Language in the Making: A Word StudyHarcourt, Brace, 1922 - 205 pages |
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Common terms and phrases
adjective advertising American analogy Anglo-Saxon animals borrowed called Celtic Celtic language Celts century CHAPTER common consonants created creation Danish declensions definite derived dialects diphthong East Midland ending England English Language English spelling etymology example expression folk etymology force foreign French words gender German grammar Greek Grimm's Law guage Hence humorous illustrates imitation Indo-European Indo-European languages inflections influence invasions Jespersen L.Lat largely Latin words literature man's meaning ment Middle English modern English modern language modified names nature Norman French noun ntis O.Fr Old English once one's origin past tense period philologist phonetic phrases plurals poetry popular prefixes pres.p present probably pronounced pronunciation Roman root slang sound speak speech spelling reform spoken standard suffixes survive syllables tendency Teutonic theory tion to-day tongue usage verb vocabulary vocal chords voice vowel West Saxon written
Popular passages
Page 110 - Where throngs of knights and barons bold, In weeds of peace, high triumphs hold, With store of ladies, whose bright eyes Rain influence, and judge the prize Of wit or arms, while both contend To win her grace whom all commend.
Page 36 - South, we see that it is necessary to start with a few broad divisions, not with impracticably minute ones. I propose, therefore, to start with the three main divisions of Old, Middle, and Modern, based mainly on the inflectional characteristics of each stage. Old English is the period of full inflections (nama, gifan, cam), Middle English of levelled inflections (naame, given, caare), and Modern English of lost inflections (naam, giv, caar). We have besides two periods of transition, one in which...
Page 4 - ... ti + ro + d + ti + on, all found as pronominal. These examples illustrate the two forms of combination that are regular in our family of languages. A root, then, is the simplest form that can be recognized as having once had an independent existence and meaning in the development of words. As these roots are common to many words of very different senses, it is sometimes difficult to distinguish what was the original conception that a root expressed. Accordingly we assign to each root that meaning...
Page 48 - One individual may pilfer a quadruped, where another may not cast his eyes over the boundary of a field. In the absence of the feline race, the mice give themselves up to various pastimes.
Page 160 - Litotes, a figure of speech in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary, eg, 'a citizen of no mean city'; an ironical under-statement.
Page 25 - But we have direct testimony in the latter part of the fifth century and the beginning of the...
Page 39 - Tamil has two numbers (singular and plural) and three genders (masculine, feminine and neuter).
Page 174 - An abbreviation put upon the visiting card left when one is making a final visit. Pres.* President. Prof.* Professor. pro tern, (pro tempore). For the time being. prox. ( proximo). Next month. PS (post scriptum). Postscript. QED (quod erat demonstrandum). Which was to be proved. qv (quod vide). Which see. stet. (let it stand). An abbreviation used to let a proof-reader know that an erased passage is to be restored. The Hon. The Honorable. ("Hon." and "Honorable" are not to be used without "The,"...