bile; in in resin; in it: merit, inherit, credit, decrépit, debit; in ice: crevice, Venice; in en: leven (otherwise leaven), eleven, seven, heben; in el: level, rebel, revel, bevel, dishevel, shěkel; in er: nether, never, leper, alléger (from allege), sever, assever, clever, together, whether; in et: genet, tenet; in ent: clement, present; also anomalous words, as sheriff, Zephyr, relict, premiss; levee, prebend, desert, treble.

Words ending in obscure vowels are here also rarer; in al: medal, metal, pětal; in age: présage; in ace: menace, preface; in ate: prelate, legate, sénate; in ant: pedant, tenant, lieutenant; in on: melon, lémon, félon, heron; in or: tenor, and a few other, as seraph, herald; Herod, method, venom, envelop, second, record; cherub, déluge, refuge, prelude, refuse, tenure, spherule, gerund; nephew, memoir.

c) in the accented syllable ending in a consonant, and followed by an organic or unorganic mute e: eve, glèbe, theme, these, Crete, here, severe.

Except a few words in r, in which e receives the sound of the English àē, much as in the Highdutch Ehre (dimmed by the guttural r): ere, where, there compare Old-Engl. ar (are), ware, pare (ROB. OF GLOUCESTER). Thus too the Englishman pronounces the French commere. In were e is shortened. d) in the accented syllable (under the subordinate accent also), when followed by a double vowel sound, the former of which is i or e: species, aperient, aurelia, comedian, abbrēviate, allegiance, period, senior, region, genius, previus, egregious, premium, supersedeas, mezēreon, meteor; under the subordinate accent: geniality, deviätion, mediation, mediocrity, periodic, meteorology. Exceptions are rare, as especial, discretion, precious. B. In the unaccented syllable, e, where not silent, (see the silence of the vowels) is always shortened into the power of i. This tinge comes out more distinctly in the open syllable before the accent, likewise at the end of the word, if e is audible at all, and in these positions is distinguished by a lengthening, which however is insignificant, because the attraction is weakened: depárt, sedáte, repóse, elaborate, economy, event, and at the end of latinized Greek words: Phébe, Penélope, epitome, récipe, apócope, simile, pósse, also in púisne (sometimes spelt púny). It is strictly long in the latinized Greek termination es: ambages, antipodes. The i-sound comes out less decidedly in an originally close syllable: réstlessness, póet, cóvet, helmet, quarrel, bárren, linen; more distinctly in the termination es after a sibilant: bóxes, fáces, áshes, he debáses.

In the syllable er it is equal to the dimmed ir, ur: pertúrb, persuade, númber, partáker, even in emperor (compare Old-Engl. pepir pepper, aftur, hongur, longur), softened by the subsequent consonant: cómmerce. It is to be observed that

the final bre, tre, cre, gre are exactly equal to the unaccented ber, ter, cer, ger, as they were often spelt in the older English and still sometimes are; and that final sounds such as payer, player, slayer are hardly to be distinguished from those in care, fair. Lastly we must also remark the influence of the nasal n (in ent, ence) on the obscurer tinge of the unaccented e (approaching the English ù): prúdent, ágent, amendment, órnament, décence, éxcellence.

Of combinations of e with other vowels, to represent vowel (and diphthongal) sounds, ee, ei, ey, ea, eau, eo, eu and ew are to be cited.

ee is chiefly found

A) in the accented syllable, and serves there

almost solely to represent the long ī, ie, equal to the English ẽ: needle, bleed, free, feeling, careen, career, debtée, bargainée.

In Beelzebub both e's are to be pronounced; it sounds Beelzebub or Beelzebub. In e'er instead of ever and ne'er instead of never e'er is pronounced like ere in there.

By way of exception ee appears shortened into ĭ in been (OldEngl. ben) and in common life in thréepenny, thréepence (=thripenny, -ence); we also pronounce breeches (from sing. breech) like britches: compare Old-Engl. brych (ROB. OF GLouCESTER).

B) In the unaccented syllable ee is shortened like the unaccented e of the power of e: coffee, committee, lévee (according to some levée); in júbilee we use to leave to ee the long sound.

ei and ey, whereof the former belongs chiefly, though not exclusively, to the end of stems and to some derivative terminations, are equivalent in their phonetic relations, and are divided into the e-, the i- and ei- sounds.

A) In the accented syllable ei has

1) commonly the sound of the long e or the English a and ai: eight, neigh, néighbour, vein, deign, obéisance. Before r it receives the dimmed sound as in there: their, theirs, heir, heiress.

2) sometimes that of the long I, ie, Engl. e: ceil, ceiling, seize, sēizin, seine, seignior, re-per-de-con-ceive, deceit, conceit, receipt, inveigle, leizure, and in propernames as Leigh, Leith, Keil, Keith, Keighley, Keightley &c. In Pleiads the pronunciation divides plē-yads.

3) still more unusual is the diphthong sound ei, like the English î in height (from high), sleight, heigh-ho! In either and neither too some think to hear the diphthong ei.

By way of exception we pronounce ei as a short ě, English ĕ in heifer and in nonpareil.

B) In the unaccented syllable it answers to the short ĭ: fóreign, sóvereign, fórfeit, súrfeit, counterfeit.

ey has

A) in the accented syllable

1) usually the sound of the long : trey, grey, they, hey! obéy, convéy, Héytsbury; before r with a dimmed vowel, as in there: eyre, eyry, on the other hand, also spelt ærie, is pronouuced with I.

2) as a long I in key, ley (for which also lea stands).

3) as ei di hthong in eye, eylia d (pronounced îl-yad) and eyas. B) In the unaccented syllable ey answers to the short ý, i: álley, bárley, chimney, causey, Túrkey, Sídney.

ea makes sometimes the e-sound, sometimes the i-sound predominant. Linguistic usage does not divide shortness and length by fixed etymological or orthoepical principles.

A) In the accented syllable ea represents

1) frequently the sound of the short ě (English e):

a) mostly in a close syllat le, and especially when ea is followed in position by more than one consonant: breast, abreast, health, stealth, wealth, breadth, realm; in verbal forms: dreamt, leant, měant, děalt, leapt (otherwise spelt leaped) and in cleanse; in the compounds cleanly c. deriv.; in the compound breakfast also ea has been shortened; the same takes place in treadle from tread. The derivatives of seam remain unshortened, although sẽmpster is spelt along with

seamster.

If in this case r stands immediately after ea ĕ is dimmed like ë before r: earn, learn, yearn, earnest, earl, pëarl, early, heard, earth, dearth, hëarse, rehearse, search, research.

Except beard, with I. ea in position before r rarely passes into the sound a (a), which fluctuates between length and shortness in heärken, heart and hearth (by some pronounced hërth).

But even in some words ending in a simple consonant, with their inflectional forms and derivatives and in compounds ea is short ě. They mostly end in d, t and th, and one in f: lead, read (from read), ready, bread, dead, dread, tread, thread, stead, spread, head; threat, sweat; death, breath; deaf; consequently also in leaden, ready, děaden, threaden, threaten; deafen, dreader; in ahead, behead, instead, bestead, already, steadfast &c. but not in breathe &c.

b. in the open syllable we find ea short in heavy; leaven, heaven; leather, feather, weather, treachery; peasant, pheasant, pleasant; meadow; weapon; endeavour; zealot; measure, pleasure, treasure.

2) Moreover ea represents a long vowel both in the open and the close syllable, and that the long I (Engl. e): lea, pēa, plēa, flea, sea, éach, peak, league, sheath, peace, beast, appear, hear, beaver, creature &c.

By way of exception ea has in a few words the sound of ē (Engl. a): great, break, steak; before r it sounds in this case like e in there: pear, bear, tear (= to rend), swear. Dialectically the sound è is often used for ea; thus in Warwickshire sea sounds like say, meat like mait.

B) In the unaccented syllable ea, as representing a single vowel sound, is rare. It is then equivalent to the unaccented e or y with the power of i: guinea pronounced ghinny; Anglesea sounds like Anglesey, which is also written; longer in colleague. Ea is found elsewhere as an original double syllable, in which, however e is often hardened into y consonant, and then enters into combination with the consonant, or ensures the dental sound to a guttural: pageant, véngeance, ócean (pronounced osh'an). In compounds the e-sound remains: bedstead.

eau sounds

A) in the accented syllable like along ó: beau, bureau; yet like û (iú) in beauty.

B) in the unaccented syllable it loses little of its quantity as ō: flambeau. portmanteau.

eo, like the last combination, seldom employed to represent a sound, is

A) in the accented syllable:

1) to be pronounced like a long I in people, Theobald. 2) like a long ō in: yeoman, yeomanry, where some pronounce it like ě, others like u: compare Old-Engl. 3eman, yeman. In George e only serves to denote the softening of the original guttural; else eo forms two vowel sounds as in geótic.

3) eo is pronounced like iú in feód, with its derivatives, which is also spelt feud. Galleón sounds according to some galoon, usually gál-le-on.

4) it is pronounced like a short è in feoff and its derivatives fĕotfer, feoffment &c., leopard, jěorpardy and jěofail (=jéffail).

B) It does not occur in an unaccented syllable; where eon seems to be the final sound, e serves to indicate the softening of an original guttural: truncheon, scútcheon, widgeon, dúngeon, hábergeon.

eu and ew are essentially equivalent to each other.

eu is

A) in the accented syllable, equivalent to û (iú): Eûrope, feûd, deûce; the i-sound weak in itself, as it passes over into the ysound, becomes unobservable after r (rh): rheumatism.

B) In the unaccented syllable -eur is pronounced like -yür in grándeur; by some like jur.

ew sounds

A) in the accented syllable like û (iú): ewry, ewer, new, few, dew, Tewksbury; also with a following mute e: ewe. The i-sound is here also unabservable after r: brew, drew, crew, shrewd; almost so after 1: lewd, Lewis; as well as after an initial j: Jew, jewel.

By way of exception the long ō is denoted by ew: sew, shew, strew now commonly spelt with ow. Sewer- a drain is pronounced like soor or sōer, and even shōr.

B) In the unaccented syllable the sound iú loses something of its quantity: néphew, cúrfew; after r, i here totally vanishes: hébrew, yet not with 1: cúrlew.

A fluctuates in its phonetic relations and its quantity in many ways, not merely under the influence of the open or close syllable, but also of the final consonant. It denotes the sound of a and e, receives a sound lying between a and e, even that of o, and even ranges sometimes in the unaccented syllable into i.

A) In the accented syllable a has

1) the short sound, coming near to the Highdutch ä, if we bring this a shade nearer to a.

a) in general in the close accented syllable: am, add, map, pack, fact, scratch, aspect, sadness, daffodil. Syllables in which a consonant follows n, f and s have a feeble inclination to lengthen it, as in plant, command, craft, grass, grasp &c., in which formerly the vowel sound was broadened, which is no longer done.

Exceptions are here dependent on initial and final consonants a) The short vowel answers to the short a, English Ŏ or shortened English aw, when preceded by u or w, and not followed by a simpler or 1: quab, quash, quántum, quántity, quándary, squab, squash, squat, squad, wan, wand, wámble, wash, was, wánton, swan; before rr and ll in quarrel, quarry, wárrey, warrior, wallow, wallop, wallet; also before dr, which here makes position in an originally open syllable: quádrat, squadron, quádrature. Of those beginning with wh what and whap (also spelt whop) belong here.

Quaf and quag c. der., wäft, waggon, wåg remain true to the rule.

Of other words chap, pl. chaps, and the verb to chap (also pronounced chap) follow the exception, in contradistinction to the other chap (= cheapener and chapman), yacht (pronounced yot) and scallop (pronouneed scollop); in common life also slábber; according to some also jálap instead of jalap

3) Under the influence of a following r and 1 this a (a) becomes long:

1. where qu, w, wh precede the a, which is followed by an r or r together with another consonant: quârt, quârter, wâr, wârd, wârt, whârf.

2. In stems ending in l, with their derivatives and compounds, even where these lose an 1: âll, bâll, fâll, wâll, install, appâl, withâl; câlling, appâlment; also, âlways, walrus and in the foreign word Bengâl.

Where a simple stem is not found in English the word in Il follows the rule: tallow, pallet, ballast &c., gallic and many more.

3. where stands in a syllable long by, position before the dentals d and t: âlder, âlderman, Alderney, bâld, bâl