New Word-Analysis | Page 3

of Anglo-Saxon origin in the English vocabulary,--probably two and a half times as many of the former as of the latter. But Anglo-Saxon words are so much more employed--owing to the constant repetition of conjunctions, prepositions, adverbs, auxiliaries, etc. (all of Anglo-Saxon origin)--that in any page of even the most Latinized writer they greatly preponderate. In the Bible, and in Shakespeare's vocabulary, they are in the proportion of ninety per cent. For specimens showing Anglo-Saxon words, see p. 136.
II.--ETYMOLOGICAL CLASSES OF WORDS.
10. CLASSES BY ORIGIN.--With respect to their origin, words are divided into two classes,--primitive words and derivative words.
11. A PRIMITIVE word, or root, is one that cannot be reduced to a more simple form in the language to which it is native: as, man, good, run.
12. A DERIVATIVE word is one made up of a root and one or more formative elements: as, manly, goodness, runner.
The formative elements are called prefixes and suffixes. (See §§ 16, 17.)
13. BY COMPOSITION.--With respect to their composition, words are divided into two classes,--simple and compound words.
14. A SIMPLE word consists of a single significant term: as, school, master, rain, bow.
15. A COMPOUND word is one made up of two or more simple words united: as, school-master, rainbow.
In some compound words the constituent parts are joined by the hyphen as school-master; in others the parts coalesce and the compound forms a single (though not a simple) word, as rainbow.
III.--PREFIXES AND SUFFIXES.
16. A prefix is a significant syllable or word placed before and joined with a word to modify its meaning: as, unsafe = not safe; remove = move back; circumnavigate = sail around.
17. A suffix is a significant syllable or syllables placed after and joined with a word to modify its meaning: as, safeLY = in a safe manner; movABLE = that may be moved; navIGATION = act of sailing.
The word affix signifies either a prefix or a suffix; and the verb to affix means to join a prefix or a suffix to a root-word.
EXERCISE.
Tell whether the following words are primitive or derivative, and also whether simple or compound:--
1 grace 2 sign 3 design 4 midshipman 5 wash 6 sea 7 workman 8 love 9 lovely 10 white 11 childhood 12 kingdom 13 rub 14 music 15 musician 16 music-teacher 17 footstep 18 glad 19 redness 20 school 21 fire 22 watch-key 23 give 24 forget 25 iron 26 hardihood 27 young 28 right 29 ploughman 30 day-star 31 large 32 truthful 33 manliness 34 milkmaid 35 gentleman 36 sailor 37 steamboat 38 wooden 39 rich 40 hilly 41 coachman 42 warm 43 sign-post 44 greenish 45 friend 46 friendly 47 reform 48 whalebone 49 quiet 50 quietude 51 gardener 52 form 53 formal 54 classmate 55 trust 56 trustworthy 57 penknife 58 brightness 59 grammarian 60 unfetter
IV.--RULES OF SPELLING USED IN FORMING DERIVATIVE WORDS.
Rule 1.--Final "e" followed by a Vowel.
Final e of a primitive word is dropped on taking a suffix beginning with a vowel: as, blame + able = blamable; guide + ance = guidance; come + ing = coming; force + ible = forcible; obscure + ity = obscurity.
EXCEPTION 1.--Words ending in ge or ce usually retain the e before a suffix beginning with a or o, for the reason that c and g would have the hard sound if the e were dropped: as, peace + able = peaceable; change + able = changeable; courage + ous = courageous.
EXCEPTION 2.--Words ending in oe retain the e to preserve the sound of the root: as, shoe + ing = shoeing; hoe + ing = hoeing. The e is retained in a few words to prevent their being confounded with similar words: as, singe + ing = singeing (to prevent its being confounded with singing).
Rule II.--Final "e" followed by a Consonant.
Final e of a primitive word is retained on taking a suffix beginning with a consonant: as, pale + ness = paleness; large + ly = largely.
EXCEPTION 1.--When the final e is preceded by a vowel, it is sometimes omitted; as, due + ly = duly; true + ly = truly; whole + ly = wholly.
EXCEPTION 2.--A few words ending in e drop the e before a suffix beginning with a consonant: as, judge + ment = judgment; lodge + ment = lodgment; abridge + ment = abridgment.
Rule III.--Final "y" preceded by a Consonant.
Final y of a primitive word, when preceded by a consonant, is generally changed into i on the addition of a suffix.
EXCEPTION 1.--Before ing or ish, the final y is retained to prevent the doubling of the i: as, pity + ing = pitying.
EXCEPTION 2.--Words ending in ie and dropping the e, by Rule I. change the i into y to prevent the doubling of the i: as, die + ing = dying; lie + ing = lying.
EXCEPTION 3.--Final