Page:The Sources of Standard English.djvu/159

130 once replaced by ðei. Orrmin's new forms, such as above, a&#x0293;&#x0293; (semper), or, again appear. We have in the two poems before us other new forms creeping in, such as, to Godeward, moreover, everilc on, bitime (betimes). Whilum and seldum are still found with the old Dative Plural ending; moste becomes the modern muste. The Old English þâs (in Latin hi) is now seen as þese, just as we have it; in the Homilies of 1120, it was only þes.

Ever was often employed in compounding new words, such as quatsoever; ful was becoming a favourite end&shy;ing for Adjectives, such as dredful, as we saw in the South. H, a fatal letter in English mouths, had been sadly misused in the South a hundred years earlier; the Suffolk poet often makes slips in handling it: he has ard for hard, and hold for old.

One token of the Midland, East and West, is the verb niman used for the Latin ire; it is found in this poem.

Some new formations from old words are now seen; the useful word bearing or carriage first appears in page 62.

For bi gure bering men mai it sen.

A new verb, which we still keep, is seen in page 41. Isaac was mourning for his mother; but Eliezer

Eððede his sorge, brogt him a wif.

This new formation from eaðe (facilis) may have been confounded with the French aaisier. Long before Chau&shy;cer it was decided that in this verb we should use the French s and not the Old English ð.