XIII. -able and -ible.

Many of the words ending in -able are formed from Latin stems ending in -a, and many of those in -ible from Latin stems ending in e, or from previously existing Latin or Romance Adjectives which contained this suffix.

Up to this point there is uniformity, and a knowledge of the classical languages would have enabled us to say at once, in the case of an English word, which of these two terminations was proper. But many words have been formed from English and Romance roots by the termination able, as love-able, eat-able, read-able, advis-able, dispos able, indefin-able.

The proper spelling of many such words is therefore to be ascertained by observation and recollection, rather than by inference. We have to remember the proper form instead of demonstrating its correctness.

XIV. im-, in-, and em-, en-.

These prefixes are liable to fusion. A few words occur in modern English in which both forms are permissible, while, of the rest, some take im-, in- only, and others are restricted to em-, en-. Words that take two forms are

In-close or en-close In-sure or en-sure In-twine or en-twine

Words like practice and practise are frequently confounded. It is necessary to recollect that the termination -ce is restricted to Nouns and -se to Verbs. Thus

-ce-advice, device, licence, practice (Nouns)
-se-advise, devise, license, practise (Verbs)

XVI. -re and -er.

The following list contains all or nearly all the words that end in -re, and are pronounced -er:—

accoutre, acre, calibre, centre, fibre, lucre, lustre, manœuvrt, massacre, meagre, metre, mitre, nitre, ochre, ogre, reconnoitre, sabre, saltpetre, sepulchre, sombre, sceptre, spectre, theatre.

XVII. -ent and -ant.

Words ending in -ent are generally derived from Present Participles of Latin Verbs with stem ending in e or 1, as—

(1) Words derived directly from Present Participles of Latin Verbs with stem ending in -a, as—

Latin, Litigantem

English, Litigant

Or (2) words derived indirectly through the French. from Present Participles of Latin Verbs, whatever be the ending of the stem, as

We may thus have English words derived from the same Latin words, but spelt differently, according as they are direct or indirect derivatives. Thus

Latin, Dependentem French, Dependant English, Dependent and dependant

In some of these words it has been found convenient to take one form for the Noun and another for the Adjective; thus

ADJECTIVES.

Dependent

Confident
Descendent

XVIII. -us, -ous.

NOUNS.

Dependant
Confidant

Descendant

Words ending in -us are generally Nouns of Latin origin, as apparatus, circus, detritus, fungus, hiatus, incubus, mucus, quietus, rhombus (Gr.), syllabus (Gr.), stimulus, terminus,

tumulus. Note that omnibus and rebus are Latin Dative Plurals.

Words ending in -ous are generally Adjectives, as beauteous, callous, dubious, fungous, lugubrious, mucous, tumulous.

English Spelling long Uncertain.

Systematic uniformity in spelling, it may be mentioned, is hardly earlier than the publication of Dr. Johnson's Dictionary. He speaks of orthography having been up to that time unsettled and fortuitous.

The Dictionary of the English Language was completed A.D. 1755, but the Authorized Version of the Bible materially assisted in settling English spelling. An American writer says, apropos of our versus -or, 'to spell Saviour as Savior would shock the piety of thousands.'

DERIVATION AND COMPOSITION.

In our Chapter on the History of the Language (Part IV.), we showed how many languages proceeded from one common stock. As with languages, so it is with words. Words are gregarious and prolific. They are formed like other words and from other words; and consequently many words are found

related to each other either by parentage or method of formation.

The parent word, the linaments of which are generally discernible, is called the Root.

The ordinary methods of Formation are—

1. By prefixes, whereby we add the notions of grouping, concentration, deterioration, opposition, negation,

etc.

2. By suffixes or affixes, whereby we obtain new Parts of Speech, or append new ideas (as of smallness).

3. By internal change (as ablaut).

4. By joining words (which represent ofttimes combined. notions) we obtain compound words denoting the compound notion, as blackboard, lighthouse, etc.

The first three methods are generally denominated 'Derivation,' the last one Composition.

The process of making new words from roots or from other words is called Derivation, in the widest sense of the term, but it is usual to distinguish between Derivation proper and Composition.

Derivation is the formation of a new word from a word already existing, by the addition of letters and syllables, or by internal change, as from strong the words strength and strength-en, from love the words love-able and love-able-ness.

The putting together of two words, both of which retain an independent existence, is called Composition, as when from dog and cart we form dog-cart, from bird and black, blackbird, etc.

In other words, Composition is the combination of two or more different words, and the treating of the compound as a single term.

This definition is substantially the same as that given in Mr. Adams's Elements of the English Language. As his definitions have generally the great merit of clearness, we quote them here:

(a) Composition is the combination of two or more significant words, as sun-beam, star-light.

(b) When one of the component parts of a compound term has lost its significance, the word is no longer said to be compounded, but derived.

What Roots are.

On this subject the language of well-known works is contradictory, a fact which not unfrequently proves a source of difficulty to the student. In Dr. Angus's excellent Handbook, a word in its simplest form is called a Root, and the examples he gives of roots are the words glass, strong, love.

But the root of a word is not always a word, as the author himself points out a little later. In many cases, and strictly speaking, the root is not a word now in use (or that ever was in use), but a significant element from which words are derived. Ag, for example, is the real root, with the idea of 'doing,' for each of the words agent, ac-t, ex-ig-ency. Similarly, some form like p-d is the true root of pes, pedis, Todos, foot. Such words are called crude forms. They represent the original elements of words before they have received the addition that is to determine their real use.

The stem or theme is that modification which the root assumes before the terminations of declension and conjugation are added. Thus, if the root of the Verb love be luf or lov, then love (=luf-o) is the stem, which, by the addition of the suffix d becomes loved, the form of the Preterite or Past Tense.

Dr. Angus, however, prefers to apply the epithet of Root to the word as it appears in use in its simplest form, considering this the best method for English Grammar, leaving all mention of crude forms to the wider science of Comparative Philology. An English root is therefore, according to him, 'the simplest form of a word in actual use.'

Primary and Secondary Derivatives.

In accordance with his own definition of a root, Dr. Angus proceeds to define Primary and Secondary Derivatives, as follows:

1. A Primary Derivative is a word formed from a root, either by the modification of the existing letters, or by the addition of others, e.g. stitch is a modification of