'Omit' and 'ostensible' show modifications of the prefix. For Re in its negative meaning, see below.

A, ab, abs, away from', trenches upon the meaning of negation. It indicates change of position that goes more or less in the direction of opposition, a greater or less departure from the original action or state: avert, abnormal, abuse, absent, abstain.

'Advance', advantage', disguise the prefix. They are malformations from French avancer, avantage, from avant (= ab + ante).

The syllable re (again, back) plays a great part in the composition of words. Sometimes it simply repeats the operation, as rebuild, re-admit, re-open, re-animate, readjust, restore, renew, revisit, re-enter, re-write; in other names, it means 'to go back', by which meaning it approaches to negation or opposition; react, rebel, refrain, reluctance, renounce, repel, reply, resist, retaliate, retire, retort, retrace, retreat, revolt.

This last meaning is still more decidedly shown in the compound prefix retro (backwards): 'retroflex', 'retrofract', retrograde', retrovert rear', rearguard',

6 'rear-admiral'.

6

6

The form red appears for 're' in a few words, whose roots begin with a vowel: redeem, redintegration, redolent, redound, redundant.

6

The prefix 're' seems at first glance somewhat obscured in the shortened or contracted words 'rest' and 'remnant'. It is hidden under French influence in rally', 'ransom', render', and perhaps 'rent' (payment, income). While ante states simple priority of time, as in antedate', pre is used for the same purpose more frequently and emphatically, and also with other metaphorical extensions : pre-Adamite, prehellenic, predispose, predecease, precognosce, preengage, predetermine, premature, preordain, preoccupy, prevision (compare 'foresight'), prewarn (compare forewarn'); present, pretend; precede, prefer, preeminent; prescribe, precept-are a few examples of a very

expressive combination. In 'preach' and 'provost', the disguise is French.

In the primary sense of place, both prefixes are rare, 'ante' being perhaps the oftener used of the two: antecedent, antechamber, anteroom.

'Anticipate spells anti-before leaving the Latin. French influence has modified the prfiex in ancestor and 'ancient'.

Post, 'after', is chiefly used for the meaning of time: postscript, postdate, postpone, post-diluvian.

6

No less valuable than pre' is the prefix (from the Latin cum, 'with ') com, con, co; which enters into many words of classical origin with a felt meaning, and is often joined to words for the first time by ourselves. The circumstance that two or more objects accompany one another or go together, is exceedingly frequent, and very important. To state this shortly, and yet clearly, is one of the first requisites of any language that aspires to express the order of nature and the relations of human life. Our native vocabulary would be found unequal to so great a task. Our preposition with' in composition means against'; and there has been hardly any attempt to overpower the usage, by forcing the other meaning; our old 'mid' (with) remains only in midwife. In expressing the sympathetic, social, or companionable feelings and habits, Saxon is very poor; 'fellow-feeling' goes only a very little way. Still worse off are we in attempting to set forth all the relations of concurrence among external things, as given by the classical compounds-co-exist, coextensive, coincide, coinhere, contemporary, contiguous. The persons of the Trinity have to be described as COequal' and 'co-eternal'. De Quincey uses the phrase co-present to the view'. We have also co-member

ship', &c.

Roots beginning with

and r usually modify the pre

fix into col, cor:-collateral, colleague, collocate, collision; correct, correlate, correspond, corrode.

In some words the prefix is more or less obscured, chiefly

through French influence: cost, couch, counsel, count (verb and title), covenant, cover, curry, custom.

The pupils should occasionally parse words of this class, and give the equivalent of the prefix in some other form— 'co-exist', exist together, at the same time and place; 'coinhere', inhere in the same thing; 'co-eternal', eternal in company; collect', to gather together into one body, to bring to the same place; co-operate', work together, in harmony, for a common object, lending mutual help.

6

In, the preposition of place, appears (through French influence) also as en, em, and (by assimilation) as il, im, ir: incage' and 'encage', 'inquire' and 'enquire', enact, endure, envoy ; embark, embrace; incite, indwelling, inroad, install; illuminate, illusion, illustrate; imbibe, immure, impoverish; irradiate, irrigate, irruption. Not unfrequently the force of the prefix is but faintly felt. (See p. 234.) 'Ambush' and 'anoint' contain the prefix greatly modi

fied.

The fuller form intro is always decided: introduce, intromission, introspection.

Inter means between', 'among'; it is used for new compounds. Intercept, interchange, interleave, intermarry, international, interrelations.

The French modification entre influences a few words: ' enterprise', 'entertain ', and (more remotely) 'enter’.

The meaning opposite to 'in, intro, inter', is given by 'ex, e, extra', 'out of, from, without'. Various applications are exemplified in the following series: exhale, exhaust, exhibit (compare 'display'), exalt, extol, expand, extend, exhilarate, expect, execute, exonerate (compare disburden', ' unburden'); enormous, excessive, exorbitant (compare under 'extra'); emerge.

6

'Ex' is reduced to 'e':-egress, eject, elect, elegant, elevate, emaciate, emerge, erase, evade. By assimilation, ‘ex' becomes ef:-efface, effect, effort, effusion. There are many disguised compounds, the influence being mainly French: -afraid, amend, astonish, escape, escheat, essay, issue; sample, scarce, scorch, scourge, standard.

None of our words in common use are new formations by help of ex': apparent instances are found already compounded in Low Latin or in French. The only living usage is the case where we prefix 'ex' to an official title to denote that the person designated has ceased to hold the office : ex-emperor, ex-king, ex-provost, ex-secretary. Compare the Latin forms: ex-advocatus, ex-consularis, ex-consul(e), exquaestor(e).

·

Extra is outside of, beyond': extraneous, extraordinary, extravagant, extravasate, extra-mural, extra-parochial, extra pay, extra work. In the figurative sense of addition or excess compare (under 'ex') ' enormous', 'exceed', exorbitant' also 'preternatural'. In 'strange', and in 'stray' (?), the prefix is concealed under the French mask.

Preter, 'besides, beyond, more than', is used chiefly in 'pretermit', 'preternatural' (compare 'extra'), and a few designations in technical grammar.

Ad, 'to', enters into a large number of compounds. By assimilation, it takes on various forms. Adapt, adore, adhere, adjoin, admire, accent, accept, accord, acquaint, acquire, affect, affirm, aggrandise, aggrieve, allege, allow, annex, annoy, annul, append, approach, arrest, arrive, assail, assert, assimilate, attain, attend. Frequently the 'd' is omitted: abase, achieve, agree, ascribe, aspire, astringent, avail, avenge, aver, avouch, avow; in many such instances French influence is plainly visible. 'Add' is nearly all prefix.

་

We cannot undertake to mark off a clear division between the Saxon 'a' (on) and the French 'à' (ad). Mr. Earle says that in the bulk' they are to be identified', 'and even in the alterations from the Saxon, this French preposition has been influential'. (Phil. of Engl. Tongue, § 606 b, p. 566, 2nd edition.) Mätzner gives 'apeak à pic), ' apart' (= à part), ' apace' (= à pas), 'apiece' (= to the share of each), 'afront' (= in front), 'agog' (in a state of desire = à gogo).

=

To those already given may be added: adieu, adroit, affair, amass, amerce, amount.

Ambi, amb, am, an, 'both, round about', takes no part in new formations. It is found already joined to a few words: ambidexter, ambient, ambiguous, ambition, perambulate, amputate, ancipital.

Bi, bis, bini, 'twice, double, two by two', is radically connected with dis, di'. The form 'bi' is used extensively in technical compounds: biangular, bilateral, binomial, bicarbonate, bisulphate, bivalve, bisect, bifurcation, biped, bilingual. 'Bis' is rare: biscuit, bissextile. 'Bini' is seen in binary, binocle, binocular, binous-all which also may be regarded as technical.

Semi and demi (Fr.), ‘half', are used with a uniform sense in many new compounds.

Circum, around, round about', is largely employed. It is sometimes literal, sometimes figurative, always readily understood: circumference, circumnavigate, circumspect, circumstance, circumvent. 'Circu' appears in ‘circuit'.

De, 'down, from, away', occurs in many compounds :depend, depress, descend, destined; deter, detract, detain, deviate. Hence the idea of negation, opposition, removal : deform, demoralize, deprecate, depreciate, derange, destroy, desuetude, detect, dethrone; there are new technical or scientific formations, as-decarbonize, deodorize, deoxydate. Often the prefix is more or less intensive, if not entirely in abeyance decadence, deflagrate, demur, deplore, deprive, derelict, deserve, desolate, devoid.

It has been already pointed out (under 'dis') that many words beginning with 'de' are compounds not of ' de' but of 'dis'. The transforming influence was French.

Per means through, thoroughly, completely': percolate, perforate, permeate, perpetual, persist; perfect, persuade. The idea of wrongness or badness allies itself with the following: perfidy, perish, perjure, pervert.

Technical or scientific compounds are-percarburet, peroxide, persulphate, &c.

In 'peradventure', 'perchance', the governing preposition coalesces with the noun.

There is one case of assimilation—' pellucid'.