127 WORD-BRANCHING. brindle brown burn brand brandy brimstone WHEN our language was young and uninfluenced by other languages, it had the power of growing words. These words, like plants, grew from a root; and all the words that grew from the same root had a family likeness. Thus byrn-an, the old word for to burn, gave us brimstone, brown (which is the burnt colour), brunt, brand, brandy, and brindle. These we might represent to ourselves, on the blackboard, as growing in this way. But, unfortunately, we soon lost this power. From the time when the Nor brunt byrn-an mans came into this country in 1066, the language became less and less capable of growing its own words. Instead of producing a new word, we fell into the habit of simply taking an old and ready-made word from French, or from Latin, or from Greek, and giving it a place in the language. Instead of the Old English word fairhood, we imported the French word beauty; instead of forewit, we adopted the Latin word caution; instead of licherest, we took the Greek word cemetery. And so it came about that in course of time we lost the power of growing our own new words. The Greek word asterisk has prevented our making the word starkin; the Greek name astronomy has kept out star-craft; the Latin word omnibus has stopped our even thinking of folkwain; and the name vocabulary is much more familiar to our ears than wordhoard. Indeed, so strange have some of our own native English words become to us, that sentences composed entirely of English words are hardly intelligible; and, to make them quickly intelligible, we have to translate some of the English words into Greek or into Latin. It is well, however, for us to become acquainted with those pure English words which grew upon our own native roots, and which owe nothing whatever to other languages. For they are the purest, the simplest, the most homely and the most genuine part of our language; and from them we can get a much better idea of what our language once was than we can from its present very mixed condition. The following are the most important ENGLISH ROOTS AND BRANCHES (OR DERIVATIONS). berth; brood, brother, breed, bird; 3 burden; barrow. Bét-an, to make good-better, best; boot (in "to boot"="to the good"), boot less. Bind-an, to bind-band, bond, bondage; bundle; woodbine; bindweed. Bit-an, to bite-bit; beetle; bait; bitter. blain), blast, blaze (to proclaim), blazon Blow-an, to blossom-blow (said of flowers); bloom, blossom; blood, blade; blowsy. Brec-an, to break-break, breakers; brake, bracken; breach, brick; break-fast; brook (the water which breaks up through the ground); brittle (=brickle or breakable); bray (where the hard guttural has been absorbed). Breow-an, to brew-brew, brewer; broth, brose; bread (perhaps). 1 Compare brewster, a woman brewer, spinster, webster, and others. Brewster, Baxter, and Webster are now only used as proper names. 2 Cold Harbour was the name given to an inn which provided merely shelter without provisions. There are seventy places of this name in England. Many of them stand on the great Roman roads; and they were chiefly the ruins of Roman villas used by travellers who carried their own bedding and provisions. See Isaac Taylor's 'Words and Places,' p. 256. 3 Brid or bird was originally the young of any animal. Bug-an, to bend-bow, elbow;1 bough; | Drag-an, to draw-drag, draw, dray bight; buxom (O.E. bocsum, flexible or obedient). The hard g in bigan appears as a w in bow, as a gh in bough, as a y in bay, as a k in buxom-buk-som. Byrn-an, to burn-burn, brown; brunt, brimstone; brand, brandy; brindled. Catt, a cat-catkin; kitten, kitling; caterpillar (the hairy cat, from Lat. pilosus, hairy), caterwaul. Ceapi-an, to buy-cheap, cheapen; chop (to exchange); a chopping sea; chap, chapman; chaffer; Eastcheap, Cheapside, Chepstow (=the market stow or place), Chippenham.2 Cenn-an, to produce-kin, kind, kindred; kindly; kindle. Ceow-an, to chew-chew; cheek; jaw (=chaw); jowl; chaw-bacon; cud (=the chewed). Compare seethe and suds. Cleov-an, to split-cleave, cleaver; cleft; clover (split grass). Clifi-an, to stick to cleave; clip (for keeping papers together); claw (by which a bird cleaves to a tree); club (a set of men who cleave together). Cnáw-an, to know-ken, know (=ken-ow -ow being a dim.); knowledge. Cnotta, a knot-knot, knit, net (the k having been dropped for the eye, as well as for the ear). (three forms of the same word); draft (draught); drain; dredge; draggle; drawl. Drif-an, to push-drive; drove; drift, adrift. Drige, dry-dry (verb and adj.); drought; drugs (originally dried plants). Drinc-an, to soak-drink; drench (to make to drink). Compare sit, set; fall, fell, etc. Drip-an, to drip-drip, drop, droop; dribble, driblet. Dug-an, to be good for-do (in "How do you do?" and "That will do "); doughty. Eác, also-eke (verb and adv.); ekename (which became a nickname; the n having dropped from the article and clung to the noun). Eáge, eye-Egbert (=bright-eyed); daisy (=day's eye); window (= wind-eye). Eri-an, to plough- -ear (the old word for plough); earth (= the ploughed). Far-an, to go or travel-far, fare; welfare, fieldfare, thoroughfare; ferry; ford. Feng-an, to catch-fang, finger, newfangled (catching eagerly after new things). Feówer, four-farthing; firkin; forty. fourteen; Cunn-an, to know or to be able-can, con; Fleóg-an, to flee-fly, flight; flea; fledged. cunning; uncouth. Cweth-an, to say-quoth; bequeath. Cwic, alive-quick, quicken; quickset; quicklime; quicksilver; to cut to the quick. Dáel-an, to divide-deal (verb and noun), dole, deal (said of wood); dale, dell (the original sense being cleft, or separated). Dem-an, to judge-deem, doom; dempster (the name for a judge in the Isle of Man); doomsday; kingdom. Deór, dear-dearth; darling; endear. Dóan, to act-do; don, doff, dup (=do up or op-en); dout (=do out or put out); deed. Compare mow, mead; sow, seed. | Fleót-an, to float-fleet (noun, verb, and adj.); float; ice-floe; afloat; flotsam 3 (things found floating on the water after a wreck). Fód-a, food-feed; food, fodder, foster; fath-er; forage (=fodderage), forager; foray (an excursion to get food). Freón, to love-freond = friend (the pres. part.) a lover; Fri-day (the day of Friya, the goddess of love); friendship, etc. Gal-an, to sing-gale, yell; nightingale.4 Gang-an, to go-gang, gangway; ago. (The words gate and gait do not come from this verb, but from get.) Gnag-an, to bite gnaw (the g has be 1 Elbow=ell-bow. The ell was the forepart of the arm. 2 The same root is found in the Scotch Kippen and the Danish Copenhagen = Merchants' Haven. 3 "Flotsam and jetsam" mean the floating things and the things thrown overboard from a ship. Jetsam comes from Old Fr. jetter, to throw. (Hence also "jet of water"; jetty, etc. Jetsam is a hybrid-sum being a Scandinavian suffix. 4 The n in nightingale is no part of the word. It is intrusive and non-organic; as it also is in passenger, messenger, porringer, etc. I come a w); gnat; nag (to tease), connected with nail. Graf-an, to dig or cut-grave, groove, grove (the original sense was a lane cut | through trees); graft, engraft; engrave, engraver; carve (which is another form of the verb grave). found in the Naze, Sheerness, etc.); nostril nose-thirl (from thirlian, to bore a hole), nozzle; nosegay. Penn-an. to shut up or enclose-pen, pin (two forms of the same word); pound, pond (two forms of the same word): impound. Grip-an, to seize-grip, gripe; grasp; Pic, a point-pike, peak (two forms of the grab; grope. Gyrd-an, to surround-gird, girdle; garden, yard, vineyard, hopyard. Hael-an, to heal-hale; holy, hallow, Allhallows; health; hail; whole,1 wholesome; wassail (= Waes hàl != Be whole !) Hebb-an, to raise heave, heave-offering; heavy (that requires much heaving); heaven. Hlaf, bread-loaf; lord (hlaford loafward); lady (= hlaf-dige, from dig-an, to knead); Lammas (= Loaf-mass, Aug. 1; a loaf was offered on this day as the offering of the first-fruits). Leác, a leek-house-leek; garlic; hem- Sceót-an, to throw - shoot, shot, shut lock. (=to shoot the bolt of the door); sheet (that which is thrown over a bed); shutter, shuttle; scud. Licg-an, to lie-lie; lay, layer; lair; outlay. Loda, a guide-lead (the verb); lode-star, lode-stone (also written loadstone). Mag-an, to be able-may, main (in "might and main "), might, mighty. Mang, a mixture- a-mong; mongrel; mingle; cheesemonger. Maw-an, to cut-mow; math, aftermath; mead, meadow (the places where grass is mowed). Món-a, the moon- month; moonshine. (This word comes from a very old root, ma, to measure. Our Saxon forefathers measured by moons and by nights, as we see in the words fortnight, se'nnight.) Naeddrë, a snake adder. The n has dropped off from the word, and has adhered to the article. Compare apron, from naperon (compare with napkin, napery); umpire, from numpire. The opposite example of the n leaving the article and adhering to the noun, is found in nag, from an äg; nickname from an ekename. Nasu, a nose-nose, naze, ness (all three different forms of the same word, and Scér-an, to cut-shear, share, sheer, shire, shore (all forms of the same word); scar, scare; score (the twentieth notch in the tally, and made larger than the others); scarify, sharp; short, shirt, skirt (three forms of the same word); shred, potsherd (the same word, with the r transposed); sheriff (=scir-geréfa, reeve of the shire); scrip, scrap, scrape. The soft form sh belongs to the southern English dialects: the hard forms, sc and sk, to the northern. Scuf-an, to push-shove, shovel, shuffle ; scuffle; sheaf; scoop. Sett-an, to set, or make sit-set, seat; settle, saddle; Somerset, Dorset. Slag-an, to strike-slay (the hard g has been refined into a y), slaughter; slog, sledge (in sledge-hammer). Slip-an, to slip-slop; slipper, sleeve (into which the arm is slipped). Snic-an, to crawl-sneak, snake, snail (here the hard guttural has been refined away). Spell, a story or message-spell (= to give 1 The w in whole is intrusive and non-organic, as in whoop, and in wun (=one, so pronounced, but not so written). Before the year 1500 whole was always written hole; and in this form it is seen to be a doublet of hale. Holy is simply hole+y. an account of or tell the story of the letters in a word); spell-bound; gospel (= God's spell). Stearc, stiff-stark; strong (a nasalised form of stark); string (that which is strongly twisted); strength; strangle. Stede, a place-stead, instead, homestead, farm-steading; steady; steadfast; bestead: Hampstead. Stic'i-an, to stick-stick, stitch (two forms of the same word), stake, stock, stockade; stock-dove; stock-fish (fish dried to keep in stock); stock-still. Stig-an, to climb-stair; stile; stirrup (= stigráp, or rope for rising into the saddle); sty (in pig-sty). Stow, a place--bestow; stowage, stowa way; Chepstow (= the place where a cheap or market is held); Bristol (the 1 and w being interchangeable). Stýr-an, to direct-steer, stern; steerage. Sundri-an, to part-sunder; sundry; asunder. (Compare sever and several.) Sweri-an, to declare-swear, answer (= andswerian, to declare in opposition or in reply to), forswear. Taec-an, to show-teach, teacher; token (that which is shown); taught (when the hard c reappears as a gh). Tred-an, to walk-tread, treadle; trade; tradesman, trade-win. Truwa, good faith-true; truth, troth, betroth. Twá, two-two, twin, twain; twelve (= two+lufan, ten); twenty; between; twig; twiddle; twine, twist, etc. Waci-an, to be on one's guard—wake, watch (two forms of the same word); awake, wakeful. Wad-an, to go-wade; waddle; Watling Street (the road of the pilgrims). The Eng. word wade is of the same origin as the Lat. vade in evade, invade, etc. Wana, a deficiency-wan, wane; want, wanton; wanhope (the old word for despair). Wef-an, to weave-weave, weaver; web, webster (a woman-weaver); cobweb; woof, weft (v, b, and f, being all labials). War, a state of defence-war, wary, aware (= on one's guard); warfare (going to war); ward, guard (a Norman - French doublet of ward); warden, guardian (the same). Wit-an, to know-wit, to wit; wise, wis dom; wistful; witness; Witena-gemote (= the Meeting of the Wise); y-wis (the past participle, wrongly written I wis). Tell-an, to count or recount-tell; tale,1 Wraest-an, to wrest- wrest, wrestle; talk; toll; teller. Teoh-an (or teón), to draw-tow, tug (two forms of the same word, the hard guttural having been preserved in the one); wanton (= without right upbringing). Compare wanhope despair; wantrust mistrust. Thaec, a roof-thatch; deck. = wrist. Wring-an, to force-wring, wrong (that which is wrung out of the right course). Wyrc-an, to work-work, wright (the r shifts its place). Wyrt, a herb or plant-wort; orchard (= wort-yard); wart (on the skin); St John's wort, etc. LATIN ROOTS. Those words with (F.) after them have not come to us directly from Latin; Acer (acris), sharp; acrid, acrimony, vine- Ago (actum), I do, act; act, agent, agile, gar (sharp wine, F.), eager (F.) Edes, a building; edifice, edify. agitate, cogent. Alo, I nourish; aliment, alimony. Equus, equal; equality, equator, equi- Alter, the other of two; alternation, subnox, equity, adequate, iniquity. altern, altercation. Ager, a field; agriculture, agrarian, pere- Altus, high; altitude, exalt, alto (It.), grinate. altar. 1 "And every shepherd tells his tale (= counts his sheep) |