forms

der, the

minds to pay more attention to the derivation and composition of words.

DOUBLE FORMS IN LANGUAGE.

§ 364. Besides the ordinary modes of forming words, namely, by gemination or reduplication; as, Sing-song; by internal change of vowel; as, Song; by a prefix; as, Besing, (in German); by a suffix; as, Singer; by composition; as, Singing-master; and by inflection; as, Singest; (all having relation to the same stem-verb, or root, sing;) there is another process for forming words, deserving of more attention than has usually been paid to it.

The process alluded to is the development of double forms. The same identical word, that is, the same root with the same prefix or suffix, or other modification, sometimes acquires two forms, to which, in the course of time, different meanings are attached.

This bipartition of the form of a word, or development of a new or second form, is sometimes of long standing, and sometimes of comparatively recent origin.

Thus,

1. Beam and boom are both ultimately derived from Goth. bagms, a tree; the former through Anglo-Sax. beam; and the latter, as a marine term, through Dutch boom.

2. Cadence or cadency and chance are both ultimately derived from Lat. cado, to fall; the former through Fr. cadence; and the latter through Norman-Fr. cheaunce. This bipartition is common to the French and the English.

3. Canker and cancer are both derived from Lat. cancer, à crab; the former retaining the original hard sound of Lat. c, and the latter adopting a soft sound.

4. Cant and chant are both derived from Lat, canto, to This bipartition exists only in modern English.

sing.

5. Capital or chapiter and chapter are both derived from Lat. capitellum or capitulum, a diminutive from caput, the head. The two forms originated in ancient Latin, but the difference of meaning in subsequent times.

6. Chart and card are both derived from Lat. charta, paper. The distinction exists only in English.

7. Compute and count are both derived from Lat. computo,

to reckon. The distinction runs through the modern Lati languages.

8. Declination and declension are both from Lat. decline

tio, a bending down. The distinction exists only in English.

9. Facility and faculty are both abstract nouns formed from the Latin adjective facilis, easily done. This bipar tition of form and meaning took place in ancient Roman times, and has existed more than two thousand years.

10. Fidelity and fealty are both from Lat. fidelitas, the abstract of adj. fidelis, faithful. This bipartition has arisen in Romance or modern Latin times.

11. Particle and parcel are both derived from Lat. parti. cula, a small part.

12. Propriety and property are both formed from Lat. proprietas, attribute or quality. This bipartition exists only in modern English.

13. Provident and prudent are both participial adjectives from Lat. provideo, to look forward. The distinction has

existed from the earliest Latin times.

14. Ratio, ration, and reason, are all from Lat. ratio, a reckoning.

15. Shell and scale both accord in Germ. schale, which has both meanings.

16. Skiff and ship are both from Goth. skip.

17. Swallow and swill both accord in Anglo-Sax. swelgan, which has both meanings.

18. Tenth and tithe are both derivatives from Anglo-Sax. tyn, ten.

19. Appraise and apprise or apprize, to set a value in pursuance of authority;' having as yet in usage the same meaning.

Appraise, (pronounced appraze,) Fr. apprecier, (comp. Norman-Fr. appreisours, appraisers,') Span. apreciar, Ital. apprezzare, Low Lat. apprecio, compounded of ad and preti um, price, literally, to set a value.' This appears to be the

original and proper form.

The other form, apprise or apprize, (both pronounced ap prize,) seems to have arisen from our referring in thought to Eng. price, (Lat. pretium); comp. advise from advice.

20. Assay, 'to test the purity of metals,' and essay, 'to try or endeavor,' both from Norman-Fr. essoyer, Fr. essayer, Portug. ensaiar, Span. ensayar, Ital. assaggiare.

Assay is the more ancient form, as appears from the Ital. assaggiare, and predominated in Old English. The more modern form essay has prevailed altogether in French, but only partially in English.

21. Procurator and proctor.

Procurator, Fr. procureur, Portug. and Span. procurador, Ital. procuratore, Lat. procurator, liter. 'one who takes care of any thing for another,' compounded of pro and curator, was much used by the old English writers.

Proctor is an abridged form of procurator, but used already in the 16th century.

22. Procuracy and proxy.

Procuracy, liter. the taking care of any thing for another,' compounded of pro and curacy, was much used by the old English writers.

Proxy is an abridged form of procuracy, but used already in the 16th century.

23. Purpose, to intend,' and propose, to offer for consideration,' both from Fr. proposer, Ital. proporre and proponere, Lat. propono, compounded of pro and pono, ' to place before.' 24. Recognize and reconnoiter.

Recognize, to know again,' Fr. reconnoitre, Portug. reconhecer, Span. reconocer, Ital. riconoscere, Lat. recognoscere, compounded of re and cognosco.

Reconnoiter, a form derived more recently from the French, and taken in a military sense.

25. Tone and ton.

Tone, Fr. ton, Portug. tom or tono, Span. tono, Ital. tuono, Lat. tonus, Gr. tonos, sound.'

Ton, more recently from the French, and in the French sense, fashion.'

26. Travail, to toil or labor,' and travel, 'to walk or journey,' both from Fr. travailler, Ital. travagliare, Span. trabajar.

Travail is the older form, and predominated in Old English; but the two forms are now clearly distinguished in usage.

ILLUSIVE ETYMOLOGIES.

§ 365. Foreign words, when received into any tongue, often present a new and plausible, although false and unfounded, etymology. This takes place sometimes without any violence to the word itself, but more frequently from some change or corruption in the pronunciation or orthogra phy. The word appears, as it were, new coined. This attraction or assimilation is perfectly natural; as, on the one hand, it avoids uncouth, barbarous sounds, which are offensive to the ear; and, on the other, it helps the memory, by asso ciating the word with some other already known. As this is a subject of some importance to the philologist, we propose give examples from both ancient and modern languages.

to

to

1. Caption, in the sense of a title, inscription, appears the common apprehension to be derived from Lat. caput, the head, as if a heading; whereas it is derived from Lat. capio, to take or comprehend, as if a summary. This use of the word is probably an Americanism.

2. Cowcumber, so written and pronounced, (comp. AngloSax. cucumer, from Lat. cucumer,) is associated in our minds with cow, the name of the animal'; whereas ou or ow in English is the regular equivalent for an Anglo-Sax. u; as, AngloSax. cu, Eng. cow; Anglo-Sax. ful, Eng. foul; Anglo-Sax. thu, Eng. thou; Anglo-Sax. tun, Eng. town. There is no sufficient reason for changing either the orthography or the pronunciation of this word, as written above.

3. Cray-fish or craw-fish is so written as if compounded of fish; whereas it is the Old Eng. crevis, Fr. écrevisse.

4. Delight is so written as if compounded of the Latin prefix de and the English noun light; whereas it comes from Fr. délice, Lat. delicia. Comp. delicious, delicate.

5. A font or fount of types is in our conceptions confounded with font or fount, from Lat. fons, a fountain; whereas it denotes literally a casting, from Lat. fundo, to found or cast.

6. The frontispiece of a book is usually conceived of as a piece or picture in front of a book; whereas it denotes literally a front view, from Low Lat. frontispicium, the forefront of a house.

7. Jerusalem artichoke is a corruption of girasol artichoke. Comp. Fr. girasol, Ital. girasole, literally turning toward the sun.

8. July-flower is a corruption of gilly-flower. Comp. Old Eng. gillofre, Scotch gerafloure, Fr. giroflée, Lat. caryophyllum, literally nut-leaf.

9. Loadstone appears to our minds to be connected with load, a burden; whereas it is derived from the verb lead. Comp. the obsolete words loadstar, loadsman, loadmanage.

10. Madcap appears to be compounded with cap or caput, the head; (comp. cap-a-pie, from head to foot;) whereas it is compounded of mad and cap, having a fool's cap on.

11. Preface appears to be compounded of face; whereas it is derived from Lat. præfatio, a speaking before.

12. Rhyme is so written as if connected with rhythm, Gr. rhuthmos, regular flow of language; whereas it is derived from Anglo-Sax. rim, Germ. reim, having much the same meaning.

13. Shamefaced, as if having a modest face, is probably a corruption for shame fast; comp. Old Eng. shamefast in Chaucer and Froissart, and Anglo-Sax. sceamfæst, protected by shame.

14. Shotover, the name of a hill in Oxfordshire, England, is a corruption of Fr. château vert, green castle.

15. Sparrowgrass, as if compounded of sparrow and grass, is a corruption of sparage or asparagus, Lat. asparagus. 16. Wiseacre, as if compounded of acre, is a corruption of Germ. weissager, a diviner, a pretender to wisdom.

17. Belly-bound, for Fr. belle et bonne, fair and good, a species of apple.

18. Bell Savage, for la belle sauvage, the wild beauty, the picture on the sign of an old public house in London. 19. Bully-ruffian, a corruption by English sailors of Bellerophon, the name of a French ship of war.

20. Fulsome, to the common apprehension compounded of full and some, as if full to satiety, cloying; whereas it is compounded of Anglo-Sax. ful, foul, and some, as if nauseous, odious.

21. Island, so written, as if compounded of Norman-Fr.