Page:Language and the Study of Language.djvu/142

120 value of formative elements, is exemplified in the preposition of, as already noticed. The of in "a crown of gold" is equivalent to the adjective suffix en in "an golden crown;" that in "the son of the king" to the genitive ending s in "the king's son."

We have paid the more attention to this kind of words, because of their importance in the history of language. Such shadowy and half-formal parts of speech as an and the, such quasi formative elements as do and have, as to and of, are products of the development of language which by their prevalence mark a distinct tendency, known as the "analytical," and characteristic, in a greater or less degree, of many of the modern tongues with which ours is related. We shall have to take it into further account in connection with another department of our subject (see lecture seventh).

Let us now look at a single example going to show to what a rich variety the processes of development of meaning may lead among the derivatives of a single verb. Pono, in Latin, signifies 'put,' or 'place,' but we might well spend an hour in tracing out all the store of ideas which it has been made in our language the means of designating. Some of its uses we have inherited from the Latin; others were struck out during the later period of the French; yet others have grown up on English soil; and we are even now far from having exhausted its capabilities of expression. From the uncompounded root come pose, a poser, position, with its many applications, post, with its still more various and special uses, posture, positive, and so forth. Then, as combined with prefixes, for the most part significant merely of place and direction, it gives us an apposite remark; apposition of nouns; component parts; composure of mind; a great composer; compositions and declamations; a composing-stick; compost-heaps; compound interest; to compound a felony; a deponent verb; the deponent saith; a deposed king; depositions from water; a school-book depository; removal of the deposits; a railway depot; an exponent of democratic principles; to expose a fraud; exposed to attack; clear exposition of a hard text; a lawn with southern exposure; an imposing figure; imposts and customs; miserable impostor; consecrated