Page:The Sources of Standard English.djvu/55

26 word, though it sometimes is inserted in the middle of a word. Thus the French tyran becomes tyrant, the Gaelic Donuil becomes Donald; the old English betweox is now betwixt; thou falles (akin to the Greek and Latin form) is corrupted into fallest; but the true old form of this last still lingers in Scotland. Those who talk about a gownd or of being drownded may plead that they are only carrying further a corruption that began long before the Norman Conquest, and that has since that event turned thunor into thunder, and dwine into dwindle.

Many in our day call a wasp a wapse, and axe leave instead of asking it. Both forms alike are good old English; we also find side by side fisc and fix, beorht and bryht, grœs and gœrs, irnan and rinnan, for piscis, clarus, gramen, and currere. When men say, ‘they don't care a curse’ (the last word is commonly some&shy;thing still stronger), they little think that they are employing the old English cerse, best known to us as cress.

English, unlike German, has now a strong objection to the hard g, especially in the middle of a word; the g is softened into y; regen early became rén (rain).

A table of the Old English Prepositions is a mournful sight. Too many of them have been dropped altogether; and some have been replaced by cumbrous French com&shy;pounds, such as on account of, according to, in addition to, because of, in spite of, on condition that, around, during, except.

Our sailors have kept alive bœftan (abaft), as a Pre&shy;position, though œft (aft) is with them only an adverb.