Page:The grammar of English grammars.djvu/1067

 SECTION X.--DERIVATION OF INTERJECTIONS.

Those significant and constructive words which are occasionally used as Interjections, (such as Good! Strange! Indeed!,) do not require an explanation here; and those mere sounds which are in no wise expressive of thought, scarcely admit of definition or derivation. The Interjection HEY is probably a corruption of the adjective High;--ALAS is from the French Hélas:--ALACK is probably a corruption of Alas;--WELAWAY or WELLAWAY, (which is now corrupted into WELLADAY,) is said by some to be from the Anglo-Saxon Wá-lá-wá, i.e., Wo-lo-wo;--"FIE," says Tooke, "is the imperative of the Gothic and Anglo-Saxon verb Fian, to hate;"--Heyday is probably from high day;--AVAUNT, perhaps from the French avant, before;--LO, from look;--BEGONE, from be and gone;--WELCOME, from well and come;--FAREWELL, from fare and well.

SECTION XI--EXPLANATION OF THE PREFIXES.

In the formation of English words, certain particles are often employed as prefixes; which, as they generally have some peculiar import, may be separately explained. A few of them are of Anglo-Saxon origin, or character; and the greater part of these are still employed as separate words in our language. The rest are Latin, Greek, or French prepositions. The roots to which they are prefixed, are not always proper English words. Those which are such, are called SEPARABLE RADICALS; those which are not such, INSEPARABLE RADICALS.

CLASS I--THE ENGLISH OR ANGLO-SAXON PREFIXES.

1. A, as an English prefix, signifies on, in, at, or to: as in a-board, a-shore, a-foot, a-bed, a-soak, a-tilt, a-slant, a-far, a-field; which are equal to the phrases, on board, on shore, on foot, in bed, in soak, at tilt, at slant, to a distance, to the fields. The French à, to, is probably the same particle. This prefix is sometimes redundant, adding little or nothing to the meaning; as in awake, arise, amend.

2. BE, as a prefix, signifies upon, over, by, to, at, or for: as in be-spatter, be-cloud, be-times, be-tide, be-howl, be-speak. It is sometimes redundant, or merely intensive; as in be-gird, be-deck, be-loved, be-dazzle, be-moisten, be-praise, be-quote.

3. COUNTER, an English prefix, allied to the French Contre, and the Latin Contra, means against, or opposite; as in counter-poise, counter-evidence, counter-natural.

4. FOR, as a prefix, unlike the common preposition For, seems generally to signify from: it is found in the irregular verbs for-bear, for-bid, for-get, for-give, for-sake, for-swear; and in for-bathe, for-do, for-pass, for-pine, for-say, for-think, for-waste, which last are now disused, the for in several being merely intensive.

5. FORE, prefixed to a verb, signifies before; as in fore-know, fore-tell: prefixed to a noun, it is usually an adjective, and signifies anterior; as in fore-side, fore-part.

6. HALF, signifying one of two equal parts, is much used in composition; and, often, merely to denote imperfection: as, half-sighted, seeing imperfectly.

7. MIS signifies wrong or ill; as in mis-cite, mis-print, mis-spell, mis-chance, mis-hap.

8. OVER denotes superiority or excess; as in over-power, over-strain, over-large.

9. OUT, prefixed to a verb, generally denotes excess; as in out-do, out-leap, out-poise: prefixed to a noun, it is an adjective, and signifies exterior; as in out-side, out-parish.

10. SELF generally signifies one's own person, or belonging to one's own person; but, in self-same, it means very. We have many words beginning with Self, but most of them seem to be compounds rather than derivatives; as, self-love, self-abasement, self-abuse, self-affairs, self-willed, self-accusing.

11. UN denotes negation or contrariety; as in un-kind, un-load, un-truth, un-coif.

12. UNDER denotes inferiority; as in under-value, under-clerk, under-growth.

13. UP denotes motion upwards; as in up-lift: sometimes subversion; as in up-set.

14. WITH, as a prefix, unlike the common preposition With, signifies against, from, or back; as in with-stand, with-hold, with-draw, with-stander, with-holdment, with-drawal.

CLASS II.--THE LATIN PREFIXES.

The primitives or radicals to which these are prefixed, are not many of them employed separately in English. The final letter of the prefix Ad, Con, Ex, In, Ob, or Sub, is often changed before certain consonants; not capriciously, but with uniformity, to adapt or assimilate it to the sound which follows.

1. A, AB, or ABS, means From, or Away: as, a-vert, to turn from, or away; ab-duce, to lead from; ab-duction, a carrying-away; ab-stract, to draw from, or away.

2. AD,--forming ac, af, al, an, ap, as, at,--means To, or At: as, ad-vert, to turn to; ac-cord, to yield to; af-flux, a flowing-to; al-ly, to bind to; an-nex, to link to; ap-ply, to put to; as-sume, to take to; at-test, to witness to; ad-mire, to wonder at.

3. ANTE means Fore, or Before: as, ante-past, a fore-taste; ante-cedent, foregoing, or going before; ante-mundane, before the world; ante-date, to date before.

4. CIRCUM means Round, Around, or About: as circum-volve, to roll round; circum-scribe, to write round; circum-vent, to come round; circum-spect, looking about one's self.

5. CON,--which forms com, co, col, cor,--means Together: as, con-tract, to draw together; compel,