EXERCISE IV.

ETYMOLOGICAL ANALYSIS.

none

Introductory Explanations. The orthoëpy, orthography, and syllabication of words, having received due attention, the learner's next step should be, to acquire a knowledge of the significance of every constituent syllable of a word selected for study. Words being the representatives of ideas, the study of them becomes, virtually, the study of ideas, the observation of the facts and modes of intellectual action; and the peculiar value of that part of education which has to do with language, is that, of all forms of expression which we can contemplate, none lies so near to the mind itself, is so purely intellectual, as language; - none is so happily suited to employ and discipline those mental faculties, the possession of which constitutes man an image of God. The crowning endowment conferred on man, which renders this resemblance to his Creator manifest, is speech, the wondrous power by which thought is uttered in the audible form of words. By these instruments of power do the poet and the orator inspire and sway the minds of their fellow men, through successive ages. For centuries, have the words of such men been the study and the delight of mankind; and the written volumes through which they, "being dead, yet speak," have, in all civilised countries, justly furnished the material for the highest intellectual culture of the human race.

To appreciate the true value, or feel the full power

of any form of expression, or even to understand aright the meaning of a word, we must perceive distinctly the significance of every one of its component syllables, or even of its very letters, taken singly. The language which we inherit comes down to us from remote ages, and is composed, to a great extent, of words borrowed from other languages; and, to understand or use it rightly, we must refer to ancient and foreign tongues, in order to become intelligent and expert in the use of our own. Persons who enjoy the privilege of a full knowledge of these languages, possess a peculiar advantage, in this respect; and such knowledge is exceedingly desirable. But, as few, comparatively, are thus favored, the majority of those who speak English, in its contemporary form, must, in referring to the exact meaning of many words, depend on the aid of those who, as lexicographers and compilers of dictionaries, have rendered the sources of our language accessible to all who choose to resort to them.

An important part, therefore, of early education, is occupied with the process of investigating the meaning of words, by reference to dictionaries which enable us to trace their derivation, and thus to obtain the benefit of a full course of instruction in that part of grammar which is termed "etymology," the science of derivation.

Our language is a compound made up of many elements. But, among these, one predominates, as primitive and simplest, and as most easily intelligible, and strikingly expressive, because it consists of those words which are in common use in our homes, and which we hear and learn in our childhood. It is the language which our mothers address to us, in our infancy, and which, in all its words, we have associated not with other words but with things themselves. When we are old enough to enter the world of books, we find there many other words intermingled

with those of our vernacular tongue; and, by degrees, we gather their meanings from those of the home words with which they are synonymous, and which are already familiar to us. This mixed dialect we hear adults around us using daily, partly in conversation on elevated subjects, but, still more, in public addresses on matters of general concern and excursive thought. We thus become accustomed personally, in due season, to its use, as best adapted to expansive ideas, abstract reasoning, argumentative discussion, and philosophical theorising.

To understand perfectly these uses of language, we must know the primitive meanings of the words which we find prevailing in the forms of expression adopted in books, and which we have not been accustomed to use in familiar connection with the objects which they represent. Such words have only a secondary, and, as it were, a shadowy meaning to our minds, till we have learned to connect them, individually, with a corresponding word in our own primitive or vernacular language, which word we at once refer to the thing which it signifies. The idea thus called up, is like the familiar face of an old friend, contrasted with the countenance of one who is a stranger, and known to us as merely a human being.

The dictionary offers us its assistance in our attempts to trace the primary connections of words with objects, in those instances in which the recognition of this connection depends on a knowledge of the original languages from which a large part of our own is derived. The faithful study of the dictionary, therefore, becomes the condition of our right understanding of many words. Take, for example, the word astronomy. We know, from what we have heard, or read, that it refers to a knowledge of the stars. But it is not till we have learned that the word is made up of two Greek words, astron, “star,"

or constellation, and nomos, "law," or science, that we understand the full value of the English word thus derived and compounded.

Exercises in etymological analysis, are the only means of enabling the young student to feel at home in all parts of his own language, and to use its words with intelligent and discriminating effect.

EXERCISE. (1.) Prefixes. A preliminary course of instruction and practice in etymology, consists in tracing, in the manner exemplified in the following lists, the signification of those words which constitute the initial syllable or syllables of many English words, and have hence received the designation of "prefixes", or words or syllables prefixed to other words, to modify their meaning.

Suggestions to Teachers. It is greatly to be desired that a complete course of exercises in the etymological analysis of words, should form a part of grammatical instruction, in all schools, and that every spelling-book should, at least, comprise a brief course of lessons on the use and signification of prefixes and suffixes. Lynd's series of etymological manuals, and Oswald's etymological Dictionary, are excellently adapted to the former purpose; and teachers who make use of the improved edition of the spellingbook compiled by the author of the present work, will find, in that manual, a selection of lessons prepared for the latter purpose.*

*One of the most valuable school-books, as a guide to exact and complete information on all points of etymology, as well as every other subject, connected with the study of the English language, is the dictionary of Mr. Alexander Reid of Edinburgh, reedited by the late Professor Henry Reed of Philadelphia, and published by Appleton & Co., New York.

For the convenience of teachers in whose schools etymological analysis has not been introduced, as a regular branch of instruction, the following outline is submitted, as an aid to the performance of exercises by the pupil. The matter here presented may, at the discretion of the teacher, be prescribed in daily successive portions, on the blackboard, for the purpose of being transcribed and committed to memory, by the pupil, and presented in examples additional to the following.*

A List of the principal original English, or Saxon, Prefixes.

A-, signifying on, to, in, at: Examples, A-foot, ahead, a-bed, a-side. BE-, to make, to give: Bedim, be-calm, be-cloud, be-stow.-Down, Down-fall, down-lying, down-sitting.-FOR-, signifying away: Examples, For-bid, for-get, for-give, for-sake.—FORE-, before: Fore-see, fore-tell, fore-show, fore-arm, forewarn. Mis-, error, ill, defect: Mis-take, mis-deed, mis-demeanor, mis-lead. OUT-, beyond: Out-bid, out-do, out-run, out-vie. OVER-, beyond: Overreach, over-set, over-do, over-look, over-see. - UN-, not, do away: Un-able, un-apt, un-fair, un-bar, unfold, un-do. UNDER-, Under-mine, under-go, under-rate. Up-, Up-hold, up-take, up-bear, up-heave. -WITH- signifying from, against: With-draw, withhold, with-stand.

Prefixes of Latin Origin.

A-, AB-, signifying from, away: Examples, A-bate,

* Words selected from the reading-lesson of the day, will always be found the most interesting, as well as immediately useful, material for class-exercises in the various forms of etymological analysis. A limited number of words may be assigned, for this purpose, from those which are given out for practice in orthography.