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In nimble, the acuteness of the vowel denotes celerity. In sparkle, sp denotes dissipation, ar an acute crackling, k a sudden interruption, l a frequent iteration; and in like manner in sprinkle, unless in may imply the subtilty of the dissipated guttules. Thick and thin differ in that the former ends with an obtuse consonant, and the latter with an acute.

In like manner, in squeek, squeak, squeal, squall, brawl, wraul, yaul, spaul, screek, shriek, shrill, sharp, shrivel, wrinkle, crack, crash, clash, gnash, plash, crush, hush, hisse, fisse, whist, soft, jar, hurl, curl, whirl, buz, bustle, spindle, dwindle, twine, twist, and in many more, we may observe the agreement of such sort of sounds with the things signified; and this so frequently happens, that scarce any language which I know can be compared with ours. So that one monosyllable word, of which kind are almost all ours, emphatically expresses what in other languages can scarce be explained but by compounds, or decompounds, or sometimes a tedious circumlocution.

We have many words borrowed from the Latin; but the greatest part of them were communicated by the intervention of the French; as, grace, face, elegant, elegance, resemble.

Some verbs which seem borrowed from the Latin, are formed from the present tense, and some from the supines.

From the present are formed spend, expend, expendo; conduce, conduco; despise, despicio; approve, approbo; conceive, concipio.

From the supines, supplicate, supplico; demonstrate, demonstro; dispose, dispono; expatiate, expatior; suppress, supprimo; exempt, eximo.

Nothing is more apparent than that Wallis goes too far in quest of originals. Many of these which seem selected as immediate descendants from the Latin, are apparently French, as, conceive, approve, expose, exempt.

Some words purely French, not derived from the Latin, we have transferred into our language; as, garden, garter, buckler, to advance, to cry, to plead, from the French jardin, jartier, bouclier, avancer, crier, plaider; though, indeed, even of these part is of Latin original.

As to many words which we have in common with the Germans, it is doubtful whether the old Teutons borrowed them from the Latins, or the Latins from the Teutons, or both had them from some common original; as wine, vinum; wind, ventus; went, veni; way, via, wall, vallum; wallow, volvo; wool, vellus; will, volo; worm, vermis; worth, virtus; wasp, vespa; day, dies; draw, traho; tame, domo, [Greek: damao]; yoke, jugum, [Greek: zeugos]; over, upper, super, [Greek: hyper]; am, sum, [Greek: eimi]; break, frango; fly, volo; blow, flo. I make no doubt but the Teutonick is more ancient than the Latin: and it is no less certain, that the Latin, which borrowed a great number of words not only from the Greek, especially the AEolick, but from other neighbouring languages, as the Oscan and others, which have long become obsolete, received not a few from the Teutonick. It is certain, that the English, German, and other Teutonick languages, retained some derived from the Greek, which the Latin has not; as, ax, achs, mit, ford, pfurd, daughter, tochter, mickle, mingle, moon, sear, oar, grave, graff, to grave, to scrape, whole, from [Greek: axine], [Greek: meta], [Greek: porthmos], [Greek: thygater], [Greek: megalos], [Greek: mignyo], [Greek: mene], [Greek: xeros], [Greek: grapho], [Greek: holos]. Since they received these immediately from the Greeks, without the intervention of the Latin language, why may not other words be derived immediately from the same fountain, though they be likewise found among the Latins?

Our ancestors were studious to form borrowed words, however long, into monosyllables; and not only cut off the formative terminations, but cropped the first syllable, especially in words beginning with a vowel; and rejected not only vowels in the middle, but likewise consonants of a weaker sound, retaining the stronger, which seem the bones of words, or changing them for others of the same organ, in order that the sound might become the softer; but especially transposing their order, that they might the more readily be pronounced without the intermediate vowels. For example in expendo, spend; exemplum, sample; excipio, scape; extraneus, strange; extractum, stretch’d; excrucio, to screw; exscorio, to scour; excorio, to scourge; excortico, to scratch; and others beginning with ex: as also, emendo, to mend; episcopus, bishop, in Danish bisp; epistola, epistle; hospitale, spittle; Hispania, Spain; historia, story.