FullReads

Many of these etymologies are doubtful, and some evidently mistaken.

The following are somewhat harder, Alexander, Sander; Elisabetha, Betty; apis, bee; aper, bar; p passing into b, as in bishop; and by cutting off a from the beginning, which is restored in the middle; but for the old bar or bare, we now say boar; as for lang, long, for bain, bane; for stane, stone; aprugna, brawn, p, being changed into b and a transposed, as in aper, and g changed into w, as in pignus, pawn; lege, law; [Greek: alopex], fox, cutting off the beginning, and changing p into f, as in pellis, a fell; pullus, a foal; pater, father; pavor, fear; polio, file; pleo, impleo, fill, full; piscis, fish; and transposing o into the middle, which was taken from the beginning; apex, a piece; peak, pike; zophorus, freese; mustum, stum; defensio, fence; dispensator, spencer; asculto, escouter, Fr. scout; exscalpo, scrape; restoring l instead of r, and hence scrap, scrabble, scrawl; exculpo, scoop; exterritus, start; extonitus, attonitus, stonn’d; stomachus, maw; offendo, fined; obstipo, stop; audere, dare; cavere, ware; whence, a-ware, beware, wary, warn, warning; for the Latin v consonant formerly sounded like our w, and the modern sound of the v consonant was formerly that of the letter f, that is, the AEolick digamma, which had the sound of [Greek: ph], and the modern sound of the letter f was that of the Greek [Greek: ph] or ph; ulcus, ulcere, ulcer, sore, and hence sorry, sorrow, sorrowful; ingenium, engine, gin, scalenus, leaning, unless you would rather derive it from [Greek: klino], whence inclino; infundibulum, funnel; gagates, jett, projectum, to jett forth, a jetty; cucullus, a cowl.

There are syncopes somewhat harder; from tempore, time; from nomine, name, domina, dame; as the French homme, femme, nom, from homine, foemina, nomine. Thus pagina, page; [Greek: poterion], pot; [Greek: kypella], cup; cantharus, can; tentorium, tent; precor, pray; preda, prey; specio, speculor, spy; plico, ply; implico, imply; replico, reply; complico, comply; sedes episcopalis, see.

A vowel is also cut off in the middle, that the number of the syllables may be lessened; as amita, aunt; spiritus, spright; debitum, debt; dubito, doubt; comes, comitis, count; clericus, clerk; quietus, quit, quite; acquieto, to acquit; separo, to spare; stabilis, stable; stabulum, stable; pallacium, palace, place; rabula, rail, rawl, wrawl, brawl, rable, brable; quaesito, quest.

As also a consonant, or at least one of a softer sound, or even a whole syllable, rotundus, round; fragilis, frail; securus, sure; regula, rule; tegula, tile; subtilis, subtle; nomen, noun; decanus, dean; computo, count; subitaneus, sudden, soon; superare, to soar; periculum, peril; mirabile, marvel; as magnus, main; dignor, deign; tingo, stain; tinctum, taint; pingo, paint; praedari, reach.

The contractions may seem harder, where many of them meet, as [Greek: kyriakos], kyrk, church; presbyter, priest; sacristanus, sexton; frango, fregi, break, breach; fagus, [Greek: phega], beech, f changed into b, and g into ch, which are letters near akin; frigesco, freeze, frigesco, fresh, sc into sh, as above in bishop, fish, so in scapha, skiff, skip, and refrigesco, refresh; but viresco, fresh; phlebotamus, fleam; bovina, beef; vitulina, veal; scutifer, squire; poenitentia, penance; sanctuarium, sanctuary, sentry; quaesitio, chase; perquisitio, purchase; anguilla, eel; insula, isle, ile, island, iland; insuletta, islet, ilet, eyght, and more contractedly ey, whence Owsney, Ruley, Ely; examinare, to scan; namely, by rejecting from the beginning and end e and o, according to the usual manner, the remainder xamin, which the Saxons, who did not use x, writ csamen, or scamen, is contracted into scan: as from dominus, don; nomine, noun; abomino, ban; and indeed apum examen; they turned into sciame; for which we say swarme, by inserting r to denote the murmuring; thesaurus, store; sedile, stool; [Greek: hyetos], wet; sudo, sweat; gaudium, gay; jocus, joy; succus, juice; catena, chain; caliga, calga; chause, chausse, French, hose; extinguo, stand, squench, quench, stint; foras, forth; species, spice; recito, read; adjuvo, aid; [Greek: aion], aevum, ay, age, ever; floccus, lock; excerpo, scrape, scrabble, scrawl; extravagus, stray, straggle; collectum, clot, clutch; colligo, coil: recolligo, recoil; severo, swear; stridulus, shrill; procurator, proxy; pulso, to push; calamus, a quill; impetere, to impeach; augeo, auxi, wax; and vanesco, vanui, wane; syllabare, to spell; puteus, pit; granum, corn; comprimo, cramp, crump, crumple, crinkle.