To Correspondents.

A Sheffield correspondent is informed that we do unreservedly approve of all the books named in the list he refers to. We do not however consider that all therein named are requisite, nor does the list contain all that a master ought to have: it is given to select from or to add to, as circumstances may direct.

ON LATIN ETYMOLOGY.

No. VIII.

In the present paper it is proposed to trace from a single root a large number of its derivatives. The verb vert-, " turn," seems itself to be a secondary formation from a simple and obsolete form ver, just as the Greek TTT- has for its radical syllable run alone. This added is perhaps only an abbreviation of what appears as an entire syllable in the secondary verbs, ειργ-αθ-ω, εικ-αθ-ω. But there are other words besides vert- which seem to point to a root ver. First, ver-g-,* as seen in con-verg, "turn all to the same point," diverg-, 66 turn different

66

ways," &c., has in the g a suffix, if we may trust the analogy of spar-g-, "scatter," mer-g-, "dip," and ter-g-, "wipe," compared severally with σπερ of σжειрW, σжερμа; mari-, French, mer, English, meer; and ter- "rub." Again the substantive ver-u, a spit," is clearly referable to a primitive verb signifying " turn," the very use of a spit depending upon such capability. A fourth, and if possible still more decisive case, is the neuter substantive ver-men, which in the plural vermina denotes "writhings with pain" in Lucretius, and whence is formed a verb verminari, "to writhe with pain," a word used by Pomponius of a woman in labour. These four words then, viz., the two verbs ver-t-, ver-g-, and the two substantives ver-u and ver-men, justify us in the assumption of a common parent, The same root is seen in nearly its simplest form in our English verbs veer and wear (a ship). The French also have vir-er "to turn," and Germans wirr-en "to twist." Secondary formations from this verb abound in our language, as whir-l, war-p, wr-ithe, wr-eath, wr-ench, wr-est, wr-ing, wr-iggle, wr-ap. Moreover, the sound ver, for a Roman seems to have pronounced his v like our w, and our own whir of whir-l well represent the noise made in a rapid revolution or turning.

ver."

The word ver-men, which has already been spoken of as used in the sense of "writhing with pain," would seem also to have signified "a worm," seeing that the verb vermin-a-, which must be derived from it, has in Seneca the meaning of "breed worms:" Fulmine icta intra paucos dies verminant. This view is further confirmed by the fact that Pliny uses vermin-oso- repeatedly for "swarming with maggots," and vermina-tion- for " breeding worms or maggots." Indeed, our own word vermin seems to be derived from the Latin word vermen, so used. Hence it would seem that vermi- (nom. vermis) is simply a corruption of the word vermen, vermin-is. The disappearance of the final n and the change of gender is parallel to what has befallen the Latin words signifying blood. Thus the older Latin writers have a neuter noun, sanguen. But sanguis sanguinis has become masculine. This noun should have had for its original nominative, sanguins; or, if the n be dropped, the final syllable should still have been long; and long it is in Lucr. IV. 1043; Virg. Æn. X. 487; Ov. Fast. VI. 448; Tib. I. 7, 72; Lucan. II. 338; Val. Fl. III. 234 ;

*We have said verg- as seen in converg-, &c., because there is another verb of precisely thesame form, which signifies "pour," whence inverg-, " pour upon," Virg. VOL. IX.NO. IV.

D

Sil. X. 23. We quote these references from Forcellini, to show that the doctrine of the syllable owing its length to the licence called Cæsura, is not tenable. In fact, when Virgil shortens the nominative in Vos o quibus integer ævi Sanguis ait, &c., he is using the nominative of a noun, sangui-, from which noun, and not from sanguin-, came sangui-sug-a, "a leech," sangui-culo-, "a black pudding or little cake made of blood," and the adj. nom. ex-sanguis, ac. ex

-sanguem.

To return to our nouns vermen and vermi-s, 66 a worm," it is hardly necessary to observe that a derivation from a verb which signfies "to turn" is well suited for a creature whose twisting habit is so marked. Of course our own worm and Germ. wurm are related to the Latin words vermen and vermi-s; it would be wrong to say derived from them, as the English language is scarcely ever, the German never, indebted to the classical languages for words of this familiar character. That the word is common to the two languages arises from their being sisters in the great Indo-European family. It is precisely in the same way that the word name, found alike in English and German, corresponds to the Latin nomen, with the same loss of the final n,* and yet is not derived from it.

*

A spit (veru) requires to have one extremity pointed for spitting the meat. From it is formed an adjective veruto- (nom. verutus), just as from cornu- and versu- come cornuto-, versuto-; and the adjective veruto-, "armed with an iron point like that of a spit," might well be used in the neuter as a substantive, nom. verutum, 66 a spear or missile with a spit-like point."

The vowel e is often changed to the kindred vowel a. Hence the adj. vāro-, "with crooked legs, bandy," is, in all probability, connected with the root ver. There are two ways by which this adjective may be connected with the verb, either by the addition of the simple suffix o, as fido- (n. fidus) with the verb fid-ere-, parco- with the verb parcere; or by means of the suffix ero-, which is so often added to a verb for the formation of an adjective. (See No. 43, p. 255.) A form věr-ěro- would almost of necessity be abbreviated to something like vēro- or vāro-, just as stip-i-pendio- is compressed to stipendio-, quinquini to quini, salu-tut- (from salvo-) to salūt-, &c. The other adjective, var-io-, formed from our assumed verb ver, like exim-io-, "select," from the verb exim-, "take out," seems also akin in sense, as the ideas of turning and differing have much resemblance. Nor is it detrimental to this view that the practical usage of this word connects it more particularly with variety of colour.

The substantive var-ic (nom. varix), which is used in the plural to denote "varicose veins," seems indisputably a progeny of our verb, as varicose veins are characterized by their convolutions. The suffix

ic seems to contain a short vowel, if we may judge from the derived adj. vărĭcoso-, and so differs but little from that seen in vertex, vert-ic-is, a word which is of course formed directly from the verb vert-. Hence Nonius seems somewhat inaccurate, when he deduces vărix directly from the adj. vāro-.

* That the German name once possessed a final n in the nominative is laid down by the authorities in that language.

It is almost superfluous to say that vert-e-bra," one of the bones of the spinal column," is from vert-, " turn," seeing that the power of turning the head round is due to these bones, especially those of the cervical portion. The suffix bra is seen added to verbs in illec-e-bra, ten-e-bra, lat-e-bra, ter-e-bra; and the preference of a connecting ě to the vowel, which is more usually employed for this office, is due to the influence of the pair of consonants which follow, just as in gen-e-trix (contrasted with gen-i-tor), princeps (contrasted with princip-em), acceptus (contrasted with accipit).

In Vertumnus, "the god of change," the only strange point is, that we have the suffix of a Greek participle, vert-omenos. But the same is seen in the noun alumnus, for al-omenos; and that the suffix is really indigenous in the Latin language is proved by the use of the same in the second persons plural of passive verbs, as vertimini for vertimini (i. e. vertomenoi) estis, a usage corresponding pretty closely with that of TETUμμevol eo in the Greek Grammar.

As regards vertex and vortex no one has ever felt any difficulty, whether we look to the eddying whirlpool which contracts as it descends, or to an ascending spiral which tends towards a point.

We will next consider those forms which, instead of an r, exhibit an 1. The convertibility of these liquids is familiar to every student of etymology; and is explained by the fact, that the natural order of the liquids is r, l, n, m, so that r and I are immediate neighbours. We advisedly use the word natural, because it will be found on trial that such is their position in the mouth, the liquid r being formed at the back of the mouth, against the palate, n near the teeth, and m at the lips. This order should always be kept in view, wherever the interchange of the liquids is under consideration. That the Greeks possess a prolific root Feλ, in the sense of turning, is well known. Familiar derivatives of this sort are ἑλισσω, έλιξ, ἑλιτροχος, είλω, ειλύω, all of which have the digamma in Homer. The Latin language commonly requires a concurrent change of the vowel into o, whenever an l takes the place of the final r. But this can occasion no just surprise, as vorto, vortex, advorsus, &c., in the older writers are preferred to verto, vertex, adversus. Indeed, it may be laid down as a general rule that Latin words which commence with the letters ve, may take vo as a variety. Thus we have velle and volo, vester and voster, vetare and votare, ɛμew and vomo, επw (whence εov) and voco. And the same variation occurs in other languages. Thus to the Latin verbum and vermis correspond our word and worm, in which an o is written and an e sounded. A German writes antwort, where we have answer; and conversely schwert, where we prefer sword.

We have therefore no hesitation in claiming as derivatives from our root the verb vol-v- (volvo), “ roll." The final v in this verb is a remnant of a suffix corresponding to the ow which is so often appended to secondary verbs in our own tongue. In some of our preceding papers attention has been called to this suffix, especially in the English verbs know and bellow, formed from the all but obsolete verbs ken and bell. Exactly in the same way the Greek has two kindred verbs, &λ-W, and ειλυ-ω. Indeed we also happen to possess the exact equivalent in form of the Latin volv- in our verb wall-ow, which a Roman would