north. As northern people
generally do, they preferred hard sounds to aspirates. They preferred a
_k_ to a _ch_; a _p_ to an _f_. The probable reason is that, in the cold
mists of the north, they had learned not to open too much their mouths
and throats; and thus they formed the habit of using a shut sound like
_k_ to a sound like _ch_ (in _loch_), which requires a stream of air to
be passed through the throat. We must not forget that it was the
_spoken_ language of England that was affected by the Danes; not the
_written_ language; for the simple reason that, in these times, not more
than one man in a thousand--either among Danes or Englishmen--could read
and write.
26. =THE SCANDINAVIAN ELEMENT= (ii).--The Danish contribution is, like the
Keltic, of two kinds: (_a_) Names of places; and (_b_) Common words.
(_a_) The most remarkable example of the place-name is the noun _by_,
which means _town_. There are in England more than six hundred names
ending in _by_. Almost all of these lie to the north and east of Watling
Street; to the south of it, there is scarcely one. Thus we have
_Whitby_, the _White Town_; _Tenby_, in Wales, _Dane’s town_; and
_Grimsby_, _the town of Grim_. We find the word _by_ also in the
compound _by-law_. The following words are also derived from the Danes:
=Thorpe=, a village Althorpe (old); Bishopsthorpe;
(_Drup_ in Jutland, where Burnham-Thorpe (where Nelson
there are scores of was born).
towns with this ending.)
=Fell=, a hill or table-land Scawfell, Crossfell, Goat Fell.
=Dale=, a valley Ribblesdale, Grimsdale.
=Thwaite=, a forest clearing Applethwaite.
=Toft=, a homestead Lowestoft (the form in Normandy is _tôt_).
=Wick=, a creek or bay Ipswich, Greenwich, Berwick. (Viking =
a creeker.)
=Oe= or =ea=, an island Faroe, Chelsea (= _chesel ea_, the shingle
island).
=Ness=, a nose or cape Sheerness, Caithness, Fife Ness; the
Naze (in Essex, etc.).
(_b_) To the Norsemen we also owe the words _are_, which pushed out the
pure English _syndon_; _talk_; _tarn_; _busk_ (dress); _sky_;
_hustings_; _fellow_; _odd_; _blunt_; _kid_; and many more.
27. =THE SCANDINAVIAN ELEMENT= (iii).--One result of this mixture of Danes
with Englishmen was that both, in trying to speak the language or to use
the words of each other, would naturally take firm hold of the _root_ of
the word, and allow the inflections to take care of themselves. Hence
English words would lose their inflections; and this process, after it
had once begun, would go on at an increased speed, the greater became
the communication at church and at market between the English and the
Danes. The same process is now going on in the United States. Thousands
upon thousands of Germans have settled there among an English-speaking
people. These Germans are rapidly falling into the habit of using their
German words without inflections at all.
28. =LATIN ELEMENT OF THE THIRD PERIOD= (i).--This element is really
Norman-French. French is Latin, with many of the inflections lost or
changed, and with the pronunciation of the vowel-sounds enormously
altered. But it did not come from the written Latin of books; but from
the spoken Latin of soldiers and country-people (the _lingua Romana
rustica_). Norman-French is the French spoken by the Normans, who lost
their own Norsk or Danish speech, and learned French from their French
wives and children. In the year 912, the Normans, under Duke Rolf or
Rollo, wrested from King Charles the Simple the beautiful valley of the
Seine, which was afterwards called by the name of Normandy.
Norman-French was a dialect of French, and it differed in many respects
from the French spoken in the other parts of France. This Norman-French
was introduced into England as a court language by Edward the Confessor,
in the year 1042; but it was brought into this country as a folk-speech
by bands of Norman-French under the leadership of Duke William, the
seventh Duke of Normandy, in the famous year 1066. This Norman-French,
which they brought with them, became in England the language of the
ruling classes, of the court, of the lawyers, and of all priests high in
the ranks of the church. Books ceased to be written in English; boys
translated their Latin into French; an English churl had to employ a
lawyer who used only French in his law-papers and his pleadings; and
even ‘uplandish’ or country people tried ‘to speak Frensch, for to be
more ytold of.’ The saturation of English with French words probably
reached its highest point at the end of the fourteenth century; and
about that time a reaction set in. As has been before pointed out, in
1349, boys were allowed to translate their Latin into English; in 1362,
Edward III. passed an act of parliament to authorise the use of English
in courts of law; and even the Normans who lived in London had begun to
use English in their families. But, by the time French had ceased to be
the language of the upper classes, several thousand French words had
found their way into our vocabulary, which had become to a large extent
_bilingual_.[8]
29. =NORMAN-FRENCH= (ii).--The words which have been introduced into our
pure English speech from the Normans fall easily into classes.
(_a_) =Feudalism[9] and War.=--Armour, chivalry, captain, battle,
duke, fealty, realm.
The English word for _armour_ was _harness_; and Macaulay uses _harness_
in this sense in one of his _Lays_:
Now while the three were tightening
Their harness on their backs.
--_Chivalry_ comes from the Fr. _cheval_, which is a broken-down form of
the Low Latin word _caballus_, a horse.--_Captain_ comes from the Lat.
_caput_, a head.--_Battle_ comes from the Fr. _battre_, to beat.--_Duke_
comes from the Fr. _duc_--which comes from the Lat. _dux_ (accusative
_ducem_, most French nouns being borrowed from the accusative, not the
nominative form of the Latin noun), a leader.--_Fealty_ is the
Norman-French form of the word _fidelity_, from the Lat. _fidelitas_,
faithfulness.--_Real-m_ is the noun from the adjective _real_, which
comes from Lat. _regal-is_; it is the land ruled over by a _rex_ or _ré_
(a king).
30. (_b_) =Hunting.=--Forest, leveret, quarry, couple, venison.
_Forest_ comes from the Low Lat.[10] _foresta_; from Lat. _foris_,
out-of-doors. A forest does not necessarily contain trees; it is merely
the name for the _open_ hunting-ground as contrasted with the inclosed
space called a park.--_Leveret_, a young hare, from the Fr. _lièvre_;
from the Lat. _lepus_ (_-oris_).--_Quarry_ comes from the Lat. _cor_,
the heart, and at first meant the heart and intestines, which were
thrown to the dogs who hunted down the wild beast. Milton has the
phrase, ‘scents his quarry from afar.’--_Couple_ comes from the Lat.
_copula_, a band.--_Venison_ means _hunted flesh_, and comes from the
Fr. _venaison_, which comes from the Lat. verb _venari_, to hunt.
31. (_c_) =Cookery.=--Beef, veal, pork, mutton, pullet.
The Saxon hind had the charge of the cattle and animals on the farm
while they were alive; but he never saw anything of them after they were
killed. He never met them at dinner. The flesh of these animals received
French names from the Norman-Frenchmen who ate them; and their Saxon or
English names were forgotten. A German says _calf’s flesh_, but we use
the Norman-French word _veal_. Thus the corresponding English words to
those printed above are _ox_, _calf_, _swine_, _sheep_, and _fowl_. The
word _beef_ comes from the Fr. _bœuf_, which comes from the Lat. _bos_
(acc. _bovem_), an ox.--_Veal_ comes from the old French word _veel_,
which comes from the Lat. _vitellus_, a little calf.--_Pork_ comes from
Fr. _porc_, which is derived from the Lat. _porcus_, a pig.--_Mutton_
comes from the Fr. _mouton_, from the Low Latin word _multo_, a
sheep.--_Pullet_ comes from Fr. _poulet_, which comes from the Low Latin
word _pulla_, a hen.
32. (_d_) =Law.=--Chancellor, judge, parliament, court, assize, sue,
damages, and many others.
The word _chancellor_ comes from the Fr. _chancelier_; from the Lat.
_cancellarius_, the keeper of written papers. ‘The officer who had the
care of the records stood behind the screen of lattice-work or of
cross-bars which fenced off the judgment-seat.’ _Cancer_ is the Latin
name for a crab; _cancellus_ is a little crab; _cancelli_ are cross-bars
or lattice-work, like the claws of crabs crossed. Hence also to
_cancel_, which means to draw cross strokes through writing.--_Judge_
comes from the French word _juge_, which comes from the Lat. _judex_ (=
_jus-dic-s_, a sayer of right). The old English term was _dempster_,
from the verb _deem_; noun, _doom_.--_Parliament_ comes from the Fr.
_parler_, to speak; from Low Lat. _parabolāre_, to talk; whence also
_parlour_, a room for speaking in.--_Court_ comes from the old Fr.
_cort_; from Lat. _cohors_ or _cors_, an inclosed space. A _cohors_ was
a sheep-pen; but it was afterwards applied to a number of
soldiers.--_Assize_ comes from the old Fr. _assise_, an assembly of
judges; from the Lat. _assidēre_, to sit beside.--_Sue_ comes from the
old Fr. _suir_ (modern Fr. _suivre_); from the Lat. _sequi_, to follow.
We have from the same root the words _suit_, _suite_, _pursue_, _ensue_,
_issue_.--_Damages_, from the old Fr. _damáge_, which comes from the Low
Lat. _damnaticum_, harm; which comes from the Lat. _damnum_, loss.
33. (_e_) =Church.=--Friar, relic, tonsure, ceremony, etc.
_Friar_ is a word which comes from the old Fr. _freire_, which is
derived from the Lat. _frater_, a brother.--_Relic_, chiefly used
in the plural, from Fr. _reliques_; from Lat. _reliquiæ_,
remains.--_Tonsure_ comes from the Fr. _tonsure_; from Lat. _tonsura_,
a cutting.--_Ceremony_, from the Fr. _cérémonie_, a rite; from Lat.
_cærimonia_.
34. =SYNONYMS GIVEN US BY NORMAN-FRENCH.=--Among other benefits which we
have received from the coming in of Norman-French into our language, is
a number of synonyms.[11] These have enabled us to give a different
shade or colouring to certain words, or to put them to a special use.
Thus we speak of the _blessing_ of God, and the _benediction_ of a
clergy-man; of the _bloom_ on a peach, and the _flower_ of a lily; of a
person as a _member_ of a learned society, but not a _limb_. Now
_blessing_, _bloom_, and _limb_ are all English; _benediction_,
_flower_, and _member_ are all Latin words--Latin words which have come
to us through the doorway of the French language. The following are some
more of these synonyms; and, after examining them, it will generally be
found that the English words are stronger, simpler, and more homely
than the French words.
ENGLISH. FRENCH.
Bough Branch.
Buy Purchase.
Feeling Sentiment.
Friendly Amiable.
Hearty Cordial.
Luck Fortune.
Meal Flour.
Mild Gentle.
Wish Desire.
Work Labour.
Wretched Miserable.
Wright Carpenter.
35. =BILINGUALISM.=--During the three centuries which lay between 1066 and
1362, the English and the Normans had to meet each other constantly in
the field, in the church, at markets, and in towns and villages. They
had to buy and sell from each other; to give and take orders from and to
each other; and to speak with each other on many kinds of business. They
also intermarried. Thus the Norman got slowly into the habit of joining
an English word with his French word--so as to make it clear to the
Englishman; while the Englishman, on his side, joined the corresponding
French word--when he happened to know it--to the English word he had to
employ. These words, ever after, ran in couples; and this habit of going
in couples became a habit of the language. Hence it is that, in the
opening words of our Prayer-Book, we use such couples as _assemble_ and
_meet together_; _acknowledge_ and _confess_; _dissemble_ and _cloak_;
and _humble_ and _lowly_. The words _meet together_, _acknowledge_,
_cloak_, and _lowly_, represent the purely English part of the
congregation; while the Norman-French supplies such words as _assemble_,
_confess_, _dissemble_, and _humble_. The great poet of the fourteenth
century--Chaucer--has hundreds of examples of such phrases. He gives us,
for example, _hunting_ and _venerye_; _mirth_ and _jollity_; _care_ and
_heed_; _swinke_ and _labour_; _pray_ and _beseech_; a _wright_ and
_carpenter_. The practice of using these pairs of words has very greatly
diminished in our day; but a few examples still keep their place in the
language. Such are _will and testament_, _use and wont_, _aid and abet_,
and several others.
36. =DOUBLETS.=--It is chiefly to the same Norman-French influence that we
owe a minor phenomenon of the language--the appearance of two forms of
the same word. These two forms are called =doublets=. The Norman-French
could not pronounce our semi-vowel _w_. They had either to make a _v_ of
it, or a hard _g_. They preferred the hard _g_; and, to keep it hard,
they added a _u_. Thus, for _wile_, they said _guile_; for _wise_ (=
_manner_), they said _guise_; for _ward_, _guard_; for _warden_,
_guardian_; for _wardrobe_, _garderobe_; for _warrant_, _guarantee_; and
so on.
37. =DOUBLETS FROM DIALECTS AND OTHER SOURCES.=--Besides the doublets due
to Norman-French influences, there are many interesting cases which may
be referred to. Some are evidently due to differences of dialect. The
English language grew up from different centres, which had little or no
connection with each other, on account of the difficulties of
travelling. Hence a word would take different forms in different
dialects--like _church_ in the south of the English-speaking country,
and _kirk_ in the north; so also with _cole_, of which the northern form
is _kail_. Sometimes one word is merely a later and modified form of
another, as _draw_ of _drag_. In all cases doublets are forms of the
same word, which have come through different experiences of place, or
time, or other influence. In short, they should be recognised as really
one word, with a difference in spelling and meaning, resulting from its
history. Other specimens of doublets are _down_ and _dune_; _shriek_ and
_screech_; _shell_ and _scale_; _wagon_ and _wain_.
38. =PRONUNCIATION.=--The Norman-French refined our mode of speaking; made
the existing vowel-sounds less coarse; gave us some new vowel-sounds;
and, above all, taught us to give up most of our rough throat-sounds or
gutturals. They gradually turned out the gutturals from the beginning of
words; and _genoh_ became _enough_, and _gif_, _if_. They turned them
out of the middle of words; and _nagel_ became _nail_, and _hagel_,
_hail_. They got rid of them at the ends of words; and we no longer
pronounce the guttural in _flight_, _might_, _right_, and _sight_. This
is all the more absurd and remarkable that we write _the sound that
once was there_ with two strong gutturals, _g_ and _h_. Sometimes the
influence of the Norman-French was to turn the guttural into a kind of
hissing sound or sibilant; and it is in this way that we came to say
_teach_, _beseech_, and _catch_. But the _ch_ in these words comes back
to its older use, and becomes a _gh_ again, in the past tense--in
_taught_, _besought_, and _caught_.
39. =LATIN OF THE FOURTH PERIOD.=--The Latin introduced into our language
by the Norman-French was a _spoken_ Latin. It was the Latin of the _ear
and mouth_. It was the everyday speech of the people; and underwent very
great change. The Latin introduced into our language by learned men was
a _written_ or _printed_ Latin. It was the Latin of _the eye and pen_.
This Latin is called the _Latin of the Fourth Period_; and it was
brought into our language by a powerful movement known as the =Revival of
Learning=.--When the Turks took Constantinople in 1453, the learned
Greeks of that capital fled from the city, carrying with them their
precious manuscript copies of Greek and Latin writers. They fled into
Italy, into Germany, and into France and England. They taught Greek and
Latin in the universities of these countries; and very soon the study of
Greek and Latin became the fashion among all persons of leisure; and the
stores of thought and beauty in Homer and Sophocles, in Virgil and
Horace, were diligently studied and appropriated. Queen Elizabeth was a
good Greek scholar, and could both speak and write good Latin. Now began
to come into our language thousands of Latin words; until, in the
beginning of the seventeenth century, an eminent writer complains that
Englishmen will have ‘to learn Latin to understand English, and a work
will prove of equal facility in either.’ Unlike the Latin words of the
Third Period, the Latin words introduced in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries suffered little or no change. They were
transferred from Latin books just as they were--by the accurate aid of
the hand and eye, and underwent no process of change or corruption. The
Latin _opinio_ became _opinion_; _notio_, _notion_; _suggestio_,
_suggestion_; _separatum_, _separate_; _iteratum_, _iterate_; and so on.
It would be a great mistake, however, to suppose that all the Latin of
this _Fourth Period_ came _directly_ from the Latin. Most of it came
through the medium of French, as did the Latin of the _Third Period_;
but unlike it, it was not the language of the people. In French, as in
English, it was the language merely of books, of the literary and of
learned men.--It is worthy of notice that many words which we use every
day, and which we think must _always_ have been in the language, only
came in about this period, and are therefore comparatively new. Thus Mr
Gill, the high-master of St Paul’s School in 1619, and the teacher of
John Milton in his boyhood, complains of the introduction of words which
are now quite common to all of us. He says: ‘O harsh lips! I now hear
all around me such words as _common_, _vices_, _envy_, _malice_; even
_virtue_, _study_, _justice_, _pity_, _mercy_, _compassion_, _profit_,
_commodity_, _colour_, _grace_, _favour_, _acceptance_.’ The wonder
nowadays would be how we could possibly get on without these words, and
how we could ever have done without them.
40. =MOUTH LATIN AND BOOK LATIN.=--The introduction of Latin words into
our English speech by two doors--by the living conversation of living
people, and by the silent door of books, has given rise to a phenomenon
of the same kind as that described in section 36. But the phenomenon of
duplicates or =doublets= presents itself to our notice on a much larger
scale now; and, in every case, the duplicate word becomes in reality two
separate words--employed for separate purposes, and with perfectly
distinct meanings. Thus, though _legal_, _leal_, and _loyal_ are, in
their origin, fundamentally the same word, their meanings are perfectly
distinct and even widely different; _hospital_ and _hotel_ are the same
words, but they are no longer used in the same sense; while _fact_ and
_feat_ have also widely diverged from each other in use and in
signification. The Latin words that have come from the Latin language by
the path of books, have kept their Latin shape, and may be called _Book
Latin_. The Latin words that have come to us by the path of
Norman-French have undergone great alterations; and they may be called
_spoken Latin_. The chief process of alteration undergone by them is
that of _squeezing_; three syllables have generally been squeezed into
two. The following is a list:
=DUPLICATE WORDS OR DOUBLETS.=
LATIN. BOOK LATIN. SPOKEN LATIN.
Benedictio, benediction, benison.
Cadentia (things falling cadence, chance.
or befalling),
Captivus, captive, caitiff.
Conceptio, conception, conceit.
Cophinus, coffin, coffer.
Debitum, debit, debt.
Defectum, defect, defeat.
Dilatare, dilate, delay.
Exemplum, example, sample.
Fabrica, fabric, forge.
Factio, faction, fashion.
Factum, fact, feat.
Fidelitas, fidelity, fealty.
Fragilis, fragile, frail.
Gentilis, gentile, gentle, genteel.
Granum (a grain), granary, garner.
Historia, history, story.
Hospitale, hospital, hotel.
Lectio, lection, lesson.
Legalis, legal, loyal.
Major (greater), major, mayor.
Maledictio, malediction, malison.
Nutrimentum, nutriment, nourishment.
Oratio, oration, orison.
Pagus (a country district pagan, paynim (the heathen).
or canton),
Particula, particle, parcel.
Pauper, pauper, poor.
Penitentia, penitence, penance.
Persecutum, persecute, pursue.
Potio (a draught), potion, poison.
Providentia, providence, prudence.
Pungens, pungent, poignant.
Quietus, quiet, coy.
Radius, radius, ray.
Regalis, regal, royal.
Respectus, respect, respite.
Securus, secure, sure.
Senior, senior, sir.
Separatum, separate, sever.
Species, species, spices.
Status, state, estate.
Superficies, superficies, surface.
Tractus, tract, trait, treat.
Traditio (a giving up), tradition, treason.
NOTES.--_Benison_ is the opposite of _malison_. A _caitiff_ was a
person who _allowed_ himself to be taken captive. A _feat of arms_
was a _fact_ or _deed of arms_; hence a _feat_ par excellence. The
hard guttural _c_ in _fabric_ has become a sibilant _g_ in _forge_,
by Nor. Fr. influence. The _g_ in _fragile_ was originally hard.
_Major_ is a _greater captain_; a _mayor_ is a _greater alderman_.
_Orison_ may be compared with _benison_, _poison_, _reason_, and
_treason_. The _p_ in _separate_ has become a _v_ in _sever_; both
letters being _labials_. The cutting down of the five syllables in
_superficies_ into two in _surface_, is the most remarkable
instance of compression in the whole list.
Many of the _Book Latin_ words in the above list, such as _captive_,
_debit_, _defect_, _fact_, &c., were borrowed _directly_ from the Latin,
and not through the medium of French books.
41. =GREEK DOUBLETS.=--The same phenomenon has also taken place with
reference to Greek words. It is of course the newer form of these words
that was given us by the revival of learning; the older forms may have
existed in the language since the coming of Augustine in the end of the
sixth century.
GREEK. OLDER FORM. NEWER FORM.
Adamas, adamant, diamond.
Asphodĕlos, asphodel, daffodil.
Balsamon, balsam, balm.
Blasphemein, blaspheme, blame.
Cheirourgos, chirurgeon, surgeon.
Dactŭlos (a finger), date (the fruit), dactyl.
Phantasia, fancy, phantasy.
Phantasma, phantasm, phantasy.
Presbutĕros, priest, presbyter.
Paralysis, palsy, paralysis.
Scandalon, slander, scandal.
NOTES.--_Adamant_ means _the unsubduable_; a _chirurgeon_ is
literally a _worker with the hand_; _phantasia_ is the power of
_presenting to the mind’s eye_ a bodily image that is not present;
_presbuteros_ means simply _elder_. In the time of Shakspeare,
_fancy_ meant _love_. ‘Tell me where is fancy bred!’ is the first
line of a song in the _Merchant of Venice_.
42. =ENGLISH WORDS AND FRENCH WORDS IN SENTENCES.=--The difference between
English steeped in French and Latin, and English written almost wholly
in pure English words, can be at once seen in the two following
passages, which are taken from the work of Mr C. Schele De Vere, an
American writer.
(_a_) ‘The Norman _altered_ and _increased_ our _language_; but he could
not _extirpate_ it. To _defend_ his _conquest_, he took _possession_ of
the _country_; and, _master_ of the _soil_, he _erected_ _fortresses_
and _castles_, and _attempted_ to _introduce_ new _terms_. The
_universe_ and the _firmament_--the _planets_, _comets_, and
_meteors_--the _atmosphere_ and the _seasons_, all were _impressed_ with
the _seal_ of the _conqueror_. Hills became _mountains_, and dales
_valleys_; streams were called _rivers_, and brooks _rivulets_;
waterfalls, _cascades_; and woods, _forests_.’
All the words in italics in the above passage are either of Latin or of
French origin; if of French, then they are Latin at second-hand.
(_b_) ‘But the _dominion_ of the Norman did not _extend_ to the home of
the Englishman, it stopped at the threshold of his house; there, around
the fireside in his kitchen,[A] and the hearth in his room,[12] he met
his beloved kindred; the bride, the wife, and the husband, sons and
daughters, brothers and sisters, tied to each other by love, friendship,
and kind feelings, knew nothing dearer than their own sweet home.’
Only one word in the above is French (_dominion_), and two are Latin
(_extend_ and _kitchen_). All the others are purely English.
43. =ENGLISH WORDS LOST.=--The copious introduction of Norman-French,
Latin, and Greek terms into our language, had the effect of pushing a
great number of purely English words _out_ of our speech, or at least of
making them less frequent in use. Thus we used to say _fore-elders_, but
this word has had its place taken by _ancestors_; _fairhood_ has been
pushed out by _beauty_; and _wonstead_ by _residence_. In the same way,
_forewit_ has given place to _caution_; _licherest_[13] to _cemetery_;
_inwit_ to _conscience_; _bookhoard_ to _library_; and _hindersome_ to
_obstructive_. In fact, it is often easier for us to understand foreign
words than those of our own native home-grown speech. The title of an
old book written in the thirteenth century is the _Ayenbite[14] of
Inwyt_--a title which is to us much more intelligible in its
Franco-Latin translation of _Remorse of Conscience_. Mr Barnes, the
Dorsetshire poet, has tried to re-introduce the genuine homely English
way of speaking and writing; and to banish Latin terms. Thus, in his
_Grammar_ or ‘Book of Speech-Craft,’ he calls _singular_, _onely_;
_plural_, _somely_; and he calls _degrees of comparison_, _pitches of
suchness_. The difficulty he has to contend with is, that this home
English is less intelligible to our modern ears than the foreign Latin.
Thus the following sentence looks like a word-puzzle: ‘These pitch-marks
off mark sundry things by their sundry suchnesses, as, “The _taller_ or
_less tall_ man of the two is my friend.”’ And he also says--what is a
useful warning for us: ‘Speech was shapen of the breath-sounds of
speakers, for the ears of hearers; and not from speech-tokens (letters)
in books, for men’s eyes.’
CHAPTER II.
=The History of the Grammar of English.=
1. =AN INFLECTED LANGUAGE.=--When, in the fifth century, our English
speech was brought over from the Continent, it was a highly inflected or
=Synthetic= language; and it remained in this condition for several
centuries. The coming of the Danes had the effect of beginning the
dropping off of inflections. The coming of the Normans extended very
much and hastened this process, which has gone on with considerable
rapidity down to the present day. We may put the general fact in this
way:
The English Language was a =Synthetic Language= down to about the
year 1100; since that time, it has been becoming more and more of
an =Analytic Language=.
2. =THE GRAMMAR OF NOUNS.=--In the very oldest English--or, as it is
commonly called, _Anglo-Saxon_--nouns were declined in different ways,
and had several declensions, just as German and Latin have. Each of
these declensions had four cases. Nowadays we have only one declension
and only one inflection for the cases of nouns. That one inflection is
=’s= for the possessive case. The following is an example of an old
declension:
Declension of =EAGE=, the eye.
_Sing._ _Plur._
_Nom._ Eage (eye). Eagan.
_Pos._ Eag-an (of). Eag-ena.
_Dat._ Eag-an (to). Eag-am.
_Obj._ Eage. Eagan.
Again, in this English, gender did not follow sex, but was poetic and
fantastic. _Tongue_ and _week_ were feminine nouns, as they still are in
modern German; _star_ and _sea_, masculine; _wife_ and _child_,
neuter.--In old English there were a great many plural endings, as =-as=,
=-an=, =-u=, =-a=, =-o=. After the Norman Conquest they were greatly reduced,
=-es= or =-s= being now the ordinary ending, =-en= being exceptional.
3. =THE GRAMMAR OF ADJECTIVES.=--Adjectives had also cases. Adjectives had
four cases, three genders, and two numbers. Now we say _good_ for all
cases, genders, and numbers. In the fourteenth century the only ending
which adjectives possessed was =e= for the plural. Thus Chaucer
(1340-1400) writes of the little birds:
And _smalë_ fowlës maken melodie.
4. =GRAMMAR OF DEFINITE ARTICLE.=--This article was declined like an
adjective, in three different genders. Now it has no inflections at all.
It has still, however, a clear and distinct memory of one case, which
survives in such phrases as, ‘The more, the merrier.’ This sentence
might be written, ‘þŷ more, þŷ merrier.’ That is to say, ‘By that more,
by that merrier.’ The measure of the increase of the company is the
measure of the increase of the merriment.
5. =GRAMMAR OF THE PERSONAL PRONOUN.=--The personal pronoun was also
highly inflected in the oldest English; and the two personal pronouns of
the first and second persons possessed this remarkable peculiarity, that
it had three numbers, singular, dual, and plural. The dual form stood
for _We two_ and for _You two_; and, if we cared to trouble ourselves
nowadays with a host of inflections, these would certainly be very
convenient.
All this is now very much changed. The dual number is completely gone;
the use of _thou_, except in religious compositions, has been given up,
and the true possessive of _it_, which is =his=, has given place to the
incorrect form _its_. The possessive _its_ is very seldom found in
Shakspeare, and there is only one instance of it in our present
translation of the Bible: ‘That which groweth of its own accord of thy
harvest thou shalt not reap’ (Lev. xxv. 5). But another reading is, ‘of
it own accord.’
6. =GRAMMAR OF VERBS.=--The verb possessed also, in the oldest times,
before the language was at all influenced by Norman-French, a large
number of inflections. At the present time a verb has only five
inflections; but, if it belongs to the strong conjugation, it may have
six. Let us look at the old verb _niman_, to take, which still survives
in our adjective _nimble_, which means _quick at taking_.
The chief tenses of =niman= were inflected as follows:
PRESENT TENSE.
_Sing._ _Plural._
1. nime. nimath.
2. nimest. nimath.
3. nimeth. nimath.
PAST TENSE.
_Sing._ _Plural._
1. nám. námon.
2. náme. námon.
3. nám. námon.
Of all the inflections in the above, only two still remain, _st_ in the
second person singular, and _th_ in the third person; and even these two
inflections are nowadays hardly used at all.
7. =FRAGMENTS OF NOUN INFLECTIONS.=--Although our language, in the course
of its history, has lost almost all of its inflections, there still
remain, here and there, in our grammar, fragments of inflections which
are often curiously disguised, and therefore difficult to recognise.
Thus, at first sight, it is not easy to see that _vixen_ is the feminine
of _fox_. But _vixen_ is simply the same as _fixen_, or _fyxen_, and it
was one of the laws of Anglo-Saxon vowel-change that _o_ became _y_. It
was very usual to make the plural of nouns in _en_. Thus we said
_shoon_, _hosen_, _tren_, _been_ (for _bees_), _toon_ (for _toes_),
_flon_ (for _arrows_), and _fleen_ (for _fleas_). But, of all these and
other similar plurals, we now possess only one--_oxen_. The plurals
_children_ and _brethren_ are really double plurals. The oldest plurals
were _cildru_, afterwards _childer_; and _brether_. It was then
forgotten that these were real plurals, and an _en_ was added.
8. =FRAGMENTS OF ADJECTIVE INFLECTIONS.=--We have the comparative _rather_
(rightly pronounced in Ireland rayther); but we have no _rathe_ or
_rathest_. An old writer, speaking of a star, says: ‘It rose rather and
rather (earlier).’ =Nighest= becomes _next_; because the =g + s= is equal to
an =x=. So there was in our country an old proverb, ‘When bale is hext,
bone is next’--that is, ‘When evil is highest, boon is nighest.’ _Over_
is now only used as a preposition. But it is really the comparative
degree of the old adjective _ov_, which is a form of _up_ or _off_.
9. =FRAGMENTS OF PRONOUN INFLECTIONS.=--The _t_ in _it_ (which was
formerly _hit_, as the neuter of _he_) is simply the sign of the neuter
gender, and is the same _t_ that is found in _tha-t_, _wha-t_ (the
neuter of _who_), etc. Hence the true possessive of _it_ is _his_; and
this is the form in use in Shakspeare and Bacon, and even down to the
middle of the seventeenth century. _Its_, as we have already seen, is a
blunder. _They_ is not the true plural of _he_; but really of the old
definite article _thaet_.
10. =FRAGMENTS OF VERB INFLECTIONS.=--The inflections of the verb are very
strangely disguised; and, if learned men had not worked hard, and made
diligent inquiry in many directions, we should never have known what
they really are. Thus the _m_ in _am_ is the same _m_ that is found in
_me_; and the oldest form known of the verb _am_, in the oldest
language, is _asmi_.--The _t_ which we find in the second person of
some verbs, such as _art_, _wast_, _shalt_, and _wilt_, is the same as
the _th_ in _thou_. This _t_ is therefore the pronoun _thou_ added to
the verb.--The _th_ in the old-fashioned third person singular
_writeth_, _hopeth_, etc., is the same _th_ that we find in _the_ and
_that_. Accordingly, we may say that _burneth_ is = _that_ (_thing_)
_burns_.--The last _d_ in _did_ is not the same as the _ed_ in _walked_.
_Did_ is not = _doed_. An older form of _did_ is _dude_; and from this
we see that the past tense was formed by doubling the present--by
reduplication. Thus we see that it is the last _d_ that represents the
_do_.--The word _worth_ in the well-known lines from the _Lady of the
Lake_--
Woe worth the chase, woe worth the day,
That cost thy life, thou gallant gray!--
is not an adjective, but the remnant of an old verb. This verb is
_weorthan_, to become; and _worth_ is the imperative of it. When a verb
has lost one of its parts, it goes to another verb, and borrows the use
of one of its parts. Thus _went_, the past tense of _go_, is borrowed
from _wend_.
11. =FRAGMENTS OF INFLECTIONS IN ADVERBS.=--Adverbs contain a great number
of disguised inflections. In the present day, we make adverbs from
adjectives by adding _ly_ to them--as _neat_, _neatly_; _warm_,
_warmly_. But, in old English, the adverb was made by employing the
dative of the adjective. Thus, _brightë_ was = _in a bright manner_;
_swiftë_ was = _swiftly_. Then _ë_ very soon dropped off; and the word
was left in its bare root--stripped of inflections. And so it has
happened that we have many adverbs which are used in their simplest
form, and are just the same as adjectives. We do not say, ‘He runs
fastly,’ but ‘He runs fast;’ ‘He works hardly,’ but ‘He works
hard.’--But the remnants of other cases are also found in adverbs. Thus
_needs_, _always_, _sideways_, _once_ (for _onës_), _twice_ (for
_twiës_), _unawares_, _whence_ (for _whennës_) and others, are all old
possessives.--_Seldom_ is an old dative plural. _Seld_ meant _rare_; and
_seldom_ means _at rare times_.--_The_ in the phrase, ‘The older the
better,’ is an ablative or _instrumental_ case; and therefore means _by
that_. Accordingly this sentence means: ‘By that older, by that
better.’ The measure of the increase of age is the measure of the
increase of the quality.
12. =FRAGMENTS OF INFLECTIONS IN PREPOSITIONS.=--_Since_ is the possessive
case of the old English word _sithen_. The following are the steps:
_Sithennës_; _sithens_; _sithence_; _since_.--_After_ is the comparative
degree of the old preposition _af_ (= of), which meant _from_. _Over_ is
another comparative form, from a root which appears in _up_.
CHAPTER III.
=Changes in Modern English.=
1. =FORMATION OF MODERN ENGLISH.=--We have seen that the substance of the
living English tongue was brought from Germany to this island by our
Teutonic ancestors. We have seen also that it has undergone a great
variety of influences, the greatest and strongest of which was the
Norman Conquest. For a long time after the Conquest, the English
language was the tongue of a subject and humiliated race; it ceased to
be fashionable, and almost ceased to be literary. In the thirteenth
century it began to revive, but with very important changes; the
inflections, and many of the old English words, being lost, and a
multitude of new words being introduced. In Chaucer’s time it regained
its old position as the language of the court, of fashion, and of
literature. In 1485 we find the language in all important respects fixed
as we have it now. Every intelligent Englishman is able to understand
all that has since been written.
Modern English, then, dates from 1485, the year when the Wars of the
Roses ended with the battle of Bosworth, and the Tudor line ascended the
throne. It was the time also when the art of printing was introduced by
Caxton; and about the time when the two great events, the Revival of
Learning and the Reformation, took place.
2. =CONTINUED HISTORY OF OUR LANGUAGE.=--It would be a mistake, however,
to suppose that the language has no history after 1485. Language is the
expression and embodiment of thought; and as thought varies with the
varying experience of man, language must change accordingly. Since 1485
the English people have gone through marvellous changes--changes in
political and social life, in science, in art, and industry. They have
planted extensive colonies, they carry on trade in every part of the
world, and have dealings with every nation. In all this widening and
progressive life, we have got to know far more than we did in 1485, and
thus require to use a multitude of words unknown to the people of that
period. The result has been a large addition to our vocabulary.
3. =BORROWING FROM SPANISH AND ITALIAN.=--Under the heading ‘Latin of the
Fourth Period,’ we have noted the number of words borrowed from the
Latin during the sixteenth century. We are now to observe that about the
same time there was a considerable borrowing of words from the Spanish
and Italian. Of course, as Italian and Spanish are offshoots from Latin,
these words also are mostly of Latin origin.
(i) =Italian.=--During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Italian
literature was very extensively studied by English writers. For some
centuries the Italians were the most cultivated people in Europe. Italy
was the home of music, painting, and sculpture. Her poets served as
models to those of other nations. The earliest poets of modern England,
such as Wyatt and Surrey, were inspired by them; Spenser and Milton were
ardent students of their works. During this period, consequently, we
introduced from the Italian language many important words, among which
may be mentioned _sonnet_, _opera_, _cupola_, _balcony_, _palette_.
(ii) =Spanish.=--At the same time we had even more intimate relations with
Spain, though of a different kind. In the sixteenth century Spain was
the leading nation of Europe. She had the best soldiers, the first
generals and statesmen; her ships discovered America; and her kings
aimed at universal dominion. As both friend and enemy, England was
brought into close connection with the Spaniards. Under these
circumstances we naturally adopted many words from them. While most of
these were of Latin origin, not a few related to the new countries
discovered and conquered by Spain in America. Among the Spanish words
may be mentioned _buffalo_, _alligator_, _don_, _armada_, _indigo_,
_potato_, _tobacco_. The last two are of American origin. The rest are
Latin. _Alligator_ is of Latin origin, but is the name of an American
animal.
4. =DUTCH WORDS.=--We have borrowed very few words from the Germans; but
from the people of the Netherlands, who have always been near neighbours
to us, we have derived not a few. Long ago, Flemings (or people of
Flanders) were settled in Wales and Norfolk. In the reign of Queen
Elizabeth, thousands of Protestant refugees from Antwerp and other
places in the Netherlands found an asylum in England. Since the rise of
Holland we have had many dealings, both warlike and commercial, with the
Dutch. All this accounts for the goodly number of Dutch words which we
now find in the English language, such as _burgomaster_, _ballast_,
_holster_, _trigger_, _yacht_, _yawl_.
5. It will have been clearly seen that there are two main elements in
the English language--the Teutonic element, which is by far the most
important; and the Latin element. It is interesting to trace the
relative proportion of these two elements as used by the great English
writers. In the seventeenth century, especially in such writers as
Milton and Sir Thomas Browne, we find a large use of the Latin element,
accompanied by a Latin or complex and involved structure of sentence.
Towards the end of the century, and especially in the beginning of the
eighteenth, during the period of Queen Anne, a simpler style prevailed,
the classical element being more sparingly used. But as we proceed into
the eighteenth century, the Latin part of the language is again more
largely employed by such writers as Johnson, Gibbon, and Hume; and it is
again accompanied by a more formal and elaborate structure of sentence.
But before the century closes, there is a return to simplicity and
naturalness.
6. In the present century there are many influences specially worth
noting as affecting the language:
(i) =Social and Political Causes.=--Society is a complex thing,
continually growing. New facts and ideas are perpetually making
themselves felt, necessitating new words, or a more extending meaning in
old words. In this province, then, changes in language are incessantly
required. Hence the need for such new words as _extradition_,
_neutralisation_, _secularisation_; even for such unhappy coinages as
_burke_. On occasion of the great volunteer reviews of 1881, words like
_entrain_ and _detrain_, applied to troops, could be noticed creeping
in. _Closure_ and _clôture_ were rivals for currency during the debates
of 1882; and _Boycott_ began to present serious claims to permanent
citizenship in the English tongue.
(ii) =Popularising of Technical and Scientific Terms.=--One of the most
marked features of the nineteenth century is the great diffusion of
scientific knowledge, and the application of it to the uses of practical
life. The highest scientific results are becoming common property; and
the discoveries of science have been made to satisfy the common needs of
men. The result is that terms once unknown or exclusively technical have
gained the widest currency in the popular speech. There is no need to
mention such familiar words as _telegraph_, _photograph_, or even
_telephone_ or _photophone_. The old noun _wire_ has now established its
right to be used as a verb. In other spheres such terms as _objective_,
_subjective_, _æsthetics_, now fulfil important functions; _æsthete_
also seems too useful a word to be dispensed with.
(iii) =Revival of Archaisms.=--In many of our recent poets there has been
a tendency to revive some of the old Spenserian or Shaksperian words.
But as these are purely literary terms, with no currency in the common
speech, they need not be dwelt on.
(iv) =Introduction of Scotticisms and Americanisms.=--The right of the
Scottish tongue to be considered one of the worthiest varieties of the
genuine old English or Saxon tongue is now generally recognised. But
apart from that, the intrinsic merit of such words as _eerie_,
_glamour_, _sough_, _bonnie_, _douce_ (both of which last, however, are
of French origin), will probably secure them a permanent place in our
language. The influence of America will also be more and more felt on
the common English language, whether through its stock of old Saxon
phrases which have been preserved in America, through the innovations
made by its humorists, or the new experiences in its social and
political life.
(v) =Further borrowing from Foreign Languages.=--Even the most remote and
unlikely make important and familiar contributions to our tongue. From
the Malays we have (along with the thing) borrowed the words _bamboo_,
_gong_, _sago_; from the Australians we have _boomerang_ and _kangaroo_;
and from South African tongues, _gnu_, _quagga_, _kraal_.
CHAPTER IV.
=Words adopted from Foreign Languages.=
1. =FROM AFRICAN DIALECTS.=--Chimpanzee, gnu, gorilla, karoo, kraal,
zebra.
2. =FROM AMERICAN TONGUES.=--Buccaneer, cacique, cannibal, canoe,
caoutchouc, cayman, chocolate, condor, guano, hammock, jaguar,
jalap, jerked (beef), llama, mahogany, maize, manioc, moccasin,
mustang, opossum, pampas, pemmican, potato, skunk, squaw, tapioca,
tobacco, tomahawk, tomato, wigwam, yam.
3. =FROM THE ARABIC LANGUAGE.= (The word _al_ means _the_. Thus
al_cohol_ = _the spirit_. A few of the following words, however,
though they have come to us through Arabic, belong originally to
other tongues. Thus alchemy and talisman are from the Greek;
apricot is Latin.)--Admiral, alchemy, alcohol, alcove, alembic,
algebra, alkali, amber, apricot, arrack, arsenal, artichoke,
assassin, assegai, attar, azimuth, azure, caliph, carat, chemistry,
cipher, civet, coffee, cotton, crimson, dragoman, elixir, emir,
fakir, felucca, gazelle, giraffe, harem, hookah, koran (or
alcoran), lute, magazine, mattress, minaret, mohair, monsoon,
mosque, mufti, nabob, nadir, naphtha, salaam, senna, sherbet, shrub
(the drink), simoom, sirocco, sofa, sultan, syrup, talisman,
tamarind, tariff, vizier, zenith, zero.
4. =FROM CHINESE.=--Bohea, congou, hyson, joss, junk, nankeen, pekoe,
souchong, tea.
5. =FROM DUTCH= (words relating chiefly to naval affairs).--Boom,
boor, hoy, luff, reef, schiedam (gin), skates, skipper, sloop,
smack, smuggle, stiver, taffrail, wear (of a ship), yacht.
6. =FROM FRENCH.=--Aide-de-camp, belle, bivouac, blonde, bouquet,
brunette, brusque, carte-de-visite, coup-d’état, débris, début,
déjeûner (breakfast), depot, éclat, ennui, etiquette, naive,
naïveté, nonchalance, personnel, précis, programme, protégé,
recherché, soirée.
7. =FROM GERMAN= (mostly mining terms).--Cobalt, felspar, horn-blend,
landgrave, loafer, margrave, meerschaum, nickel, plunder, poodle,
quartz, zinc.
8. =FROM HEBREW= (words relating chiefly to religion).--Abbey, abbot,
amen, behemoth, cabal, cherub, gehenna, hallelujah, hosannah,
Jehovah, jubilee, leviathan, manna, paschal, pharisee, pharisaical,
rabbi, sabbath, Sadducees, Satan, seraph, shibboleth, Talmud.
9. =FROM HINDU.=--Avatar, banyan, bungalow, calico, chintz, coolie,
cowrie, durbar, jungle, lac (of rupees), loot, mulligatawny,
pagoda, palanquin, pariah, punch, pundit, rajah, rupee, ryot,
sepoy, shampoo, sugar, suttee, thug, toddy.
10. =FROM HUNGARIAN.=--Hussar.
11. =FROM ITALIAN.=--Alarm, alert, alto, bagatelle, balcony,
balustrade, bandit, bankrupt, bravo, brigade, brigand, broccoli,
burlesque, bust, cameo, canteen, canto, caprice, caricature,
carnival, cartoon, cascade, cavalcade, charlatan, citadel,
colonnade, concert, contralto, conversazione, cornice, corridor,
cupola, curvet, dilettante, ditto, doge, domino, extravaganza,
fiasco, folio, fresco, gazette, gondola, granite, grotto, guitar,
incognito, influenza, lagoon, lava, lazaretto, macaroni, madonna,
madrigal, malaria, manifesto, motto, moustache, niche, opera,
oratorio, palette, pantaloon, parapet, pedant, pianoforte, piazza,
pistol, portico, proviso, quarto, regatta, ruffian, serenade,
sonnet, soprano, stanza, stiletto, stucco, studio, tenor,
terra-cotta, tirade, torso, trombone, umbrella, vermilion, vertu,
virtuoso, vista, volcano, zany.
12. =FROM MALAY.=--Amuck, bamboo, bantam, caddy, cockatoo, dugong,
gamboge, gong, guttapercha, mandarin (through the Portuguese),
mango, ourangoutang, rattan, sago, upas.
13. =FROM PERSIAN.=--Bazaar, bashaw, caravan, check, checkmate,
chess, dervish, divan, firman, hazard, horde, houri, jar, jackal,
jasmine, lac (a gum), lemon, lilac, lime (the fruit), musk, orange,
paradise, pasha, rook, saraband, sash, scimitar, shawl, taffeta,
turban.
14. =FROM POLYNESIAN DIALECTS.=--Boomerang, kangaroo, taboo, tattoo
(to paint the skin).
15. =FROM PORTUGUESE.=--Albatross, caste, cobra, cocoa-nut,
commodore, fetish, lasso, marmalade, moidore, palaver, port
(Oporto).
16. =FROM RUSSIAN.=--Czar, drosky, knout, morse (walrus), steppe,
ukase.
17. =FROM SPANISH.=--Alligator, armada, barricade, battledore,
bravado, buffalo, caracole, cargo, cigar, cochineal, cork, creole,
desperado, don, duenna, El dorado, embargo, filibuster (from
English flyboat), filigree, flotilla, galleon (a ship), grandee,
grenade, guerilla, indigo, jennet, matadore, merino, mosquito,
mulatto, negro, octoroon, quadroon, renegade, savannah, sherry
(Xeres), tornado, vanilla.
18. =FROM TARTAR.=--Caviare (the roe of the sturgeon).
19. =FROM TURKISH.=--Bey, caftan, chibouk, chouse, janissary, kiosk,
odalisque, ottoman, tulip, yashmak, yataghan.
CHIEF DATES IN THE HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.
.....A.D.
1. =Cædmon= wrote a _Paraphrase of the Scriptures_ in
First English prose.....=670=
2. =Bede=, or =Bæda=, wrote a translation into English of part
of the _Gospel of St John_.....=735=
3. =King Alfred= translated many Latin works into English,
among others, the _Ecclesiastical History of the English
Nation_. King Alfred died.....=901=
4. =Ælfric= translates parts of the Bible.....=1000=
5. =Anglo-Saxon Chronicle= brought to a stop about.....=1154=
6. =Normandy= taken from England under King John.
Normans now obliged to regard themselves as Englishmen,
and more ready to use the English tongue.....=1204=
7. =Layamon’s= _Brut_--a poem--the first English book
written after the stoppage of the _Chronicle_ (written
in the _Southern English_ dialect).....=1205=
8. =First Proclamation= ever written in English, issued by
Henry III......=1258=
9. =Sir John Mandeville=, the first writer of _formed_
English prose, ‘publishes’ his _Travels_.....=1356=
(_Publishes_ in this century means: _Allows copies in
manuscript to be made of his book._)
10. =Edward III.= authorises the use of English instead of
French in courts of law and in schools.....=1362=
11. =John Wicliffe= translates most of the Bible.....=1380=
12. =Geoffrey Chaucer=, the ‘Father of English Poetry,’ wrote
his _Canterbury Tales_ about.....=1388=
13. =William Caxton= prints the first English book ever printed,
_The History of Troyes_, in Flanders.....=1471=
14. =Caxton= erects the first printing-press in the Broad
Sanctuary, in Westminster, and publishes the first book ever
printed in England, the _Game and Playe of the Chesse_.....=1474=
15. =The Book of Common Prayer= compiled by Cranmer.....=1549=
16. =The English Bible=, based upon William Tyndall’s and
other translations, published.....=1611=
CHAPTER V.
=Notes on the Growth of English Words.=
1. =ROOTS; INFLUENCE OF IMITATION ON LANGUAGE.=--The question of the
origin of language is an extremely interesting one, which has been long
and keenly discussed. But it is one on which the opinions of the learned
are not agreed, and we cannot dwell upon it here. There is an
established fact, however, which is of the highest interest and
importance: most of the words of the great family of Indo-European
languages can be traced to a few hundred roots; and these roots are
common to the whole family. It is the greatest achievement of
philological science to have clearly established this fact. How these
roots have originated, is a more uncertain inquiry: in fact, is just the
question of the origin of language presented in another form. It is the
theory of some that words have arisen from the imitation of natural
sounds; the names of animals, for instance, being imitations of the
sounds they utter. Though this has been ridiculed under the nickname of
the _bow-wow_ theory, there seems to be some truth in it: at anyrate no
one will deny that in the English, as in all other languages, a great
many words exist which are imitative of natural sounds. Among such words
the following may be mentioned: _Babble_, _boom_, _chatter_, _chirp_,
_clang_, _clatter_, _clink_, _crash_, _croak_, _cuckoo_, _fizz_,
_giggle_, _gurgle_, _hiss_, _howl_, _hum_, _hush_, _murmur_, _quack_,
_scream_, _shriek_, _squeal_, _thud_, _thump_, _thwack_, _twang_,
_whack_, _wheeze_, _whirr_, _whizz_.
Of course these words were not all originally English. _Clang_ and
_murmur_, for instance, are Latin words; but they also are of imitative
origin.
2. =HYBRIDS.=--A _hybrid_ is a word composed of a _mixture_ of foreign and
native elements. Sometimes an English word has a Latin ending; sometimes
a Latin word has an English ending. All such words are called
_hybrids_. One of the most interesting of the earliest hybrids in
English was the word _bondage_, which is said to have been introduced in
the year 1303. The word _bond_ comes to us from the Icelandic or
Norwegian word _bondi_, which means _farmer_ or _tiller of the soil_.
Farmers in Norway are to this day called _bonders_. The suffix _age_ is
Latin; but it has come to us through Norman-French. The full Latin
ending is _atĭcum_, which, in France, in the course of generations, was
compressed into _age_. There are other hybrids with this ending, such as
_tillage_ (which has pushed out the pure English _tilth_), _cartage_,
_stowage_, and others.--The ending _able_, which comes to us from Latin,
combines very easily with words which are purely English. Thus we have
_lovable_, _biddable_, _laughable_, _breakable_, and others.--The Latin
ending _osus_ means _full of_. Thus, _vinum_ is _wine_, and _vinosus_ is
_full of wine_. This _ōsus_ becomes in English _ous_; and we find this
Latin suffix added to words which are purely English. Thus we have
_wondrous_ from _wonder_, and _ravenous_ from _raven_. We have also
_righteous_, which was originally _rightwîs_, and the change into
_righteous_ was a corruption of the spelling.--_Dis_ is a Latin prefix,
and it is added to English words. Thus we have _dislike_ and _disown_.
We have also _dishearten_, an old word, in which the prefix _dis_
contradicts the suffix _en_ (which means to _put_ or _make_).--_Re_,
another Latin prefix, unites with purely English words, and we find
_renew_, _reopen_, _rebuild_, _reclothe_, and others.--French words with
English prefixes are also found. Thus we have _besiege_; the word
_siege_, a _seat_, being French. _To besiege_ means to take a seat in
front of a town, with your mind made up not to go till you have taken
it.--Latin words with English endings are found in _useful_, _useless_,
_usefulness_, _uselessness_, and others. English words with Latin or
French endings are not uncommon. Thus we have _goddess_, _forbearance_,
_hindrance_, _oddity_, and others. In old-fashioned English, and even in
Wordsworth, who died in 1850, we find such curious formations as
_oddments_, _needments_, _eggments_ (_eggings on_ or _incitements_), and
a few others.
3. =WORDS DISGUISED IN FORM OR IN MEANING.=
=Abase=, to bring or make low. From a Low Latin word _bassus_, low.
=Abate=, to _beat_ down. Low Lat. _abbattĕre_.
=Adder=, O. E. _nadder_. The _n_ has dropped from the noun, owing to
the mistaken notion that it belonged to the article. Compare umpire
for numpire (_non par_--that is, _not equal_), orange for norange
(Pers. _náranj_), apron for napron. The dropping of the _n_ is
probably owing to the prefixing of _an_ and _mine_.
=Adrift=, on or in the _drift_. From the verb _drive_. Compare
_give_, _gift_; _shrive_, _shrift_.
=Alligator= is Spanish _el_ lagarto, _the_ lizard (_par excellence_),
from Lat. _lacerta_, a lizard.
=Aloft, on-loft=, in the lift (air). Northern Eng. or ‘Scotch’
_lift_, the air.
=Anon=, _on_ or _in-one_ (instant). The phrase _then ones_ has become
_the nonce_.
=Atonement=, _at-one-ment_, bringing into one, reconciliation. In
_alone_ and _atone_ the numeral _one_ has its true sound.
=Babble=, to keep saying _ba, ba_.
=Balloon=, a large _ball_ (Fr.). The _oon_ is augmentative.
=Ballot=, a little _ball_ (Fr.). The _ot_ is diminutive.
=Bank=, a _bench_ on which money is laid out.
=Batch=, the quantity of bread _baked_ at one time. Compare _wake_,
_watch_.
=Bird=, one of a _brood_ (formerly _brid_). Compare _three_, _third_;
_burn_, _brand_; _work_, _wright_. In all these the _r_ changes its
place.
=Bran-new=, that is, _brand-new_, burnt-new, as if newly from the
fire.
=Breakfast=, a _breaking_ of a _fast_. Compare Fr. _déjeûner_, from
_jeûne_.
=Brick=, a piece _broken_ off.
=Brimstone=, that is, _burn-stone_, from _brennan_, to burn. Compare
_brindled_. The _r_ is a letter which is easily moved. Compare
_three_ and _third_; _burn_ and _brown_; etc.
=Brood=, something _bred_.
=Butcher=, O. Fr. _bocher_, a slaughterer of he-goats. From O. Fr.
_boc_, a goat, not from _bouche_, mouth. _Boc_ is allied to the
Eng. _buck_.
=Butler= = bottler--that is, keeper of the _bottles_. From Nor. Fr.
_butuille_, a bottle.
=Buxom=, pliable; from _bugan_, to bend, which gives _bight_ and
_bout_.
=Carouse=, Ger. _gar aus_, right out. Used of drinking a bumper.
=Caterpillar= = hairy cat. From O. Fr. _chate_, she-cat; _pelouse_,
from Lat. _pilosus_, hairy. Compare _Woolly-bear_.
=Causeway=, corrupted from Fr. _chaussée_, a raised way.
=Club=, a society _clumped_ together. Connected with _clump_.
=Constable=, from _comes stabuli_, count of the stable.
=Coop=, anything hollow, like a _cup_.
=Cope=, a covering, a _cap_.
=Costermonger= = costard-monger--that is, apple-seller, costard being
a kind of apple.
=Country-dance=, a corruption of French _contre-danse_, a dance in
which each dancer stands _opposite_ his partner.
=Coward=, a bob-_tailed_ hare. Through O. Fr., from Lat. _cauda_, a
tail.
=Coxcomb=, a corruption of _cock’s comb_.
=Daisy=--that is, _day’s-eye_, so called from its sun-like
appearance, or because it closes its flower at night, and opens it
again in the morning.
=Dandelion=, a corruption of French _dent-de-lion_, tooth of the
lion.
=Dirge=, from _dirige_ (= _direct_), the first word in the passage
beginning Ps. v. 8, sung in the office for the dead.
=Disease=, want of _ease_; pain.
=Drawing-room=; originally _with-drawing_ room--that is, a room for
retiring to after dinner.
=Easel=, from Dutch _ezel_, a little ass.
=Etiquette=, originally a _ticket_ on which the forms to be observed
on particular occasions at court were inscribed.
=Fare=, originally a _going_ or _travelling_, hence the price paid
for such.
=Farthing=, the _fourth_ part, hence the fourth of a penny.
=Ferry=, places for _faring_, or travelling across a stream.
=Ford=, places for _faring_, or travelling across a stream.
=Frontispiece=, that which is seen in the front. Low Lat.
_frontispicium_, from _specio_, I see. Not connected with _piece_.
=Gad-fly=, the _goading_ or stinging fly.
=Gaffer= = _gramfer_, West of England for _grandfather_.
=Gammer= = _grammer_, West of England for _grandmother_. Compare O.
E. _gomman_ and _gommer_, for _good man_ and _good mother_.
=Gospel=, _God-spell_ (news of God, that is, life of Christ);
commonly explained, however, as _good-spell_ (good story), as if a
translation of Gr. _eu-anggelion_, from _eu_, well, and _anggelia_,
a message.
=Grocer=, should be _grosser_, from O. Fr. _grossier_, a wholesale
dealer, a dealer _en gros_--that is, in the large. In older Eng.,
_grocers_ were called _spicers_. Compare the Fr. _épiciers_.
=Groove=, something _graven_, or hollowed out.
=Haft=, the handle or part of anything which we _have_ or hold in the
hand.
=Hamper=, Low Lat. _hanaperium_, a large vessel for keeping cups,
from Low Lat. _hanapus_, a drinking-cup.
=Handicraft=, _craft_ or trade performed by the _hand_. Compare
_priestcraft_, _witchcraft_.
=Handle=, (_v._) to touch with the _hand_; (_n._) the part held in
the _hand_.
=Handsel=, money _given_ in _hand_ (_hand_, and _sellan_, to give).
=Hanker=, to allow the mind to _hang_ on or long for a thing. Compare
_hank_ of wool.
=Harbinger=, one who goes forward to provide a harbour or place of
_safety_ for an _army_ (O. E. _here_, an army; _beorgan_, to
protect).
=Hatch=, to produce in a _heck_, a northern English word, meaning a
hay-rack; a frame made of cross bars of wood; a hen-coop. Compare
_bake_ and _batch_; _wake_ and _watch_.
=Hatchment=, the coat of arms put up over a house, the master of
which has lately died; a corruption of _achievement_.
=Hawthorn=, the hedge _thorn_. A.S. _haga_, a hedge or inclosure.
=Heaven=, that which is _heaved_, or lifted up above our heads.
=Heavy=, that which requires much _heaving_ to lift.
=Hinder=, to put or keep _behind_.
=Homestead=, the _stead_ or place of a home; a farm inclosure.
_Stead_, A.S. _stede_, occurs in in_stead_, _stead_fast, and
_stead_y. Cf. also _roadstead_, a place where ships ride at anchor.
=Husband=, the master of a _house_. Short for _house-band_. The
_band_ is present participle of a word meaning ‘to dwell.’
=Hussy=, short for _housewife_. Compare _bos’n_ for _boatswain_.
=Icicle= = _ice-gicel_. The termination is not to be confounded with
the diminutive ending _-icle_, which is of Latin origin. _Gicel_ =
a small piece of ice, and is therefore redundant.
=Intoxicate=, to _drug_ or poison. From a Low Latin verb to poison,
from Greek _toxon_, an arrow, because arrows were frequently dipped
in poison.
=Island=, _water-land_ (O. E. _ea_, water, and _land_). The _s_ is
intrusive, and due to a confusion with _isle_, which is from Lat.
_insula_, an island. Milton always spells it _iland_.
=Jaw= (old spelling, _chaw_), from _chew_, therefore = that which
_chews_.
=Jerusalem artichoke=, It. _girasole_; Lat. _gyrus_ (Gr. _gyros_), a
circle, and _sol_, the sun. The artichoke is a kind of sunflower.
_Jerusalem_ is a corruption; like _sparrow-grass_ for _asparagus_.
=Kickshaws=, a corruption of French _quelques choses_.
=Kindness=, the feeling that is natural to those of the same _kin_ or
family.
=Lanthorn=, Lat. _lanterna_. No connection with _horn_.
=Ledge=, a place on which things may be _laid_. From the verb _lay_.
=Likewise=, in _like wise_ or manner.
=Line=, to cover with _linen_ on the inside.
=Linen=, cloth made from _lint_ or flax.
=Liquorice=, Gr. _glukurrhiza_ = sweet root; from _glukus_, sweet,
and _rhiza_, a root.
=Meadow=, place where grass is _mown_ or cut down. Compare _math_ and
_aftermath_.
=Morris-dance= = Moorish dance.
=Naught=, _no-whit_, nothing.
=Ness=, a promontory or headland. A doublet of _naze_, and probably
connected with _nose_. It occurs frequently in place-names along
the shores of the North Sea, as in Sheer_ness_, Caith_ness_, the
_Naze_.
=Nonce=, in ‘for the nonce’ = for the once, for the one occasion; M.
E. _for then ones_. The _n_ belongs to the article, and represents
the _m_ of the dative of the article, namely _tham_. Compare a
newt, for an ewt; nuncle for mine uncle; a nickname for an
eke-name; a nugget or ningot for an ingot.
=Nostrils=, corrupted form of _nose-thirles_, nose-holes. (Thirl is
connected with _thrill_, _drill_, etc.)
=Notwithstanding=, _not withstanding_--that is, not standing against.
The _with_ has in this word the old sense of _against_.
=Nurse=, one who _nourishes_ (Fr. _nourrice_).
=Nutmeg= = musk-nut. M. E. _note-muge_, O. Fr. _muge_, musk. Lat.
_muscus_.
=Offal=, waste, part of anything, refuse. Literally ‘what _falls
off_.’
=Offing=, the sea far _off_ from the land. Compare _off-scouring_;
_offset_; _offshoot_; and _offspring_.
=Onset=, a _setting_ or rushing _on_ or upon.
=Orchard= = _wort-yard_, _wort_ or herb-_yard_, or garden.
=Ostrich=, through O. Fr. _ostruche_, from Lat. _avis struthio_,
ostrich bird; Gr. _struthion_, an ostrich.
=Outlaw=, one _out_ of the protection of the _law_.
=Pastime=, that which serves to _pass_ away the _time_.
=Pea-jacket=, Dutch _pije_, a rough woollen coat. ‘Jacket’ is
redundant. Not connected with _pea_.
=Peal= of bells, Fr. _appel_, a call with drum or trumpet.
=Penthouse=, O. E. _pentice_, Fr. _appentis_, Lat. _appendicium_. Not
connected with _house_. A corruption like _Bird-cage Walk_ for
_Bocage_, (shrubbery) walk.
=Pickaxe=, O. Fr. _pikois_. No connection with _axe_.
=Poach=, originally to put into the _pouch_ or _pocket_. Cf. to
_bag_, to _Pocket_, _sack_ and _satchel_.
=Pocket=, a little _poke_ or _pouch_.
=Porpoise=, the _hog fish_, from Lat. _porcus_, a pig, and _piscis_,
a fish.
=Proxy=, contracted from an obsolete _procuracy_, a taking care of
for another.
=Quicklime=, _lime_ in a _quick_ or active state. Compare the phrase,
‘the quick and the dead.’ Cf. also _quick_sand = sand easily moved,
_quick_silver, a fluid metal which is very mobile.
=Rhyme=, properly _rime_ = number, confused with rhythm = flow.
=Rubbish=, that which is _rubbed_ off; waste matter.
=Scent= (for sent), from Lat. _sentio_, I feel.
=Sexton=, Fr. _sacristain_, sacristan.
=Shamefaced=, is shame_fast_--that is, shame_fixed_.
=Sheaf=, a quantity of things, especially the stalks of grain,
_shoved_ together and bound.
=Sheriff=, a _shire-reeve_, the _governor_ of a _shire_ or county.
=Ship=, something _scooped_ or dug out, and therefore hollow. Compare
_skipper_, where the hard _k_ reappears.
=Somerset=, a corruption of O. Fr. _soubresault_, from Lat. _supra_
and _saltus_, a leaping over.
=Sorry=, _sore_ in mind.
=Soup=, that which is _supped_.
=Splice=, to _split_ in order to join.
=Squirrel=, Fr. _écureuil_, Gr. _skiouros_ = bushy or shadow tail.
From Gr. _skia_, shade, and _oura_, a tail.
=Starboard=, the _steering_ side of a ship--that is, the right hand
side to one looking toward the bow.
=Stew=, to put into a _stove_ to be cooked.
=Stirrup=, put for _sty-rope_; A.S. _stig-rap_, a mounting rope. From
the same root are _stair_, _sty_, _stile_, and _stag_.
=Straight=, _stretched_ out, tight.
=Strong=, with the muscles _strung up_. Compare _wrong_ from _wring_.
=Sweetheart=, from _sweet_ and _heart_, an expression as old as
Chaucer.
=Tackle=, things to be _taken_ hold of.
=Tale=, that which is told, what is counted. So also _teller_ (in a
bank).
=Thorough=, passing _through_, or to the end.
=Thread=, that which is _thrown_ or twisted.
=Treacle=, Lat. _theriaca_, Gr. _thēriakē_, viper’s flesh; _therion_
(a wild beast), a name often given to the viper. Originally an
antidote to the viper’s bite. Milton speaks of ‘the treacle of
sound doctrine.’
=Twist=, to twine or wind _two_ threads together. (Compare _twine_,
_twirl_, _twiddle_, etc.)
=Verdigris=, Fr. _verd-de-grise_, Lat. _viride æris_, _green_ of
brass. Not connected with _grease_.
=Walrus= = _whale horse_, O. E. _hwæl_, whale; _hors_, horse. The _r_
has shifted its place, as in _three_, _third_; _turn_, _trundle_,
etc.
=Whole=, hole, O. E. _hael_. The _w_ is redundant; just as it is in
the _pronunciation_ of _one_. It does not appear in _heal_,
_health_, etc.
=Wiseacre=, a corruption of the Ger. _weiss sager_, a wise-sayer or
soothsayer, or prophet.
4. =WORDS THAT HAVE CHANGED THEIR MEANING.=
=Artillery=, great weapons of war; was once used to include
crossbows, bows, etc., before gunpowder was invented, 1 Sam. xx.
40: ‘And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto
him, Go, carry _them_ to the city.’
=Blackguard=, a name originally applied to the lowest kitchen
servants from the dirty work they had to do.
=Bombast=, originally cotton-wadding, affected language.
=Boor=, originally a peasant or tiller of the soil. In South Africa a
farmer is called a _boer_.
=Brat= meant originally a rag or clout, especially a child’s bib or
apron; hence, in contempt, a child. Mandeville speaks of ‘Abraham’s
brats.’
=Carriage= once meant baggage. Acts, xxi. 15: ‘And after those days
we took up our carriages, and went up to Jerusalem.’
=Censure= once meant opinion or judgment. Shakspeare, _As You Like
It_, IV. i. 7: ‘Betray themselves to every modern censure.’
=Charity=, once love, now almsgiving. 1 Cor. xiii. 3: ‘And though I
bestow all my goods to feed _the poor_, and though I give my body
to be burned, and have not _charity_, it profiteth me nothing.’
=Cheat= originally meant to seize upon anything which was _escheated_
or forfeited.
=Churl=, a countryman or farmer.
=Conceit=, originally a thought or notion. ‘Dan Chaucer was a
conceited clerk’--that is, a learned man full of new inventions or
thoughts (conceits).
=Cunning=, originally knowing, clever, skilled in a craft or trade.
The Bible speaks of ‘cunning workmen.’
=Demure=, originally of good manners, now staid, grave.
=Disaster=, an unkindly _star_ (Gr. _astēr_, a star); a term from the
old astrology.
=Fond= once meant foolish.
=Gazette=, a small newspaper, originally a small coin. The newspaper
was so named because a _gazetta_ was paid for it.
=Gossip= (_sib_, or related, in _God_), originally a sponsor in
baptism. _Gossip_ is the kind of talk that goes on between people
who are connected with a family. Compare Fr. _commère_ and
_commèrage_.
=Heathen=, an unbeliever, originally a dweller on a heath. Compare
_pagan_, a dweller in a _pagus_, or country canton.
=Idiot=, from Gr. _idiōtēs_, a private person. It afterwards meant a
person who kept himself aloof from public business and politics; a
person despised by the Athenians.
=Imp=, formerly used in a good sense, meaning scion or offspring. Now
a demon of mischief.
=Impertinent=, not relating or belonging to the matter in hand.
=Influence=, a _flowing down_ from the stars; originally a term in
astrology.
=Kind=, originally _born_; hence _natural_, and so loving.
=Knave=, originally a boy or servant. Sir John Mandeville speaks of
Mohammed as a ‘poure knave.’
=Miser= sometimes means merely a wretched creature. Spenser, _Faerie
Queene_, II. i. 8:
‘Vouchsafe to stay your steed for humble miser’s sake.’
=Officious=, sometimes used in a good sense, obliging, serviceable.
Shakspeare, _Tit. And._ V. ii. 202:
‘Come, come, be every one officious
To make this banquet.’
=Ostler= = hosteller, properly the keeper of a hostelry or hotel;
now applied to the horse-groom.
=Pagan=, from _paganus_, a dweller in a canton, a countryman or
villager; hence a heathen or unbeliever. Christianity was first
preached in the large cities.
=Painful=, originally painstaking. ‘Rev. J. Flavel was a painful
preacher.’
=Polite=, from Lat. _polītus_, polished.
=Prevent= (to), originally to go before (_præ_ and _venio_). ‘Prevent
us, O Lord, in all our goings.’
=Silly=, the adj. originally happy, blessed; whence it came to mean
innocent, simple, foolish.
=Sycophant= (Gr.), originally a _fig-shower_; a person who informed
the police regarding the smuggling of figs into Athens.
=Tawdry= was applied originally to goods bought at St Audrey’s fair
(St Audrey = St Ethelreda).
=Varlet= once meant a serving-man. Valet is a doublet of _varlet_.
(From _vassaletus_, an inferior vassal.)
=Villain=, a farm-servant, a peasant; from Lat. _villanus_, a servant
on a _villa_ or farm.
5. =WORDS DERIVED FROM THE NAMES OF PERSONS.=
=Amazon=, the name of a nation of warlike women, who were said to cut
off their right breasts that they might use the bow. (From Gr. _a_,
without, and _mazos_, the breast.)
=Argosy=, from _Argo_, the name of a famous ship in which the Greek
warrior Jason sailed to seek the golden fleece, which was at
Colchis, on the eastern shore of the Black Sea.
=August= was named so in honour of the Roman Emperor Augustus
(Cæsar).
=Brougham=, after Lord Brougham, a famous English lawyer and
politician.
=Cravat=, named from the Croats (Crabats), the people of Croatia, in
Austria, from whom we derived the custom of wearing cravats.
=Dahlia=, from Dahl, a Swede, who introduced the flower into Europe.
=Dunce=, from Duns Scotus (d. 1308), the great schoolman whose name
was used as a term of reproach by his opponents, the followers of
the learned Thomas Aquinas.
=Filbert=, from St. Philibert, whose anniversary falls in the nutting
season.
=Friday=, from Freya, the wife of Odin; one of the Saxon goddesses.
=Galvanism=, from Galvani of Bologna, who discovered it. He died in
1798.
=Herculean=, very powerful; from Hercules, one of the Greek demigods,
who was very strong.
=Jacobite=, one of those who were favourable to the Stuarts; from
Jacobus II., the Latin name for James II.
=January=, from Janus, the god with two heads, who opened the year.
=Jeremiad=, a sorrowful story; from Jeremiah, who wrote the
_Lamentations_.
=Jovial=, cheerful; from Jove, the king of the ancient gods.
=July=, from Julius Cæsar, the great Roman statesman and general.
=Macadamise=, to pave a road with small cubical stones; from Macadam,
who invented this method of making roads. He died 1836.
=March=, from Mars, the Roman god of war.
=Martial=, from Mars, the Roman god of war.
=Mausoleum=, a magnificent tomb; from Mausolus, a king of Caria, in
Asia Minor, whose widow erected a splendid tomb to his memory.
=Mercury=, quicksilver; from Mercury, the light-footed messenger of
the gods who dwelt on Olympus.
=Panic=, from Pan, the god of shepherds, who often appeared to them
suddenly and terrified them.
=Petrel=, a sea-bird; from Peter, who is said to have walked upon the
waters.
=Philippic=, a speech full of strongly passionate language; from
Philip, king of Macedon, against whom Demosthenes delivered some
fiery speeches of this kind.
=Saturday=, from Sæter, one of the old Saxon gods.
=Saturnine=, grave, severe; from Saturn, the father of the Roman
gods.
=Stentorian=, very loud; from Stentor, the name of a Greek herald,
who is mentioned by Homer, and who had a very loud voice.
=Tantalise=, from Tantalus, who is said to have been always thirsty
and up to his chin in water, which went out of his reach whenever
he tried to drink.
=Thursday=, from Thor, the Saxon god of thunder.
=Tuesday=, from Tiew, the Saxon god of war.
=Wednesday=, the day of Woden or Odin, the Saxon god of war. The _es_
is the old possessive form.
6. =WORDS DERIVED FROM NAMES OF PLACES.=
=Academy=, a school; from Academia, the name of the gymnasium where
Plato, the Greek philosopher, taught his pupils.
=Attic=, an upper room; from Gr. _Attikos_, Athenian. In Athens the
houses are said to have been built with a low upper story.
=Bayonet=, a kind of dagger, from Bayonne, in France.
=Bedlam=, a lunatic asylum; from Bethlehem, a monastery in London,
which was afterwards used as a madhouse.
=Calico=, a kind of cotton cloth; from Calicut, in India.
=Cambric=, fine linen; from Cambray, in French Flanders.
=Canary=, a bird, and a kind of wine; from Canary Islands, whence
these things were brought.
=Canter=, from Canterbury. The pilgrims to this shrine are said to
have ridden at an easy pace.
=Cashmere=, =Cassimere=, or =Kerseymere=, a rich kind of woollen cloth;
from Cashmere, a province among the Himalayas, in the north of
India, noted for the manufacture of fine woollen fabrics.
=Cherry=, from Cerăsus, on the Black Sea, whence the fruit was
introduced into Europe.
=Copper=, a metal; from Cyprus, an island in the eastern part of the
Mediterranean.
=Currant=, from Corinth, in Greece, where these small dried grapes
were first produced.
=Damson=, =Damask=, from Damascus, in Syria.
=Dollar=, from St Joachim’s Thal or valley, in Bohemia. These coins
were first made there about 1518, and were called _thalers_ or
_talers_: whence _dollars_.
=Florin=, a coin; from Florence, in Italy.
=Gin=, an alcoholic liquor; from Geneva, in Switzerland. (=Gin=, a
trap, is an abbreviation of _engine_.)
=Guinea=, a coin worth twenty-one shillings; from Guinea (or Gold
Coast) in Africa, whence the gold of which these coins were first
made was brought.
=Gypsy=, from Egypt, whence these people were supposed to have come.
They really came from India.
=Holland=, a kind of linen cloth; =Hollands=, a kind of gin; from
Holland.
=Indigo=, from India.
=Jersey=, a woollen jacket; from Jersey, one of the Channel Islands.
=Magnesia=, =Magnet=, from Magnesia, a town in Asia Minor.
=Mantua=, a lady’s gown; from Mantua, in Italy.
=Meander=, to wind about; from Mæander, a river in Asia Minor, which
had a very winding course.
=Milliner=, from Milan, in Italy.
=Morocco=, leather prepared in a certain way; from Morocco, in North
Africa.
=Nankeen=, a kind of cotton cloth; from Nankin, in China.
=Port=, a dark red wine; from Oporto, in Portugal, whence great
quantities of it are shipped.
=Sherry=, a light-coloured wine; from Xeres, in Spain.
=Spaniel=, a kind of dog; from Spain.
=Turkey=, a large domestic fowl; from Turkey, whence the bird was
supposed to have come.
=Worsted=, woollen yarn; from Worsted, the name of a village near
Norwich.
7. =ENGLISH (OR TEUTONIC) ROOTS.=
=Ac=, an oak; acorn, Acton [oak-town], Uckfield.
=Æcer=, a field; acre, God’s acre [the churchyard].
=Æsc=, an ash; ash, Ascot, Ashby.
=Æthele=, noble; Atheling, Ethelbert, Ethelrede [noble in _rede_ or
counsel].
=Bacan=, to bake; bake, baker, baxter [a woman baker], batch.
=Bana=, a slayer; bane, henbane, baneful.
=Beám=, a tree, or anything in a straight line; beam, sunbeam.
=Beorgan=, to save or shelter; bury, burgh, harbour, harbinger.
=Bigan= or =beogan=, to bend; bow, elbow, buxom.
=Bindan=, to bind; bind, band, bundle, bond, bandage.
=Blówan=, to blossom; blow, bloom.
=Brecan=, to break; break, breakers, breakfast.
=Cáld= or =ceald=, cold; cold, chill.
=Ceápian=, to buy; chapman, Cheapside, cheap, Chippenham, Copenhagen
[= Merchants’ Haven].
=Cunnan=, to know, to be able; can, con, cunning.
=Cwellan=, to slay; quell.
=Cwic=, alive; quick, quicksand.
=Cyning=, a king; king, Kingston.
=Dragan=, to drag; drag, draw, dray, draught, dredge, draggle.
=Drypan=, to drop; drop, drip, dribble.
=Eáge=, an eye; eye, eyebright, daisy [= day’s eye].
=Erian=, to plough; ear.
=Faran=, to go; fare, ferry, wayfarer, fieldfare, ford.
=Fleógan=, to flee; flee, fly, flight, fledge.
=Fleótan=, to float; float, fleet.
=Fod=, food; feed, fodder, foster [= foodster].
=Gangan=, to go; go, gang, gait, gangway.
=Geard=, an inclosure; yard, orchard, vineyard.
=Gód=, good; good, goodwife.
=Grafan=, to dig; grave, engraver, groove, grove.
=Hál=, sound; hale, heal, healthy, whole, wholesome.
=Healdan=, to hold; hold, holding, behold.
=Here=, an army; harbour, herring, harbinger [a person sent on before
to provide quarters for a _here_ or army].
=Hláf=, a loaf; lady, lord, Lammas (loaf-mass).
=Hús=, a house; house, housewife.
=Lædan=, to lead; loadstone, loadstar.
=Læt=, late; late, latter, last, later, belate.
=Lang=, long; long, length, along, linger.
=Lif=, life; life, alive.
=Mere=, a lake; mere, Windermere, marsh.
=Móna=, the moon; moon, month.
=Nosu=, or =nasu=, a nose; nose, the Naze, Ness, nostril, Sheerness.
=Rædan=, to read; read, rede, riddle.
=Reáfian=, to rob; rob, bereave, rover.
=Scíran=, to cut; shear, share, shire, shore, short, skirt,
ploughshare.
=Settan=, to place; =sittan=, to sit; sit, set, seat, settle.
=Spell=, a message; gospel [= good spell].
=Stede=, a place; homestead, bedstead.
=Stelan=, to steal; steal, stealth.
=Stow=, a place; Chepstow, bestow.
=Tellan=, to reckon; tell, tale, tell-tale.
=Thyrel=, a hole; thrill, nostril, drill.
=Tredan=, to tread; tread, treadle.
=Wácian=, to watch; wake, watch.
=Ward=, a looker at or guard; ward, warden, weir.
=Witan=, to know; wit, witness, wisdom, wistful.
=Wyrcan=, to work; work, wright.
=Wyrt=, an herb; wort, wart, orchard [wort-yard].
8. =LATIN ROOTS.=
=Acer=, sharp; acrid, acrimony, vinegar [= sharp wine].
=Acidus=, sour; acid, acidity.
=Ædes=, a house; edifice, edify.
=Æquus=, equal; equality, equator, adequate, iniquity, equanimity.
=Æstimo=, I value; estimation, estimate, esteem.
=Ager=, a field; agriculture, peregrinate.
=Agger=, a heap; exaggerate.
=Ago=, I do; act, agile, agency, cogent.
=Alacer=, cheerful; alacrity.
=Alo=, I nourish; aliment, alimony.
=Alter=, the other of two; alternation, subaltern.
=Altus=, high; altitude, exalt.
=Ambulo=, I walk; amble, perambulator.
=Amo=, I love; amity, amorous, inimical.
=Anima=, the soul; animation, inanimate.
=Animus=, the mind; magnanimity.
=Annus=, a circle or year; annual, perennial.
=Aperio=, I open; aperient, April [the opening month, the month of
spring when the buds open out].
=Appello=, I call; appeal, appellation.
=Aptus=, fit; apt, aptitude.
=Aqua=, water; aqueduct, aquatic, aqueous.
=Arbiter=, a judge; arbitration, arbitrary.
=Arbor=, a tree; arboraceous, arbour.
=Ardeo=, I burn; ardent, arson.
=Arduus=, steep [with the idea of difficulty of attainment]; arduous.
=Arma=, weapons; arms, armistice, disarm, army.
=Aro=, I plough; arable.
=Ars= (=art=-is), art; artificial, inertia, artisan.
=Artus=, a joint; articulate, article.
=Audio=, I hear; audience, audible.
=Augeo=, I increase: augment, auctioneer.
=Avis=, a bird; aviary.
=Barba=, a beard; barber, barbel, barb.
=Bellum=, war; bellicose, belligerent, rebellious.
=Bibo=, I drink; imbibe, winebibber.
=Bis=, twice; biscuit, bissextile.
=Bonus=, good; benevolent, bounty.
=Brevis=, short; brevity, abbreviate, brief.
=Cado= (=cas=-um), I fall; casual, accident.
=Cædo= (=cæs=-um), I cut or kill; precise, excision, decide.
=Campus=, a plain; camp, encamp.
=Candeo=, I shine; =candidus=, white, incandescent, candidate.
=Cano=, I sing; canticle, chant, incantation.
=Capio= (=capt=-um), I take; captive, accept, reception.
=Caput=, the head; capital, captain.
=Caro= (=carn=-is), flesh; carnal, carnival, carnivorous.
=Castus=, pure; chastity, castigate, chastise.
=Causa=, a cause; accuse, causation.
=Caveo= (=caut=-um), I take care; caution, cautious.
=Cavus=, hollow; cavity, cave, excavate.
=Cedo= (=cess=-um), I yield; cede, accede, proceed. I go; procession,
ancestor.
=Centum=, a hundred; century, centurion.
=Cerno= (=cret=-um), I notice or discern; discern, decretal,
discretion.
=Cingo= (=cinct=-um), I gird; cincture, succinct.
=Cito=, I rouse; excite, citation.
=Civis=, a citizen; civic, civil, city.
=Clamo=, I shout; clamour, proclamation, reclaim.
=Clarus=, clear; clarify, declare, clarion.
=Claudo= (=claus=-um), I shut; close, exclude, seclusion.
=Clivus=, a slope; declivity.
=Colo= (=cult=-um), I till; cultivate, arboriculture.
=Copia=, plenty; copious, cornucopia.
=Coquo= (=coct=-um), I boil; decoction, biscuit.
=Cor= (=cord=-is), the heart; courage, cordial, discord.
=Corpus= (=corpor=-is), the body; corpse, corps, incorporate.
=Credo=, I believe; credibility, credence, miscreant.
=Creo=, I create; create, creation, creature, recreation.
=Cresco= (=cret=-um), I grow; crescent, increment.
=Crimen=, a charge; crime, criminate.
=Crux= (=cruc=-is), a cross; crucial, crucifix.
=Cubo=, I lie down; incubate, recumbent.
=Culpa=, a fault; culpable, exculpate, culprit.
=Cura=, care; sinecure, curate, secure, accurate.
=Curro= (=curs=-um), I run; cursory, course, recur, occur.
=Decem=, ten; decimal, December.
=Dens= (=dent=-is), a tooth; dentist, dental, indent.
=Deus=, a god; deity, deify, divine.
=Dexter=, right hand; dexterous.
=Dico= (=dict=-um), I say; verdict, dictation, dictionary, indictment.
=Dies=, a day; diary, meridian.
=Dignus=, worthy; dignity, indignant.
=Do= (=dat=-um), I give; donor, add [= _ad-do_, I give to], data.
=Doceo= (=doct=-um), I teach; docile, doctor.
=Dominus=, a lord; dominant, dominion, dame.
=Domus=, a house; domicile, domestic.
=Dormio=, I sleep; dormitory, dormant.
=Duco= (=duct=-um), I lead; induct, education, duke, produce.
=Duo=, two; dual, duel, (double), duplex.
=Durus=, hard; durable, obdurate, duration.
=Emo= (=empt=-um), I buy; redeem, exemption.
=Eo= (=it=-um), I go; exit, transit, circuit, ambition.
=Equus=, a horse; equine, equestrian.
=Erro=, I wander; error, aberration.
=Esse=, to be; essential, essence.
=Facies=, the face; facial, facet, superficial.
=Facilis=, easy; facile, facility, difficult.
=Facio= (=fact=-um), I make; manufacture, factor, faction.
=Fallo= (=fals=-um), I deceive; false, infallible, fallacious.
=Fama=, a report; fame, defame, infamy.
=Fans= (=fant=-is), speaking; infant [= a non-speaker].
=Felix= (=felīc=-is), happy; felicity, infelicity.
=Fero=, I bear or carry; infer, reference, difference.
=Ferrum=, iron; ferruginous.
=Ferveo=, I boil; fervent, effervesce, ferment.
=Fido=, I trust; confide, infidel, perfidy, diffident.
=Filius=, a son; filial, affiliation.
=Filum=, a thread; file, defile, profile.
=Finis=, an end; final, infinite, confine.
=Firmus=, firm; infirm, affirm.
=Flecto=, I bend; flexible, inflection.
=Flos= (=flōr=-is), a flower; floral, Flora, floriculture.
=Fluo= (=fluct=-um), I flow; fluent, flux, refluent, fluid.
=Forma=, a form; form, formal, reform, conformity.
=Fortis=, strong; fortify, fortitude, fortress.
=Frango= (=fract=-um), I break; fragile, fragmentary, infraction.
=Frater=, a brother; fraternal, fratricide.
=Frons= (=front=-is), the forehead; frontispiece, frontal, frontier.
=Fruor= (=fruct=-us), I enjoy; fruit, fructify, fruition.
=Fugio=, I flee; fugitive, refugee, subterfuge.
=Fundo= (=fus=-um), I pour; fusible, diffusion, foundry.
=Fundus=, the bottom; foundation, profound.
=Furor=, madness; furious, fury.
=Gelu=, frost; gelid, jelly, congeal.
=Gens= (=gent=-is), a nation; gentile, genteel, gentle, congenial.
=Genus= (=genĕr=-is), a kind; general, genus.
=Gero= (=gest=-um), I bear or carry; gesture, suggestion.
=Gradior= (=gress=-us), I go; =gradus=, a step; degrade, progress,
degree.
=Grandis=, great; grand, aggrandise.
=Gratia=, favour; =gratiæ=, thanks; gratitude, ingratiate, gratis.
=Gravis=, heavy; gravitate, gravity, (grief).
=Grex= (=greg=-is), a flock; gregarious, egregious.
=Habeo=, I have; habit, able, exhibit, prohibition.
=Hæreo= (=hæs=-um), I stick; adhere, cohesion.
=Homo=, a man; homicide, human.
=Hospes= (=hospit=-is), a guest; hospital, hostel, hotel.
=Hostis=, an enemy; host, hostile.
=Humus=, the ground; posthumous, exhume.
=Ignis=, fire; ignite, igneous.
=Impero=, I command; imperial, emperor, empire.
=Insula=, an island; isle, insular, peninsula, insulate. [_Island_ is
not connected with this root. It was in older English spelled
_iland_.]
=Iter= (=itiner=-is), a journey; itinerant.
=Jacio= (=jact=-um), I throw; adjective, project, injection.
=Judex= (=judĭc=-is); (adjudge), judicial.
=Jungo= (=junct=-um), I join; junction, conjoin, juncture.
=Jus= (=jur=-is), law, right; justice, jurisdiction, jury.
=Labor= (=laps=-us), I glide; lapse, collapse.
=Lædo= (=læs=-um), I injure; collision, lesion.
=Lapis= (=lapĭd=-is), a stone; lapidary.
=Latus=, broad; latitude.
=Laus= (=laud=-is), praise; laud, laudable.
=Lego= (=lect=-um), I gather or read; college, collect, prelection,
lecture.
=Lĕvis=, light; levity, alleviate, relief.
=Lex= (=lēg=-is), law; legal, legislate.
=Liber=, free; liberal, liberty.
=Libra=, a balance; deliberate.
=Ligo=, I bind; ligament, religion.
=Limes= (=limit=-is), a boundary; limit.
=Linquo= (=lict=-um), I leave; relinquish, relict, relics.
=Litera=, a letter; literature, literary, letters, obliterate.
=Locus=, a place; location, dislocate.
=Longus=, long; elongate, longitude.
=Loquor= (=locūt=-us), I speak; loquacious, eloquent, elocution.
=Ludo= (=lus=-um), I play; ludicrous, allusion.
=Lumen= (=lumin=-is), light; illuminate, luminous.
=Luna=, the moon; Luna, sublunary, lunacy.
=Luo=, I wash; ablution, dilute.
=Lux= (=luc=-is), light; lucid, pellucid.
=Magister=, a master; magistrate, master.
=Magnus=, great; magnificent, magniloquent, magnify.
=Malus=, bad; malady, malice, maltreat.
=Maneo= (=mans=-um), I remain; mansion, permanent.
=Manus=, the hand; manufacture, manual, manuscript.
=Mare=, the sea; marine, mariner.
=Mater=, a mother; maternal, matricide.
=Maturus=, ripe; mature, maturity.
=Medeor=, I heal; medicine, remedy.
=Medius=, the middle; medial, immediate, Mediterranean.
=Memini=, I remember; =memor=, mindful; memorable, commemorate,
memento, immemorial.
=Mens= (=ment=-is), the mind; mental, comment.
=Mereo= (=merit=-um), I deserve; merit, meretricious.
=Mergo= (=mers=-um), I dip; submerge, immersion.
=Merx= (=merc=-is), goods; merchant, commerce, mercantile.
=Miles= (=milĭt=-is), a soldier; military, militant, militia.
=Mille=, a thousand; mile, million.
=Miror=, I admire; admire, miracle, mirage.
=Misceo=, I mix; miscellaneous, promiscuous.
=Mitto= (=miss=-um), I send; mission, missile, remittance.
=Mŏdus=, a measure; modify, mood, accommodate.
=Mollis=, soft; mollify, emollient.
=Moneo= (=monĭt=-um), I advise; admonition, monitor.
=Mons= (=mont=-is), a mountain; mountain, promontory.
=Monstro=, I point out; demonstrate.
=Mors= (=mort=-is), death; mortify, mortal.
=Moveo= (=mot=-um), I move; motion, movable, move.
=Multus=, many; multiplex, multitude.
=Munus= (=munĕr=-is), a gift; remunerate, munificent.
=Muto=, I change; mutable, immutable, transmute.
=Nascor= (=nat=-us), to be born; nascent, natal, nativity.
=Navis=, a ship; navigate, naval, navy.
=Necto= (=nex=-us), I tie; connect, nexus, annex.
=Nego=, I deny; negative, negation.
=Noceo=, I hurt; noxious, innocuous, innocent.
=Nomen= (=nomĭn=-is), a name; nominal, nomination, cognomen.
=Nosco= (=not=-um), I know or mark; note, notation.
=Novus=, new; novel, novitiate, innovation.
=Nox= (=noct=-is), night; nocturnal, equinoctial.
=Nudus=, naked; nude, denudation.
=Numero=, I number; enumerate, numeration.
=Nuntio=, I announce; nuncio, annunciation, pronounce.
=Nutrio=, I nourish; nutriment, nurse.
=Octo=, eight; octave, octagon, October.
=Oculus=, the eye; oculist.
=Odor=, smell; odour, redolent.
=Omnis=, all; omnipotent, omniscient.
=Onus= (=onĕr=-is), a burden; onerous.
=Opus= (=opĕr=-is), a work; operate, operation.
=Ordo= (=ordĭn=-is), order; ordinal, ordinary.
=Oro=, I pray; oration, inexorable, peroration.
=Os= (=ōr=-is), the mouth; oral, adore.
=Os= (=Oss=-is), bone; ossify, ossification.
=Pando= (=pans=-um or =pass=-um), I spread; expand, expanse, compass.
=Pango= (=pact=-um), I fix; compact, impinge.
=Panis=, bread; pantry, pannier, company.
=Par=, equal; (pair), par, parity.
=Pareo=, I appear; apparent, apparition.
=Paro= (=parat=-um), I prepare; prepare, repair, apparatus.
=Pars= (=part=-is), a part; partition, particle.
=Pasco= (=past=-um), I feed; repast, pastor.
=Pater=, a father; paternal, patricide.
=Patior= (=pass=-us), I suffer; impatient, passion.
=Pauper=, poor; pauper, poverty.
=Pax= (=pāc=-is), peace; pacify, pacific.
=Pello= (=puls=-um), I drive; repel, expel, expulsion.
=Pendeo= (=pens=-um), I hang; dependent, suspend.
=Pendo=, I weigh out, hence, I pay; expend, recompense.
=Pes= (=pĕd=-is), the foot; impede, pedestrian, biped.
=Peto= (=petīt=-um), I seek; petition, petulant.
=Pingo= (=pict=-um), I paint; picture, pigment.
=Placeo=, I please; placid, complacent.
=Planus=, level; plane, plain, plan.
=Plaudo= (=plaus=-um), I clap the hands; applause, (explode).
=Plecto= (=plex=-um), I weave; complex, perplex.
=Pleo= (=plēt=-um), I fill; complete, completion, repletion.
=Plĭco=, I fold; complicate, reply.
=Plus= (=plūr=-is), more; plurality, surplus.
=Pœna=, punishment; penalty, repent.
=Pondus= (=pondĕr=-is), weight; ponderous, pound.
=Pono= (=posĭt=-um), I place; disposition, exposition, imposition.
=Pons= (=pont=-is), a bridge; pontiff, transpontine.
=Popŭlus=, the people; populace, popular.
=Porto=, I carry; export, deportation, report.
=Possum=, I am able; =potens=, able; possible, potency, potentate,
impotent.
=Poto=, I drink; potion, poison, potable.
=Prĕcor=, I pray; precarious, imprecation.
=Prehendo=, I take; apprehend, comprehension, apprentice.
=Premo= (=press=-um), I press; compress, print.
=Pretium=, a price; precious, appreciate, prize.
=Primus=, first; prime, primitive, primrose.
=Prīvo=, I separate; deprive, privateer, private.
=Probo=, I try or prove; probable, prove, reproof.
=Proprius=, one’s own; property, appropriation.
=Pugna=, a fight; pugnacious, repugnant.
=Pungo= (=punct=-um), I prick; pungent, poignant, punctual.
=Puto=, I cut or think; amputate, compute, reputation.
=Quæro= (=quæsīt=-um), I seek; quest, inquiry, inquisition.
=Quatuor=, four; quadrilateral, square, quarry, quart, quadrant.
=Quies= (=quiēt=-is), rest; acquiesce, quiet, requite.
=Radius=, a ray; radiant, irradiate, (ray).
=Radix= (=radic=-is), a root; radical, eradicate.
=Rapio= (=rapt=-um), I seize; rapture, rapine, surreptitious.
=Ratio=, reason; rational, ration, reason.
=Rego= (=rect=-um), I rule; regiment, regal, regulate, rector, rectify.
=Res= (=re=-i), a thing; real, reality, republican.
=Rex= (=reg=-is), a king; regal, interregnum, royal.
=Rideo= (=rīs=-um), I laugh; deride, derision.
=Rivus=, a brook; river, rival.
=Rodo= (=ros=-um), I gnaw; erosion, corrode.
=Rogo=, I ask; derogatory, interrogation, arrogate.
=Rota=, a wheel; rote, rotation, rotund, round.
=Rumpo= (=rupt=-um), I break; rupture, disruption, irruption, eruption.
=Rus= (=rūr=-is), the country; rural, rustic.
=Sacer=, sacred; desecrate, sacrilege.
=Sal=, salt; saline, salary [= salt-money].
=Salio= (=salt=-um), I leap; sally, assail, assault, insult, salmon [=
the _leaping_ fish], salient.
=Salus= (=salūt=-is), health; =salvus=, safe; salutary, salubrious,
salvation.
=Sanctus=, holy; sanctify, saint
=Sanguis= (=sanguin=-is), blood; sanguinary.
=Sano= (=sanāt=-um), I cure; sanitary, sane, insane.
=Sapio=, I taste or am wise; sapient, insipid, savour.
=Scando= (=scans=-um), I climb; =scala=, a ladder; scan, scale,
ascension, descend.
=Scio=, I know; science, scientific, conscience, omniscient.
=Scribo= (=script=-um), I write; scribe, scripture, manuscript,
describe.
=Seco= (=sect=-um), I cut; dissect, insect, segment, section.
=Sedeo= (=sess=-um), I set; sediment, subside, residence.
=Senex=, an old man; senile, senior, senate, senator.
=Sentio= (=sens=-us), I feel or perceive; sense, sentimental.
=Septem=, seven; septennial, September.
=Sequor= (=secūt=-us), I follow; sequel, consecutive, consequent.
=Servio=, I serve; servant, service, servitor.
=Servo=, I preserve; reserve, conservative, conservatory.
=Signum=, a mark; sign, signify, designation.
=Simĭlis=, like; dissimilar, similitude, resemble, dissemble.
=Sisto=, I stop; insist, consistency.
=Solus=, alone; solitary, sole.
=Solvo= (=solūt=-um), I loose; absolute, resolve, solution, resolution.
=Somnus=, sleep; somnolent, somnambulist.
=Specio= (=spect=-um) I see; aspect, retrospect, specious.
=Spero=, I hope; despair, desperate.
=Spiro=, I breathe; spiral, aspire, inspiration, conspiracy.
=Spondeo= (=spons=-um), I promise; respond, sponsor, (spouse).
=Statuo=, I set up; =sto= (=stat=-um), to stand; statute, statue,
institute, restitution, extant, substance.
=Stella=, a star; stellar, constellation.
=Stringo= (=strict=-um), I bind; stringent, stricture, constrain.
=Struo= (=struct=-um), I build; structure, (construe, destroy),
destruction.
=Suadeo= (=suas=-um), I persuade; persuasion, dissuade.
=Sumo= (=sumpt=-um), I take; resume, consumption.
=Surgo= (=surrect=-um), I arise; insurgent, resurrection.
=Taceo=, I am silent; tacit, taciturn.
=Tango= (=tact=-um), I touch; intangible, contact, contagious.
=Tego= (=tect=-um), I cover; integument, detect.
=Tempus= (=tempŏr=-is), time; temporal, tense.
=Tendo= (=tens=-um), I stretch; extend, intension, tent, tense.
=Teneo= (=tent=-um), I hold; contain, tenacious, retentive.
=Terminus=, an end or boundary; term, terminus, determine.
=Tero= (=trīt=-um), I rub; contrition, trite, detritus.
=Terra=, the earth; subterranean, Mediterranean.
=Terreo=, I frighten; terror, terrify.
=Testis=, a witness; testator, testify, contest.
=Texo= (=text=-um), I weave; texture, context, textile.
=Timeo=, I fear; timid, intimidation.
=Tono=, I thunder; astonish, detonate.
=Torqueo= (=tort=-um), I twist; torture, torsion.
=Traho= (=tract=-um), I draw; contractile.
=Tribuo=, I give; tribute, contribution.
=Tribus=, a tribe; tribe, tribune, tribunal.
=Trudo= (=trus=-um), I thrust; extrusion, intrude.
=Turba=, a crowd; turbid, turbulent.
=Umbra=, a shadow; umbrage, adumbration.
=Unda=, a wave; undulate, inundation.
=Unguo= (=unct=-um), I anoint; unguent, unctuous, ointment.
=Unus=, one; unity, union.
=Urbs=, a city; urban, suburb.
=Utor= (=us=-us), I use; use, utensil, usury.
=Vacca=, a cow; vaccinate.
=Valeo=, I am strong; valour, valiant, prevail.
=Vanus=, empty; vain, vanish, vanity.
=Vas= (=vās=-is), a vessel; vase, vascular, vessel.
=Veho= (=vect=-um), I carry; vehicle, convey.
=Vello= (=vuls=-um), I pluck; convulsion.
=Venio= (=vent=-um), I come; venture, advent.
=Ver=, the spring; verdant, vernal, verdure.
=Verbum=, a word; verb, verbal, verbose, proverb.
=Verto= (=vers=-um), I turn; controvert, aversion.
=Verus=, true; verdict, veracious, verity.
=Vestis=, a garment; invest, vesture.
=Vetus= (=vetĕr=-is), old; veteran.
=Via=, a way; deviate, previous.
=Video= (=vĭs=-um), I see; vision, provident.
=Vinco= (=vict=-um), I overcome; victor, victory, convince.
=Vir=, a man; virtue, virile.
=Vita=, life; vital, vitality.
=Vitium=, a fault; vitiate, vicious, vice.
=Vivo= (=vict=-um), I live; survive, victuals.
=Voco=, I call; =vox= (=vōc=-is), the voice; voice, convocation, revoke,
vociferate.
=Volo=, I fly; volatile, volley.
=Volo=, I wish; involuntary, volition, benevolence, malevolence.
=Volvo= (=volūt=-um), I roll; involution, evolve, volume.
=Voveo= (=vot=-um), I vow; vow, devote.
=Vulgus=, the common people; vulgar, divulge.
=Vulnus= (=vulnĕr=-is), a wound; vulnerable.
9. =GREEK ROOTS.=
=Ago=, I lead; pedagogue, synagogue.
=Agōn=, a contest; agony, antagonist.
=Allos=, another; allopathy, allegory.
=Anggelos=, a messenger; angel, evangelist.
=Anthrōpos=, a man; misanthrope, philanthropy.
=Archo=, I begin or rule; monarch, archaic [= early]; archbishop,
archdeacon.
=Arctos=, a bear; Arctic, Antarctic, Arcturus.
=Arithmos=, number; arithmetic.
=Aster= or =astron=, a star; astronomy, astrology, asteroid, disaster.
=Atmos=, vapour; atmosphere.
=Autos=, self; autocrat, autograph.
=Ballo=, I throw; symbol.
=Bapto=, I dip; baptise, baptist.
=Baros=, weight; barometer.
=Biblos=, a book; Bible, bibliomania.
=Bios=, life; biography, biology.
=Cheir=, the hand; surgeon [older form, chirurgeon].
=Chrio=, I anoint; Christ, chrism.
=Cholē=, bile; melancholy.
=Chronos=, time; chronology, chronic, chronicle.
=Daktŭlos=, a finger; dactyl, pterodactyl, date--_the fruit_.
=Deka=, ten; decagon, decalogue.
=Dēmos=, the people; democrat, endemic, epidemic.
=Dokeo=, to think; =doxa= and =dogma=, an opinion; doxology, orthodox,
heterodox, dogma, dogmatic.
=Drao=, I do; drama, dramatic.
=Dunămis=, power; dynamics.
=Eidos=, form; kaleidoscope.
=Eikon=, an image: iconoclast.
=Electron=, amber; electricity.
=Ergon=, a work; surgeon [= chirurgeon], energy.
=Eu=, well; eucharist, euphony, evangelist.
=Gamos=, marriage; bigamy, monogamist, misogamy.
=Gē=, the earth; geography, geometry, geology.
=Gennao=, I produce; genesis, genealogy, hydrogen, oxygen.
=Grapho=, I write; =gramma=, a letter; graphic, grammar, telegraph,
biography, diagram.
=Haima=, blood; hæmorrhage, hæmorrhoid.
=Haireo=, I take away; heresy, heretic.
=Helios=, the sun; helioscope, heliotype.
=Hemi=, half; hemisphere.
=Hieros=, sacred; hierarchy, hieroglyphic.
=Hippos=, a horse; hippopotamus, hippodrome.
=Hŏdos=, a way; method, period, exodus.
=Hŏmos=, the same; homœopathy, homogeneous.
=Hudor=, water; hydraulic, hydrophobia.
=Ichthus=, a fish; ichthyology.
=Idios=, one’s own; idiom, idiot, idiosyncrasy.
=Isos=, equal; isochronous, isobaric (of equal weight).
=Kalos=, beautiful; caligraphy, calotype.
=Kephalē=, the head; hydrocephalus.
=Klino=, I bend; climax, climate.
=Kosmos=, order; cosmogony, cosmography, cosmetic.
=Krino=, I judge; critic, criterion, hypocrite.
=Kuklos=, a circle; cycle, cycloid, cyclone.
=Kuon=, a dog; cynic, cynicism.
=Lĕgo=, I say or choose; eclectic, lexicon.
=Lithos=, a stone; lithograph, aerolite.
=Lŏgos=, a word, speech; logic, dialogue, geology.
=Luo=, I loosen; dialysis, analysis.
=Metron=, a measure; metronome, diameter, thermometer, barometer.
=Mŏnos=, alone; monastery, monogram, monosyllable.
=Morphē=, shape; amorphous, dimorphous, metamorphic.
=Naus=, a ship; nautical.
=Nekros=, a dead body; necropolis, necromancy.
=Nŏmos=, a law; autonomous, astronomy, Deuteronomy.
=Oikos=, a house; economy, economical.
=Onŏma=, a name; anonymous, synonymous, patronymic.
=Optŏmai=, I see; optics, synoptical.
=Orthos=, right; orthodoxy, orthography.
=Pais= (=paid=-os), a boy; pedagogue [lit. _a boy-leader_].
=Pan=, all; pantheist, panoply, pantomime.
=Pathos=, feeling; pathetic, sympathy.
=Pente=, five; pentagon, pentateuch, Pentecost.
=Phainŏmai=, I appear; phantasy, phantom, fantastic, fancy.
=Phero=, I bear; periphery, phosphorus [= the light-bearer].
=Phileo=, I love; philosophy, Philadelphia.
=Phōs= (=phōt=-os), light; photometer, photograph.
=Phusis=, nature; physics, physiology, physician.
=Planao=, I cause to wander; planet.
=Poieo=, I make; poet, poetic, pharmacopœia.
=Polis=, a city; Constantinople, metropolis.
=Polus=, many; polytheist, Polynesia, polyanthus.
=Pous= (=pŏd=-os), a foot; antipodes.
=Pur=, fire; pyrotechnic, pyre.
=Rheo=, I flow; rhetoric, catarrh, rheumatic.
=Skŏpeo=, I see; microscope, telescope, spectroscope, bishop [from
_episkopos_, an overseer].
=Sophia=, wisdom; sophist, philosophy.
=Stello=, I send; apostle, epistle.
=Stratos=, an army; strategy, strategic.
=Strĕpho=, I turn; catastrophe.
=Technē=, an art; technical.
=Tĕlē=, distant; telegraph, telescope, telephone, telegram.
=Temno=, I cut; anatomy, lithotomy.
=Tetra=, four; tetrachord, tetrarch.
=Theāomai=, I see, behold; theatre, theory.
=Theos=, a god; theist, enthusiast, theology.
=Thermē=, heat; thermal, thermometer, isotherm.
=Tithēmi=, I place; =thēsis=, a placing; synthesis, hypothesis.
=Treis=, three; triangle, trigonometry, trilobite.
=Trĕpo=, I turn; trophy, tropic.
=Tupos=, the impress of a seal; type, stereotype.
=Zōon=, an animal; zoology, zodiac.
10. =THE BRANCHING OF WORDS FROM LATIN STEMS.=
=Ag=-o (=act=-um), I do.--=Act=, that which is done; =active=, engaged in
doing; =action=, a doing; =enact=, to make an _act_, to establish as
law; =enactment=; =transaction=, the doing of a thing thoroughly;
=react=, to do again.
=Apt=-us, fitted.--=Apt=, fit: =aptitude=, fitness; =adapt=, to fit to;
=adaptability=, capability of being fitted to; =adaptation=, a fitting
to; =adept=, one who is fitted for doing things.
=Ced=-o, I go.--=Accede=, to go to, hence to agree to; =access=, a going
to, hence an approach or entrance; =accessory=, going to or aiding;
=concede=, to go away from, to give up; =concession=, the act of giving
up; =exceed=, to go out of; =excess=, that which goes out or beyond;
=excessive=, going beyond; =intercede=, to go in between, hence to act
as a peacemaker; =intercessory=, going in between; =precede=, to go
before; =procession=, a going forth, or that which goes forth;
=recede=, to go back; =recess=, a space which goes back; =succeed=, to
come from under, hence to follow in order; =success=, the act of
succeeding; =successor=, one who follows; =successively=, following in
order.
=Cor= (=cord=-is), the heart.--=Cordial=, hearty; =cordiality=, heartiness;
=concord=, state of being of the same heart, harmony; =discord=, want
of heart or agreement; =discordant=; =record=, to call back to the
heart or mind; =recorder=, one who keeps records or registers;
=courage= (through Fr.), heart--that is, bravery; =encourage=, to put
heart in; =discourage=, to take heart from; =discouragement=.
=Cur=-a, care.--=Cure= (verb and noun); =curable=, that may be cured;
=cureless=, without cure; =curate=, one who has the cure (or care) of
souls; =curator=, one who has care of anything; =curative=, tending to
cure; =curious=, full of care, anxious; =curiosity=; =accurate=, done
with care, hence without error; =procure=, to take care of;
=procurator=, one who takes care of; =secure=, free from care;
=security=, state of being free from care; =sinecure=, an office
without care.
=Curr=-o, I run.--=Current=, that which runs; =currency=, a running, the
money which runs in a country; =concur=, to run together, hence to
agree; =incur=, to run into; =occur=, to run in the way of; =recur=, to
run back; =course= (through Fr.), the track on which anything runs;
=courser=, a runner; =recourse=, a running back, a going to for aid;
=intercourse=, a running between; =precursor=, one who runs before;
=courier= (Fr.), one who runs; =corridor= (Spanish), a passage or
gallery running along.
=Do= (=dat=-um, what is given), I give.--=Add=, to give to; =addition=,
act of giving to; =condition=, state in which things are put
together, or exist; =conditionally=; =edit=, to give forth or out;
=edition=, what is given out; =editor=, one who gives out; =date=, the
time given in a letter.
=Duc=-o, I lead.--=Duke=, a leader; =ducal=, pertaining to a leader;
=ductile=, that which may be led or drawn out; =ductility=, the quality
of being ductile; =educate=, to lead out; =education=; =conduct= (verb
and noun), to lead together; =induce=, to lead into; =produce=, to lead
forth; =reduce=, to lead back; =seduce=, to lead out of the right path.
=Dur=-us, hard.--=During=, lasting (but now used as a _preposition_);
=dure=, to last; =duration=; =durable=; =durability=; =durableness=; =endure=,
to be hard, firm, or lasting; =obdurate=, hardened against.
=Fac=-io, I do, or I make.--=Fact=, a deed; =factor=, a maker; =affect=, to
act upon; =affection=; =affected=; =affectation=, acting upon one’s self;
=defect=, a want; =effect=, something thoroughly done; =effective=;
=perfect=, to make thoroughly; =perfection=, state of being thoroughly
made; =imperfect=, not thoroughly made.
=Fer=-o, I carry.--=Confer=, to come together for council; =conference=;
=defer=, to bear one’s self down or yield to the wishes of another;
=deference=; =differ=, to carry asunder, hence to disagree; =different=;
=differently=; =difference=; =offer=, to carry in the way of; =prefer=, to
carry before, hence to esteem more than another; =preference=; =refer=,
to carry back; =suffer=, to bear up, hence to undergo; =transfer=, to
carry across.
=Firm=-us, strong.--=Firm=, strong; =firmness=; =firmly=; =confirm=, to make
more strong; =confirmation=; =affirm=, to declare strongly; =infirm=, not
strong; =infirmity=, state of being infirm, hence disease; =infirmary=,
a place for the infirm; =firmament=, that which is firm, the place
supposed to be fixed above the earth.
=Form=-a, shape.--=Form=, shape; =formal=, according to form; =informal=,
not according to form; =formality=; =formally=; =formative=, giving form;
=formula=, a little form; =conform=, to make of the same form with;
=deform=, to alter or injure the form of; =inform=, to put into form or
shape, educate, instruct; =information=; =misinform=, to give wrong
knowledge to; =perform=, to form thoroughly; =reform=, to form again;
=reformation=; =transform=, to change the form of.
=Grati=-a, favour.--=Grace= (through Fr.); =graceful=, full of the power
to win favour; =gracefulness=; =gracefully=; =gracious=, full of grace;
=disgrace=, state of being out of grace or favour; =grateful=, thankful
for favour; =ingratitude=; =ingrate=, an ungrateful person; =gratify=, to
please; =gratuitous=, by favour and without price; =gratitude=; =agree=
(Fr.).
=Habe=-o, I have.--=Habit=, the having one’s self in a certain
condition; =habitual=; =habitable=, that may be inhabited; =habitat=, the
place which a plant or an animal inhabits; =habitation=, place where
one dwells or inhabits; =exhibit=, to hold out to view; =inhibit=, to
hold in or keep back; =inhibition=; =inhabit=, to be in the habit of
living in; =prohibit=, to hold before one, hence to check.
=Jac=-io (=jact=-um), I throw.--=Eject=, to throw out; =ejectment=, a
throwing out; =ejection=, the act of throwing out; =ejaculate=, to
throw out (a sound); =ejaculation=; =abject=, thrown down; =adjective=,
that which is thrown to or added to; =conjecture=, a throwing
together of chances, or a guess; =deject=, to throw down; =inject=, to
throw into; =interjection=, a throwing into the middle of; =project=
(verb and noun), to throw forward; =subject= (verb and noun), to
throw under; =reject=, to throw back.
=Jung=-o (=junct=-us, joined), I join.--=Join= (through Fr.); =joint=, a
place where things are joined; =joiner=, one who joins; =juncture=, a
joining; =conjoin= (Fr.), to join together; =conjuncture=, a joining
together; =disjoin= (Fr.), to separate; =adjunct=, something joined to;
=conjunction=, that which joins together.
=Leg=-o (=lect=-um), I gather or read.--=Collect’=, to gather together;
=col’-lect=, what is gathered together; =collection=; =collector=; =elect=,
to gather out from; =election=; =elector=; =select=, to choose apart, to
pick out; =legend=, that which should be read; =legible=, that which
may be read.
=Mitt=-o (=miss=-um), I send.--=Admit=; =commit=, to send together with, to
intrust to; =commitment=, a sending together; =commission=, a sending
with authority; =emit=, to send out; =emission=, a sending out; =omit=,
to send away, to leave out; =omission=, the act of leaving out;
=permit=; =permission=; =remit=, to send back; =transmit=, to send through.
=Norm=-a, a rule.--=Normal=, according to rule; =normally=; =enormous=,
great, beyond rule; =enormity=; =abnormal=, away from rule.
=Nosc=-o (=not=-um), I know or mark.--=Note=, something by which a thing
may be known, hence a mark; =noted=, known; =notable=, deserving to be
known; =noble= (Fr.); =notify=, to make known; =notorious=, too well
known; =notice=, a warning to know; =noticeable=, likely to be observed
or known.
=Ord=-o (=ordin=-is), arrangement.--=Order=; =ordain=, to arrange or put in
order; =ordinal=, that which shows arrangement; =ordination=, the act
of arranging; =ordinary=, according to the common arrangement;
=extraordinary=, out of the common arrangement; =disorder=, want of
arrangement; =orderly=, properly arranged.
=Pars= (=part=-is), a part.--=Part=; =particle=, a small part; =tripartite=,
divided into three parts; =partition=, that which divides into parts;
=partial=, relating to a part only; =apart=, parted from; =depart=, to
part from; =impart=, to give part to.
=Pell=-o (=puls=-um), I drive.--=Compel=, to drive together; =compulsion=,
the act of driving together; =dispel=, to drive asunder; =expel=, to
drive out; =expulsion=; =impel=, to drive forward (or into); =impulse=;
=propel=, to drive forward; =repel=, to drive back; =repulse=.
=Pend=-o (=pens=-um), I hang.--=Append=, to hang to; =appendage=, something
hung on to; =depend=, to hang down from; =dependant=, one who hangs
from another; =independent=, not hanging from another; =independence=,
the state of not hanging from another; =pendant=, that which hangs;
=suspend=, to hang under; =suspense=, state of hanging [under].
=Pon=-o (=posit=-um), I place.--=Post=, something placed, and hence the
place in which it stands; =position=, state of being placed, hence
place; =composition=, a placing together; =opposition=, a placing in
the way of; =proposition=, a placing before.
=Port=-o, I carry.--=Porter=, one who carries; =export=, to carry out of
a country; =import=, to carry into a country; =report=, to carry back,
to repeat; =report=, what is carried back or repeated; =reporter=;
=support=, to bear up from under; =transport=, to carry across;
=transportation=.
=Prem=-o (=press=-um), I press.--=Press=; =compress=, to press together;
=compression=, the act of pressing together; =depress=, to press down;
=express=, to press out, hence to utter or say; =impress’=, to press
into (as of a seal); =im’press=, the mark left by anything impressed;
=repress=, to press back; =suppress=, to press under.
=Rect=-us, right.--=Rectify=, to make right; =rectitude=, state of being
right; =correct=, to put right; =corrector=; =correction=, a putting
right.
=Reg=-o (=rect=-um), I rule.--=Regal=, pertaining to a king or ruler;
=rector=, one who rules (in the church); =rectory=, the house in which
the rector lives.
=Rump=-o (=rupt=-um), I break.--=Abrupt=, broken off; =rupture=, a
breaking; =corrupt=, to break thoroughly, to break in pieces; =corrupt=
(_adj._) broken in pieces; =corruptible=, that which may be
corrupted; =irruption=, a breaking into; =eruption=, a breaking out;
=disruption=, a breaking asunder.
=Scrib=-o (=script=-um), I write.--=Scribe=, one who writes; =describe=, to
write down; =inscribe=, to write upon; =inscription=; =subscribe=, to
write under; =subscription=; =scripture=, that which is written.
=Sed=-eo (=sess=-um), I sit.--=Sedentary=, in the habit of sitting;
=preside=, to sit before others, hence to be in authority; =assiduous=,
sitting close to (work); =subside=, to sit under, hence to settle;
=session=, a sitting.
=Serv=-o (=servat=-um), I keep.--=Conserve=, to keep together;
=conservatory=, a place for keeping things together; =observe=, to keep
in the way of (the eyes), hence to keep in view; =observatory=, a
place for observing (the stars); =reserve=, to keep back; =reserve=,
what is kept back.
=Spec=-io (=spect=-um), I look.--=Aspect=, look; =spectator=, one who looks
at; =speculum=, a looking-glass; =suspicion=, a looking under.
=Statu=-o (=statut=-um), I set up.--=Statue=, something set up; =statute=,
a law set up.
=Tang=-o (=tact=-um), I touch.--=Tangent=, a line which touches;
=tangible=, which may be touched; =tactile=, that which can touch;
=contact=, touching; =tact=, the art of knowing as it were by mere
touch.
=Tend=-o (=tent=-um or =tens=-um), I stretch.--=Distend=, to stretch
asunder; =extend=, to stretch out; =extent=, the amount a thing
stretches; =tense=, stretched; =tent=, something which is stretched.
=Ten=-eo (=tent=-um), I hold.--=Tenant=, one who holds (a house or land);
=tenacious=, holding much or firmly; =contain=, to hold together;
=detain=, to hold down, hence to hinder; =retain=, to hold back;
=retentive=, holding back or keeping.
=Trah=-o (=tract=-um), I draw.--=Attract=, to draw to; =contract=, to draw
together; =traction=, the act of drawing; =subtract=, to draw from
under, hence to take away; =subtrahend=, that which has to be taken
away; =contraction=, a drawing together.
=Ut=-or (=us=-us), I use.--=Use=; =abuse=, to use away from its proper
purpose; =peruse=, to use thoroughly, hence to read through; =usury=,
money paid for the use of money; =utensil=, something to be used;
=utility=, usefulness.
=Veh=-o (=vect=-um), I carry.--=Vehicle=, that in which goods are
carried; =convey=, to carry together; =conveyance=, that in which goods
are carried together.
=Ven=-io (=vent=-um), I come.--=Convene=, _originally_ to come together,
_afterwards_ to summon; =convention=; =advent=, a coming to; =intervene=,
to come in between; =contravene=, to come against, hence to oppose;
=circumvent=, to come round; =intervention=, the act of coming in
between.
=Vert=-o (=vers=-um), I turn.--=Convert=, to turn together; =conversion=,
the act of turning together; =advert=, to turn towards; =divorce=, to
turn asunder; =invert=, to turn into; =inversion=, the act of turning
into; =reverse=, to turn back; =verse=, a kind of composition in which
the writer _turns back_ from the end of the line.
=Vid=-eo (=vis=-um), I see.--=Visitor=, one who sees; =vision=, what is
seen; =visual=, pertaining to seeing; =visible=, what may be seen;
=provide=, to see before; =providence=, a seeing beforehand; =prudence=
(Fr.), another form of _providence_.
=Voc=-o (=vocat=-um), I call.--=Convoke=, to call together; =convocation=,
a meeting which has been called together; =revoke=, to call back;
=vocal=, calling--that is, having a voice; =voice=, that by which one
calls; =vociferate=.
=Volv=-o (=volut=-um), I roll.--=Convolution=, a rolling together;
=revolve=, to roll round; =involve=, to roll into.
11. =THE BRANCHING OF WORDS FROM ENGLISH STEMS.=
=Bac=-an, to bake.--=Bake=; =baker=; =baxter= (bakester), a woman who
bakes; =batch=, what is baked.
=Beat=-an, to strike.--=Bat=, an instrument to strike a ball with;
=beetle=, an instrument to beat clothes with.
=Ber=-an, to carry.--=Bearer=; =burden=; =barrow=, that on which something
is borne; =bier=, that on which a corpse is borne; =forbear=, to bear
forth or off, hence to abstain; =overbear=, to bear over, to
overpower.
=Brec=-an, to break.--=Break=, an instrument for breaking the speed of
a train; =breach=, a break in a wall; =brook=, a stream which breaks
from the ground.
=Brinn=-an, to burn.--=Burn=; =brown= is the burnt colour; =brand=, a mark
made by burning; =brandy=, a drink made by burning wine; =brunt=, the
burning or hottest part of a fight; =brimstone=, burning stone (a
name for sulphur); =brindled=, striped with brown; =bran new= [=brand
new].
=Drag=-an, to pull.--=Drag=; =draw=, another form of drag; =dray=, a kind
of cart which is drawn along; =draught=, what is drawn; =draft=, a
cheque drawn on a banker; =drain=, a ditch for drawing off water;
=drawl=, to keep drawing out one’s words.
=Far=-an, to go.--=Far=, that which requires much going to reach;
=farewell=, go well! =fieldfare=, a bird which goes in the fields;
=thoroughfare=, a place where people go through; =ford=, a place in a
river where one can go across on foot; =ferry=, a place in a river
where one can go over in a boat; =fare=, the money paid for going.
=Hæl=, sound.--=Hale=; =heal=, to make hale; =health=, state of being sound
or hale; =healthy=; =healthful=; =holy=, spiritually hale; =hail=, be hale!
or be healthy! =whole=, in a state of being hale (the _w_ is
intrusive); =wholesome=, what tends to make hale.
=Lig=, lie.--=Lie=, to lie down; =lay=, to make to lie; =lair=, the place
where a wild beast lies; =law=, what lies or is in due order; =low=,
what is (lying) down.
=Maw=-an, to mow.--=Mower=; =math=, the grass that is mowed; =aftermath=,
the grass that is mowed after the first crop; =mead=, a place where
grass is mowed; =meadow=, a small mead.
=Met=-an, to meet.--=Mote=, a meeting (an old word now found only in
wardmote and folkmote); =meet=.
=Reaf=-ian, to take away.--=Reave=; =bereave=; =reef=, what is taken in in
a sail; =rifle=, to plunder or take away; =robber=, a person who takes
away what does not belong to him.
=Sceot=-an, to throw.--=Shoot=, to throw out (by means of a gun or
otherwise); =shut=, to throw to (the door); =shoot=, a branch thrown
out by a tree; =shot=, what is thrown out (by a gun or otherwise);
=shout=, to throw out of the mouth; =shuttle=, an instrument thrown by
a weaver; =sheet=, what is thrown over (a bed); =shutter=, what is
thrown to, to guard a window.
=Sit=-an, to sit.--=Sit=; =set=, to make to sit; =beset=, to set about;
=onset=, a setting on; =overset=, to turn over; =upset=; =setter=, a kind
of dog; =settle=, a kind of seat; =settle=, to set or fix; =settler=;
=settlement=; =seat=, the place where one sits.
=Treow=-an, believe.--=Trow=, to believe; =true=, what should be
believed; =truth=; =truthful=; =truthfully=; =truism=; =trust=; =intrust=;
=trustee=; =trusty=; =trustworthy=; =troth=.
=Wac=-an, to wake.--=Wake=; =awake=; =awaken=; =wakeful=; =wakefulness=; =watch=;
=watchful=; =watchfulness=.
CHAPTER VI.
=Prefixes and Suffixes.=
_PREFIXES._
1. =ENGLISH (OR TEUTONIC).=
=A= (a broken-down form of the A.S. preposition _on_), at, to, on,
in, etc.; astern, abed, aboard, afield, afoot, ashore, alive,
aweary.
=After=; afternoon, afterthought, aftermath, aftercrop.
=At=; atone (to bring together into one); ado (= at-do); twit (=
at-wit).
=Be=, used both with nouns and with verbs--behalf, behoof, behest,
bequest; betake, begin, become, bespatter, bedim, besprinkle,
behead.
=Down=; downfall, downstroke, downcast.
=For=, not; forbid, forsake (not to seek), forget, forgo (wrongly
spelled forego); or utterly; as, forlorn, fordone.
=Fore=, before; foretell, forefather, foresee, forebode, forecast,
forenoon.
=Gain=, against; gainsay, gainstay (gainstand).
=In=, =im=, =en=, =em=; income, inlet, insight, inlay, inborn, inbred,
into, ingraft, inlay, infold, imbed, endear, enthral, engrave,
embower.
=Mis=, wrong; mislead, mistrust, misdeed, mishap, mistake.
=Mid=, in the middle of; midmost, midnight, midsummer, midday.
=Off=, from; offshoot, offset, offspring, offal (= off-fall),
offhand.
=Out=; outset, outstrip, outvie, outrun, outdo.
=Over=; overwise, overfed, overmuch, overcoat, overhand, overseer,
oversight.
=Through=, =thorough=; thoroughfare, throughout, thoroughbred,
thoroughgoing.
=To=, this; to-day, to-night, to-morrow.
=Un=, (1) not; unclean, unwise, untrue, unbelief, unrest: or (2)
back; undo, untie, unlock, unfold, unbind, unloose.
=Under=; undergrowth, underbred, underhand, undersell, underwood.
=Up=; uproar, upland, upstart, upset, upbear, upbraid, upright.
=Wel=, =well=; welfare, welcome, well-born, well-bred, well-trained.
=With=, against; withstand, withdraw (drawing-room =
withdrawing-room), withhold.
2. =LATIN.=
=Ab= (=a=, =abs=), from or away; averse, avert, aversion, abdicate,
abstract, abstain, abjure, abate, abound, abuse, abduction.
=Ad= (=ac=, =af=, =ag=, =al=, =am=, =an=, =ap=, =ar=, =as=, =at=, =a=), to: adore, advise,
accord, annex, accuse, accede, allude, allusion, announce, appear,
assent, attend, aspire, affirm, affix, aggrieve, annul, ammunition,
apparent, arrive, assume, assault, assumption, attend, attentive,
attention, assimilate, attain, ascribe, avow.
=Am= (=amb=), round; ambient, amputate, ambition, ambiguous.
=Ante= (=anti=), before; antedate, antenuptial, antenatal, antechamber,
antediluvian, anticipate.
=Circum= (=circu=), round; circumlocution, circumnavigate, circuit,
circumvent, circuitous, circulate, circumference.
=Con= (=col=, =com=, =cor=, =co=), together with; consonant, connect,
contend, conduct, compact, compound, commend, collision, collect,
correct, corrupt, co-heir, coerce.
=Contra= (=contro=, =counter=), against; contradict, contravene,
controversy, controvert, contraband, counterfeit.
=De=, down or from; denote, describe, depart, descent, devise,
demure.
=Dis= (=dif=, =di=); disjoin, difficult, diffuse, divide, differ, dilute,
dissent.
=Ex= (=ef=, =e=), out of; extort, exhume, efface, educe, extrude, extol,
effect, education.
=Extra=, beyond; extraordinary, extravagant, extraneous.
=In= (=il=, =im=, =ir=, =em=, =en=), into; invade, incite, induce, illusion,
illude, improve, impulse, impel, irruption, embrace, endure,
encourage, embroil, irradiate, innate.
=In= (=ig=, =il=, =im=, =ir=), not; insecure, ignoble, illiterate,
inconvenient, incurable, incapable, incapacitate, immortal,
irregular, improper, illegitimate, irrational, innocent, infant.
=Inter= (=intel=, =enter=), between; intercourse, intelligent, interfere,
interdict, enterprise, entertain, interrupt.
=Intro=, within; introduce.
=Ob= (=oc=, =of=, =op=, =os=), against; oblige, obtain, object, occur,
offend, oppose, occult, offer, ostentation.
=Pene=, almost; as, peninsula.
=Per= (=pel=), through; perform, permit, pellucid, pertain.
=Post=, after; postpone, posthumous.
=Præ= or =pre=, before; prelection, preface, prevent, precede,
premature, predict.
=Præter= or =preter=, beyond; preternatural, preterite.
=Pro= (=por=, =pur=, =pol=), forth, on or before; proceed, pollution,
portend, purvey, portrait, purloin, purchase, pronoun, purpose.
=Re= (=red=), back; refute, result, redolent, redound, reduce, redeem.
=Retro=, backwards; retrograde, retrospect.
=Se= (=sed=), aside or apart; select, seclude, secede, seduce,
sedition.
=Sub= (=suc=, =suf=, =sug=, =sup=, =sur=, =sus=, =su=), under, up from below;
subject, suspect, succeed, suffer, suggest, suppose, suspend,
suspect, succinct, suppress, surrogate, susceptible, subdue,
suffuse, subtract, succour, supplant.
=Subter=, beneath; subterfuge.
=Super= (=sur=), over; superstructure, surplus, survive, superscribe,
surfeit, surcharge, supernatural, surname, supercilious.
=Trans= (=tra=, =tres=); across; transmarine, translate, tradition,
trespass, traduce.
=Ultra=, beyond; ultramontane, ultramarine.
=Vice=, instead of; viceroy, viceregal, viscount.
3. =GREEK.=
=A= or =an=, not; anarchy, anomaly, anonymous, apteryx (wingless),
atheist.
=Amphi=, on both sides, round; amphibious, amphitheatre.
=Ana=, up; anatomy, analysis, anabasis, analyse.
=Anti= (=ant=), against; antithesis, antipathy, antarctic, antitype,
antidote.
=Apo= (=ap=, =aph=), from; apogee, apology, apostrophe, aphelion,
aphorism.
=Cata=, down; catarrh, catalepsy, catastrophe, catechism, cathartic,
cathedral, catalogue.
=Di= (=dis=), two; diphthong, dissyllable, dilemma, diploma.
=Dia=, through; diameter, diagonal, diaphonous, diabolic, diagnosis,
diastole, diaphragm.
=En= (=el=, =em=), in; ellipse, emblem, energy, enthrone, empyrean,
emphasis, emporium.
=Endo=, within; endogenous.
=Epi= (=ep=), upon; epilogue, epitaph, epiphany, epistle.
=Exo=, without; exogenous, exotic.
=Hyper=, over or above; hyperbola, hyperbole, hyperbolical,
hypercritical, hyperborean.
=Hypo= (=hyph=), under; hypotenuse, hypothesis, hypocrite, hyphen.
=Meta= (=met=, =meth=) signifies after, change; metathesis, metonomy,
method, metaphor.
=Para= (=par=), beside; parabola, paraphrase, parhelion, parody,
parable.
=Peri=, round; perimeter, peristyle, perigee, periphery, period.
=Pro=, before; prologue, problem, prophet, program.
=Pros=, towards; prosody, proselyte.
=Syn= (=sy=, =syl=, =sym=), together with; syndic, syntax, symbol,
syllogism, syllable, system, systole, synchronous, symptom,
sympathy.
_SUFFIXES._
4. =ENGLISH (OR TEUTONIC).=
=Noun Suffixes.=
1. _Denoting a person or the doer of an action_:
=-er= or =-ar=; singer, baker, beggar, liar, lawyer, bowyer (a
bow-maker), sawyer, sailor, speaker, miller, (fletcher = flechier,
an arrow-maker).
=-nd= (old present participial ending); friend (= a loving person),
fiend (= a hating person), errand, wind.
=-ster= (originally a _female_ agent); Spinster, songster, maltster,
huckster, baxter [= bakester], (now a term of contempt); youngster,
gamester, punster.
=-ter=, =-ther=, =-der=; daughter, father, spider (that is, spinder),
mother, brother, foster (= foodster).
2. _Denoting an instrument_:
=-der= or =-er=; ladder, rudder, bladder (from _blow_), feather,
weather, rudder, murder, stair, finger (from _fangen_, to seize).
=-el= or =-le=; shovel, girdle, shuttle, settle (a small seat),
thimble.
3. _Forming abstract nouns_:
=-dom=; kingdom, earldom, freedom, thraldom, wisdom, martyrdom,
Christendom.
=-hood=, or =-head=; manhood, boyhood, childhood, priesthood, Godhead,
hardihood, neighbourhood, wifehood.
=-ing=; hunting, blessing, standing, reading, clothing.
=-ness=; witness (= a person who _wits_ or knows), wilderness,
darkness, goodness, redness, weakness, hardness.
=-red=; hatred, kindred.
=-ship=, =-scape=; friendship, lordship, worship (= worthship),
hardship, fellowship, landscape (in Milton, _landskip_: compare
_skipper_ for _shipper_).
=-t=, =-th=, =-st=, =-d=; weight, height, sleight (from _sly_), gift, rift
(from _rive_), theft, drought (from _dry_), frost, flight, warmth,
health, width, death, birth, sloth (from _slow_), trust (from
_trow_, to believe), flood (from _flow_), seed (from _sow_).
4. _Diminutives_:
=-el= or =-le=; thimble (from _thumb_), riddle (from _read_).
=-en=; maiden, kitten, chicken.
=-ing=; farthing, tithing (from _tithe_ = tenth), riding (from
_thrid_ = third).
=-kin=; lambkin, mannikin, pipkin.
=-ling= (= _l_ + _ing_); darling (from _dear_), duckling, suckling,
hireling, gosling, fatling, firstling, nestling, underling,
starveling, suckling.
=-ock=; bullock, hillock, paddock.
=-y=, =-ie=; lassie, Annie, Charlie, baby, Tommy, doggie.
=Adjective Suffixes.=
=-d= or =-ed= (originally a perfect participle-ending); hard, cold,
loud: also added to nouns, as gifted, wretched, ragged, long-eared,
feathered, landed.
=-el= or =-le=; fickle, brittle, little, idle, mickle (from _much_).
=-er=; lower, higher, brighter, sooner.
=-er=; bitter, clever.
=-ern=, denoting the region of the globe; northern, eastern,
southern, western.
=-est=; lowest, highest, brightest, soonest.
=-fold=; manifold, twofold, threefold, hundredfold, etc.
=-ful=; scornful, sinful, wilful, truthful, tearful, needful, awful,
dreadful, sorrowful.
=-ish=, =-sh=, or =-ch=, denotes partaking of the nature of; childish,
foolish, slavish, swinish, churlish, waspish, whitish, goodish,
brutish, girlish, boyish.
=-less= denotes destitute of; worthless, fearless, heedless,
hopeless, tearless, sinless, godless, lawless, toothless.
=-like=, =-ly=, denotes like; warlike, childlike, womanly, manly,
heavenly, godly, ghastly, likely.
=-n= or =-en= (also a perfect participle-ending); drunken, shaken,
broken, molten, shorn, torn. It also denotes the material of which
a thing is made, as golden, linen, wooden, silvern, flaxen, hempen,
leathern.
=-some= denotes the possession of a quality; wholesome, blithesome,
gladsome, winsome, lissom (from _lithe_), buxom (that is, _buhsum_,
from _bugan_, to bend), quarrelsome, tiresome.
=-t= (like =d=), probably perfect participial ending; short (from
_sceran_, to shear), blunt, tight, slight.
=-ward= denotes direction; homeward, heavenward, seaward, northward,
awkward (from _awk_, contrary), toward, froward (from _from_).
=-y= or =-ey= denotes the possession of a quality; bloody, thirsty,
guilty, woody, mighty, healthy, greedy, moody, sundry (from
_sunder_), sticky, sorry (from _sore_), hairy, bushy, stony,
clayey.
=Verb Suffixes.=
=-el= or =-le= gives a frequentative meaning to the verb; waddle (from
_wade_), startle, sparkle, dazzle (from _daze_), dribble (from
_drip_), swaddle (from _swathe_), dapple (from _dip_), crawl, kneel
(from _knee_), struggle, mingle, hurtle.
=-en= denotes making or doing; fatten, broaden, soften, open (from
_up_), lighten, sadden, gladden, sweeten, frighten, lengthen.
=-er=, also frequentative; glimmer, stagger, patter, flitter,
flutter, wander, batter, sputter, stutter.
=-k=, also frequentative; stalk (from _steal_), hark (from _hear_),
walk.
=Adverb Suffixes.=
=-ere= denotes place in which; here, there, where.
=-es=, =-se=, =-ce=, =-s=, which are old (possessive) genitive
terminations; sometimes, besides, unawares, else, twice (= twiës),
thrice, hence, thence, whence, needs, outwards.
=-ly= denotes manner; sweetly, sadly, cleanly.
=-ther= denotes direction towards; hither, thither, whither.
=-ward=, =-wards=, denote direction; homeward, homewards, heavenward,
heavenwards, hitherward, inwards.
=-wise=, =-ways=, denote manner or fashion; otherwise, anywise, nowise,
straightway, alway, always, sideways, lengthways.
5. =LATIN.=
=Noun Suffixes.=
1. _Those denoting persons or the doer of an action_:
=-an=, =-ain=; artisan, grammarian, villain.
=-ant= or =-ent=; agent, student, assistant, attendant, recreant,
tenant, miscreant.
=-ate=, =-ee=, =-ey=, =-y=; legate, magistrate, advocate, curate, nominee,
trustee, legatee, committee, attorney, covey, ally, deputy, jury.
=-ess= denotes a fem. agent; governess, traitress, empress, duchess.
=-ive=, =-iff=; captive, fugitive, caitiff, plaintiff.
=-tor=, =-sor=, =-or=, =-our=, =-er=, =-eer=, =-ier=, =-ar=, =-ary=; doctor,
successor, chancellor, emperor, actor, Saviour, founder, enchanter,
governor, preacher, juror, author, monitor, victor, auditor,
sponsor, engineer, auctioneer, grenadier, brigadier, registrar,
usher, archer, farrier, vicar, premier, lapidary.
=-trix=, female agent; executrix.
2. _Those forming Abstract Nouns_:
=-age=; age, homage, savage, marriage, voyage, tillage, courage,
personage, breakage, salvage. (Tonnage, bondage, shrinkage are
hybrids.)
=-ance=, =-ancy=, =-ence=, =-ency=; distance, constancy, infancy,
consistence, resistance, decency, consistency, persistence,
conveyance, cadence, chance (a form of cadence).
=-ice=, =-ise=; avarice, service, merchandise, justice, exercise.
=-ion=, =-tion=, =-sion=, =-som=, =-son=, originally denoted the action of a
verb; action, potion, opinion, poison, venison, malison, fusion,
reason, tension, lection, ransom, season, position, nation,
occasion.
=-or=, =-our=; labour, honour, ardour, savour, clamour, amour.
=-tude=; servitude, latitude, fortitude, altitude, longitude,
magnitude, custom (from _consuetudo_).
=-ty=, =-ity=; cruelty, charity, bounty, poverty, fealty, city, vanity.
=-ure=; juncture, censure, culture, measure, cincture, picture,
inclosure.
=-y=, =-cy=, =-ce=; family, copy, memory, story, victory, misery,
aristocracy, fancy, grace.
3. _Diminutives_:
=-el=, =-le=; damsel, mongrel.
=-et=, =-let=; pocket, rivulet.
=-ette=; coquette, rosette.
=-icle=, =-cule=; article, animalcule.
=-ule=; globule, granule.
=Adjective Suffixes.=
=-able=, =-ible=, =-ble=; culpable, probable, flexible, edible, capable,
soluble, feeble, amiable.
=-acious= denotes tendency, generally excessive; loquacious,
veracious, vivacious, tenacious, voracious.
=-al=, =-ar=; comical, regal, legal, general, regular, singular, loyal,
royal, equal, secular.
=-an=, =-ane=, =-ain=, =-en=, =-on=; human, urban, pagan, humane, mundane,
certain, mizzen (from _medius_). Surgeon and sexton have become
nouns.
=-aneous=, =-ain=, =-aign=, =-eign=, =-ange=; cutaneous, mountain, champaign,
foreign, strange.
=-ant=, =-ent=; volant, fluent, patent, innocent.
=-ary=, =-arian=, =-arious=; stationary, contrary, necessary, gregarious,
agrarian.
=-ate=, =-ete=, =-eet=, =-ite=, =-ute=, =-te=; fortunate, deliberate,
concrete, effete, discreet, erudite, minute, chaste.
=-estrial=, =-estrian=; terrestrial, equestrian.
=-ic=; civic, classic, barbaric, unique.
=-id=; fervid, morbid, acid, tepid.
=-ile=, =-il=, =-eel=, =-le=; servile, senile, fragile, civil, frail,
genteel, gentle, able.
=-ine= denotes belonging to; feminine, divine, feline, lacustrine,
canine, equine, saline.
=-ive=, inclined to; pensive, massive, captive, plaintive, restive,
native, fugitive, active.
=-ous=, =-ose=, denote full of; famous, ingenuous, glorious, copious,
assiduous, querulous, anxious, verbose, grandiose, jocose,
dangerous.
=-ory=; illusory, amatory, admonitory.
=-und=; jocund, moribund, floribund, rotund.
=Verb Suffixes.=
=-ate=; advocate, complicate, anticipate, supplicate, eradicate.
=-eer=; domineer, career, volunteer.
=-esce= denotes the beginning of an action; effervesce, coalesce.
=-fy= denotes to make (from _facio_), magnify, terrify, qualify,
signify.
=-ish=; nourish, perish, cherish, finish, flourish, banish, punish.
=-ite=, =-ete=, =-t=; expedite, delete, perfect, conduct, reflect,
connect.
6. =GREEK.=
=Noun Suffixes.=
=-et=, =-t=, =-ete=, =-ate=, denote the agent; poet, prophet, athlete,
comet, planet, apostate, æsthete(?), patriot.
=-isk= has diminutive signification; asterisk, obelisk.
=-ism= denotes the result of an action; deism, fatalism, egotism,
criticism, aneurism.
=-ist= denotes the agent; baptist, sophist, evangelist.
=-ma=, =-em=, =-me=, =-m=, denote the result of an action; diorama, drama,
dogma, system, scheme, theme, diadem, phlegm, enema.
=-sis=, =-sy=, =-se=, denote action; crisis, poesy, phase, genesis,
emphasis, paralysis, hypocrisy, ellipse, phrensy.
=-ter=, =-tre=, denote the instrument; metre, centre.
=Verb Suffixes.=
=-ise= signifies to do; criticise, baptise, eulogise.
_LITERATURE._
I.
=Outline of Our Early Literature=
(WITH ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE EARLY LANGUAGE).
1. =THE BEOWULF.=--The _Beowulf_ is a poem which recounts the life and
death of a hero of that name, who slays a monster called _Grendel_. It
was a poetic legend brought from the Continent by our Teutonic
ancestors. It does not seem to have been written down, or committed to
paper, till the seventh century; and it was probably preserved in the
memory of different generations, by its being taught by fathers to their
sons, and by the habit of chanting portions of it at the banquets of
kings and warriors. It is a poem which in substance belongs to the
Continental Teutons as much as to the English; and it marks the point at
which their literatures and languages begin to branch off. The scene is
laid in the north of Denmark; so that the poem is Northern, and not
Southern, Teutonic. Its present form is due to a Christian writer of
Northumbria. In literary form, therefore, it is English; and is one of
the earliest monuments of our literature. The poem consists of 6350
short lines, and is written throughout in head-rhymes,[15] or
alliterative rhymes.
2. =CÆDMON.=--But the first true English poem was the work of a
Northumbrian called CÆDMON, who was a servant to the monks of the abbey
of Hilda, in Whitby. It was written about the year 670. It is a
paraphrase of the history given in the Old and the New Testament. It
sings of the creation of the world, of the history of Israel, of the
life of Christ, of death, judgment, purgatory, heaven, and hell.
3. =BÆDA.=--The oldest literature of a nation--the early writings of its
childhood--are always poetic; and prose-writings do not appear until the
nation has, as it were, grown up. The first English prose-writer was
BÆDA--or, as he is generally called, The Venerable Bede. He was born in
the year 673. Like Cædmon, our first poet, he was a Northumbrian, and
belonged to the monastery of Jarrow-upon-Tyne. His most important
writings were in Latin; and the best known of them is an _Ecclesiastical
History of the English People_. But the work which makes Bæda our first
writer of English prose, is a translation into English of the _Gospel of
St John_. It was his last work; and, in fact, he died just after he had
dictated the last sentence. This was in the year 735.
4. =KING ALFRED.=--Up to the year 866, Northumbria was the home of
learning and literature; and the Northumbrian monks were its loving and
diligent cultivators. But the incursions of the Danes, the destruction
of the monasteries, and the perpetual danger to life and property
arising from the troubled condition of the country, put a stop for some
time to study and to letters. The cultivation of English as a
book-language reappears, towards the end of the ninth century, in the
south of the island. Alfred the Great, king of Wessex, is its great
friend and promoter. Winchester was the capital of his kingdom; and it
was at Winchester that Alfred and his colleagues laboured at the writing
of English books. He invited great scholars from different parts of the
world; he set up schools; he himself taught a school in his own court;
he translated the Latin manuals of the time into English, and added
largely to them from his own materials; he translated also the _History_
of the Venerable Bede; and, most probably, he worked at the _Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle_, and made it much fuller and more detailed than it had ever
been before. He founded schools in the different parts of his kingdom,
with the purpose and in the hope that ‘every free-born youth, who has
the means, may attend to his book till he can read English writing
perfectly.’ Alfred was born in the year 849, and died in 901. His own
personal diligence--his unceasing head-work, are well known. He gave
eight hours a day to the work of public affairs--of managing the
business of his kingdom; eight hours to books and study; and he reserved
only eight hours for sleep, meals, exercise, and amusement. The
following is a passage from one of King Alfred’s writings:
Swa claenë heo waes othfeallen on Angel-cynne, thaet swithe feawa
waeran be-heonan Humbre the hira thenunge cuthon understandan on
Englisc, ohthe farthon an aerend-gewrit of Ledene on Englisc
areccan; and ic wene thaet naht monige be-geondan Humbre naeron.
So clean (completely) it was ruined (had ruin fallen) on the
English folk (kin), that very few were on this side Humber who
their service could understand in English, or out (forth) an
epistle (errand-writing) from Latin into English declare (=
translate); and I wene that not many beyond Humber were (who could
do this).
5. =THE ANGLO-SAXON CHRONICLE.=--This chronicle was written chiefly by
monks, and was, in its earliest forms, a dry register or record of
events--of the births and deaths of kings, bishops, earls, and other
distinguished persons. In Alfred’s time, it became more of a history;
and even war-songs and battle odes are quoted in it. It was continued
down to the death of King Stephen in 1154; and the last portions of it
were composed and transcribed by the monks of Peterborough.
6. =ARCHBISHOP ÆLFRIC.=--Ælfric was Archbishop of Canterbury in the early
part of the eleventh century; and he translated the first seven books of
the Bible, and part of Job, into the oldest form of English, which is
generally called _Anglo-Saxon_. The following is a specimen:
1. On anginnë gesceôp God heofenan and eordan.
In beginning shaped God heaven and earth.
4. God geseah thâ, thaet hit gôd vaes, and he gedaeldë thaet leóht
fram thâm theóstrum.
God saw then, that it good was, and he dealed (divided) the light
from the darkness.
7. =ANGLO-SAXON GOSPELS.=--This translation of the four gospels forms
another land-mark in the history of our English tongue. This translation
was made before the Norman Conquest--before French words had come into
our language, and therefore before the inflections of English had
dropped off from the words.
8. =OLD ENGLISH DIALECTS.=--For more than a century after the Conquest,
English ceased to be used as a literary language--as a book-speech,
except in the _Saxon Chronicle_, which was continued down to 1154. It
still continued, of course, to be the language of the English nation.
The Normans, when they used books at all, imported French books from
France; and they never dreamed that English was a language worthy to be
written down. Different English counties spoke different kinds of
English; and this continued for many centuries--and still continues to a
considerable extent. Thus the English spoken by a Yorkshire-man is very
different from the English spoken by a Dorsetshire-man; and the English
of both differs very much from that spoken in Kent. But, in the eleventh
and twelfth centuries--and even much later--travelling was very
difficult and expensive; working-men could not travel at all; there was
little motive to travel for any one; and generations were born and died
within the same village, or on one farm, or at least in one part of the
‘country-side.’ Thus different parts of this island pronounced their
English in their own way; had their own grammar--that is, their own
inflections; and each division of England looked upon itself as the
right and correct speakers of the English tongue. But, among the large
number of different dialects, there gradually emerged into distinct and
even remarkable prominence three chief dialects. These are now known as
the =Northern=, =Midland=, and =Southern=. The grammar of the three differs in
several respects; but the chief grammatical mark is found in the plural
ending of the present tense of verbs. This is =ës= in the North; =en= in the
Midland dialect; and =eth= in the South. Thus we have:
_N._ _M._ _S._
We hopës, we hopen, we hopeth.
You hopës, you hopen, you hopeth.
They hopës, they hopen, they hopeth.
This variety of the plural forms the test which enables readers of
books written in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, to determine
in what part of England and in what dialect they were written. The
following are the chief books written in these dialects:
=NORTHERN= (spoken between the Forth and the Humber)--the =Cursor
Mundi=, a version of Scripture in rhyme, written about.....=1320=
=MIDLAND= (spoken in the East-Anglian counties, and the whole of the
Midland district)--=Orm’s Ormulum=, a paraphrase in verse of the
parts of the gospels given in the church service, written in.....=1215=
=SOUTHERN= (spoken in all the counties south of the Thames, and also
in several western counties)--=Layamon’s Brut= (a translation of a
French poem by John de Wace), written in.....=1205=
9. =THE FIRST ENGLISH BOOK AFTER THE NORMAN CONQUEST.=--Normandy was lost
to England in the reign of King John, in the year 1204. From that date,
as we have seen, there was a compulsion on the Norman-French to forget
their foreign origin, and to look upon themselves as genuine Englishmen.
A year after, in the year 1205, ten years before the winning of the
Magna Charta, appeared the first work--it was a poem--that was written
in English after the Conquest. It is a translation by a Somersetshire
priest called =Layamon= or =Laweman=, from a French poem. _Brut_ is the
French form of the name _Brutus_, who was said to be a son of Æneas, and
to be the founder of the British nation. In those rude times, when
history was quite unknown, the origin of every nation was traced up to
Troy, and the persons of the _Iliad_ of Homer. The _Brut_ is a poem
written chiefly in head-rhymes, and consists of about thirty thousand
lines. But though it is translated from a French poem, there are not
fifty French words in the whole--that is, there is not one French word
in every six hundred lines.
10. =ORM’S ORMULUM, 1215.=--The _Ormulum_ was a poem written by an
Augustine monk, called =Orm= or =Ormin=, and called after his own name. It
is a poem of nearly twenty thousand short lines, without rhyme of any
kind--but with a regular number of accents. There are not five French
words in the whole poem. Orm was extremely particular about his
spelling; and, when an accent struck a consonant after a _short_ vowel,
he insisted on doubling the consonant.
11. =LANGLAND AND CHAUCER.=--William Langland represents the part of the
nation that spoke pure English; Geoffrey Chaucer, that part which spoke
English with a large admixture of Norman-French. In fact, Chaucer’s
poems show the high-water mark of the French saturation of our English
vocabulary. Langland--a west-countryman, a monk, a man of the people,
and of intensely radical sympathies--was born in 1332; Chaucer, a
Londoner, in the very centre of English society, page to the Duchess of
Clarence at sixteen years of age, and afterwards for great part of his
life in court employment, was born in 1340. Both died in the year 1400.
Langland’s most important poem is the _Vision of (concerning) Piers
Plowman_. It is written in pure English, and in head-rhyme. It is the
last English poem that was written in this kind of alliterative verse.
The following lines are taken from the introduction:
In a somer seasun In a summer season
when softe was the sonnë, when soft was the sun,
I shop me into a schroud I shape me into (dressed) shrouds (clothes)
a scheep as I werë, shepherd as I was,
in habite of an hermite in habit as a hermit,
unholy of werkes, unholy in works,
wende I wydene in this world went (far and) wide in this world,
wondrës to here. wonders to hear.
Chaucer’s great work is his _Canterbury Tales_, a series of tales
supposed to be told by a company of pilgrims to beguile their journey to
the shrine of St Thomas of Canterbury. The company represented men and
women of almost every class in England; and their manners and character
are painted with wonderful truth and beauty. The following is a passage
from the _Prologue_ to the _Canterbury Tales_; and the French words are
in italics. It is from the character of the _Knight_:
And evermore he had a _sovereyn prys_,[16]
And, though that he was worthy, he was wys,
And of his _port_[17] as meke as is a mayde.
He nevere yit no _vileinye_[18] ne sayde
In al his lyf, unto no _maner_[19] wight.
He was a _verray perfight gentil_[20] knight.
But, for to tellen you of his _array_,[21]
His hors was good, but he ne was nought _gay_.[22]
12. =ALLITERATION OR HEAD-RHYME.=--Alliteration is the correspondence of
the first letter of several words in the same line. It is like the
well-known: ‘Peter Piper picked a peck of pepper off a pewter plate.’
Round the rugged rocks the ragged rascals ran.
In Old English or Anglo-Saxon poetry it was the only kind of rhyme used.
The rhyme which is called end-rhyme was not known to the Saxons, and was
imported into England by the Normans. In the ordinary Old English verse,
the lines are written in pairs, and in each pair there are usually three
alliterations, two in the first line and one in the second. Even as late
as the fourteenth century we find such verses as the following, written
by Langland:
I shop me into a schroud,
A scheep as I werë.
Shakspeare is fond of making fun of it. But it has unconsciously
survived in the language; and there is not a single great English poet,
from Shakspeare to Tennyson, who does not make a large use of it. Thus
Shakspeare himself has
In maiden meditation, fancy-free.
Full fathom five thy father lies.
and many other similar lines.
Milton gives us such lines as:
Him the Almighty power
Hurled headlong flaming from the ethereal sky.
Shelley has the line:
Our sweetest songs are those which tell of saddest thought.
Tennyson is very fond of alliteration. Thus, in the _Day-Dream_:
And o’er them many a sliding star
And many a merry wind was borne;
And, streamed through many a golden bar,
The twilight melted into morn.
13. =JOHN GOWER.=--A contemporary of Chaucer was John Gower, a gentleman
of Kent. The date of his birth is not known; but he survived Chaucer
eight years, dying in 1408. He wrote the _Lover’s Confession_ in English
verse; the _Mirror of the Meditative Man_ in French verse (lost); the
_Voice of one crying_, in Latin. His style was heavy and prosaic.
Chaucer called him the ‘moral Gower.’
14. =JOHN BARBOUR.=--Another eminent contemporary of Chaucer was John
Barbour, Archdeacon of Aberdeen, who wrote in the Scottish, or Northern
English, form of our tongue. He was a learned man, and a man of the
world, who filled important office in the employment of the Scottish
king. His great work was a narrative poem, _The Bruce_, giving an
account of the life and adventures of the great Bruce. It is valuable
both as a monument of our language and a storehouse of historical
incident. Barbour died about 1395. The literature of Scotland was
worthily continued by the royal poet, James I. (1394-1437), brought up
as a prisoner in England, and well educated. His great work was the
_King’s Quhair_ (or book), a poem in the style and in one of the metres
of Chaucer.
15. =SIR JOHN MANDEVILLE.=--Sir John Mandeville is the first writer of the
_new_ English prose--the prose with a large addition of French words. He
is sometimes called the Father of English Prose. He was born at St
Albans, in Hertfordshire, in 1300, and died at Liège, in 1372. He was a
great traveller, soldier, and physician; travelled through the Holy
Land, served under the Sultan of Egypt and the Great Khan of Cathay (the
old name for _China_); and wandered through almost all the then known
parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. He wrote his travels in three
languages--first in Latin for the learned; then in French for the
Norman-French; and lastly in English, ‘that every man of the nation
might understand them.’ The following is a specimen of his prose:
And 2 myle from Ebron (Hebron) is the grave of Lothe (Lot) that was
Abrahames brother. And a lytille fro Ebron is the mount of Mambre,
of the whiche the valeye takethe his name. And there is a tree of
oke, that the Sarazinis clepen (call) _Dirpë_, that is of Abrahames
tyme, the whiche men clepen the drye tree. And thei saye, that it
hathe ben there sithe the beginnynge of the world, and was sumtyme
grene, and bare leves, unto the tyme that oure Lord dyede on the
cros; and thanne it dryede, and so dyden alle the trees, that weren
thanne in the world.
This is almost quite like modern English--with the exception of the
spelling;
16. =JOHN WICLIFFE.=--John Wicliffe,* or John de Wycliffe, was born at the
village of Hipswell, near Richmond, in Yorkshire, in the year 1324. He
died at the vicarage of Lutterworth, in Leicestershire, in the year
1384, at the age of sixty. He was the first Englishman who attempted to
make a complete translation of the Scriptures. Of this work, however,
the Gospels alone can be certainly identified as the work of Wicliffe
himself. The Old Testament and apocryphal books were translated
principally by Nicolas de Hereford, and it is supposed that his work was
interrupted in 1382, and that the Bible was completed about that time by
extracting the text of the gospels from Wicliffe’s commentary on the
gospels (written in 1360), and adding to it a new translation of the
rest of the New Testament. A later version was finished by Wicliffe’s
friend, John Purvey, about 1388, and appears to be mainly a revision of
the work of Hereford and Wicliffe. The later is a less close and literal
version than the former, and is expressed in more idiomatic and less
laboured English.
17. =OUR ENGLISH BIBLE AND ITS HISTORY.=--The first fresh translation from
the original sources was that of =William Tyndale=. His New Testament,
printed at Cologne and at Worms, reached the English shores in 1526, and
was followed three years later by the Pentateuch. To this translation
our authorised version owes much of its peculiar force and beauty. The
first complete English Bible was that of =Miles Coverdale=, which appeared
in 1535. In April 1539 appeared the =Great Bible= (so called from its
large size), prepared by Coverdale at Paris, but completed in London
under the patronage of Thomas Cromwell. The translation of the psalms in
the Great Bible has remained, without alteration, the Psalter in the
Book of Common Prayer. During the last year of Mary’s reign and the
beginning of Elizabeth’s, the English refugees at Geneva completed a
fresh revision of the Great Bible, which was published in 1560, in a
handy size, with a marginal commentary, and the chapters divided into
verses. The =Genevan version= (sometimes called the Breeches Bible),
became popular with the Puritans, and more than two hundred editions of
it were published, and it gave way slowly before the present authorised
version. Soon after Elizabeth’s accession, Archbishop Parker organised a
revision of the Great Bible of 1539, which was published in 1568, and
became known as the =Bishops’ Bible=. During Elizabeth’s reign, the Popish
exiles at Rheims produced a new version from the Vulgate, which was
printed at Douay in 1609, and is known as the =Douay Bible=. The English
Bible which is now recognised as the ‘=authorised version=’ wherever the
English language is spoken, is a revision of the Bishops’ Bible, begun
in 1604 and finished in 1611. Of this noble version many millions have
been printed, and its general acceptance by all English-speaking people
is the best testimony to its excellence. No book has had so great an
influence on our language and literature; its words and phrases have
been preserved in our vocabulary, and are the most familiar to our ears,
consecrated as they are with the associations of two hundred and seventy
years. A revision of our version by the most eminent scholars is now in
progress, and the revised New Testament was published, May 17, 1881.
Appended is a passage from Romans (xii. 6-8), as it appears in
Wicliffe’s, Tyndale’s, the Great Bible, the Genevan Bible, the Bishop’s
Bible, and our Authorised Version:
1. WICLIFFE.
6 Therfor we that han yiftis dyuer-synge, aftir the grace that is
youun to vs, ethir prophecie, aftir the resoun of feith;
7 ethir seruise, in mynystryng; ethir he that techith, in techyng;
8 he that stirith softli, in monestyng; he that yyueth, in
symplenesse; he that is souereyn, in bisynesse; he that hath merci,
in gladnesse.
2. TYNDALE.
6 Seyinge that we have divers gyftes accordynge to the grace that
is geven vnto vs, yf eny man have the gyft off prophesy lett hym
have it that itt be agreynge vnto the fayth.
7 Let hym that hath an office, wayte on his office. Let hym that
teacheth take hede to his doctryne.
8 Let hym that exhorteth geve attendaunce to his exhortacion. Yf
eny man geve, lett hym do it with singlenes. Let hym that rueleth
do it with diligence. Yf eny man shewe mercy lett hym do itt with
cherfulnes.
3. GREAT BIBLE.
6 Seynge that we haue dyuers gyftes accordynge to the grace that is
geuen vnto vs: yf any man haue the gyfte of prophecy let him haue
it that it be agreing vnto ye fayth.
7 Let hym that hath an office wayte on hys office. Let hym that
teacheth take hede to hys doctrine.
8 Let hym that exhorteth geue attendaunce to his exhortacion. If
any man geue, let hym do it wyth synglenes. Let hym that ruleth do
it with diligence. If any man shewe mercy, let him do it with
cherfulnes.
4. GENEVAN BIBLE.
6 Seeing then that we haue giftes that are diuers, according to the
grace that is giuen vnto vs whether we haue prophesie, let us
prophesie according to the proportion of faith:
7 Or an office let vs waite on the office: or hee that teacheth on
teaching.
8 Or he that exhorteth on exhortation: hee that distributeth let
him do it with simplicitie: he that ruleth with diligence: hee that
sheweth mercie with chearefulnes.
5. BISHOPS’ BIBLE.
6 Seeing that wee haue diuers giftes according to the grace that is
giuen vnto vs eyther prophecie, after the measure of fayth.
7 Eyther office, in administration: or he that teacheth, in
teaching.
8 Or he that exhorteth, in exhorting: he that giueth in
singlenesse, he that ruleth in diligence: hee that is mercyfull in
chearefulnesse.
6. AUTHORISED VERSION.
6 Hauing then gifts differing according to the grace that is giuen
to vs, whether prophecie, let vs prophecie according to the
proportion of faith.
7 Or ministery, let vs wait, on our ministring: or hee that
teacheth on teaching.
8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giueth let him doe
it with simplicite: hee that ruleth, with diligence: hee that
sheweth mercy with cheerefulnesse.
II.
Tabular Outline of modern English Literature.
(Poems are mentioned in _Italics_.)
WILLIAM DUNBAR, 1450-1530.
Poet.
_The Thistle and the Rose_ (1503); _The Golden Terge_ (1508); _The
Dance of the Seven Deadly Sins_. The greatest of the Scottish poets
except Burns. He has been called ‘the Chaucer of Scotland.’
SIR THOMAS MORE, 1480-1535.
Barrister; Lord Chancellor of England; writer on social philosophy;
historian.
History of King Edward V., and of his brother, and of Richard III.
(1513); Utopia (1516)--a description of a model state of society,
written to influence the bettering of the laws of England.
WILLIAM TYNDALE, 1477-1536.
Priest; translator; author.
Translation of New Testament (1525, 1534), also of the Pentateuch
and Jonah (1530-31). He has done more by his version to fix and
shape our language in its present form, than any writer between
Chaucer and Shakspeare.
SIR DAVID LYNDSAY, 1490-1556.
Keeper of Prince James (afterwards James V. of Scotland); Lyon
king-at-arms; poet.
_Satire of the Three Estates_, that is, King, Lords, and Commons;
_Monarchie_.
ROGER ASCHAM, 1515-1568.
Lecturer on Greek at Cambridge; tutor to Edward VI. and Queen
Elizabeth.
Toxophĭlus, a treatise on shooting with the bow; The Schoolmaster,
a book about teaching, especially the teaching of Latin.
JOHN FOX, 1517-1587.
Prebendary of Salisbury Cathedral.
Book of Martyrs (1563), an account of the chief Protestant martyrs,
chiefly those in the reign of Mary.
EDMUND SPENSER, 1552-1599.
Secretary to Viceroy of Ireland; poet.
_Shepherd’s Calendar_ (1579); _Faerie Queene_ (1590-96), in six
books.
RICHARD HOOKER, 1553-1600.
Scholar and theologian; Master of the Temple; and rector of a
country church.
Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity. This is a defence of the Church of
England, and contains passages of great majesty and splendour of
diction.
SIR PHILIP SIDNEY, 1554-1586.
Courtier; romancist; poet.
Arcadia, a romance (1580); Defence of Poesie. Some _Sonnets_.
FRANCIS BACON, 1561-1626.
Lord High Chancellor of England; essayist; philosopher.
Essays (1597); Advancement of Learning (1605); Novum Organum
(1620); and other works on philosophy, and the art of gaining new
knowledge.
SIR WALTER RALEIGH, 1552-1618.
Courtier; navigator; historian.
History of the World (1614), written in the Tower of London, where
he lay for about thirteen years. His work is ‘one of the finest
models of our quaint and stately old English style.’
WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE, 1564-1616.
Dramatist and poet; born at Stratford-on-Avon; went to London at
the age of twenty-two; left London in 1609, and from that time
lived in his native town.
_Tragedies_ and _Comedies_, and _Historical Plays_; thirty-seven in
all. Among his greatest tragedies are, _Hamlet_, _Lear_, _Macbeth_,
_Othello_, _Romeo and Juliet_. Of his comedies the best are the
_Tempest_, _Midsummer Night’s Dream_, _As you like it_, _Merchant
of Venice_, &c. Of his historical plays, _Richard III._ and _Julius
Cæsar_ are specially worth mention. _Minor Poems._ Wrote no prose.
BEN JONSON, 1574-1637.
Dramatist; poet; prose-writer.
_Tragedies and Comedies_, of the latter, the greatest are _Volpone
or the Fox_; _Every Man in His Humour_; and _The Alchemist_.
WILLIAM DRUMMOND, 1585-1649.
Poet.
_Sonnets_ and _Religious Poems_.
SIR THOMAS BROWNE, 1605-1682.
Medical practitioner at Norwich.
Religio Medici (the religion of a physician), contains the author’s
opinions on a great variety of subjects; Urn Burial, a learned and
eloquent work.
JOHN MILTON, 1608-1674.
Poet; Latin secretary to Cromwell (1649). Became blind in 1654.
_Minor Poems_; _Paradise Lost_; _Paradise Regained_; _Samson
Agonistes_. Many prose works, chiefly on politics, and in defence
of the Commonwealth.
THOMAS HOBBES, 1588-1679.
Philosopher.
Leviathan (1651), a great philosophical and political work.
JEREMY TAYLOR, 1613-1667.
Bishop of Down in Ireland.
Holy Living and Holy Dying (1649); and many other books and
sermons.
SAMUEL BUTLER, 1612-1680.
Secretary to the Earl of Carberry.
_Hudibras_ (1663), a mock-heroic poem, written to caricature the
Puritans.
JOHN DRYDEN, 1631-1700.
Poet-laureate and Historiographer Royal. Also a playwright; poet;
prose-writer; critic.
_Annus Mirabilis_ (1667)--a poem on the _Plague_ and the _Fire of
London_; _Absalom and Achitophel_ (1681)--a poem on political
matters; _Hind and Panther_ (1687). He wrote many _Tragedies_ and
_Comedies_ and _Odes_; a translation of the _Æneid_ of Virgil. He
wrote a great deal of the best prose--chiefly Essays and
Introductions to his poems.
JOHN BUNYAN, 1628-1688.
Tinker and preacher.
The Pilgrim’s Progress (1678); the Holy War, and other works.
JOHN LOCKE, 1632-1704.
Member of the Board of Trade; one of the leading men in English
philosophy.
Letters on Toleration (1689); Essay concerning the Human
Understanding (1690); Thoughts concerning Education, and other
prose works.
DANIEL DEFOE, 1661-1731.
Pamphleteer; journalist; had a very troubled and changeful career.
Robinson Crusoe (1719); _The True-born Englishman_; Journal of the
Plague; The Shortest Way with the Dissenters; and more than a
hundred books and pamphlets in all. He is one of the most taking
writers that ever lived.
JONATHAN SWIFT, 1667-1745.
Dean of St Patrick’s in Dublin; satirist; poet; prose-writer.
Battle of the Books; Tale of a Tub (1704); Gulliver’s Travels
(1726). Many of the ablest political pamphlets of the day. A number
of _Poems_. His prose was the strongest and most nervous prose
written in the eighteenth century.
SIR RICHARD STEELE, 1671-1729.
Gentleman usher to Prince George; a fashionable man about town.
Essays in the Tatler, in the Spectator, in the Guardian--all of
them a kind of magazine. A few plays.
JOSEPH ADDISON, 1672-1719.
Secretary of State.
Essays in the Tatler, in the Spectator, and in the Guardian.
_Cato_: a tragedy (1713). Several short _Poems_. His prose is the
finest, most genial, and most delicate of all the prose-writings of
the eighteenth century.
ALEXANDER POPE, 1688-1744.
Poet; a Roman Catholic.
_Essay on Criticism_ (1711); _Rape of the Lock_--the story of the
stealing of a lock of hair; _Translations of the Iliad and
Odyssey_, half of the latter done by assistants (1715-20); the
_Dunciad_; _Essay on Man_. A few essays in prose; and a volume of
Letters.
JAMES THOMSON, 1700-1748.
Poet; held sinecure cure offices under government.
_The Seasons_--a poem in blank verse; _The Castle of Indolence_, a
poem in the nine-lined stanza of Edmund Spenser.
HENRY FIELDING, 1707-1754.
Novelist and journalist.
Many comedies--now forgotten. Joseph Andrews (1742); Tom Jones
(1749); Amelia (1751). He was the ‘first great English novelist,
and he remains to this day one of the greatest.’
DAVID HUME, 1711-1776.
Librarian; secretary to the British Embassy in France.
Treatise of Human Nature (1737); Essays (1742); Inquiry concerning
the Principles of Morals; History of England (1754-62). Writes very
clear and pleasant prose.
DR SAMUEL JOHNSON, 1709-1784.
Schoolmaster; literary man; dictionary-maker.
_London_ (1738); the _Vanity of Human Wishes_; The Rambler
(1750-52); The Idler; English Dictionary (1755); Rasselas, a kind
of novel; Lives of the Poets; and other prose works.
THOMAS GRAY, 1716-1771.
Poet; letter-writer; professor of Modern History, Cambridge.
Odes; _Elegy written in a Country Churchyard_, one of the most
pleasing, perfect, and oft-quoted poems in the language. He was
also a good letter-writer.
WILLIAM ROBERTSON, 1721-1793.
Clergyman; historian; Principal of the University of Edinburgh.
History of Scotland (1759); History of Charles V. (1769); History
of America (1777). Most readable and fluent prose.
TOBIAS GEORGE SMOLLETT, 1721-1771.
Medical practitioner; poet; pamphleteer; critic and novelist.
Roderick Random; Peregrine Pickle; and Humphrey Clinker. His novels
are notable for their broad humour, and an easy picturesque style
of narration.
ADAM SMITH, 1723-1790.
Professor of Logic in the University of Glasgow; then of Moral
Philosophy.
Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759); Enquiry into the Nature and
Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776). The founder of the science
of economics (or wealth of nations).
OLIVER GOLDSMITH, 1728-1774.
Poet; literary man; play-writer.
The Vicar of Wakefield (1766); the _Deserted Village_; She Stoops
to Conquer, a comedy. The _Traveller_; Citizen of the World;
Histories and minor _Poems_. The writer of the most pleasant prose
of the eighteenth century.
EDMUND BURKE 1730-1797.
Statesman; ‘the first man in the Commons;’ writer on political
philosophy.
Essay on the Sublime and Beautiful (1756); Reflections on the
French Revolution (1790). Many speeches, pamphlets, and articles on
political matters. One of the deepest political thinkers, most
eloquent speakers, and ornate writers of prose that ever lived.
WILLIAM COWPER, 1731-1800.
Poet.
_Truth_, the _Progress of Error_ (1781), and other poems; the
_Task_ (1785); _John Gilpin_; _Translations of the Iliad and
Odyssey_ (1791) in blank verse; _Hymns_. His prose--which consists
of letters--is clear, humorous, and pleasant.
EDWARD GIBBON, 1737-1794.
Historian; sat eight years in the House of Commons, but never
spoke.
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776-87); Essays on the Study
of Literature (in French). His style is a splendid example ‘of
smiting phrases and weighty antithesis.’
ROBERT BURNS, 1759-1796.
Ploughman; farmer; Excise officer; poet.
_Poems_ and _Songs_ (1786-96) (_Cottar’s Saturday Night_, _Jolly
Beggars_, _Tam o’ Shanter_, _Mountain Daisy_, etc.) His prose
consists chiefly of letters.
WILLIAM WORDSWORTH, 1770-1850.
Distributor of stamps for the county of Westmoreland; poet;
poet-laureate.
_Descriptive Sketches_ (1793); _Lyrical Ballads_ (1798); _Sonnets_;
_The Excursion_ (1814); _The Prelude_. He marks the dawn of a new
school of poetry in the nineteenth century.
SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE, 1772-1834.
Journalist; secretary; literary man; poet.
_The Ancient Mariner_ and _Christabel_ (1797-1806); several plays,
including a translation of Schiller’s _Wallenstein_; many minor
poems; The Friend--a set of essays; Confessions of an Inquiring
Spirit; Biographia Literaria; Aids to Reflection. His prose is very
elaborate and also very musical.
ROBERT SOUTHEY, 1774-1843.
Literary man; historian; reviewer; poet; poet-laureate.
_Joan of Arc_ (1793); _Thalaba the Destroyer_; the _Curse of
Kehama_; Life of Nelson. Firm, clear, and sensible prose. Wrote
more than a hundred volumes.
CHARLES LAMB, 1775-1835.
Clerk in the East India House; essayist and humorist.
Essays of Elia (1820-25), which are quaint and familiar, and full
of kindly wit and grotesque humour.
SIR WALTER SCOTT, 1771-1832.
Advocate; poet: novelist.
_Border Minstrelsy_--a collection of old Border ballads (1802);
_Lay of the Last Minstrel_ (1805); _Marmion_ (1808); the _Lady of
the Lake_ (1810); Waverley (1814)--the first of that remarkable
series, the Waverley Novels. In verse, he is the ‘Homer of
Scotland;’ and he was a master of most fluent, bright, flowing
narrative prose.
THOMAS CAMPBELL, 1777-1844.
Poet; literary man.
_Pleasures of Hope_ (1799); _Minor Poems_--such as _Hohenlinden_,
_Battle of the Baltic_, _Ye Mariners of England_, _Gertrude of
Wyoming_ (1809). His prose consists chiefly of the Introductions to
his _Specimens of the British Poets_.
THOMAS MOORE, 1779-1852.
Poet; biographer; historian.
_Odes and Epistles_ (1806); _Lalla Rookh_ (1817); Life of Byron
(1830); _Irish Melodies_ (1834); History of Ireland (1836).
LORD BYRON, 1788-1824.
(George Gordon). Peer; poet.
_English Bards and Scotch Reviewers_ (1808); _Childe Harold_
(1812); the _Bride of Abydos_ (1814); and many _Plays_. His
prose--which is full of vigour, fire, and eloquence--consists
chiefly of letters.
PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY, 1792-1822.
Poet.
_Queen Mab_ (1813); _Revolt of Islam_; _Prometheus Unbound_
(1819)--a tragedy; _Odes_ (_The Cloud_, _To the Skylark_, etc.),
and many minor poems. His prose consists chiefly of letters.
HENRY HALLAM, 1778-1859.
Historian; literary man; Trustee of the British Museum.
View of the State of Europe during the Middle Ages (1818);
Constitutional History of England (1827); Literature of Europe
(1837); History of the Middle Ages (1848). A clear and impartial
writer.
THOMAS DE QUINCEY, 1785-1859.
Literary man.
Confessions of an English Opium-eater (1821); Essays on subjects in
almost every department of History, Philosophy, and Literature. His
style is eloquent, musical, and elaborate. In his own way, he was
the finest prose-writer of the nineteenth century.
JOHN KEATS, 1795-1821.
Poet.
_Endymion_ (1818); _Hyperion_; _Eve of St Agnes_; _Odes_. His poems
are full of beauty and rich and picturesque imagery.
THOMAS CARLYLE, 1795-1881.
Mathematician; literary man; reviewer; historian.
Sartor Resartus (1833); The French Revolution, a History (1837);
Oliver Cromwell’s Letters and Speeches (1845); Life of John
Sterling (1851); History of Friedrich II. of Prussia (1858-65). His
style is full of force, fire, and grotesqueness; he paints in vivid
colours, and presents a true and exact picture of the living man.
LORD MACAULAY, 1800-1859.
Barrister; reviewer; Secretary of the Board of Control for India;
member of the Supreme Council of India; historian; peer.
Essay on Milton (1825); _Lays of Ancient Rome_ (1842); Essays
(1843); History of England (1848-1859). Wrote a style of the
greatest force and picturesqueness--full of allusion, illustration,
grace, clearness, and point.
LORD LYTTON, 1805-1873.
Novelist; poet; statesman.
Eugene Aram (1831); The Last Days of Pompeii; The Caxtons; some
plays, minor _Poems_, and essays. Writes a most clear, fluent,
bright, ornate, and readable English style.
JOHN STUART MILL, 1806-1873.
Clerk in the East India House; Utilitarian philosopher.
System of Logic (1843); Political Economy (1844); Essay on Liberty.
One of the foremost thinkers of his time.
HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW, 1807-1882.
Professor of Modern Languages and Literature; poet.
_Evangeline_ (1847); _Hiawatha_ (1855); _Minor Poems_ (_Excelsior_;
_A Psalm of Life_, etc.) One of the sweetest and best known of
American poets.
ALFRED TENNYSON, =1809-=
Poet; poet laureate.
_Poems, chiefly Lyrical_ (1830); _In Memoriam_ (1850); _Idylls of
the King_ (1859-73); _Enoch Arden_ (1864); and several dramas. His
poetical style is full of beauty, sweetness, and variety.
ELIZABETH BARRETT BROWNING, 1809-1861.
Poetess; the wife of Robert Browning.
_Poems_ (1838); _Aurora Leigh_ (1856); _The Cry of the Children_;
_Cowper’s Grave_; _Sonnets from the Portuguese_, etc. A poetess of
infinite sweetness and power.
ROBERT BROWNING, =1812-=
Poet.
_Pauline_ (1833); _Paracelsus_ (1836); _The Ring and the Book_, and
about two dozen more volumes. His poems are very difficult to
understand, but are very well worth understanding.
WILLIAM MAKEPEACE THACKERAY, 1811-1863.
Novelist.
Vanity Fair (1846); Pendennis (1849); Esmond; English Humorists,
etc. The finest novelist and one of the best prose-writers of the
century.
CHARLES DICKENS, 1812-1870.
Novelist.
Pickwick Papers (1837); Oliver Twist; Nicholas Nickleby; David
Copperfield; Dombey and Son; Christmas Books, etc. He has been read
over and over again by hundreds of thousands of delighted readers.
JOHN RUSKIN, =1819-=
Art-critic; moralist; literary-man.
Modern Painters (1843); The Seven Lamps of Architecture; The Stones
of Venice (1851-53); Sesame and Lilies; Lectures on Art; Fors
Clavigera. One of the most wonderful and imaginative writers of
English prose that ever lived.
GEORGE ELIOT 1820-1880.
(Marian Evans), Novelist.
Adam Bede (1858); Middlemarch (1871); Daniel Deronda (1876);
_Poems_. The novels of this accomplished lady rank among the
greatest of modern times.
THE END.
Edinburgh:
Printed by W. & R. Chambers.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Pronounced _Mootter_.
[2] Pronounced _Brooder_.
[3] Thus we have _Wedn=es=day_ = the day of Woden or Odin.
[4] _Jutland_ means the _land of the Jutes_; _not_ the _land that juts
out_.
[5] The division called =Wessex= included _Hampshire_, _Wiltshire_,
_Berkshire_, _Somersetshire_, _Dorsetshire_, _Gloucestershire_, and
_Devonshire_.
[6] The Revival of Letters, or the Renascence (or _Renaissance_), is
the name given to the new enthusiasm which seized Italians, Germans,
Frenchmen, and Englishmen, in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries,
to read the great treasures of literature that may be found in Greek
and Latin books.
[7] The same root exists in _monarch_, a person who rules alone.
[8] Two-languaged.
[9] What is called _the feudal system_ was based upon war. A knight
held land of his baron; a baron of his king--on condition of bringing
so many men into the field on the summons of his overlord.
[10] _Low Latin_ is the name for that kind of corruption of Latin
which was written and spoken after the breaking up of the Roman Empire
in the fifth century.
[11] A _synonym_ is a word that has the _same meaning_ as another
word; like _begin_ and _commence_; _will_ and _testament_. There are
very few real synonyms in English; because when the language acquired
a word of similar meaning, it at once set to work to use it in a
different _way_, or to give it a different _function_, or to bestow on
it a different tone, colouring, or shade.
[12] He might have said _hall_ and _bower_. In the old English times,
the _hall_ was the outer room of the cottage, into which the front
door opened, and _bower_ was the inner room.
[13] A _liche_ or _lyke_ originally meant _body_.
[14] _Ayenbite_ = _againbite_. The _again_ corresponds to the _re_ in
_remorse_.
[15] In head-rhymes, two or three words in each line begin with the
same letter.
[16] The highest value.
[17] Carriage.
[18] Unbecoming or unkind thing.
[19] Kind of person.
[20] Very perfect gentle.
[21] Dress.
[22] Gaily dressed.
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Outline of the history of the English language and literature" ***
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