pears in that, those, this, these, the, thilk, thence, there, thith er, then, thus, though, they, their, theirs, them. But this and these have been transferred to the nearer demonstratives, and they, their, theirs, and them are used as pronouns of the third person.

8. S, another form of the remoter demonstrative element, appears in she, so, some, also, as, such.

9. Wh, the interrogative element, appears in who, what, whose, whom, which, whether, whence, where, whither, when, how, why. All these words, excepting whether, are also employed as relatives.

ROOTS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

§ 337. 1. With the exception of pronouns, interjections, and a few onomatopoetical forms, words in English, as well as in most other languages, are, as linguistical signs of ideas, composed of two parts, viz., the root and the modifying element, which is attached to the root and gives it its form.

2. It is obviously important for every one who would mas ter the whole vocabulary of any language, or would possess a full and thorough knowledge of the words which he em. ploys, to have a clear perception of the root whence a word is derived, and of the force of the various modifications by which it has been affected. What is intended by calling one animal a sloth, another a hare, another a wolf, another a crab, is first fully understood and appreciated when we are able to trace back these words to their several roots, viz., English slow; Sanscrit s'as', to spring; Gothic walw, to seize; Norse kriapa, to creep. Without such knowledge language is merely a collection of proper names, or an assemblage of technical expressions, the application of which is to be learned by dint of memory, or like foreign words, whose meaning we may understand, but not see into.

3. Although instinct, without direct instruction, by leading us to consider words in groups, may avail much in the acquirement of this kind of knowledge, yet it would be strange if wisely directed study could not aid the mind and increase its powers and capabilities.

4. A root, taken in its strictest sense, is a significant ele

ment, from which words, as forms of thought and parts of speech, are derived. It is not itself a word, but that which lies at the foundation of a whole family of words. The root has signification, but not a definite signification, in the system of our ideas or in the system of language. It does not express an idea which can form a component part of language, but only the intuition or appearance which is common to the noun or idea and the verb or judgment, and wants the modification which makes it a noun or verb. It is no part of ordinary speech.

5. The root, as described above, is something below the surface, but in common parlance the name is extended to words derived immediately from the root, which are, as it were, the first sections of the trunk or stem which appear above the ground. It is convenient to give the root such a vowel or enunciation as it assumes in its first birth or com

ing into existence. Thus band may be considered the root of band, bind, bond, bundle, &c.

6. Roots, in the looser sense, generally denote physical objects, are monosyllabic in their form, composed of simple rather than double consonants, and of the primary rather than the secondary vowels..

7. The doctrine concerning the formation of words from roots, as the roots do not properly exist in the language, and are only discoverable by etymology, is one of the deepest and most difficult in grammar, yet it is indispensable for sound criticism. In the Western languages especially the roots are nearly obliterated. Hence many phenomena in these languages have been misunderstood by grammarians. The dif ficulty of tracing the root in English consists,

(1.) In its being hidden or concealed by the numerous syllables by which it is surrounded; as i in transitoriness, dic in dedicate.

(2.) In its being changed by euphonic laws; as, frag in fragile, frangible, refract, infringe, break, breach, etc.; leg in legible, collect.

(3.) In its being modified in different languages; as, German tod, English death.

(4.) In the meaning being changed; as, Canvas, hemp,

both connected with Latin cannabis; kid and goat, both connected with Latin hædus; host and guest, both connected with Latin hostis.

(5.) In its involving, from the mixed character of our language, a knowledge of the euphonic laws severally of the Greek, Latin, Teutonic, and also the Sanscrit languages.

8. In the English language roots are often modified by the following processes, which all deserve attention:

(1.) A root ending in a single consonant usually assumes, in becoming a word, a silent e; as, Imbibe, produce, deride, convene, move, etc.

So some roots ending with a double consonant; as, Infringe.

(2.) The root sometimes assumes an infinitive termination t, which is derived from tum, the termination of the supine or ancient infinitive form in Latin; as, dict, in predict, from dic.

(3.) The root often assumes an epenthetic n; as, Frang, in frangible, from frag.

(4.) The root often changes g before t into c, and b before s into p; as, Act from ag; lapse from lab.

(5.) The root often changes its vowel; as, Fringe, in infringe, from frag.

(6.) The root often undergoes mutilation; as, Frail, for fragile, from frag; I from ic.

SPECIMEN OF A VOCABULARY OF ENGLISH ROOTS.

Ag (doing, primar. driving), a Latin root, which occurs in three forms: (1.) simple ag, whence agent, agile; (2.) ac, before suffixes commencing with t; as, Act, actor, action; (3.) ig, with change of vowel, whence exigent, exigency.

Frag (breaking), a Latin root, which occurs in five forms. (1.) simple frag, whence fragile; (2.) frac, before suffixes commencing with t; as, Fraction, refract; (3.) frang, with epenthetic n, whence frangible; (4.) fring, with epenthetic n and change of vowel, whence infringe; (5.) fra, with mutilated form; as, Frail. The corresponding Teutonic root is brak, which see.

Brak (breaking), a Teutonic root, which occurs in two

forms (1.) with change of vowel; as, Break; (2.) with change of vowel and of palatal; as, Breach. The corresponding Latin root is frag, which see.

Tag (touching), a Latin root, which occurs in six forms: (1.) simple tag, whence contagious; (2.) tac, before suffixes commencing with t; as, Contact; (3.) tang, with epenthetic n, whence tangent, tangible; (4.) tig, with change of vowel, whence contiguous; (5.) ting, with epenthetic n and change of vowel, whence contingent; (6.) with French form; as, Touch. The corresponding Teutonic root is thak, which see. Thak (liter. touching), a Teutonic root, which occurs in two forms: (1.) with epenthetic n and change of vowel; as, Think; (2.) with broadened vowel and change of k into gh before t; as, Thought. The corresponding Latin root is tag, which see.

Fer (bearing), a Latin root, whence refer, flammiferous. The corresponding Teutonic root is bar, which see.

Bar (bearing), a Teutonic root, whence, with variety of vowel, bear, burden. The corresponding Latin root is fer,

which see.

Leg (laying), a Latin root, which occurs in two forms: (1.) simple leg, whence legible; (2.) lec, before suffixes commencing with t; as, Collect, select. The corresponding Teutonic form is lay, which see.

Lay (laying), a Teutonic root, which is formed from leg by softening.

Pon (placing), a Latin root, which occurs in four forms: (1.) simple pon, whence oppone, depone; (2.) pound, with broadened vowel and paragogic d, whence expound, propound; (3.) pos, with s instead of n; as, Appose, apposition; (4.) po, with mutilated form, whence depot.

Lab (gliding), a Latin root, which occurs in two forms: (1.) simple lab, whence labent; (2.) lap, before suffixes beginning with s; as, Collapse, elapse.

Baph (merging), a Greek root, which occurs in English, not in its simple form, baph, but only in the form bapt, which is strengthened by t, and modified by a euphonic law, whence, with frequentative termination, baptize.

Merg (plunging), a Latin root, which occurs in two forms:

(1.) simple merg, whence merge; (2.) mer, with mutila ted form before suffixes beginning with s; as, Immerse, mer.

sion.

Tig (merging), a Latin root, which occurs in three forms: (1.) ting, with epenthetic n, whence tinge; (2.) tinc, with euphonic change before suffixes beginning with t; as, Tinct, tincture; (3.) with mutilated form through the French; as, Tint, taint. The corresponding Teutonic root is duck,

which see.

Duck (plunging), a Teutonic root, which occurs in two forms: (1.) simple duck, whence duck; (2.) with mutilated form; as, Dye.

Dip (wetting), a Teutonic root, whence dip, and a collateral form dive, and with a prefix s, steep.

Fud (pouring), a Latin root, which occurs in three forms: (1.) fund, with epenthetic n, whence refund; (2.) found, with epenthetic n and lengthened vowel, whence found, con found; (3.) fu, with mutilated form before suffixes beginning with s; as, Affuse, confuse.

Frug (enjoying), a Latin root, which occurs in three forms: (1.) simple frug, whence frugal; (2.) fruc, with euphonic change before suffixes beginning with t, whence fructify; (3.) with softened form before suffixes beginning with t; as, Fruit, fruitful.

Cre (making), a Latin root; whence procreant, create, etc. Cred (believing), a Latin root, which occurs in two forms: (1.) cred, whence credit, credence; (2.) with lengthened vowel; as, Creed.

Clud (shutting), a Latin root, which occurs in four forms: (1.) simple clud, whence include; (2.) claud, with lengthened vowel, whence claudent; (3.) clu, with mutilated form before suffixes beginning with s; as, Exclusion; (4.) with lengthened vowel and mutilated form before suffixes beginning with s; as, Clause, cloister, close.

Clam (crying), a Latin root, which occurs in two forms: (1.) simple clam, whence clamor, acclamation; (2.) with lengthening of a by i; as, Acclaim, exclaim.