Word Study and Composition · Part V

We have already noted the tendency of y to become i in the middle of a word. The exceptional cases are chiefly derivatives from the Greek, and a study of the Greek prefixes will often give us a hint in regard to the spelling of words containing y. These prefixes, given here in full for convenience, are:

a (an)——without, not amphi——both, around ana——up, back, through‎ anti——against, opposite apo (ap)——from cata——down

dia——through en (em)——in epi (ep)——upon hyper——over, excessive hypo——under‎ meta (met)——beyond, change syn (sy, syl, sym)——with, together

In Greek words also we will find ph with the sound of f. We know that symmetrical, hypophosphite, metaphysics, emphasis, etc., are Greek because of the key we find in the prefix, and we are thus prepared for the y's and ph's. F does not exist in the Greek alphabet (except as ph) and so we shall never find it in words derived from the Greek.

The English prefixes are not so often useful in determining peculiar spelling, but for completeness we give them here:

a——at, in, on (ahead) be——to make, by (benumb) en (em)——in, on, to make (encircle, empower) for——not, from (forbear) fore——before (forewarn) mis——wrong, wrongly (misstate) out——beyond (outbreak) over——above (overruling) to——the, this (to-night) un——not, opposite act (unable, undeceive) under——beneath (undermine) with——against, from (withstand)

CHAPTER III.

WORD-BUILDING——RULES AND APPLICATIONS.

There are a few rules and applications of the principles of word-formation which may be found fully treated in the chapter on “Orthography” at the beginning of the dictionary, but which we present here very briefly, together with a summary of principles already discussed.

Rule 1. F, l, and s at the end of a monosyllable after a single vowel are commonly doubled. The exceptions are the cases in which s forms the plural or possessive case of a noun, or third person singular of the verb, and the following words: clef, if, of, pal, sol, as, gas, has, was, yes, gris, his, is, thus, us. L is not doubled at the end of words of more than one syllable, as parallel, willful, etc.

Rule 2. No other consonants thus situated are doubled. Exceptions: ebb, add, odd, egg, inn, bunn, err, burr, purr, butt, fizz, fuzz, buzz, and a few very uncommon words, for which see the chapter in the dictionary above referred to.

Rule 3. A consonant standing at the end of a word immediately after a diphthong or double vowel is never doubled. The word guess is only an apparent exception, since u does not form a combination with e but merely makes the g hard.

Rule 4. Monosyllables ending in the sound of ic represented by c usually take k after the c, as in back, knock, etc. Exceptions: talc, zinc, roc, arc, and a few very uncommon words. Words of more than one syllable ending in ic or iac do not take k after the c (except derrick), as for example elegiac, cubic, music, etc. If the c is preceded by any other vowel than i or ia, k is added to the c, as in barrack, hammock, wedlock. Exceptions: almanac, havoc, and a very few uncommon words.

Rule 5. To preserve the hard sound of c when a syllable is added which begins with e, i, or y, k is placed after final c, as in trafficking, zincky, colicky.

Rule 6. X and h are never doubled, v and j seldom. G with the soft sound cannot be doubled, because then the first g would be made hard. Example: mag′ic. Q always appears with u following it, and here u has the value of the consonant w and in no way combines or is counted with the vowel which may follow it. For instance squatting is written as if squat contained but one vowel.

Rule 7. In simple derivatives a single final consonant following a single vowel in a syllable that receives an accent is doubled when another syllable beginning with a vowel is added.

Rule 8. When accent comes on a syllable standing next to the last, it has a tendency to lengthen the vowel; but on syllables farther from the end, the tendency is to shorten the vowel without doubling the consonant. For example, na′tion (a long), but na′tional (a short); gram′mar, but grammat′ical.

Rule 9. Silent e at the end of a word is usually dropped when a syllable beginning with a vowel is added. The chief exceptions are words in which the silent e is retained to preserve the soft sound of c or g.

Rule 10. Plurals are regularly formed by adding s; but if the word end in a sibilant sound (sh, zh, z, s, j, ch, x), the plural is formed by adding es, which is pronounced as a separate syllable. If the word end{s} in a sibilant sound followed by silent e, that e unites with the s to form a separate syllable. Examples: seas, cans; boxes, churches, brushes; changes, services.

Rule 11. Final y is regularly changed to i when a syllable is added. In plurals it is changed to ies, except when preceded by a vowel, when a simple s is added without change of the y. Examples: clumsy, clumsily; city, cities; chimney, chimneys. We have colloquies because u after q has the value of the consonant w. There are a few exceptions to the above rule. When two i's would come together, the y is not changed, as in carrying.

Rule 12. Words ending, in a double consonant commonly retain the double consonant in derivatives. The chief exception is all, which drops one l, as in almighty, already, although, etc. According to English usage other words ending in double l drop one l in derivatives, and we have skilful (for skillful), wilful (for willful), etc., but Webster does not approve this custom. Ful is an affix, not the word full in a compound.

EXCEPTIONS AND IRREGULARITIES.

1. Though in the case of simple words ending in a double consonant the derivatives usually retain the double consonant, pontific and pontifical (from pontiff) are exceptions, and when three letters of the same kind would come together, one is usually dropped, as in agreed (agree plus ed), illy (ill plus ly), belless, etc. We may write bell-less, etc., however, in the case of words in which three l's come together, separating the syllables by a hyphen.

2. To prevent two i's coming together, we change i to y in dying, tying, vying, etc., from die, tie, and vie.

3. Derivatives from adjectives ending in y do not change y to i, and we have shyly, shyness, slyly, etc., though drier and driest from dry are used. The y is not changed before ship, as in secretaryship, ladyship, etc., nor in babyhood and ladykin.

4. We have already seen that y is not changed in derivatives when it is preceded by another vowel, as in the case of joyful, etc.; but we find exceptions to this principle in daily, laid, paid, said, saith, slain, and staid; and many write gaily and gaiety, though Webster prefers gayly and gayety.

5. Nouns of one syllable ending in o usually take a silent e also, as toe, doe, shoe, etc, but other parts of speech do not take the e, as do, to, so, no, and the like, and nouns of more than one syllable, as potato, tomato, etc., omit the e. Monosyllables ending in oe usually retain the silent e in derivatives, and we have shoeing, toeing, etc. The commoner English nouns ending in o also have the peculiarity of forming the plural by adding es instead of s, and we have potatoes, tomatoes, heroes, echoes, cargoes, embargoes, mottoes; but nouns a trifle more foreign form their plurals regularly, as solos, zeros, pianos, etc. When a vowel precedes the o, the plural is always formed regularly. The third person singular of the verb woo is wooes, of do does, of go goes, etc., in analogy with the plurals of the nouns ending in o.

6. The following are exceptions to the rule that silent e is retained in derivatives when the added syllable begins with a consonant: judgment, acknowledgment, lodgment, wholly, abridgment, wisdom, etc.

7. Some nouns ending in f or fe change those terminations to ve in the plural, as beef——beeves, leaf——leaves, knife——knives, loaf——loaves, life——lives, wife——wives, thief——thieves, wolf——wolves, self——selves, shelf——shelves, calf——calves, half——halves, elf——elves, sheaf——sheaves. We have chief——chiefs and handkerchief——handkerchiefs, however, and the same is true of all nouns ending in f or fe except those given above.

8. A few nouns form their plurals by changing a single vowel, as man——men, woman——women, goose——geese, foot——feet, tooth——teeth, etc. Compounds follow the rule of the simple form, but the plural of talisman is talismans, of German is Germans, of musselman is musselmans, because these are not compounds of men.

9. A few plurals are formed by adding en, as brother——brethren, child——children, ox——oxen.

10. Brother, pea, die, and penny have each two plurals, which differ in meaning. Brothers refers to male children of the same parents, brethren to members of a religious body or the like; peas is used when a definite number is mentioned, pease when bulk is referred to; dies are instruments used for stamping, etc., dice cubical blocks used in games of chance; pennies refer to a given number of coins, pence to an amount reckoned by the coins. Acquaintance is sometimes used in the plural for acquaintances with no difference of meaning.

11. A few words are the same in the plural as in the singular, as sheep, deer, trout, etc.

12. Some words derived from foreign languages retain the plurals of those languages. For example: datum——data criterion——criteria genus——genera larva——larvæ‎ crisis——crises matrix——matrices focus——foci monsieur——messieurs

13. A few allow either a regular plural or the plural retained from the foreign language: formula——formulæ or formulas beau——beaux or beaus index——indices or indexes stratum——strata or stratums bandit——banditti or bandits cherub——cherubim or cherubs seraph——seraphim or seraphs

14. In very loose compounds in which a noun is followed by an adjective or the like, the noun commonly takes the plural ending, as in courts-martial, sons-in-law, cousins-german. When the adjective is more closely joined, the plural ending must be placed at the end of the entire word. Thus we have cupfuls, handfuls, etc.

Different Spellings for the same Sound.

Perhaps the greatest difficulty in spelling English words arises from the fact that words and syllables pronounced alike are often spelled differently, and there is no rule to guide us in distinguishing. In order to fix their spelling, in mind we should know what classes of words are doubtful, and when we come to them constantly refer to the dictionary. To try to master these except in the connections in which we wish to use them the writer believes to be worse than folly. By studying such words in pairs, confusion is very likely to be fixed forever in the mind. Most spelling-books commit this error, and so are responsible for a considerable amount of bad spelling, which their method has actually introduced and instilled into the child's mind.

Persons who read much are not likely to make these errors, since they remember words by the form as it appeals to the eye, not by the sound in which there is no distinction. The study of such words should therefore be conducted chiefly while writing or reading, not orally.

While we must memorize, one at a time as we come to them in reading or writing, the words or syllables in which the same sound is represented by different spellings, still we should know clearly what classes of words to be on the lookout for. We will now consider some of the classes of words in which a single syllable may be spelled in various ways.

Vowel Substitutions in Simple Words.

ea for ĕ short or e obscure before r.

already bread breakfast breast breadth death earth dead deaf dread‎ early earn earnest earth feather head health heaven heavy‎ heard lead learn leather meadow measure pearl pleasant read‎ search sergeant spread steady thread threaten tread wealth weather

ee for ē long.

agree beef breed cheek cheese creek creep cheer deer deed deep feed‎ feel feet fleece green heel heed indeed keep keel keen kneel meek‎ need needle peel peep queer screen seed seen sheet sheep sleep sleeve‎ sneeze squeeze street speech steeple steet sweep sleet teeth weep weed week

ea for ē long.

appear bead beach bean beast beat beneath breathe cease cheap cheat clean clear congeal cream crease creature dear deal dream defeat‎ each ear eager easy east eaves feast fear feat grease heap hear heat increase knead lead leaf leak lean least leave‎ meat meal mean neat near peas (pease) peal peace peach please preach reach read reap rear reason repeat scream‎ seam seat season seal speak steam streak stream tea team tear tease teach veal weave weak wheat wreath (wreathe) year yeast

ai for ā long.

afraid aid braid brain complain daily dairy daisy drain dainty explain fail fain‎ gain gait gaiter grain hail jail laid maid mail maim nail paid‎ pail paint plain prairie praise quail rail rain raise raisin remain sail‎ saint snail sprain stain straight strain tail train vain waist wait waive

ai for i or e obscure.

bargain captain certain curtain mountain

oa for ō long.

board boat cloak coax coal coast coarse‎ float foam goat gloam groan hoarse load‎ loan loaf oak oar oats roast road‎ roam shoal soap soar throat toad toast

ie for ē long.

believe chief‎ fierce grief‎ niece priest‎ piece thief

ei for ē long.

neither receipt receive

In sieve, ie has the sound of i short.

In eight, skein, neighbor, rein, reign, sleigh, vein, veil, weigh, and weight, ei has the sound of a long.

In height, sleight, and a few other words ei has the sound of i long.

In great, break, and steak ea has the sound of a long; in heart and hearth it has the sound of a Italian, and in tear and bear it has the sound of a as in care.

Silent Consonants etc.

although answer bouquet bridge calf calm catch castle caught chalk climb ditch dumb edge folks comb daughter debt depot forehead gnaw hatchet hedge hiccough‎ hitch honest honor hustle island itch judge judgment knack knead kneel knew knife knit knuckle knock knot know knowledge lamb latch laugh limb listen‎ match might muscle naughty night notch numb often palm pitcher pitch pledge ridge right rough scene scratch should sigh sketch snatch soften stitch switch‎ sword talk though through thought thumb tough twitch thigh walk watch whole witch would write written wrapper wring wrong wrung wrote wrestle yacht

Unusual Spellings.

The following words have irregularities peculiar to themselves.

ache any air apron among again aunt against biscuit build busy business bureau because carriage coffee collar color country couple cousin cover does dose‎ done double diamond every especially February flourish flown fourteen forty fruit gauge glue gluey guide goes handkerchief honey heifer impatient iron juice liar lion‎ liquor marriage mayor many melon minute money necessary ninety ninth nothing nuisance obey ocean once onion only other owe owner patient people pigeon prayer‎ pray prepare rogue scheme scholar screw shoe shoulder soldier stomach sugar succeed precede proceed procedure suspicion they tongue touch trouble wagon were where wholly

C with the sound of s.

In the following words the sound of s is represented by c followed by a vowel that makes this letter soft:

city face ice juice lace necessary nuisance once pencil police policy pace race rice space trace twice trice thrice nice price slice‎ lice spice circus citron circumstance centre cent cellar certain circle concert concern cell dunce decide December dance disgrace exercise excellent except force‎ fleece fierce furnace fence grocer grace icicle instance innocent indecent decent introduce juice justice lettuce medicine mercy niece ounce officer patience peace‎ piece place principal principle parcel produce prejudice trace voice receipt recite cite sauce saucer sentence scarcely since silence service crevice novice

Words ending in cal and cle.

Words in cal are nearly all derived from other words ending in ic, as classical, cubical, clerical, etc. Words ending in cle are (as far as English is concerned) original words, as cuticle, miracle, manacle, etc. When in doubt, ask the question if, on dropping the al or le, a complete word ending in ic would be left. If such a word is left, the ending is al, if not, it is probably le.

Er and re.

Webster spells theater, center, meter, etc., with the termination er, but most English writers prefer re. Meter is more used to denote a device for measuring (as a “gas meter”), meter as the French unit of length (in the “Metric system”). In words like acre even Webster retains re because er would make the c (or g) soft.

Words ending in er, ar, or.

First, let it be said that in most words these three syllables (er, ar, or), are pronounced very nearly if not exactly alike (except a few legal terms in or, like mort′gageor), and we should not try to give an essentially different sound to ar or or* from that we give to er. The ending er is the regular one, and those words ending in ar or or are very few in number. They constitute the exceptions.

*While making no especial difference in the vocalization of these syllables, careful speakers dwell on them a trifle longer than they do on er.

Common words ending in ar with the sound of er:

liar collar beggar burglar solar cedar jugular scholar‎ calendar secular dollar grammar tabular poplar pillar sugar‎ jocular globular mortar lunar vulgar popular insular Templar‎ ocular muscular nectar similar tubular altar (for worship) singular

In some words we have the same syllable with the same sound in the next to the last syllable, as in solitary, preliminary, ordinary, temporary etc. The syllable ard with the sound of erd is also found, as in standard, wizard, mustard, mallard, etc.