c seói Gen. 2. CONSONANTS. c, before a, 0, and u= k in take ; before e and i = probably, ch in child. 8C sc, before a, o, and u=sk in skin; before e and i = probably, sh in shine. f f, when final or between two vowels =vin wives. g 9, before a, 0, and u=g in goat ; before e and i = probably, y in yes. b, b=th in thin ; f=th in then. The other consonants are pronounced generally as in modern Plural. N. þæt þára (bára)2 Dat. Đám (bán) treo bám (bán) | Tám (bán) Acc. bone bá bæt bá Abl. Þy þære by* l þám (þán) Examples, taken from extracts, in the text, pp. 1–12:— Se, &c. Se hearpere, bæs hearperes wíf, be þám hearpere, &c. Seo, &c. Seó was háten, for bare mirhþe, báere þeóde nama, &c. þæt þæt wif, wið þæs wifes, on bæt gemære, bæs landes folc, &c. Plural þá stánas, þá eá, on þám muntum, þæra cnapena. Đe indeclinable is often used for se, seó, bæt, as a demonstrative, but especially as a relative, and later as the article, the; e.g. þára be wilnað, of those that desire. (See extracts, p. 5). (1) Seó = 0.E. sheo, sho, and modern she; þæt = mod. that. (2) þá, þæra þám = they, their, them. The forms originally corresponding in A.S. were hi, hira, or heora, him or heom (see p. xl.). These words, changed into ho, heo; hire, here, her ; hem or him, long maintained their ground in 0.E., but almost suddenly gave place to thei, ther, their, thaim, and tham, and finally gained their present form. (3) þæs, bóre, bán, are the origin of thus = in this manner; there = in that place; than = (then)= at that time. Than is the true spelling, and was in use up to the beginning of the eighteenth century. (4) Þy is found in 0.E. forthy for that reason, therefore. This, and not the article the, is seen in the phrase, “the more the better" (A.S. "þy máre by betere"), i.e. by that more by that better. In Latin, quo magis eo melius. Plural for all. N. -and DECLENSION OF NOUNS. FIRST DECLENSION. Singular. E. heort-e eág- (eye) Gen. nam-an heort-an eág-an Dat. nam-an heort-an Abl. eág-an Acc. nam-an heort-an eág-an So, decline anda So, hearpe gefera lufe -ena 2 -an SECOND DECLENSION. N. spell (as sing.) (dog) (nation) (story) Gen. hund-es* -& þeód-e -a spell-es-a Dat. Abl.) húnd-e -um þeód-e-am spell-e -Dia Acc. húnd -as bód-e -& spell (as sing.) So, cyning heort | So, ea So, bíspell land dæg sæl hearpung cyn neat deofol son hell deor þing folc wif mildheortnys 1 lioht word (1) -an. From this we have 0.E. pl. termination en-e.g. A.S. oza, pl. otan, 0.E.oxen. A.S. edge, pl. eágan, 0, E. eyghen, eyen, and eyne. Many similar instances are found in 0.E. and the provincial dialects, as hisen, shoon, peasen. (2) -ena. This termination is seen in the well-known word Witenagemót, i.e. mote or meeting of wise men, fr. wita, a wise man or counsellor, declined like nama. Oxenaford or Oxenford, now Oxford, is another instance of the same kind. (3) -as. This term. became changed in 0.E. into es or is, and thus prepared for mod. Eng. -s for both possessive case and plural number. Chaucer has," smale houndes ;” and Wiclif, sonis of seyntis.” (4) -es. This termination, the genitive or possessive of O.E. and mod. Eng., is seen pure in the compound Dom-es Day Book. In 0.E., whether es or is-for both are found-it was always a separate syllable ; so Chaucer, “ in his lordes werre;" Wiclif, “Goddis Sone." (5) -um. Vestiges of this termination are thought to be traceable in the adserb whilom = at whiles. THIRD DECLENSION. N Sing. Plural. Sing. Plural. Nom. sun-u den-u ric-e -u (a son) (valley) Gen. sun-a -& or ena || den-e -ena | ric-es -a Dat. Whi{ sun-a -um , den-e -um ríc-e -um Abl. Acc. sun-u den-e rie-e -u So, wudu : | So, waru So, gemære Sing. Plural. Sing. Plural. men mannum fét fótum Abl.) bréther bróthrum Acc. man menn (men) | fót fét bróthor bróthra (u) Sing. Plural burgum byrig byrig Acc. ADJECTIVES. DEFINITE DECLENSION. This form is used (as in German) when the adjective is preceded by the definite article or any other demonstrative or possessive pronoun. Its terminations are the same as those of nouns of the first declension-thus Singular. Plural. N. All Genders. To þám Engliscum mannum Đám sweartan (for sweartam) deoflé He forlyst his ærran god Đæs apostolican setles (1) menn, fét (pronounce feet). We see here the origin of mod. Eng. men and feet. (2) Some think that the final e of adjectives in the singular number, as seen in this line from Chaucer : “Upon the smal-é, soft-é, swet-é gras," and in the yong-e sonne," is a trace of the A.S. definite form. N. gód gód gód gód-re INDEFINITE DECLENSION. Plural. F. gód-e' Gen. gód-es gód-re gód-es gód-ra2 Dat. gód-um gód-um gód-um gód-e gód-re gód-um mid fullon (for fullum) willan hi tame wæron hwites lichaman se hearpere swá sárig Acc. gód Abl. N. COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES. N: swifter se swiftra seó swiftre þæt swiftre the swifter The superlative ends in -ost for the indefinite, and (M.) -esta, (F.) -este, (N.) -este, for the definite declension, as :M. F. swiftost, swiftost swiftost swiftest. se swiftesta seó swifteste bæt swifteste, the swiftest. IRREGULAR COMPARATIVES AND SUPERLATIVES. POSITIVE. COMPARATIVE. SUPERLATIVE. eald, old yldre, elder yldest, eldest mycel, much mare (má), more mæst, most god (bet),3 good betere (bet), better betest (betst), best wyrse 4 worse wyrst, worst (1) góde. The plural of this adjective in 0.E. often ended in e; as Chaucer, “shoures sot-e," " tendr-e croppes," "smal-e foules maken melodie.” (2) godra. The term. ra became re in Semi Saxon. Layamon has “ the alre treuweste cniht," “ the trustiest knight of all;" Chaucer, too, in OE,"he was our aller (for alre) cok," “ he was cock of us all," j.e, he waked us in the morning. Shakspeare, too, has “ alder (a strengthened form of aller or alre) liefest sovereign," i.e." dearest of all." (3) Bet, in the Herefordshire dialect, means good; hence beter, or better, and betest, or best. (4) wyrse. In this comparative alone, s, and not r, is the distinguishing letter, supposed to be a trace of the oldest Gothic comparative ending, oza. yfel, bad git hí (híg) Singular. M. F. N. Nom. ic3 þú he heo2 hit Gen. míno þín his híre hig) Dat. me þe him4 hire him Acc. me (meh, mec) be (peh, bec) hine hí hit Dual, Plural. Dual. Plural, Plural. Nom. wit we ge Gen. uncer úre (user) incer híra (heora) Dat. unc ús inc him (heom) Acc. unc ús eower inc Examples from extracts, pp. 1–12:- We sculon be sum bíspell reccan, hit gelamp, he hí (her) hæf} geearnod, thæt hí (they) him (to him) ageafan eft his wif, Gregorius hine (him) bæd, híre (of her or her) sawle mon sceolde lædan to helle, him (to them) oleccan, hí (they) hí (them) na ne onscunedon. hí (híg) (1) hehst, nehst. Chaucer has “hext" for highest, which is similar to next for nighest, because the guttural h, plus the sibilant s =*. (2) In Lancashire they still say hoo for she. (3) ic. The c softened to ch is still heard in the provinces-chave, I have; chill, I will (4) Min, thín, his, &c., are, of me, of thee, of him, or it. So in 0.E, maugre myne, in spite of me; maugre thyne, in spite of thee; oure aller, of us all. (5) his. The word its, now used for this neuter gen., is a modern introduction, In the Authorized Version of 1611, we find in relation to a candlestick, mention made of “his shaft, and his branch," &c. (6) me, him, us. The datival force was preserved in 0.E., where we find “me thought,” “ us thought," “ him thought”-it appeared to me, to us, to him, and survives in “give me, or us, or him the book," as also in “methinks, methought.” |