ox 
 
 THK VOHMATION OF ENGLISH WOHDS 
 BY MEANS OF ABLAl 1', 
 
 A c; RAM .MA 
 
 KARL WARNKE, 
 
 HALLE s
 
 ON 
 
 THE FORMATION OF ENGLISH WORDS 
 BI MEANS OF ABLAUT. 
 
 A GRAMMATICAL ESSAY 
 
 KARL WARME, ph.d. 
 
 HALLE A/s. 
 MAX N I E M E Y E R. 
 
 18 7s. 
 
 /;
 
 ft. 
 
 Ills' 
 
 yy3 
 
 »-<*i»4i..f»« K 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNEH 
 SANTA BARBARA 
 
 in all Teutonic languages we are able to distinguish 
 two principles ruling over the whole of what English gram- 
 marians call Etymology. In the declension as well as in 
 the formation of words two manners of proceeding are at 
 work: either new elements are added to the original and 
 simple form of the word, without that form itself undergoing 
 any material alteration, or the word is modified in one of 
 its essential parts, viz. in the vowel which combined with 
 consonants constitutes its stem. As to the former method, 
 the elements affixed to the root have often lost their original 
 form, and frequently they have even dwindled down to 
 only one letter; but the greater the progress is, made 
 by comparative philology, the more it appeaj-s that those 
 syllables and letters which, apparently without any meaning 
 themselves, have served to call into existence new words 
 and new forms, were once possessed of a distinct and clear 
 signification. The only difterence existing between them 
 and those prefixes and suffixes w^hose forms have not been 
 curtailed, and whose meaning is still discernible, is that they 
 date from a period much more remote than the latter, and 
 that, like chemical compounds, they have been intimately 
 blended wdth a stem, whilst the others like mechanic com- 
 pounds, have preserved both their form and their meaning. 
 Thus to give only one instance, the consonant suffix k as we 
 have it in liawk^ hullock &c., is of pronominal origin (AS. ic 
 
 ') See R. Morris, Historical Outlines of English Accidence, Lon- 
 don 1875, p. 213 (Note 2). 
 
 1
 
 7»*f V 
 
 Quite as frequently, however, new words have heen 
 formed by means of vowel-change. Two sorts of vowel- 
 change may be distinguished in English words: the one is 
 due to exterior influence; the other is based on a funda- 
 mental law valid in all Teutonic dialects. 
 
 It is well known that certain vowels whose pronunciation 
 did not diifer much, very often took each other's place in 
 the early written language. When language got more fixed 
 and settled, when more ideas arose, and consequently more 
 words were needed, no better expedient oflered than to 
 assign a particular domain to either of these forms. Thus 
 are to be considered: bathe heath, bless bliss, clam clem, desk 
 disk, meddle middle, neb nib, quid cud, rudder rother (in 
 rothernails), stud stot, than then, thrash thresh, truth troth. 
 
 The same is the case in a number of French words, 
 where the right vowel, not caught by the ear of the common 
 })eople, was introduced by writing: cafe coffee, chant chaunt, 
 cleff cliff, cull coil, molasses melasses, ostrich estrich, pair 
 peer, poult pullet, rosin resin, tamper temper. Very often the 
 vowel has lost its original sound by the influence of certain 
 subsequent consonants. Before the liquid consonants m and 
 n, the vowels a and o were indiscriminately used in AS.; 
 so we have* in modern English the double forms: can 
 C071, hale whole, ramp romp; similarly, deal dole, mean 
 moan, load lade. — Especially easy is a change of vowel 
 before the guttural r, by which the clear sound of a prece- 
 ding vowel is invariably modified so that often it may quite 
 as well be represented by one vowel as by another. In 
 the written documents of English provincial dialects we in 
 fact sometimes meet with almost all vowels before r in the 
 same word: f. i. vargin, vergin, virgin, vorgin, vurgin. This 
 proceeding has enriched the vocabulary of the English tongue 
 with a number of words; f. i. birth berth harth , carl churl, 
 charm churm, churn quern, dear darling dilling , dark dirk, 
 farther further, girth garth, mirk murky, orchil archil, perilous 
 patulous, shark sherk shirk, whirl ?v]iorl. 
 
 No change of vowel properly speaking is to be stated 
 in a number of words in which the dilfereut vowel is caused
 
 by the one word having been taken from a difterent language. 
 Due to French influence are: cave, caije, rank existing by 
 the side of cove, cope, ring. From a Northern source have 
 been derived: hai^k, frisk, rinille occurring by the side of 
 hirch, fresh, run. Brisk is a Celtic word, h7'usk is = Fr. brus- 
 que. Directly from the Latin as a mot savant has been 
 taken probe, the popular form of which is proof {prove). 
 In all these instances the vowel-change is accidental: the 
 second form is the same as the first, only with a slightly 
 modified pronunciation. 
 
 It is different in a number of cases w^here we meet with 
 a regular transition from / to a and u. This regular transition 
 is, also by English grammarians, called Ablaut. Its origin 
 dates from a piehistorical period, and the words formed by 
 it bear a much more primitive character than those produced 
 by composition — an opinion which seems to be illustrated 
 and corroborated by the i'act that all Teutonic dialects in 
 course of time have been deprived of this faculty, whilst 
 on the other hand, every day new words may be called into 
 existence by means of composition. The primitive character 
 of the Ablaut- formations will still more distinctly be set off, 
 if we consider the origin and the character of the three 
 vowels which they exhibit, and if we examine those words 
 themselves in an historical point of view. 
 
 Vowels are produced by the tube which in form of a 
 cavity is adjoined to the head of the windpipe, being either 
 lengthened or shortened, and by the tongue and lips taking 
 different forms. The vocal tube is shortest when we utter 
 the sound /, the head of the windpipe having its highest 
 stand; it is longest when we bring forth the sound u, the 
 head of the windpipe having then gone as far down as 
 possible; it has a middle position with regard to a, in which 
 case the tube is longer than with i and shorter than with 
 u. On the other side, when pronouncing /, the tongue takes 
 a concave form, and the lips get rounded; when uttering a, 
 the tongue has its natural position, an I the lips are simply 
 opened. Thus the different shape of the vocal tube as well 
 as the different position of the tongue and lips, show that 
 
 I*
 
 i or u form the keynotes of the vocal gamut, the exact 
 middle of which is taken by a. Between either i and a, 
 or a and u, there is an infinite series of various vowels, 
 none of which, however, exceeds either / or w, and none of 
 which is produced with the whole vocal apparatus being in 
 a more regular position than it is when bringing forth a. 
 The three vowels i, a, and u, therefore, may justly be called 
 the fundamental pillars ou which the whole system of vocali- 
 sation has been constructed. From the remarks just made 
 it also appears of what particular sound each of the three 
 vowels is possessed. The shorter the vocal tube is, and the 
 broader the opening made by the lips, the clearer and tiuer 
 is the sound produced ; and the more the tube is lengthened, 
 and the more the lips are rounded, the more the sound 
 becomes dull and hollow. Thus / represents a clear and 
 even a shrill sound, a is loud and strong, u is loud and 
 hollow. Compared with either a or u, i, being not possessed 
 of the same force as those two, sounds rather soft and low. 
 
 The category of words, therefore, in which, already a 
 priori, we may expect to meet with Ablaut, are those 
 expressive of sound, w^hich, only from the occurrence of 
 Ablaut, may be supposed to belong to the oldest elements 
 of language. That, in fact, they are so, is proved by the 
 history of language. 
 
 According to the most generally adopted opinion, onoma- 
 topoeia was the principle which first led man to the use 
 of language, and it was only in process of time that this 
 principle was amplified and transferred from the imitation 
 of sound to the representation of all other things that struck 
 the senses. Max M tiller i), differing from this theory, thinks 
 that, as bodies like glass and bells are possessed of a 
 particular sound, the faculty of thinking necessitated the 
 organs of speech to perform adequate vibrations in order 
 to produce sounds and words. But he, too, is under the 
 necessity of owning that a number of words in all languages 
 
 ') Lectures on the Science of Language. Loudon 1S64. p.372 seqq., 
 p. 402.
 
 are formed in an onomatopoetic way. As men acquire a 
 gi'eat part of their ideas by the impression which the objects 
 surrounding them make on their senses, so it is in fact of 
 language. Nature, proving its very life by perpetual move- 
 ment and noise , presents a rich variety as .to the eye so 
 to the ear of the contemplative looker-on. Thus the words, 
 generally called sounds, took their origin — words which 
 compose a great part of the vocabulary of all nations, and 
 which for the English language have been carefully compiled 
 by Koch in an Essay, bearing the title Linguistische Allotria, 
 and published after the author's death by Dr. Wilhelm 
 (Eisenach 1875). The sounds once brought into existence, 
 it was not difficult to take another step in the formation of 
 new words. Soon the sharp ear of man perceived that very 
 often several sounds succeed each other, which either represent 
 a mere repetition, or give the same sound in diiferent shades. 
 In the former case the simplest manner of proceeding would 
 have been twice to repeat the same word; and although 
 there are instances of that having been indeed the case, as 
 bee -bee, paw -paw, yet in general the English language, 
 avoiding such monotonous and poor -looking formations, 
 preferred to give them more variety by a change of the initial 
 consonant of the second word, f. i. bow-wow, hoo-hoo, 
 fol-lol, hirdum dirdum, hubbub, whurlie-birlie &c. In all these 
 instances the radical vowel has been preserved (in tvhurlie- 
 birlie there is only an irregular and arbitrary spelling) for 
 the simple reason that the sound originally expressed by 
 these words has not undergone any alteration. In a number 
 of cases, however, the second sound was, although bearing 
 the same general character as the first, yet perceived to be 
 as distinct from it, as the echo is distinct from the sound 
 which effects it. In order to represent this difference, no 
 easier and more appropriate expedient offered itself, than 
 to repeat the stem not with any alterations affecting the 
 first consonant, but with a simple and regular change of the 
 vowel, i. e. with Ablaut. 
 
 As we have in German formations, exhibiting all three 
 vowels, f. i. piff^ pa/f puff, bim ham bum, so we meet also in
 
 English with combinations, like cling clang clung, fee faw fum, 
 knick knack knock, rim ram ruff. 1 am at a loss to discover 
 the meaning of the third form in such expressions, if it be 
 not that the ear felt better pleased with, or found greater 
 completeness in, three sounds. For beside expressions like 
 those just mentioned, we have instances where the English 
 language, although not choosing to affix a third modification 
 with u, yet for the sake of completeness added a third 
 word with a vowel different from the first tw^o. Thus we 
 read in Shakespeare (Tempest I, i): ding dang hell. Other 
 examples are to be met with in Halliwell's interesting book: 
 Tlie Nursery Rhymes of England {2"'^ Ed. London, 1843) : 
 
 p. 16. See saw sack a day. 
 p. 82. Little John Jiggy Jag. 
 
 p. 94. John Cook had a little gray mare, 
 He haw hum, 
 Her hack stood up, and her hones they were hare, 
 He haw hum. 
 
 p. 109. Bing dong darrow 
 
 The cat and the sparrow. 
 
 p. 125. Sing danty hahy ditty. 
 p. 141. Tick tack too. 
 
 Generally, however, two of these forms were thought 
 sufficient to express the same idea as is conveyed by three. 
 So w^e hear in German pi/f pa/f, piff pn/f^ him bam, him hum 
 quite as often as the forms with the three vowels; and the 
 number of English words with only two vowels by far 
 surpasses the quantity of those exhibiting three. A number 
 of these double -formations are to be found in the scientific 
 grammars of the English tongue i) ; the completest list has 
 been given by Koch iu the above-mentioned Essay. Koch 
 has, however, omitted to give the particular development of 
 
 *) Fiedler, Wissenschaftlidie Graiuniatik der Engl. Sprache I, 
 Zerbst, 184S, p. 200. — E. Miitzner, Graiiiiuatik der Engl. Sprache. 
 Berlin 1873, 2"'! Ed., I, p. 474.
 
 each of these forms. When looking for the words, contained 
 in this list, in the dictionaries, we are struck by the absence 
 of a great number of them; and it is not difficult to find 
 -the reason why the lexicographers did not admit them. 
 
 There is an unmistakable tendency inherent to the 
 English language to avoid and give up all cumbrous and 
 clumsy formations: the whole of English accidence, f. i., 
 bears a character more symmetric and simple that that of 
 most other European languages. The same notable feature 
 may be discovered in the formation of words. Disdaining 
 the somewhat homely double -formations of which we are 
 treating, the language was soon contented to employ only 
 one part of them for the representation of an idea which 
 had at first, more exactly, though less elegantly, been rendered 
 by the two or three words put by the side of each other. 
 The places where we may be most sure still to meet with 
 such formations are those in which language has not deve- 
 loped itself with the same rapidity as in the centres of 
 intellectual activity; the people whose vocabulary is richest 
 in such formations are those in whom the influence of civili- 
 sation has not yet stifled primitive feelings and primitive 
 expressions. Such words, therefore, are most frequent in the 
 provinces, in the unlettered ranks of society, and in the 
 nurseries, where the child unconsciously performs the same 
 task as a nation in the earliest stages of its development. 
 
 These remarks, however, only bear upon the double- 
 forms; those imitative words, on the contrary, which, in 
 separate forms, present the three or two vowels, are as 
 many fresh and healthy leaves on the fair, broad- branched 
 tree of the English language. 
 
 Turning to those words themselves, we may divide 
 them into four categories according to the four difi'erent sorts 
 of Ablaut: 
 
 I. i a u, 
 II. i a, 
 m. i u, 
 IV. a u.
 
 8 
 
 Of these sounds u requires to be considered apart. AS. 
 u has preserved its okl German pronunciation only wlien //, 
 /-f-cons., or sh are following: f. i. full, hull; bulrush, pulpit; 
 hush, cushion; generally it has adopted the sound which 
 lies between u and o, and which Walker represents by u. 
 On the other side also o has taken a part of the functions 
 of M, as it was indeed for a long period to be found by its 
 side. Therefore we need not be surprised to see b as well 
 
 2 , 
 
 as w, the domains of which were daily extending, as substi- 
 tutes for u whose use was compassed within the most 
 narrow limits. Thus the three categories exhibiting u, have, 
 each of them, two subdivisions, the one with o, the other 
 
 2 
 
 with u. 
 
 To the fourth class belong two words in which we 
 have u, written ew, and which are also displaying a 
 
 3 
 
 different pronunciation of a, viz. a, written aw. These words 
 are: tetv-taw, an archaistic expression, to break hemp, and 
 gerv-gaw a showy trifle (influenced by Fr. joujou?) 
 
 Koch, whose arrangement differs from ours, sets up two 
 more categories, the types for which are e — a, and i — e. 
 But as e does not occur in the regular Ablaut / a u, the 
 words, given by Koch, cannot claim a place among our 
 words. Besides, none of them occurs in the written language; 
 see-sarv, which is the last of the list, and which seems to be 
 connected with ■?»/f=serra, as the movement expressed by 
 see-saw is similar to that of a saw at work is to be com- 
 pared with tee-totum, tee-totaller, didapper, and on the other 
 side with formations like fee-faw. — It is different in the 
 last of Koch's categories, which contains only one word: 
 slip step. This word is given by Wheatly in his Dictionary 
 of Reduplicated Jf'ords (London 1866); and in fact e and i 
 often taking each other's place (cp. p. 2) we have to con- 
 sider slip step as a reduplicated form rather than constitute 
 for it a new class of Ablaut. 
 
 Thus we see, in the imitative words there is hardly 
 any anomaly to be met with in the employment of what 
 is called Ablaut, i. e. the regular transition of i to a and u.
 
 Only twice in the long list of words belonging to this cate- 
 gory (in tew -law and gerv-gaw) do we meet with a long 
 vowel, never do we find a diplithong, both of which, as is 
 well known, did not exist in the first period of language, 
 but were called into existence by composition of the short 
 vowels either with themselves or with one another. Nor 
 does the preceding or the following consonant bear a cha- 
 racter that might engage us to think the change of vowel in- 
 fluenced by it. 
 
 It is different in another class of Ablaut. For not only 
 in imitative words do we meet with a regular change of 
 vowel, but a similar change may also be noted in the verb. 
 Heyne^) even defines the origin and character of Ablaut 
 in the following manner: 'Ablaut has its origin and its basis 
 in the verb. By regular vowel-change in the root -syllable 
 a difference is effected between the Present and the Past 
 tenses of the verb, and this regular vowel- change is called 
 Ablaut.' In this definition Heyne follows Grimm who on 
 different occasions states that the Ablaut in the Teutonic 
 dialects originated in the verb. A look into the origin of 
 these forms, such as it has been established by comparative 
 philology will, however, convince us that we have not to 
 consider the Past Tenses of strong verbs as genuine Ablaut- 
 formations. 
 
 In the Aryan languages all strong verbs originally re- 
 duplicated their root in order to express the idea of the 
 Perfect Tense. Distinct traces of tliis proceeding are dis- 
 cernible in Latin as well as in the oldest German dialects. 
 As to Latin, it may be sufficient to call to mind forms like 
 cecidi, pependi, tutudi, dedi, didici. Reduplication has taken 
 a somewhat modified shape in the oldest Teutonic dialect 
 extant; in Gothic only the first consonant of the word was 
 repeated not with the following vowel as in pependi, tutu- 
 di, but always with the same sound ai, f. i. falfalp from 
 falpa, haibland from hlanda, faiflok from fleka. A few verbs, 
 
 ') Laiit- und Flexionslehre. Paderborn 1862, p. 18.
 
 10 
 
 in AS., exhibit the same sort of reduplication, the vowel in 
 the first syllable being however e\ 
 
 hcctan — hehdt — lieht 
 
 lacan — lelAc — leolc 
 
 Imtan — lelcei — leort 
 
 ondrcedan — * ondredrwd — ondreard 
 
 rcedan — *rerod — reord. 
 Although still in the first period of the English language 
 this last remnant of reduplication disappears, and forms 
 ivith a simple prolonged vowel {het, lee, let, ondred, red) 
 are more in use, yet those few forms permit us to take 
 a look into a period ot the English language of which we 
 do not possess any documents, and in which we are entitled 
 to suppose all those verbs which in Gothic form the Perfect 
 Tense by reduplication, to have followed the same principle. 
 Only the five mentioned, however, out of 51, preserve the 
 double consonant: all the rest indicate the loss of the second 
 consonant by lengthening the vowel: f. i. 
 
 G. falpa — faifalp; AS. fealde — febld. 
 G. slepa — saislep; AS. slcepe — slep. 
 G. saia — saiso; AS. sdrve — seoiv. 
 These verbs compose, according to Koch (Grammatik p. 238 
 scqq.) the first division of strong verbs. In the second 
 division which in its six classes comprises a far greater 
 number of words than the first, none of the ancient 
 dialects has forms which distinctly bear the marks of 
 original reduplication. But also here do we meet with 
 reduplication in the parent-speech; and even if we did not, 
 the influence, exercised by the concluding consonant on the 
 preceding vowel, would bring us to conclude that the Ablaut 
 found in the verb is different from the Ablaut in imitative 
 words. Jloreover, this opinion seems to be confirmed by the 
 fact that the verbs belonging to CI. I, II and VI of the 
 second division of strong verbs, have the same vowel in 
 the P. P. as in the Present Tense, just like those of the 
 first division. But as in the other three classes we find in 
 the P. P. and sometimes also in the Plural of the Preterit 
 Tense the vowels u or o, it seems to be probable that Ab-
 
 11 
 
 laut such as it existed in onomatopoetic words was also 
 here of a certain influence. 
 
 After these remarks it will be evident that the above- 
 mentioned opinion of Heyne must be modified and that we 
 have to distinguish two different sorts of Ablaut. That 
 vowel-change which a certain number of verbs undergo, 
 and which generally and emphatically is called Ablaut, is 
 not the most simple and original one. On the contrary, 
 pi-imary Ablaut is only to be found in onomatopoetic words, 
 and if, in the declension of the verb, we retain the denomi- 
 nation introduced by Grimm, and sanctioned by the use 
 which all grammarians since him have made of it, we cannot 
 but insist upon discriminating it from the primary one, 
 compared with which it can only lay claim to a secondary 
 part. Having thus tried to establish the different nature of 
 the two sorts of Ablaut existing in the English language, 
 we shall little hesitate as to the order in which we have 
 to consider the \vords formed by it. First we shall examine 
 the onomatopoetic formations, then we shall turn to those 
 words which have been derived from strong verbs. 
 
 It has already been exposed that according to their 
 origin a great part of the words belonging to the first 
 category, are expressive of sound, the pitch of which is 
 indicated by the very Ablaut. Seeing how convenient the 
 latter was to set forth the different shades of the same notion, 
 people soon transferred the use of it to another class ot 
 words which are in a manner related to those expressive 
 of sound. These are the words which convey to us the 
 idea of motion. A man, not able to restrain the violent 
 emotions to which he is subject, shouts and jumps at the 
 same time whilst deriving a particular pleasure from some- 
 thing. On the other side, people not used to give vent to 
 all their feelings, often cannot help expressing the afflictions 
 under which they labour, by gesture as well as by lamentation. 
 Thus it is to be explained that the Latin verb plangere 
 originally signifying to beat or strike, has adopted the 
 meaning of lamenting (poetically even plangere alqm to 
 bewail a person). Nor is the English language without
 
 12 
 
 analogous instances; there exist not a small niiml)er of 
 expressions which raav be used in reference both to sound 
 and to motion. The: word strain, derived from 0. Fr. 
 estreindre L. stringere, has beside its original meaning, taken 
 the sense of melody and song. March, in all European 
 languages, is first the act of moving by regular steps and 
 in a fixed order, then a piece of music often attending that 
 act. Several adjectives, originally applied to different kinds 
 of motion, are, when joined to the pertinent substantives, 
 generally understood as relating to sound; such are piercing, 
 spliiting, rending. Another proof of the connection, existing 
 between sound and movement, is the phrase: to set one's 
 teeth on edge, by which the disagreeable movement is 
 expressed which thrills through one's body on hearing a 
 harsh and jarring sound. When speaking of a Stentorian 
 voice, few persons may remember that the first sense of Gr. 
 orivco is to straiten. It is therefore not surprising that the 
 English language following a principle in the formation of 
 words expressive of sound, has employed the same principle 
 in the formation of words expressive of motion. As in the 
 former class the two or three vowels express as many shades 
 in the- sound, so in the latter they notify a change in the 
 movement: the movement not continuing in the same direction, 
 becomes irregular. If the words, showing the different 
 vowels, are not compounded, but exist independently by 
 the side of each other, the same rules apply as in the first 
 category, viz. the lighter the vowel the quicker the movement, 
 the broader the vowel the slower and heavier becomes the 
 movement. — Another step taken in the development of 
 the meaning of these words deserves to be mentioned. 
 Motion and form have a similar relation to each other as 
 sound and motion. The shape of an object often is nothing 
 but the result of a preceding movement, as seems sufficiently 
 to be proved by the substantives: a crease, a fold, a joint, 
 a plicature, a point, a bristle (derived by metathesis from to 
 burst). These are ^ the three ^classes to which the words 
 exhibiting primitive Ablaut belong; it Avill be easy to place 
 each of them in one of these categories.
 
 13 
 
 Remembering what has been stated about the origin of 
 our words, I think we shall not go far astray when supposing 
 that at first all imitative words were used as interjections. 
 An interjection is defined by English grammarians as an 
 articulate exclamation; and it matters not whether this 
 exclamation is a sudden outburst of subjective feeling or 
 the imitation of a sound. To the former of these classes 
 belong all those words and syllables by which people are 
 in the habit of expressing pain and joy, admiration and 
 contempt, surprise and disgust, doubt and protestation, to the 
 latter all those which are called sounds. And as well as 
 by the interjection haa is represented the bleating of a sheep, 
 or by the interjection hotv-rvojv the barking of a dog, we 
 may also suppose that formations like ding-dong, by which 
 the ringing of bells is expressed, or chitchat which means 
 idle talk, have originally been interjections. But in no other 
 point, perhaps, the liberty which pervades the whole of the 
 English language, has been so much set forth as here. For 
 almost all these words have taken the function of verbs, 
 without losing their character as interjections, and in conse- 
 quence of a proceeding more common and less surprising, 
 they are also used as substantives. Thus slip slap slop 
 continue still to be interjections, but are at the same time 
 quite as frequently to be met with as verbs and substantives. 
 Those formations, however, in which twice the same stem, 
 only with the vowel changed, occurs, are generally not liked 
 as verbs, as indeed their form, not very elegant in itself, 
 would, if inflected, have become exceedingly clumsy: they 
 are employed as substantives, and in some few cases as 
 adjectives and adverbs. 
 
 As to the form of these words, the early date which 
 we assign to them, entitles us to anticipate that in most 
 cases we have mere roots, i. e. most of the words cannot 
 be reduced to a simpler or more original form. Sometimes, 
 however, the root is somewhat modified by the nasal conso- 
 nant n having intruded after the vowel which serves to 
 connect the consonant elements of the root. Mfitzner 
 (Grammatik, Berlin 1S73, I, p. 188) says that n is to be
 
 14 
 
 found before a guttural and dental g beginning the following 
 syllable, as in messenger 0. Fr. messagier , passenger 0. Fr. 
 passagier, popinjay , 0. Fr. popegai. In the words, given by 
 Miltzner, n is of an inorganic character, it has been added 
 merely to render tbe pronunciation more easy; besides it 
 does not occur in the root - syllable. It is different in a 
 certain number of imitative words. There, n occurs in the 
 root-syllable; it lias its place not only before ^, which is 
 generally indeed tbe last letter of the word, but also before 
 ch and k] it is moreover not of an inorganic cbaracter, 
 but produces a distinct change in the signification of the 
 word. For as tbe short vowel in the root-word is lengthened 
 by the added n, so the sound or movement represented by 
 tbe word, gets more protracted. — The same remarks apply 
 to wi, which, however, according to its nature, has not been 
 put before gutturals, but before the labials h and p. 
 
 Besides, to no small a number of words belonging to 
 tbis category, are added the suffixes le or er. Both / and r 
 being what is called trills, and no great difference existing 
 in the use made of tbem, they may conveniently be consi- 
 dered together. Firstly, both of them are possessed of the 
 faculty of imparting a frequentative meaning to the word 
 in question; and as things which often follow eacb otber, 
 or are put together in a great number, are generally not 
 very extensive, it is easily to be conceived that the endings 
 le and er also have a diminutive power, with wbicb idea that 
 of depreciation is narrowly connected. The same dimiuutive 
 and depreciative sense is inherent to the suffix y, which is 
 to be found in some of our words, f i. in dilly-dally. As 
 for the use of either er or le, no distinct rules seem to have 
 been observed, both having the same force, they were in- 
 discriminately used, until time gave each of them its particular 
 domain. It may, however, be stated that the root containing 
 / er was preferred, as in clitter clatter clutter, flitter flutter, 
 and on the other hand, when r already was in the root, le 
 was chosen for the suffix, f i. crinkle crankle, rimple rample, 
 trimple trample, prittle prattle &c. 
 
 In the following pages 1 shall give a list of the words
 
 15 
 
 formed by primary Ablaut as far as they occur in the written 
 language of the day, and as completely as I have been 
 able to compile them. According- to the four diiiereut sorts 
 of Ablaut, I shall (iivide them into four categories, in each 
 of which I shall first give the simple and nasalized roots, 
 and then the derivations with le^ er^ and y. 
 
 A. i a (ii). • 
 
 I. i a 0. 
 
 1. Pure Koots. 
 
 1. Chip, Chap. Chop. These words originally represent 
 the noise of an object breaking or cracking. A sharp sound 
 being i)roduced by a small fragment being separated from 
 a hard body, to chip is to detach or cut oft' a small piece. 
 — The vowel a representing a loud and clear sound, to 
 chap is to cleave or split. — o expressing a hollow and 
 resounding noise, to chop is to sever by loud strokes which 
 more or less rapidly succeed one another, f i. to chop meat, 
 to chop oft' trees. 
 
 2. Flip. Flap. Flop, to flip to give a blow with some- 
 thing thin and flexible. To this word belong flippant, an 
 isolated hybrid formation (cp. blatant), moving quick and 
 
 ightly, lively, forward, and fillip a rap on the nose. — to 
 flap to strike with something broad and loose, or to move 
 such things , f i. wings. — to flop. The sound of the blow 
 is of a more hollow description. 
 
 'i.' Jig. Jag. Joy. The original signification of a particu- 
 lar kind of sound, which is still discernible in the deriva- 
 tives jiggle, giggle, gaggle, has been supplanted by that of 
 a broken jolting movement; and as the latter is produced 
 by a rugged surface, jig has also adopted the meaning of 
 irregular form or shape. — to jog to move heavily and
 
 16 
 
 slowly, to be tossed and shaken when moving thus. — jig- 
 jog, or jick- a- jog, that sort of jerking movement which is 
 experienced by people driving on an uneven and rugged 
 road. — to jag to make notches in something. 
 
 4. Knick. Knack. Knock, to knick to cause a noise as 
 of something small breaking. — to knack represents a louder 
 noise as is produced f. i. by a snap with the fingers: hence, 
 to have a knack at something, to be skilled and dextrous 
 in something that it may as easily be performed as a snap 
 with the fingers, i) — to knock to strike or dash together ; 
 the word represents a loud and hollow sound, such as is 
 caused by the iron knocker at the doors of English houses. 
 — knick-knack, generally used in PI., and also written nick- 
 nacks, things that are easily to be broken, and as such things 
 cannot be of much use, small articles for show. 
 
 5. Nip. Knap. Knop (h). to nip (the inital A-, preserved 
 in G. kneifen, has dropped) to pinch; originally perhaps 
 the noise caused by a thing being tightly compressed be- 
 tween two surfaces. — • to knap to crack, to open with a 
 cracking noise; hence the substantive knap summit of a 
 mountain; as to the transition in the meaning from loud 
 noise to elevation, cp. to knoll and a knoll. Similarly 
 knop bud (cp. G. Knospe)] only another form for k7iop is 
 knob any kind of protuberance. 
 
 6. Slip. Slap. Slop, to slip represents a soft, hardly 
 perceptible sound as of something moving down a slippery 
 surface; to move along the surface of something, — to slap 
 to cause a flat noise, as of a blow" with the flat hand. — 
 to slop, according to Wedgwood, an imitation of the sound 
 of dashing water, to produce such a sound by pouring some 
 liquid in or out ; also to drink hastily. — Related with the 
 latter signification is that of slip-slop bad drink, small beer. 
 A similar transition in the meaning is to be stated in wish- 
 wash, snipes, switchel; slip-slop is also used when speaking 
 of a lax and washy style of composition. 
 
 1) See Wedgwood, A Dictionary of English Etymology. 2 nd Ed. 
 London 1872.
 
 17 
 
 7. Tip. Tap. Top. Up, originally the lig-ht sound pro- 
 duced by one small thing touching another, hence, the end or 
 point of a small article, to tap to strike gently, the instru- 
 ment with which the blow is performed, being, however, 
 flatter than in the case of tip. — top. The original sense 
 of causing a loud noise by knocking, having been lost, it 
 is, like tipj applied to the end of a thing with which a blow 
 may be given, and the latter limitation having also dropped, 
 
 ' to the highest part of anything in general. Used as a verb, 
 it signifies any action the object of which is the top of a 
 tiling, particularly, to add oi- take away the top of a thing. 
 — tip-top, used as a substantive or as an adjective, is, in 
 its meaning, a sort of superlative either of lip or of top. 
 
 8. Ding. Dang. Dong. The fundamental idea is to pro- 
 duce a loud, resounding noise, to ding to throw down with 
 a loud noise. — to dang to strike, to give a heavy blow. 
 Both these words are but little used. Very frequently, 
 however, occurs a composite form in which, besides, the 
 original meaning of sound is more distinctly set olf: ding- 
 dong, an imitation of the ringing- of bells. 
 
 2. Words with the Suffixes le and <;r. 
 
 9. Diddle. Daddle. Doddle express the different degrees 
 of a stag-geriug, reeling movement. The original significa- 
 tion of sound is still to be discovered in Sc. dad = slam 
 (Wedgwood). These words also present an instance of what 
 has been said about the intimate relation existing between 
 the suffixes le and er\ by the side of diddle, daddle occur 
 didder to tremble, dadder to render confuse, as a trembling 
 hand f. i. does. 
 
 The same remark applies to the following- two groups 
 of words. 
 
 10. Gibber. Gabble. Gobher. Both to gibber and to gabble 
 signify to talk idly, and it is only according to the intensity 
 of the noise which is to be represented that either the one 
 or the other is preferred. — gibble-gabblc idle, nonsensical 
 talk. — to gobble to cry like a turkey-cock. 
 
 11. Titter. Tatter (le J. Tattle, to titter to produce a
 
 18 
 
 succession of sharp thin sounds; hence to laugh in a 
 suppressed manner, expressing inward joy, cp. G. kichern, 
 Gr. xix^lCiiv. — to tattle expresses a succession of open 
 sounds, to prate. The suffix cr^ occurring in other Low 
 German dialects, PI, D. tatern, was not employed in English, 
 because the word formed by it might have been easily 
 confounded with to tatter to tear, derived as it seems from 
 a Scandinavian source. — to totter to tremble, to shake. — 
 titter-totter swing. — tittle-tattle nonsensical talk. 
 
 il. i a u. 
 
 1. Pure Roots. 
 
 12. Crimp. Cramp. Crump, to crimp to lay in light waves 
 or plaits. — to cramp, the contraction is more constrained 
 than in crimp; hence a cramp a brace which holds together 
 pieces of timber. Crump occurs only as an adjective, and 
 signifies crooked, bent. The corresponding verb is to crumple 
 cp. No. 80. 
 
 13. Big. Dag. Dug. to dig to drive a pointed instrument 
 into something, then to throw up earth, dag, originally like 
 dig, the thrust with a sharp instrument, then the instrument 
 itself with which the blow is given, dagger. It seems, 
 however, impossible to reduce, as Wedgwood does, all the 
 significations which dag has taken, only to this origin; cp. 
 MuUer Et. Worterbuch p. 272. — to dug to stoop to, to 
 bow to. 
 
 14. Dip. Dap. Dab. Dub. All of them originally express 
 the more or less loud noise of water agitated, to dip to 
 immerse the end of an object in a liquid. — to dap has the 
 same meaning, only the movement is slower. — to dab, 
 like dap, to give a blow wdth the flat hand; hence 'a sei)a- 
 rate portion of a substance, so much as is thrown down at 
 once.' Wedgwood. — to dub a) to make a loud noise; b) to 
 strike, particularly to make one a knight. — Used as a 
 substantive, it is more narrowly conuected with to dip, 
 meaning a small pool of water.
 
 19 
 
 2. Mixed Forms (partly Pure Roots, partly Derivatives). 
 
 15. Hack. Haggle. Higgle. Huck. Huckster, to hack to give 
 a stroke with a sharp instrument, hence to cut in small 
 pieces. — to haggle, a diminutive form of hack, to cut in 
 small pieces; as a person trying to buy at a cheaper price 
 than is proposed by the tradesman, is, as it were, cutting 
 or hacking off a part of the fixed sum, to haggle also 
 signifies to chaffer, to stickle for the price of something. — 
 to higgle. Beside the latter signification, with which may be 
 compared G. knickern from knack, and Knicker a stingy 
 fellow, it means to expose small things for sale — a signi- 
 fication which naturally devolves from such articles being 
 often cut in pieces before being sold. — to liuck, a word 
 not much in use, with the same signification as haggle and 
 higgle. Directly derived from it is the substantive huckster 
 a person who exposes small articles, particularly eatables, 
 for sale. 
 
 16. Himp. Hump. Hamper. The skipping movement 
 expressed by hip (cp. Nr. 72) has lost its vivacity in hiinp. 
 — hump J the original meaning of tardy, irregular motion 
 having been lost, hump, transferred to shape, means a protu- 
 berance on the back. — hamper the instrument by which a 
 person is prevented from moving freely. \]iamper basket 
 has been derived from M. L. hanaperium, 0. Fr. ha7iap.^ 
 
 17. Scrip. Scrap. Scrub. Scribble. Scrabble. The funda- 
 mental idea is the crack made by a hard body in breaking ; 
 hence scrap a small fragment, particularly of paper, scrip 
 a bit of paper, already filled with writing. The signification 
 of wallet, satchel is explained by Wedgwood as 'a receptacle 
 for scraps, a scrap-sack' cp., however, Miiller, Etym, Wb. 11, 
 p. 303, s. scribe. — to scrub, implying a loud and harsh sound, 
 is to rub or scrape with something rough. — The diminutive 
 ending le added, scribble and scrabble are used of writing 
 quickly and without care. Scribble-scrabble what is scribbled 
 or scrawled. 
 
 18. Sniff'. Snuff". Sniffle. Snaffle. Snuffle. All these words 
 represent the sound made by drawing breath through the 
 nose, to sniff or s7iuff at something, to smell at something
 
 20 
 
 as certain animals are in the liabit of doing, to snnff to 
 blow one's nose^ is also transferred to the cleansing of other 
 things: to suuif a candle &e. In the signification of anger, 
 indignation, snuff may be compared with G. anschnanhen 
 and Fr. ronfler. The vowel a is to be found in tlj.e derivative 
 snaffle which, like its parallel forms snuffle and sniffle^ means 
 to speak through the nose. 
 
 3. Words with the Suffixes le and er. 
 
 19. Bihhle. Babble. Bubble, to babble to make a mur- 
 muring noise as a brook dabbling along over stones; to prate 
 like a babe, to utter words imperfectly or unintelligibly. — to 
 bubble, from the sound of a boiling liquid, which is not so 
 clear as that of water quietly flowing along. The vowel i 
 is in bibb le -babble, a colloquial expression for idle talking. 
 Shakespeare T. N. IV, 2. 
 
 20. cutter. Clatter. Clutter, to clatter to make a rattling 
 noise, the syllable clat being, according to Wedgwood, 
 equivalent to clack or slap. — to clutter represents the hollow 
 noise made by a multitude of persons stirring quickly and 
 actively, to bustle. As in Nr. 19, / is found in clitter-clatter, 
 signifying din, confuse talking, as in some provinces also 
 does clatter- clutter. 
 
 21. Fiddle. Faddle. Fuddle, to fiddle, like to fad die, 
 signifies to move up and down in an uneasy manner, then, 
 to toy, to trifle with something. It may be that the formation 
 of fiddle violin has been influenced by the verb, although 
 Wedgwood ought to have made mention of Diez' derivation 
 of the word from vitulari to caper about and be wanton 
 like a calf. To which of these etymologies w^e may incline, 
 the transition of the meaning is the same, viz. from movement 
 to sound. — to fuddle; Wedgwood thinks it to be a by-form 
 of fuzzle with which it shares the meaning to get drunk. 
 But this meaning may quite as well have been taken from 
 the heavj^, irregular manner of walking of a drunken person, 
 whereas in fuzz, fuzzle the idea of mixture and confu^iou 
 has led to the same signification. — fiddle-faddle trifling, 
 insi":uificaut.
 
 21 
 
 22. Fbnble. Famhle. Fumhle. to famhle to talk imperfectly- 
 like a child; tbeu, the sense of talking lost, it is applied to 
 other kinds of imperfect and awkward acting. — to fimhle, 
 in conformity with the light vowel i, is to touch lightly 
 and frequently (le) with the end of one's fingers. — to fumble 
 to grope about in a clumsy manner. — The original sense 
 of talking imperfectly, of having an impediment in one's 
 speech, is again discovered in fimble-fanible feigned pretences, 
 lame excuses, called so, because apologies of that description 
 are generally not brought forth in fluent words. 
 
 23. Piddle. Paddle. Puddle, to piddle. That the sounds 
 of liquids being slowly poured out was originally expressed 
 by this word, is evident from the fact that both in England 
 and Germany, children employ it in the sense of making 
 water. Then it is used of other childish actions, to do light 
 and trifling work. . In the signification to eat a bit here and 
 there, there seems to have taken place a confusion with bit. — 
 The signification of splashing in the wet has been more 
 distinctly preserved in paddle than in piddle. It does not 
 only mean to move the water with the hand, but it is used 
 of a certain kind of rowing, as a paddle is a sort of short 
 oar. In the sense of moving water with the hand, Fr. patte 
 seems to have been of a certain influence on paddle. Water, 
 being moved, becomes troubled, and if it is shallow, even 
 dirty and muddy; hence to puddle to trouble, to make dirty; 
 a puddle a small quantity of muddy water. 
 
 24. Ramble. Rumble. Rimple. Rumple, to rumble, G. 
 rummeln to make a hoarse protracted sound; as such noise 
 is often accompanied by a protracted iriegular movement, 
 to ramble is to rove about. — The words showing the sharp 
 consonant p are used in a transitive sense, and transferred 
 to form, signify to wrinkle, to crease; particularly to knit 
 one's brows. 
 
 III. i a u 0. 
 
 25. Click. Clack. Cluck. Clock. Click a distinct thin 
 sound, a click of the door-latch, of the pendulum, of the mill,
 
 22 
 
 with the tongue. — clack represeuts a louder souucl than 
 click, the clack of a whip, the clack of a horse-hoof. — 
 click-clack represents tlie noise made by a pair of wooden 
 shoes, &c. — to cluck (G. glucken) to call as a hen does her 
 chickens. — clock, called so from the striking. 
 
 26. Slihher. Slabber. SliMer. Slobber. All of them 
 originally express the sound of trickling w^ater. (o slabber 
 to spill water. — to slobber to let tlie saliva fall from the 
 mouth as little children do. — to slubber to soil as with 
 dirt, slibber -slabber negligent, careless. 
 
 B. i a. 
 
 1. Pure Roots. 
 
 27. Chit. Chat, to chat or chatter (cp. Fr. caqueter, 
 G. klatschen) to talk on iudifterent subjects in a familiar 
 manner. — chit-chat idle talk. 
 
 28. Clink. Clank. The nasal consonant n serves to 
 make the sharp sound expressed by click, clack tinnient and 
 ringing, to clink is chosen if that sound is produced by 
 small objects, to clank is used of large and bard bodies. — 
 clink-clank an imitation of the ringing of bells &c. — By 
 the change of the hard guttural k into the flat one g, the 
 sound is softened. 
 
 29. Clip. Clap. Clip, an imitation of the sound of 
 scissors, hence to cut oflF a small piece as with a single stroke 
 of scissors. — to clap to strike together two flat objects, as 
 the palms. 
 
 30. Clish. Clash, to clash to produce a loud rattling 
 sound, as weapons striking together. — Clish-clash or clish-ma- 
 clash a substantive form with the same meaning. 
 
 31. Crick. Crack, to crick represents a sharp sound 
 like that of a creaking door or of cloth being reut asunder. 
 
 — to crack to sound like a hard object breaking or splitting. 
 
 — Crick-crack, a substantive form like clish-clash.
 
 23 
 
 32. Flim. Flam. The origiual uotion of rapid move- 
 ment has been transferred to transitory actions and to things 
 not possessed of any substantiality; thus to flam to tell lies. 
 
 — flim-flam, like fiddle-faddle, tritie. nonsense. 
 
 33. Griff- graff by hook and by crook, somehow or 
 other. 
 
 34. Kim-kam against the grain, in a wrong way. 
 
 35. Mish. Mash. Connected with to mix, mish-mash 
 signifies things that are mixed up and mingled. — to mash 
 to crush into a soft mass. 
 
 36. miz-maze , an isolated form by the side of maze a 
 labyrinth, a place with many winding passages; also used 
 as a verb, to render confuse. 
 
 37. Pick-a-hack on one's back. Wedgwood thinks 
 pick-a-hack to have been put for pick-pack which occurs 
 with the same signification; the substantive hack, however, 
 seems to have been of a certain influence on the formation 
 of the word. 
 
 38. Pit. Pat. Pit originally represents a soft sound 
 like that of the throbbing heart; then it expresses the 
 tramping of feet, and hence has been derived the meaning 
 to make holes in the ground like those of footsteps; in a 
 more amplified signification it simply means to make holes. 
 
 — to pat to give a light blow or tap with the palm of the 
 hand, cp. the colloquial expression in G. Pafsche hand. — 
 Pit-a-pat, pitty-pat, an imitation of the beating of the heart. 
 The interposed a or y seems to indicate the pause existing 
 between the two sounds or movements expressed. 
 
 39. Prink. Prank. The radical image seems to be 
 that of a show which strikes the eye; cp. the same Ablaut 
 in G. blink und blank with a similar meaning. Both to prink 
 and to prank signify to set something out for show, to dress 
 or adjust ostentatiously &c. The third vowel u is to be 
 found in G. prunken. 
 
 40. Piiff-raff. The original idea seems to have been 
 that of a clattering, confused noise. Like miz-maze, riff-raff 
 intensifies tlie simple raff, signifying refuse, dregs, scum of
 
 24 
 
 auytliing-; more particularly a crowd of vul^^ar, noisy people, 
 a mob. 
 
 41. Rip. Rap. Ultimately, according to Wedgwood, 
 derived from the sound of scratching or tearing, to rip is to 
 separate the parts of a thing by producing that peculiar 
 thin sound, i. e. by cutting or tearing. — to rap to strike 
 with a quick sharp blow, to rap at a door. — inp-rap the 
 noise produced l)y several loud knocks. 
 
 42. Smick. Smack. An imitation of the sound heard 
 in kissing or tasting, also a smack with a whip, a smack 
 at the head. — smick-smack, used colloquially and deprecia- 
 tively, continual kissing. 
 
 43. Snip. Snap, to snip to cut off with a sharp click, 
 such as is caused by a pair of scissors. The vowel i, im- 
 plying a diminutive notion, is particularly used when small 
 portions are separated from something ; in G. the same idea 
 is expressed by the suffix el in schnippdln. — to snap. The 
 original sense of a sharp sudden sound is still discernible 
 in the signification to break asunder ; then it is to bite and 
 swallow, from the sound produced by the jaws being opened 
 and shut on a sudden. — snip-sjiap a clapping noise, a 
 lively dispute or altercation. See Meriy Wives IV, 5. 
 
 44. Thwick. Thwack, to thwack to strike with something 
 flat and heavy. Thwick -thwack like many other words, 
 formed in the same way, expresses the sound of blows. 
 
 45. Tick. Tack, to tick to make a clear distinct sound 
 as a watch or clock. Applied to a slight touch, it means 
 to dot. — to tack. The original meaning of a sharp sound having 
 been quite lost, it signifies, as is still discernible in several 
 terms of marine, a sharp movement abruptly checked. Then, 
 as words expressive of movement are often applied to shape 
 and form, tack takes the meaning of thrust, projection, point. 
 — tick-tack the sound of a watch or clock. 
 
 46. Tig. Tag. Byforms of tick, tack; tig an expression 
 used in the games of children ; tag an especial sort of tack, 
 viz. the metallic point put at the end of a lace. 
 
 47. ling(k). Tang. These nasalfzod forms of tig(ck), 
 tag are imitations of a more or less ringing sound, as is pro-
 
 25 
 
 duced f. i. by a bell. The same applies to the forms tingle, 
 tangle, tankle, in which the suffix le indicates the continua- 
 tion of the act of riugiug". — tang, tangle originally express 
 the dissonant sound, which is caused by an instrument being- 
 put in tune. Thence the idea of irregularity and confused- 
 ness is transferred to intricate or involved textures. Thus 
 it comes that to tangle takes the signification to unite con- 
 fusedly, and that tang, in several technical terms, sigTjifies 
 the instrument which serves to unite two parts of the same 
 object (the tang- of a file or blade unites the file or blade 
 with the handle or hilt). In the same way, tang, tangle 
 seaweed are to be explained as something confuse and iri- 
 tricate. 
 
 48. Trick. Track, trick artifice, originally perhaps a 
 stroke; cp, the same development of meaning in G. Sireich. 
 
 — track step, print of the foot, then a beaten way or path. 
 
 — tric-trac. Directly taken from the Fiench; cp. Scheler, 
 Dictionnaire Etymologique (Bruxelles 1872): 'mot de fan- 
 taisie, anc. tic-tac, onomatopec tiree du bruit que font les des 
 lances sur le da?nier\ 
 
 14. Trip. Trap, to trip to move with light quick steps. 
 
 — trap. The original sense of a flat sound may be illustra- 
 ted by a comparison between E. trap -door and G. Klappe. 
 In the same manner trap a spring for taking game, is to 
 be explained, w^hilst the same word has been applied to 
 bodily shape in the meaning of a heavy igneous rock, rocks 
 of tliat description generally occurring in a tabular form. 
 
 50. Zig-zag. The change of the vowel is corresponding 
 with the change in the movement or in the shape of an 
 object. From zig-zag have, by a proceeding not very fre- 
 quent in such words, been derived zigzaggery, zigzaggy. 
 
 2. Words with the Suffixes le and er. 
 
 51. Crinkle. Cr ankle. Nasalized forms of crick, crack. 
 With the common transition from sound to movement, to 
 crinkle is to run in flexures as lightning does, to crank, to 
 crankle to wind, to meander; the latter, besides, is used as 
 a transitive verb, to break into angles.
 
 26 
 
 52. Dibble. Dabble, to dabble, in a neuter sense, is to 
 splash; used as an active verb, it means to dip something 
 into water. — to dibble generally used of an angle -line 
 thrown into the water. — dibble-dabble rubbish. 
 
 53. Dingle. Dangle (Cp. No. 8). to dangle to swing, as 
 a pendulum. — dingle a narrow rocky vale is taken by 
 Miiller to be a by form of dimple. But as swinging objects 
 generally are of a certain length, but not very thick and 
 broad, it rather belongs to dangle, and is to be compared 
 with words as pit and swang. — dingle-dangle swinging, 
 pendent, also the object which is swinging. 
 
 54. Fingle. Fangle. According to Wedgwood nasalized 
 forms of G. fick-facken , to fidget, move to and fro without 
 apparent purpose. An antiquated form is to fang to catch, 
 take hold of, which seems to have influenced the meaning 
 of fangle (cp. the subst. fang the tusk of a boar by which 
 the prey is seized and held). — fangle whimsies, a sudden 
 odd idea. — fang led, in new-fangled ideas &c, is con- 
 trived, devised, fingle-fangle a worthless thing, an insigni- 
 ficant trifle. 
 
 55. Giggle. Gaggle, to giggle to laugh in a suppressed 
 manner. — to gaggle to quackle as ducks do. 
 
 56. Jingle. Jangle, to jingle to produce a sharp rattling 
 sound. — to jangle, the sound produced is louder and more 
 discordant. 
 
 57. Mingle. Mangle, to mingle to blend, to mix. — 7ningle- 
 mangle expresses the same idea as mish-mash (No. 35). 
 
 58. Mggle. Naggle. to niggle 'to eat mincingly', and as 
 people often do so with an atfected air, to naggle, beside 
 the signification just given, is also to give one's self airs. 
 
 59. Pitter. Patter (cp. No. 58). Both of them represent 
 the more or less loud sound of falling rain or hail &c. 
 
 60. Prittle. Prattle, to prattle, a diminutive form of to 
 prate. — to prittle has the same signification, the sound being, 
 however, somewhat lighter than in prattle. — prittle-prattle, 
 like bibble-babble , gibble-gabble &c. idle, nonsensical talk. 
 
 61. Quiver. Quaver, to quiver to shake slightly. — to quaver 
 to tremble, to vibrate.
 
 27 
 
 62. nibble -Rabble, the same signification as riff-raff 
 (No. 40). 
 
 63. Shilly-shally, foolery, irresolution. 
 
 64. Skimble-skamble, confusedly. 1 King Henry IV, 2, 1. 
 
 65. Dilly. Dally, to dally to waste one's time in trifles. 
 Then, the act of caressing and fondling a person being 
 considered as a mere loss of time, it also means to inter- 
 change caresses. — dilly-dally v. n. to pass one's time in 
 trifling, i. e. to delay business of a serious character. In 
 some dialects it also is lazy, lazy girl. 
 
 In a number of words, belonging to this category, a, 
 after w, takes the sound of o (see Matzner, Gramm. I, p. 30) : 
 
 66. Swing. Swang. to swing to move from side to side, 
 to vibrate. — swang, soft wet ground, shaking and yielding 
 under one's feet, i. e. a bog, a moor, cp. quagmire, connected 
 with quake = to quiver, shake. — swing -swang a movement 
 like that of a pendulum, which in some parts of England, 
 is, according to Wedgwood, called stving- swang. 
 
 67. Swish. Swash. Both these words represent the 
 sound of rushing waves or of the roaring sea ; hence swash, 
 used as a substantive, a violent stream, a torrent. — s?vish- 
 swash = slip-slop No. 6. 
 
 68. Widdle. Waddle, to waddle to throw, when walking, 
 the body from one side to the other. — Widdle- waddle, to walk 
 widdle-waddle = to walk as ducks do. 
 
 69. Jlhip. Whap. to whip represents the swinging 
 sound of a lash; to strike with a lash. — to whap, collo- 
 quially used for to flog, expresses the same swinging sound, 
 produced, however, not by a swinging, but by an unbending 
 object. 
 
 70. Ttviddle. Twaddle, to twiddle to act with levity, 
 to trifle; to twiddle about one's mustachios; a by -form of 
 twiddle is tweedle, in which the long vowel expresses a 
 somewhat slower movement. — to trvaddle, twiddle- twaddle 
 express, like many other words of the same description, 
 idle, nonsensical talk.
 
 28 
 
 C. i (u). 
 
 i. i 0. 
 
 1. Pure Roots. 
 
 71. Fib. Fob. to fib seems originally to be the imitation 
 of a smart, rapid movement, and as things rapidly movi;ig 
 before our eyes, do not only fail to give us a clear idea 
 of their nature, but often even make a wrong impression 
 on us, it is easily to be conceived how to fib has taken 
 the sense of practising upon a person, and of telling lies. 
 The same development has been taken by to fob to which, 
 however, the altered vowel has imparted an intensive 
 meaning, to defraud, to cheat. G Kniff by which in some 
 cases E. fob may be rendered represents a similar development 
 of meaning. As to fob = pocket, Miiller (Etymologisches 
 Wurterbuch I, p. 395) is inclined to suppose that the idea 
 of shutting rapidly led people to call, by distinction, that 
 object which is very often shut and opened, a fob. 
 
 72. Hip. Hop. to hip to skip as birds do. — to hop 
 implies a more energetic muscular movement, to leap or 
 jump either on both legs or on one. The haunch is called 
 hip from its being the agent of such movement. — hip-hop 
 to hip. 
 
 73. Sing-song does not belong to the imitative words 
 in the strict sense of the term, for the simple reason that 
 similar comjiositions generally consist of two verbs. Sing- 
 song has been formed in analoay to many other words, 
 representing the sound of the human voice, generally with 
 a depreciative meaning; the vowel a seems to have been 
 chosen on account of the substantive song already existing; 
 cp. G. Sing sang. 
 
 2. Words with Suffixes. 
 
 74. Hiccius - doctius = hie est doctus, a juggler; the 
 accidontnl Ablaut seems to have contributed to the formation 
 of this curious word. 
 
 75. Kibble - cobble. The radical image is an irregular
 
 29 
 
 noise as is caused by stones being- cut. to kibble to cut or 
 grind in a rough way; cobble, cobble-stones large, rough 
 stones; used as a verb, to cut stones, transferred to other 
 kinds of action, it is to work unskilfully. 
 
 76. Ninny -nonny irresolute, wavering like a child. It, 
 ninna ninna is used in the sig-nification to still children. 
 
 II. I u. 
 
 77. Bin. Dun. to din to cause a loud continued sound 
 (L. tinnire). — to dun to make a hollow noise, to clamour, 
 then to claim a debt with importunity, to bother, 
 
 78. Fizz. Fuzz, to fizz represents a hissing sound as 
 is caused by boiling water or by fire being extinguished. 
 As things which fizz, generally form a loose and frothy 
 mass which it is easy to separate, to fuzz is to rip up, to 
 pull in pieces, and the substantive fuzz is applied to any 
 kind of particles which are apt to evaporate. On the other 
 hand, things which evaporate composing a confuse mass, 
 to fuzz and fuzzle, in a tropical sense mean to confuse the 
 head v/ith drink (cp. fuddle, No. 21). 
 
 79. Hiss. Huzz. to hiss to make a prolonged sound 
 like that of the letter s. — to huzz, like to buzz, to make 
 a dull sound, like that of a bee in flight, to murmur. 
 
 SO. Crimple. Crumple. Compare crimp, crump No. 12. 
 to crumple is the verb corresponding to the adjective crump, 
 to ruffle, to crease; to crimple has the same signification, 
 the creases produced Iteing only finer and more frequent. 
 
 III. i u. 
 
 81, Lill. Loll. Lull. The letter / being easily produced 
 by the tongue, and being often employed by little children 
 instead of other letters, it is not surprising that in many 
 languages it serves to express the imperfect speech of 
 children. In English, / has not been combined with the 
 vowel a, as in L. lallare, Gr. XaXtlv, G. lallen, but, as a
 
 30 
 
 sort of compensation, the vowel u occurs in two shapes, 
 viz. and u. to lill, an antiquated word, to gasp as a 
 dog out of breath; very rarely it is used like to loll to 
 put out one's tongue. Spenser F. Q. I, 34: 
 
 'Curled with thousand adders venomous 
 And lilled forth his bloody, teaming long.' 
 
 to lull to produce those protracted and monotonous sounds 
 by which a child is put to sleep; cp. lullaby song used to 
 lull children asleep; then, to cause to rest by soothing 
 influences, to quiet, to assuage. — A child lulled in is or 
 becomes sleepy. Thus to loll signifies to be lazy and sleepy, 
 to act indolently, to lie at ease as a baby going to sleep; 
 and as the tongue of an old jade or an exhausted dog 
 hangs dangling from his mouth, it also is to put out one's 
 tongue, cp. to lill. 
 
 D. a u (rarely o) 
 
 1, Pure Roots. 
 
 82. Bang. Bung, to bang to beat with something large 
 and rough. — to bung has a similar signification, f. i. to bung 
 up a person's eye. bung. s. the stopper of a cask, from the 
 hollow sound caused by driving it in. 
 
 83. Crash. Crush. Crush-crash. All of them are expressive 
 of a clattering, boisterous noise, to crush represents the 
 sound produced by two hard bodies being ground, hence to 
 press between two hard bodies. 
 
 84. Cranch. Clinch. They are nasalized forms of cra^A, crush 
 (Nr. 83), sh having been changed into ch on account of the 
 nasal n. Cranch or craunch represents the prolonged sound 
 of crash, which is produced by one object slowly bruising 
 and pounding another object. It is also used, as is always 
 to crunch, in the sense of gnashing one's teeth.
 
 31 
 
 85. Flash. Flush. Flash, oiigiiiallv the sound of a rush 
 of water or sudden burst of flame, a quick transitory move- 
 ment like that of lightning; then a sudden burst of light, a 
 momentary brightness. — to flush to flow suddenly, as the 
 blood of a person blushing. 
 
 86. Gash. Gush. The original signification is a loud noise 
 like that of splashing water, to gash to make a long and 
 deep incision in something, particularly in flesh. — to gush to 
 rush forth in a copious stream. 
 
 87. Grab. Grub, to grab to lay hold of, to seize; cp. 
 the same vowel and the same signification in Prov. G. grapsen. 
 to grub originally to clear a piece of ground of weeds, then 
 to dig. Connected with, though not derived from, A^. graban. 
 
 88. Rash. Rush. They express 'the sound accompanying any 
 violent action'. Wedgwood, to rash to throw violently down 
 as a boar does with his tusks; rash, adj., hasty and hurrying 
 without consideration and thought. — to rush to move with 
 violence, as the wind or a river. 
 
 2. Words with the Suffixes le, er. 
 
 89. Gargle. Gurgle. They represent the sound of bubbling 
 water, to gargle to rinse one's throat — to gurgle to rush 
 forth in an inegular noisy current. 
 
 90. Maffle. Muffle, to maffle represents a sound such 
 as is produced by toothless jaws clapping together; hence 
 to stammer, to speak in a broken and faltering voice, in 
 the signification to wrap up. it is, however, derived from 
 muff, see Muller, Etym. Worterb. II. p. 111. Both these 
 meanings have been joined in expressions like a muffled 
 oar, a nniffled drum, i. e. an oar or a drum at which a 
 twisted 'piece of cloth has been fastened in order to deaden 
 the sound. 
 
 91. Straggle. Struggle. The signification of broken 
 sound, which Wedgwood supposes these words to have had 
 at first, having been lost, they only refer to broken movement. 
 to straggle to wander carelessly about; and as a person 
 leaving the direct road and following his own way, must
 
 32 
 
 be prepared to find many obstacles, to struggle is to strive 
 or make ellbrts, to exert one's energies. 
 
 3. Mixed Forms. 
 
 92. Dlah. Blabber. Blubber. Blob. All of them are 
 originally, according to Wedgwood, an imitation of tlie sound 
 of dashing water, to blab or blabber to talk loosely and 
 foolishly, to blubber to weep noisily ; the vowel u is in its 
 place, because the noise produced by crying and sobbing is 
 much hollower than that etfected by mere talking. As crying 
 is necessarily accompanied by swollen lips and cheeks, blub, 
 used as a verb and as an adjective, signifies to swell, swollen. 
 A parallel form with blub is blob: a) the mouth distorted 
 by crying b) anything swollen, f. i. blob-cheeked, blob-lipped. 
 — A byform of blab is bleb which has taken the particular 
 sense of a watery pustule. 
 
 93. Slatter. Slottery. Slut. Originally an imitation of 
 the sound of dashing water or splashing dirt. Hence to 
 slatter to walk slovenly, as a person walking through dirt. 
 Slottery, sluttish dirty; slut a dirty woman. 
 
 Having thus enumerated the words and groups of words 
 in w^hich primary Ablaut has been preserved, I shall now 
 turn my attention to the so called strong verbs, i. e. to those 
 which form their Past Tense by change of vowel i). This 
 change of vowel does not only serve to distinguish the 
 Perfect Tense and the Past Participle both from each other and 
 from the Present Tense, but as many verbs, substantives 
 and adjectives have been derived from strong veibs, it is 
 also of great importance for the formation of words. Grimm, 
 
 *) The works made use of for the following disquisition are: 
 J. Grimm, Deutsche Grammatik II, GOttingen 1826. — Fr. Koch, Histo- 
 rische Grammatik der Engl. Sprache 1803—1869.— R. Morris, Histo- 
 rical Outlines of English Accideuce, London 1875. — Wedgwood, 
 Dictionary of English Etymology, London 1872, — Miiller, Etymo- 
 logisches Worterbuch der Englischeu Sprache, Coetheu 1 865. — Grein, 
 Sprachschatz der angelsJichsichen Dichter, Cassel und Gottiugen 1861. 
 — I have adopted the classificaiiou and arrangement of verbs given 
 by Koch.
 
 33 
 
 in the second part of his grammar, has given a list of such 
 words, as far as they occur in the oldest German dialects; 
 I shall try in the following pages to fix what words in 
 Modern English are still to be considered as formed by 
 means of Ablaut. As the same AS. sound represents 
 several sounds in Modern English, and as, on the other side, 
 the same English vowel is based on several sounds in the 
 parent speech, the words derived from strong verbs cannot 
 have taken so regular a development as the onomatopoetic 
 words, and in each case, therefore, it will be necessary to 
 set out from the original AS. form. 
 
 The strong verbs are divided into two groups: those 
 in which the original method of reduplication may still be 
 discovered in Gothic and partly also in AS., and those in 
 which the traces of this method have been totally effaced 
 in all Teutonic dialects. Examining the words belonging to 
 the first of these categories, we are struck by the complete 
 absence of all derivative formations. The reasons of this 
 grammatical phsenoraenon lie in the very character and 
 nature of these verbs. The root-vowel in them was for a 
 much longer time kept up than in those of the second 
 category, and it was only at a comparatively recent period 
 that in the Perfect Tense the combination eb rose into 
 existence. When at last this moment arrived, the time in 
 which new words were created by means of Ablaut, had 
 already past, and it was impossible to employ the newly- 
 contracted forms for that purpose. 
 
 All the words, therefore, of which I have to treat in 
 the following pages, have been derived from the second 
 category of strong verbs; and even their number must still 
 be limited as it is well known that many of them have 
 been lost in course of time. The first class, f. i., comprised, 
 according to Koch, 73 verbs, of which less than one half 
 — only 34 — have survived; all the rest have disappeared. 
 Part of them gave up their })lace to French verbs, teldan 
 to cover, Mimman to sound, grimman to rage, Ihman to 
 cease, pwingmi to constrain, hweorfan to return &c; in other 
 cases, there existed already in AS. two words conveying
 
 34 
 
 the same idea, and one of them, seeming to be superfluous, 
 was dropped. It is curious to see that in such cases the 
 language generally preferred a weak verb to a strong one; 
 so: pencean, pyncan to think to simian, teoUan to toil to 
 srvincan, clwmian to cleanse to sweorfan, ascian to ask to 
 gefregnan. What has been stated with regard to one 
 class, applies of course to all others, and as besides in 
 Modern English we sometimes find a weak form by the side 
 of a strong one, we are fully entitled to draw the conclusion 
 that in process of time weak verbs became preponderating, 
 and consequently the number of words formed by means of 
 Ablaut less frequent; and that, on the other hand, in a stage 
 of the language of which no monuments are extant, the 
 number of strong verbs and that of their derivatives was 
 greater than in AS. — And indeed, it does not unfrequently 
 hai)pen that some of the old Teutonic dialects represent the 
 strong verb which has been lost in AS. In other cases, 
 the existing Ablaut -formations clearly point to a lost root- 
 verb, of which Grimm .also enumerates a certain number; 
 it needs, however, hardly be added that we cannot proceed 
 too cautiously on this hypothetical ground. 
 
 There is still another change of vowel to be taken into 
 account which, essentially differing from Ablaut, is often to 
 be met with in words created by means of Ablaut. The 
 endings which added to the root, served to form verbs and 
 substantives, exercised, in their turn, an influence on the 
 root-vowel. This change is called Umlaut; and in AS. it is 
 particularly produced by a following <', by which a preceding 
 deep vowel is rendered more light and clear. The complete 
 scheme for the I -Umlaut in AS. is: 
 
 a becomes e u becomes y u becomes 5' 
 
 a ie ea y efi 5' 
 
 6 e eo y eo 5^ 
 
 (cp. Koch Gr. p. 43, § 38; March, A Comparative Grammar 
 
 of the AS. Tongue § 32). As we shall have instances of 
 
 all these changes, it is not necessary to give any hiere. 
 
 The words, derived from strong verbs by means of Ab- 
 laut, with which in many cases Umlaut has been combined,
 
 35 
 
 may naturally be divided into three classes: either they are 
 verbs, or they are substantives, or lastly adjectives. 
 
 The strong- verbs which are, if not the oldest, yet the 
 most characteristic constituents of the vocabularies of the 
 Teutonic dialects, form as it were a stock which may well 
 be diminished but which does not allow of any augmentation. 
 Thus it is impossible that they should have procreated strong 
 verbs; in spinnan span spunnen and spannan spon spanen 
 we have two diiferent roots, as also the significations in AS. 
 to spin and to allure have nothing in common. It is the 
 same in scafan scof scafen to shave and sceofan sceaf scufon 
 scofen to shove. All the verbs, on the contrary, derived 
 from strong verbs, are weak ones, i. e. they express tense 
 not by changing their root-vowel, but by composition with 
 de{te). A characteristic sign of AS. weak verbs is their 
 Present-stem ending in ia (Inf ian). In many stems i has disap- 
 peared, not, however, without leaving traces of its existence ; 
 either it has geminated the last consonant of the root, lecgan 
 (= legian), sellan (= selian) dippan (= dipian), or it has 
 been the cause of Umlaut taking place, md'uan, sprengan, 
 styrman. The most simple and natural way of forming 
 weak verbs from strong ones was only to change the ending, 
 that is to say, to use the same root for the formation of a 
 strong and a weak verb. As by this proceeding the idea 
 expressed by the strong verb could hardly be modified, 
 several weak verbs were in AS. indiscriminately employed 
 by the side of strong ones, until at last they succeeded to 
 supersede the latter, to grin, to elope, to love, to step, to 
 well, to wield are based on the weak verbs grinjan, dh-ledpian, 
 leofjan, steppan, wellan, wyldan, which, in their turn, have 
 taken the place of strong verbs, viz. grhian, hleupan, leofan, 
 stapan, weallan, wealdan. 
 
 Only one verb, corresponding in its form to those just 
 mentioned, differs in its signification. This verb is to fell, 
 from feUan, which exists by tlie side of fyllan as wellan by 
 the side of wyllan, the forms with e having been ultimately 
 preferred in order to distinguish these words from to fill = 
 to make full, and the auxiliary verb / will. To fell is the
 
 36 
 
 transitive form of to fall and has taken a causative meaning-, 
 signifying to cause to fall, to prostrate. In that respect it 
 is connected with a whole group of verbs to which, quite 
 in the same way, the vowel e imparts a transitive meaning, 
 in which, however, e is not the Umlaut of the vowel exhibited 
 by the Present Tense, but of that which in found in the 
 Perfect Tense. The vowel a {ce) of which e is the Umlaut, 
 being employed in the Perfect Tense of the first three classes 
 of the second division of strong verbs, all the transitive verbs 
 with causative meaning, derived from strong verbs and 
 exhibiting- the vowel e, belong to one of these three categories. 
 
 I. to bind (AS. hindan) to tie together; to bend (AS. bendan) 
 to make a thing apt to be tied with another one, i. e. to 
 render curved, to crook something by straining it. 
 
 to blink (AS. blincan) to wink, to shut one's eyes on a 
 sudden; to blench (AS. blencan) to make one shut his eyes, 
 as by a sudden fright, to hinder, prevent; generally in a' 
 transitive sense like to blink. 
 
 to drink (AS. drincan)\ to drench (AS. drencan) to cause 
 (a horse) to drink. 
 
 to stink (AS. stincan)] to stench (AS. stencan) to cause 
 that something stinks. 
 
 to qninch (AS. quincan), originally to go out, then trans- 
 ferred to other kinds of rapid movement; to quench (AS. 
 quencan) to cause to go out, to put out, to extinguish. 
 
 to wind (AS. windan)\ to wend (AS. wendan) originally 
 like Gr. wenden, to cause something to wind itself. But 
 very early to wend has taken an intransitive sense = 
 to walk. 
 
 It has been somewhat different in AS. hlindan Hurbidum, 
 nubilum esse', AS. blendan to cause something to become 
 turbidum, nubilum ; i. e. a) to mix things together so that 
 they cannot be easily distinguished, b) to render the eyesight 
 dim. That these two meanings might be distinguished, the 
 signification b) was transferred to to blind, which after the 
 original strong verb had been quite lost, was formed from 
 the adjective blind. 
 
 In AS. belonged to the same category: scrincan screnean;
 
 37 
 
 sincan sencan; springan sprengan; stringan stretigan; in all 
 these eases, however, the weak forms were not possessed 
 of sufficient vitality to exist by the side of the strong ones: 
 the latter, on the contrary, have also taken their functions. 
 A diiferent way w^as taken in AS. smgan, AS. sengan to 
 cause to sing, i. e. to give a particular sound as that of 
 light objects being burnt; then to burn slightly; the idea of 
 AS. sengan, for which we should expect sench (cp. blench, 
 drench, stench), has, however, not been expressed by change 
 of vowel, but by a modification of the last consonant. 
 
 There is no Umlaut in steorfan perire, stearfjan perdere ; 
 to starve, in Modern English, has both these significations. 
 
 II. AS. cfve/an to be tormented, to die; AS. cwelian, 
 cwellan to kill and to quell: two parallel forms derived from 
 the same AS. word, 
 
 III. to lie (AS. licgan); to lay (AS. lecgan) to cause to 
 lie, to put or place. 
 
 AS. cwican to move (cp. quick)] AS. cwacjan, cweccan 
 = to quake, originally to make something move; then 
 cmican having been lost, in an intransitive sense, to tremble, 
 to shudder. 
 
 to sit (AS. sittan); to set (AS. settan) to cause to sit, 
 to put or place. 
 
 To these may be added: to tear (AS. teran), to tar to 
 cause to tear, to incitate, derived from Fr. tarier, which 
 is based on a weak Germanic verb, 0H6. zerjan; cp. Diez, 
 Etymol. Worterb. II, p. 436. 
 
 The same causative meaning is in some derivatives 
 from the Perfect Tense of verbs, belonging to the fifth class. 
 
 to bite (AS. bitan); to bait (AS. bdtjan, bwtan) to set 
 the dogs at somebody, to provoke. 
 
 AS. blican to shine, blcecan to make shining, to bleach. 
 
 AS. tiban to sail, to go; Icedan to lead. 
 
 to rise (AS. a-risan), rear (AS. a-rceran) to bring up to 
 maturity. A less tropical meaning is exhibited by another 
 form in which Umlaut has not taken place, viz. to raise 
 (AS. a-rasjati) to cause to rise, to uplift. 
 
 t lihan to lend ; Icenan to loan (about the change of <5
 
 38 
 
 into oa see Miitzner Gr. p. 121) to cause a person to lend, 
 to borrow. 
 
 f strican to g'o ; sti-eccan to sirelch. 
 
 To these verbs may be added one belonging- to the 
 fifth class: hugan to tiow, to bend; hijgan (from the Perfect 
 Tense hcdli) to cause to bend, to hiuj, fnmi an ancient 
 symbol; see Grimm, Rechtsaltertiiraer 608. 
 
 Many of the verbs, however, derived from verbs belonging 
 to CI. I and VI, and exhibiting the vowel of the Perfect 
 Tense, particularly those in which Umlaut has not been 
 employed, have not a factitive meaning, but are used to 
 render the idea expressed by the strong verb, more intense, 
 or to impart to it a particular shade. 
 
 I. to climb (AS. climhan)\ to clamber has the same 
 meaning as to climb, with the only difference that by the 
 ending er, expressing repetition, the single movements by 
 which we advance in climbing, are rendered more conspicuous. 
 
 to wind (AvS. windan)] to wander (AS. wandrian or 
 wa7idUan). Both in to wander and to clamber the suffix 
 seems to have prevented Umlaut from taking place. 
 
 to wring (AS. wringaii)\ to wrench {wrencan)] it has 
 the same meaning as to wring, the action expressed by it 
 is only more keen and intense. 
 
 VL t glnan:, to ijawn (AS. gt/niau). 
 
 to gripe (AS. grtpan) to seize and hold fast with the 
 hand; to grope (AS. grdpjan) to endeavour to find something 
 by touching and feeling, a particular kind of griping. 
 
 -f snibau to slit, still existing as an adjective snith = 
 piercing, cutting ; to snathe to top trees. 
 
 to strike (AS. strican) to touch with a blow, to hit with 
 some force -^ to stroke {X^. stracjan) gently to moAe the hand 
 along the surface of something. — In the same w ay have been 
 formed, although an AS. root-verb does not exist, to pike and 
 to poke. 
 
 f grinan] to groan (AS. grdnjan).
 
 39 
 
 (Ulan (see Grimm N. < 492) partiri ; to deal, to dole (AS. 
 dxelan, cp. to loan p. 37) to divide, to distribute. 
 
 In two words, belonging- to CI. VI, the weak form with 
 the vowel of the Perfect Tense has succeeded in superseding 
 the strong one, viz. reofan to reave {reafjan), preotan to 
 threat {predtjan). 
 
 Having thus enumerated the verbs showing the vowel 
 of the Perfect Tense of verbs, belonging to CI. I, II, III, V, 
 and VI, we have still the fourth class left, which has o in 
 its Perfect Tense. In the weak verbs, derived from it, we 
 consequently expect e {ee). But it is only in one case that 
 here we have both the strong and the weak form, and in 
 that case the strong verb only exists in AS.: f sacan to 
 fight; secan to seek. And yet, not a small number of verbs 
 having been formed quite in the same way, we are 
 allowed to suppose that at an earlier stage of the English 
 language many more strong verbs, showing in their Present 
 Tense a, in their Perfect Tense o, were existing. The latter 
 vowel is still discernible in substantives and adjectives (cp. 
 also sake), to which the weak verbs apparently belong. 
 Thus are to be explained: 
 
 doom (AS. doni), to deem (deman). — boot (AS. bot), to 
 beet (AS. hetan), to add fuel to the fire, formerh' to improve. 
 
 — food (AS. foda), to feed (AS. fedan). — cool (AS. col), 
 to keel (AS. celan). — blood (AS. blod) , to bleed (AS. bledan). 
 
 — /vhore (AS. hore-, as to the addition of tv, cp. Matzner, 
 Grammatik pp. 186 — 7), to hire {hi/ran). — hood {AS. hod) 
 to heed (AS. hedan). — brood (AS. brod), to breed (AS. bredan). 
 
 — moot (AS. motjan), to meet (AS. me tan). — AS. som, to 
 seem (AS. semian). — OS. wopan, to /veep (AS. wepan). — 
 OS. spod (G. sputen), to speed (AS. spedan). 
 
 The English lauguage thus employing the vowel of the 
 Perfect Tense in the formation of verbs, we may, even a 
 priori, suppose to find verbs which exhibit the voAvel of the
 
 in 
 
 I'iis^t raiticii)lc. As 1 liavc already mentioned that only in 
 CI. 1, 11, and VI the vowel of the P. P. essentially differs 
 from that of the Present Tense, such verbs can only be 
 formed in those three classes; but the question even takes 
 a simpler form, because in fact we only find such derivatives 
 in CI. 1 and VI. — As to the meaning of these verbs, they 
 exhibit the same idea as is conveyed by the rootverb, not 
 in its generality, but somewhat modified and mostly applied 
 to one distinct object. In several cases the original strong 
 verb has been lost, and the derived w^eak verb has, also 
 with regard to its signification, taken its place. The number 
 of the verbs belonging to these groups, was much greater 
 in AS., and in modern English we do not often find both 
 the root-verb and that which shows the vowel of its P. P. 
 
 /. to stint (AS. stintan) to confine within certain limits, 
 to stunt (AS. styntan) to hinder something from taking its 
 ordinary size. 
 
 Goth, hinpan to take ; from the Perfect Tense with Um- 
 laut has been formed to hent(d) (AS. hentmi)^ to seize, 
 to pursue; from the P. P. to hunt (AS. huntian) to endeavour 
 to seize something, })artieularly, to pursue game with hounds. 
 
 Goth, gairdan] AS. gyrdan to gird. 
 
 f AS. grimian\ AS. yrmiian to grunt] the latter seems 
 however to have been influenced by F. grondir (* L. 
 grundire). 
 
 VI. f AS. dreopan] AS. dropjan to drop] AS. drypan 
 to drip. 
 
 f AS. deopan\ AS. dyppan to dip. 
 
 AS. fleolan to fleet; flotjan to float. 
 
 AS. steoran styran to stear; AS. sHjrian to stir. 
 
 AS. spreotan to spi'out; AS. spryttmi to sprit. 
 
 A 1 'articular development is to be stated in four verbs 
 which have oo : steopan — stupian to stoop, dreopan — dru- 
 pian to droop, u in both of them being the vowel exhibitid 
 by the Plural of the Preterit Tense. To them have been 
 joined two verbs which, according to rule, could not give
 
 41 
 
 rise to such forms, viz. to smuon from swinan swan stvi/w/i, 
 to swoop from swipan swap swlpen. 
 
 It may be that tlie sig-iiificatioii has been of some in- 
 fluence on these forms : all four of them expressing a move- 
 ment down to the ground, the dark vowel in its prolonged 
 form was perhaps pieferred ; on the other hand, /, preceded 
 by w, was in AS. often changed into ir. wudu {widu), wu- 
 duwe (widiiwe), swura (swira); (see Koch, Gramniatik § 'M). 
 
 Verbs, besides, may in English easily be derived from 
 substantives and adjectives, so that it is often difl'ieult to 
 say w^hich of them is the original word, either the substan- 
 tive and the adjective, or the verb. It is not surprising 
 that also here in some cases Umlaut is found: knot, s., 
 a) knottjan to knot\ b) cmjttan to knit. — knoll, s., an elevation 
 of earth, a small hill; to knoll to ring the bell at a funeral. 
 The AS. verb cne(y)llan has disappeared, leaving, however, 
 the substantive knell (AS. cne(y)lt), the stroke of the funeral 
 bell. (These words give another instance of the transition 
 from the idea of movement to that of shape). — A similar 
 proceeding seems to have taken place in loft. s. and to lift. 
 
 Of adjectives which have given rise to verbs, I mention: 
 hroad (AS. brad)\ to bread (AS. br(edan) to expand, to extend. 
 — full] to fill (fijllan). — foul (AS. ful) to defile (AS. d-ff/lan) 
 to render foul. 
 
 The second division of words derived from strong verbs 
 by means of Ablaut, is composed by substantives. Here, 
 too, we have to distinguish two categories of words: those 
 which show the vowel of the Perfect Tense, and those in 
 which the vowel of the Past Participle is to be met with. 
 
 The form of the substantives from the Perfect Tense 
 is generally that of the Perfect itself without any suffix 
 added, and it is only in a few cases that either a vowel 
 or a consonant has been joined to it. The AS. suffix a 
 has been reduced to a silent e in hare (AS. hara from hisan
 
 42 
 
 rjrinim No. 5r)8), snake (AS. s)iuca fron) s)i(ca)i). It has luodified 
 the final consonant iji tvrelch (AS. wrwca from ?vrecun). — 
 In the same way, the AS. suffix ?< has been softened down 
 to e in namu (AS. w(/»m from ni/nan), share {scearu from 
 sceran), scale (AS. scealu from scelan Gr. No. 563). ?< has 
 been amalgamated with ^, and has produced w in law (AS. 
 /a(7^< from licgun). — The suffix e has disappeared in load 
 {-star) (AS. Idt5e iter from li^au). — The suffix th has been 
 preserved in heallh (AS. ^(^/d from helan). It has taken 
 the form of / in height (AS. hedht)o from heohan Gr. 539). 
 /? aheady existed in AS. in craft (AS. crwft from criban 
 Gr. 541), draught (AS. i/ro/^/ from dragan). — ^m is to be 
 found in token (AS. ^ace?« from tihan). — el with Umlaut 
 occurs in steeple (AS. stepel from stapari). 
 
 The influence exeicised by the vowel of the Perfect 
 Tense on the signification of words belonging- to this group 
 is not the same in all of them. March (Gr. § 230) says: 
 'the vowels of the past denote result', but he is obliged to 
 add: 4n many derivatives this force is lost'.i) The following 
 remarks will prove, in how many instances the principle 
 given by March does not apply, and w^ill at the same time 
 show how manifold the functions are which Ablaut has to 
 perform in these words. 
 
 1. If the verb has a transitive meaning, the correspond- 
 ing substantive often expresses a concrete object which is 
 the result of the action of the verb. This seems to be the 
 proper domain of the vowel of the Perfect Tense as the 
 action must precede the ol)ject which is produced by it. 
 By far the greater number of substantives exhibiting the 
 vowel of the Perfect Tense liave adopted this signification. 
 
 I. mall (AS. mealt from meltan), song (AS. sang from 
 s/ngan), thong (from pingan), warp (AS. tvear/i from weor- 
 /lan), II. barn (AS. beam from beran), name (AS. namu 
 from nimaii), breach (AS. brcec from brecan) III. /ret in 
 fretwork &c. (AS. frcet from /retau), wreck (AS. wr(cc from 
 
 ') See Grimm, Grammatik II, '>S.
 
 43 
 
 wrecan'), law (AS. lagu from Iccgaii)^ IV. groove (AS. grof 
 from grafan), draught (AS. droht from dragan), stool (AS. 
 5?d/ from stalan Grimm 464), doom (AS. 6?ow from daman 
 Gr. 466), V. /?a<7 (AS. bat from bitan), sloat(s) (from slitan), 
 loan (AS. /few from lihau), token (AS. /rk^w from tihan), deal 
 {dcel from dilan), rope (AS. ra/j from ripan), VI. ^Aot^t' (AS. 
 ^cea/" from sceofan), throe {predf from preowan) &c. 
 
 2. The vowel of the Perfect Tense often serves to form 
 a concrete substantive of which the verb may be predicated. 
 As the same verb may be connected with many substantives, 
 it is obvious that mere chance has often determined the 
 particular meaning; of the substantive; so hall, being'origin- 
 ally that which sounds, might quite as well have adopted 
 the signification of trumpet (cp. clarion) or of anything apt 
 to produce a loud sound. Such concrete substantives have 
 been formed from intransitive verbs as well as from transi- 
 tive verbs; in the latter case they often signify the object 
 or instrument which serves to produce the action of the 
 verb. To this class belong: I. hall {AS.heal from hellan), 
 hellow(s) (AS. h^lg from belgan), stan.p (from stimpan), wand 
 (from fvittdan), hand (from Goth, hinpan), crank (from crin- 
 can), slang (from slmgan)] II. dwale (from dwelan), tare (from 
 teran), scale (AS. scealu from scelan Gr. 563); IV. fool (AS. 
 fot from fatan), hook (from hacan)] V. dough (AS. dag from 
 digan Gr. 514), goad gad (AS. gad from gidan Gr. 506), 
 loam {k^. lam from Gr. 494); V^I. leak (from lucan). 
 
 3. The vowel of the Perfect Tense expresses the action 
 of a verb rather in an abstract manner : the word has, 
 as it were, the signification of the infinitive used as a 
 substantive: I. damp (AS. dimpan Gr. 368), throng (AS. 
 prang from pringan)] III. craft (AS. crfeft Gr. 541), smack 
 {AtS.s/ncec Gr. 553); IV. wood (AS. wod from 7vadan\ V. shrove 
 (from scrifan), stroke (from stricau)^ VI. height (AS. hedhtSo 
 Gr. 539), need (AS. nedd neod Gr. 534). 
 
 4. In some cases the substantive, derived from the 
 Perfect Tense of the V' Class signifies the place where the 
 action of the verb is particularly apt to pass: glade (from 
 glidan), road (from ridan), strode (from stridan), load (from 
 lidan), abode (from abidati).
 
 44 
 
 5. An {miniated object is rarely expressed by the Per- 
 fect form: wretch (AS. rvrccca from wrecan), swain (AS. swan 
 from swman), neat {neat from neotan), hare (AS. hara from 
 hisan Gr. 550), ^wa^e (AS. stiaca from snican). 
 
 The substantives derived from tiie Tast Participle of 
 strong- verbs are in their form similar to those of the 
 preceding" group. Here, as well as there, we have a number 
 of substantives exhibiting the mere stem , the ending en of 
 the P. P. having been dropped. In other cases suffixes 
 have been added, so t in dolt (from dwelan), er in blunder 
 (from blindan), sler in holster Tfrom hellan), ling in foundling 
 (from findau), ard in drunkard (from drincan), uca in bullock 
 (AS. bulluca from bellan), el (with Umlaut) in bundel (AS. 
 hyndel from bindan). a has disappeared in float (AS. /lota), 
 droj) (AS. dropa), sprot (AS. sprotu). 
 
 As to the signification of these substantives, it is, as 
 may be anticipated, impossible to give a rule which applies 
 to all of them. In the greater number of words, however, 
 the substantive with the vowel of the P. P. has the meaning 
 of the P. P. and is, as it were, a compensation for the lost 
 faculty of the English language to use the P. P. as a sub- 
 stantive: I. hulk (from belgan), gulp (from gelpan), clump 
 (from cli/npan), rump (from rimj)an), bundle (AS. byndel from 
 bindan), ground (AS. grund from grindan), word (AS. 7vord 
 from weorpan); II. hole (AS. hoi from helan), mull (AS. mol 
 from melan), shore (AS. score from sceran); VI. drop (AS. 
 dropa from dreopan), lot (AS. hlot from hleotan), shot (from 
 sceotan), loss (from leosan), lock (from liican), bow (AS. fto^a 
 from bilgan). 
 
 The substantive derived from the Past Participle may 
 also denote an object of which the verb may be predicated: 
 borough or burron- (from bergan), float (AS. fJota from 
 fteotan). 
 
 In two cases the vowel of the P. P. signifies the object 
 by means of which the action of the verb is produced:
 
 45 
 
 slot a doorbolt (OHG slioj,a)i)j lid (AS. hlkl from hltdan to 
 cover). 
 
 Now and then the vowel of the P. P. is found in sub- 
 stantives expressing' animated objects: bullock (AS. hulluca 
 from bellan), hoioid (AS. hund from hhipan), doll (from 
 drvelaii). 
 
 Having" thus given the general remarks suggested by 
 the form and the meaning of tlie substantives which have 
 been derived from strong verbs, I shall proceed to enumerate 
 them as completely as possible according to the six classes 
 to which they belong. 
 
 I. Pr. i {e, eo) Perfect ea («) P. P. u (o). 
 
 Bellmi to bell J still used = to cry like a hart or boar. 
 S. hell, the instrument which gives forth loud, ringing 
 sounds. — hullock (AS. bulluca) a young bull; bull itself 
 seems not to have existed in AS. 
 
 Meltan to melt\ s. milt, a concoquendo, solvendo succum 
 (Grimm); malt {AS./nealt) barley moistened and dried. 
 
 Belgan to swell; hellofvs (AS. hcelg) the instrument which 
 sucks air, which swells. — bulk that which is swollen, the 
 magnitude of a substance. — boll a capsule. — bolster a 
 long, thick cushion. — Umlaut has taken place in AS. 
 bylig = hu(i)lge; the same word in the form of belg has 
 produced belly. — bowl, although belonging to the same 
 root* has been taken from Fr. boule. 
 
 Gilpan to gulp, to swallow^; gulp a draught. 
 
 Gildttu to })ay; the vowel i of the Present Tense has 
 been changed into e in geld fine, and in gelt tinsel; to the 
 same verb belong guild and guilt; the vowel of the P. P. 
 is to be found in gold. 
 
 Srvimman to swim; sivamp marsh, bog. It seems to be 
 the same word as AS. swam fungus G. Schwamm, although 
 in similar cases the addition of an inorganic b was preferred. 
 
 Rimpan to rimple (see p. 21); nimp the part of the body 
 which easily gets rumples or rimples. 
 
 Bindan to bind; band a ligament with which things
 
 46 
 
 may be bound tog-ether; bond, the same form as hand, used 
 generally when speaking- of moral and legal obligations, 
 (as to the change of a and o before n + cons., see Koch § 23, 
 Matzuer 1, p. 120). U, the vowel of the P. P. occurs with 
 Umlaut in bundle (AS. byndel) several things l)ound togethei-. 
 
 Findan to find: foundling a cliild that has been found. 
 
 Grindan to grind; ground (AS. grund) what is ground, 
 tlie surface of the earth, soil. 
 
 Rindan to push; rand margo. 
 
 Windan to wind; wand a rod; as to wound (AS. 7vund) 
 and wonder (AS. wundor), see Gr. No. 383). 
 
 Crincan to yield, cp. crinkle p. 25; crank a bend or 
 turn. 
 
 Drincan to drink; drunkard an habitual drinker. 
 
 Geongan to go; gang a number of persons going together. 
 
 Singan to sing; song (AS. sang) that Avhich is sung. 
 
 Stingan to sting; stang a pole. 
 
 Swingan to swing: swang a bog; Midler thinks it to be 
 = swamp; but beside the form not agreeing with this 
 etymology, swamp from swimman, and quagmire from quake, 
 both expressive of the same idea, seem to speak in favour 
 of the derivation from swingan. 
 
 Pringan to press; throng (AS. prang) a crowd. 
 
 Pwingan to constrain; thong (AS. pwang) that which 
 constrains, fastens. 
 
 Wring an to wring: wrong (used as a subst., adj., and 
 verb). 
 
 heorgan to guard; borough (AS. hurg) originally a 
 fortified town which protects. The same word in a some- 
 what different form is to be found in the names of places: 
 Canterbury, Newbury, Kingsbury. 
 
 weorpan to throw; warp (AS. wearp) texture, a technical 
 term in weaving. 
 
 weorpan to become; word (AS. word^ an idea, as it 
 were, realized; wort (AS. wyrt) a herb. 
 
 To this category we add with Grimm the following 
 verbs which either exist in other Teutonic dialects or which 
 are suggested by extant derivatives:
 
 47 
 
 OHG. hellan to sound; hall (AS. heal) a large, resouiidiug 
 room or passage. 
 
 climpan; clamp a beam; clump a joist. 
 
 blindan; blunder a gross mistake. 
 
 dimpaji (Gr. ^Qh)\ damp moisture; dump{s) sadness; for 
 the transition in the meaning, op. fumes, vapours, also Fi-. 
 vapeurs. 
 
 crimpan (Gr. 370); cramp a restraint or contraction. 
 
 slingan (Gr. 421); slang 'a long narrow strip of land', 
 cp. Muller, Et Worterbuch II, 344. 
 
 Mndan (Goth, h'lnpan Gr. 395): hand = 'mauus qua 
 eapimus'; hound (AS. hund) 'canis qui capit'. 
 
 Ungan (Gr. 423); lungs. 
 
 stimpan (Gr. 586); stamp a forciljle impression with 
 something, the instrument which serves to give such au 
 impression; stump that part of a thick object, which remains 
 after the top has been cut off. 
 
 brinnan (Gr. 371); brand a burning piece of wood; b7-uni 
 the sudden collision of two things, fiery shock. 
 
 keo?man (Gr. 613); kern; corn. 
 
 II. Pres. /. Perf. (c, a. P. P. u. o. 
 
 drvelan to render torpid; drvale a poisonous plant which 
 causes sleepiness and torpidity, nightshade; dolt a heavy 
 stupid fellow. 
 
 helan to hide, to cover; health (AS. hcelb) the state of 
 being entirely covered i. e. sound, hole (AS. hoi) belongs, 
 according to Miiller, to the same verb. 
 
 jiiman to take; name (AS. namu) that which an object, 
 em])hatically speaking, takes or adopts. 
 
 beran to bear. From the Present Tense have been 
 derived: barley (AS. bere); barn (AS. bern); birth (AS. 
 byrd); berth (?); barm (AS. beorma), cp. G. Hefe from 
 heben. — The vowel of the Perfect Tense is in barn (AS. 
 beam) that which has been borne, child. — bier the instrument 
 which serves for bearing, has been taken from Fr. biere, 
 which, in its turn, is of Germanic oiigin, AS. ba^r = bier.
 
 48 
 
 sceran to shear. From the Present Tense: shire (AS. 
 scire)] sheriff (AS. scirgerefa), shirt; orig'iually, any short 
 garment, a petticoat, an apron. From the Perfect Tense: 
 share (AS. scearv) a certain portion; shore the margin of 
 the land next to a sea or lake ])y which the sea or lake 
 is as it were separated from the land. 
 
 teran to tear; tare that which tears, a weed. 
 
 hrecan to break. From the Present Tense: breach AS. 
 brice (Fi-. breche). From the Perfect Tense: tjrake 'a place 
 overgrown with ferns and shrubs' (see Miillcr Et. Wb., s. v.) 
 
 According to Grimm we have to add: 
 
 melan (Gr. 560); 7neal (AS. melu); mull (AS. mol). 
 
 scelan separare (Gr. 563); skill, with the vowel of the 
 Present Tense, properly, the faculty of separating and 
 distinguishing; scale{s) (AS. scalu) balance by which things 
 are separated ; scale (of a tish) (AS. scealu) ; scall scab, scurf. 
 
 III. Pres. e. Perf. ce. P. P. (e, i. 
 
 rvefan to weave; web that which is woven, has been 
 derived from the P. P. — woof does not occur in AS.; o, it is 
 true, Aery early intrudes into the P.P. of the verbs belong- 
 ing to this class, but as AS. o is but rarely changed into 
 00 {cok = cook J sona = soon, see Matzuer p. 122), woof 
 remains an anomalous formation. 
 
 gifan to give; gabel (AS. gafol) duty on salt, originally 
 that which is given ; this meaning has been preserved in gift. 
 
 fretan to eat away ; fret (AS. frcet) relieve, originally that 
 which is corroded. 
 
 tredan to tread; trode has been formed from a later 
 P. P., cp. woof; in trode, however, AS. o has regularly 
 developed itself into oo. 
 
 wrecan to wreak ; wretch (AS. wrwca) ; 
 
 licgan to lie; law {k'^.lagu), cp. the same development 
 of meaning in G. setzen, Gesetz. 
 
 sit tan to sit; seat (AS. scet) the thing on which we seat. 
 
 biddan to bid; bead (AS. bed), originally prayer.
 
 49 
 
 sticcan lo stick {U.?d'inQ,\\ p. 389); slake; slock; sleak seem^ 
 to have been derived from a Skandinavian source, see Miiller. 
 
 Besides, Grimm supposes the following verbs, belonging 
 to the same class, to have been los^t: crifan (540), stifan 
 (540 b), stedan (545), hisan (550), smican (553), from which 
 he derives the substantives: crafl, staff, stead, hare and hair, 
 smack. 
 
 IV. Pres. a. Perf. 6. P. P. a. 
 
 stapan to step; the vowel of the Present Tense has 
 been preserved in staple\ the vowel of the Perfect Tense 
 with Umlaut in AS. stepel steeple. In stop the influence of 
 0. Fr. estoper from AS. stuppa tow, oakum, is not to be 
 denied. 
 
 grafan to dig, to grave; grave (AS. graif)\ the same 
 word hnd, already in AS., the signification of lucus, grove\ 
 as to the change of (e into «, cp. sta;l — stole, hrcek — broke, 
 see Matzner p. 120; the original signification is: alley in a 
 wood, thence a small forest giving shade like the trees 
 shading a walk. — The vowel of the Perfect Tense is in 
 AS. grof groove channel or ditch. 
 
 hacan to hake; beech (AS. boce^ bece), because that tree 
 was used for baking, cp. Gr. gyijyog connected with <p(6yeiv 
 to roast; the form with 6 without Umlaut has been preser- 
 ved in boc book. 
 
 dragau to draw; draught (AS. droht). 
 
 hebban to heave] hoof (XH. hdf) that which is heaved. 
 
 To these we add with Grimm: 
 daman (466) — dom doom; laman (467) — Idm loom; haran 
 (472b) — hore whore; bataji — hot boot; fatmi — fot foot; 
 fadan — fdd food; and probably: hacan — hake (name of a 
 fish), hook (AS. hoc): ftahan to flay — floh flaw, originally 
 fragment, piece, then gap, fissure. 
 
 V. Pres. ;. Perf. a. P. P. /. 
 ripart to gather ; rap rope, that which consists of several 
 
 threads twisted together.
 
 f.O 
 
 Itfau to rcrn.'iiii; life (AS. ///'); loaf (AS. A/r?/') that which 
 jjicscives life. 
 
 drl/'un to drive] drove (AS. drdf). 
 
 scrifmi to shrive] shrove in sliroxc-tide, Shrove -Sunday, 
 Sbrove-Tuesday, when people generally go to confers. 
 
 bitan to bite; bait (AS. bdt). 
 
 slit an to slit] sloats the flat underpieces which keep the 
 bottom of a cart together. 
 
 abidan to abide] abode the place where we abide. 
 
 glidan to glide] glade an open i)af<sage in a wood. 
 
 ridan to ride] road {rdd), a way to ride on. 
 
 slidan to slide] slade a small protracted valley; in form 
 and meaning slade may well be compared with glade. 
 
 stridan to stride; strode stud. 
 
 hlidan to cover; lid (AS. hlid) that which covers. 
 
 li^an to move, to sail; AS. lad way has become load 
 a conduit in a mine; the same word is found in load-stone, 
 load- star. 
 
 sniban to slit; snathe the handle of a scythe. 
 
 wriban to writhe; wrath (AS. wrd(5). 
 
 snican to sneak] snake (AS. snaca). 
 
 stncan to strike] stroke] a parallel form with stroke is 
 strake, see Matzner p. 114; streak shows the vowel of the 
 P. P. /, xAS. strica. 
 
 By means of analogy seem to have been formed spike 
 spoke, cp. also jiikc poke p. 38, all three of them ending in k. 
 
 tihan to draw; token (AS. idcen) cp. G. ziehen and 
 Zeichen. 
 
 lihan to lend; loan (AS. ken). 
 
 aswhian (Gr. 115) originally agi, ferri : swine {Ai^.swin) 
 animal quod pastum agitur; swain (AS. swan) puer qui 
 pastum agit. 
 
 We add with Grimm : 
 
 hitan (-199), heat (AS. h(et). 
 
 dilan (492), deal (AS. dcel), dill (AS. dil) 
 
 llman (494), lime (AS. Iwi), loam (AS. lam), lindi (AS. ///;/). 
 
 dlgan (514), dough (AS. dag). 
 
 swltan (500), sweat (AS. swat).
 
 51 
 
 gidan (506), f/oad (AS. yad)\ another lorni of fjoud is 
 yad (AS, gced) biirine. 
 
 glimun (495). gleam (AS. gl(vm)\ gloom (AS. glom), an 
 anomalous formation ; the dark vowel perhaps stands in 
 relation with the meaning-, cp. stoop &c. \). 40. 
 
 Isan (512), ice (AS. Is), iron (AS. </'ew), ore (AS. ^/'t). 
 
 VI. Pres. eo {u). Perf. e«. PI. u. P. P. o. 
 
 dreopan lo drop\ drop (AS. dropd). 
 
 slupan to dissolve, to slit av»'ay ; slojie au inclined direction. 
 
 cleofan lo cleave \ clufu clove, "a |)art separated, appro- 
 priately the parts into which garlic separates when the outer 
 skin is removed'. Clove = spice from Fr. clou, from L. clavus. 
 
 sceofan to shove] sheaf (AS. seed/')] shovel (AS. sco/1). 
 
 leaf an to love\ love (AS. lafii). 
 
 fjreorvan to throe] throe (AS. predrv). 
 
 fleotan to flow; fleet {k^. fiedt)\ AS. flota ship is extant 
 in flotson stranded goods. To the same root belongs ilood 
 (AS. flod). 
 
 geotan to pour; guts (AS. guttas) the intestinal caiuils 
 of an animal, into which things are poured. 
 
 hleotan to cast lots; lot (AS. hlot). 
 
 neotan frui; neat (AS. neat) animal quo fruimur. Gr. 
 
 sceotan to shoot] shot. 
 
 a-preotan to loathe, to irk ; threat (AS. predl) a menace 
 which irks somebody. 
 
 beodan to hid] AS. had maudatum and hoda uuntius 
 have disappeared; the latter signification has I'een preserved 
 in beadle (AS. bydel)] as to the not very frequent change 
 of AS. y into ea, see Matzner p. 110. 
 
 creodan to crowd] crowd (AS. croda)] hy metathesis 
 of r, the same word has given curds, for which, according 
 to Wedgwood, also cruds occurs. 
 
 freosan to freeze ; frost. 
 
 ieos:in to loose ; loss. 
 
 lucan to lock; leek (AS. leak), 'ab aperiendo folia" Grinmi; 
 lock (AS. loc) anything that fastens. 
 
 4-^
 
 52 
 
 bilgan to bow\ hum and liongh have been derived from 
 AS. hog. 
 
 smug an to creep, to supple round somebody; smock a 
 habit which sits tight and loose; the same word with Umlaut 
 and diminutive suffix is smickei. 
 
 teohan to tug] tug (AS. tyge). 
 
 hreotan to break; hread (AS. bread) that which is broken 
 (Grimm), or from breodan to brew, bake. According to 
 Grimm we have to add: 
 
 sleotaii (226); slot. 
 
 geoman (516); \)x\({%groom (AS. giima). 
 
 peonan ('>20); thunder (punor). 
 
 heopan (524); heap {heap); hop (heope). 
 
 steopan (526); stop. 
 
 sireopan (527); strypan to stripe] strap and strop (AS. 
 strop). 
 
 grcotan (5H1); grit (AS. greol)] grout (AS. griit)] groats 
 has taken the same development as slope &c. 
 
 sneotan (532); snot. 
 
 meoda7i (533); meed (AS. med). 
 
 leohan (53b), lie (AS. ledh). 
 
 heohan (539); height (AS. hedhbo). 
 
 The number of Adjectives derived from strong verbs by 
 means of Ablaut is much smaller than that of verbs and 
 substantives. Exhibiting, as for the greater part they do, 
 the vowel of the Perfect Tense, the express like a number 
 of substantives with the same vowel, the result of an action. 
 Some adjectives show the vowel of the P. P.; particularly 
 those which have m, I, or ;• after the root vowel. — I may 
 add that some of the substantives mentioned in the last 
 pages are also used as adjectives, according to the well- 
 knowm principle of the English language to employ the same 
 word without any alteration for quite different parts of 
 speech; f. i. damp (s., a., adj.), wrong (s., adj., and v.). 
 
 I. grimman to rage; grim wild, angr}-; gram surly. 
 
 crincan to yield; AS. crane weak, near to death, is in
 
 5;^ 
 
 Modern English a term of marine = in danger to tilt over; 
 in other sign iti cations, there seems to have taken place a 
 confusion with rank, cp. Miiller s. crank. 
 
 drincan; drunk. 
 
 crimpan : crump. 
 
 winnan to take pains, to fight; n-an having- fought, lieing 
 tired, looking tired and worn out, i. e. ])ale. 
 
 sUntan (Gr. 385); slant sloping. 
 
 blincan (Gr. 40G); blank shining. The word being however 
 but rarely used in AS., it seems to have been taken fr(mi 
 the French. 
 
 llngan {Gr. iT'i)] long {AS. lafojng)] perhaps like blank 
 due to French influence. 
 
 stringan (Gr. 425) ; strong (AS. stra(o)ng\ 
 
 dimban (Gr. 591); dim dark; in a tropical sense, dumb 
 speechless. 
 
 II. drvelan; dull (AS. dot). 
 
 helan to hide, cover; hollow derived from hole, 
 sceran to shear; short, originally having lost something 
 from its original length. 
 
 III. tvitayi (Gr. 543); rvet (AS. wcet). 
 
 IV. jvadan to rush; wood rushing as people do when 
 in a rage. 
 
 granan (Gr. 468); with Umlaut, gree^i (AS. grhi). 
 
 V. sdnan to shine; sheen (AS. scene) = brilliant; the 
 obsolete shone, bearing the same signification, is based on 
 the 0. E. Perfect form shon. 
 
 blican to shine; black and bleak (AS. bide and blac). 
 wican to }ield; weak (AS. wedk\ for the change from 
 ed into ea cp. Matzner p. 110. 
 
 bridan pandere (Gr. 162); broad (AS. brad), 
 hitan (Gr. 499); hot (AS hat). 
 
 VI. deofan to dive; deaf (AS. deaf), 
 reodan to redden; red (AS. read). 
 
 heohan attollere (Gr. 509); high (AS. hedh). 
 steopan fundere (Gr. 526); steep (AS. stedp).
 
 54 
 
 In the foregoing pages I have tried to enumerate the 
 words which have been derived from strong verl>s by 
 means of Ablaut. As since the time of the Norman con- 
 quest the English language in the declension as well as in 
 the formation of woids has preferred tlie syntlietical metiiod 
 to the analytical one, it is not surprising that in AS. the 
 number of words formed in tliat way was much greater 
 than in the modern speech. But though only existing in a 
 reduced number, these words are of the highest value, as 
 they prove that also in the formation of words the English 
 language has preserved one of the essential characteristics 
 of all Teutonic dialects.
 
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