sense, notwithstanding their name, is perhaps the character in which they oftenest occur. 3dly. A few of them are desiderative verbs, captare, venditare, prensare, dormitare, ostentare, munitare, affectare, mutuitari. 4thly. A few seem to have but a remote connexion with their supposed primitives: tentare, supposed from tenere, tractare from trahere, mutare from movere. It would be easy to illustrate the different applications or characters of the Latin frequentative verbs, by quotations from the classics, but my business is with the frequentative verbs in our own language; and the nature of the subject renders brevity peculiarly necessary. Those, therefore, who are not satisfied with the preceding account of the Latin frequentative verbs, are referred to the Latin Synonymes by M. J. B. Gardin Dumesnil, translated into English by the Rev. J. M. Gosset, and the following words, allectare, amplexari, diversari, exercitatus, grassari, increpitare, sectari, insectari, labefactare, licitari, natare, nexare, objectare, ostentare, pensare, potatio, pulsare, propulsare, quassare, raptare, recantare, reptare, responsare, saltare, tutari, volitare, fodicare, labascere, saturare, vellicare, concupiscere;-and to affectare and visere in Dr. Hill's Synonymes of the Latin language. ENGLISH FREQUENTATIVE VERBS. THE English frequentative verbs (as I have ventured to call them) are formed by the addition of ER, generally to the past tense or past participle of the primitive verb. It is unimportant whether we say to the past tense or past participle, because, anciently these were generally the same word, as is still the case with many verbs: but in a few instances, the participial termination ED or T, as well as the characteristic vowel of the past tense, is necessary to account for the formation of our frequentatives. 66 "Our ancestors did not deal so copiously in adjectives and participles, as we, their descendants, now do. The only method which they "had to make a past participle, was by adding "ED or EN to the verb: and they added either "the one or the other indifferently, as they pleased 66 (the one being as regular as the other), to any verbs which they employed: and they "added them either to the indicative mood of the verb, or to the past tense. Shak-ed or shak-en, 66 66 66 smytt-ed or smytt-en, grow-ed or grow-en, hold-ed "or hold-en, stung-ed or stung-en, build-ed or build-en, stand-ed or stand-en, mowed or mow-en, "know-ed or know-en, throw-ed or throw-en, sow-ed "or sow-en, com-ed or com-en, &c. were used by "them indifferently. * But their most usual * ED seems always to have been the prevailing participial termination. "method of speech was to employ the past tense itself without participializing it, or making a par 66 66 ticiple of it by the addition of ED or EN. "Take as an instance the verb to heave, heaf-an; 'By adding ED to the indicative, they "Their regular past tense was (haf, hof) By adding ED to it, they have the 66 66 Heaven Hove Hoved By adding EN, they had the participle Hoven "And all these they used indifferently.”—Div. of Purley, vol. ii. p. 91. Most of our frequentative verbs being words of great antiquity, it is not to be wondered at, if the preterites or past participles, from which some of them are formed, are not now in use, nor even all the primitives themselves preserved in modern English; and that in tracing them, we must, therefore, occasionally have recourse to the Anglosaxon, and some of the cognate northern languages. I. From to climb, preterite, clamb, is formed the frequentative TO CLAMBER, which expresses a greater exertion than the primitive. Dr. Johnson, "to clamber (probably corrupted "from climb, as climber, clamber), to climb with difficulty, as with both hands and feet." 66 He passed week after week in CLAMBERING the mountains, to see if there was any aperture which the bushes might conceal, but found all the summits inaccessible by their prominence. Rasselas. Before another wave could overtake me, I reached the mainland, where CLAMBERING up the cliffs of the shore, tired, and almost spent, I sat down in the grass, free from the dangers of the foaming ocean. - Robinson Crusoe. Or hold him CLAMBERING all the fearful night Castle of Indolence. II. From to beat, the frequentative TO BATTER, to beat much or often. 66 Dr. Johnson, "To batter (battre, to beat), to beat, to beat down, to shatter, &c." Batt-re is the same word as to beat, Anglosaxon beat-an, percutere. The termination RE is the French mark of the infinitive mood (a termination of declension like ons, ez, ent, &c.), which we have not perhaps in any instance taken along with the word; thus from arriver to arrive, arranger to arrange,―so assort-ir, atteind-re, attend-re, pass-er, charm-er, propos-er, estim-er, compt-er, descend-re, trait-er, concev-oir, convert-ir, conven-ir, prolong-er, employ-er, &c. According to Dr. Johnson, we have taken the infinitive termination, with one or two other verbs, which will be mentioned afterwards. When Bellona storms With all her BATTERING engines bent to rase Milton. Here long they knock, but knock or call in vain, Parnell. Thick beat the rapid notes, as when The BATTER'D earth returns their tread. Sir W. Scott. III. Horne Tooke derives fault from the Italian fallito, Div. of Purley, vol. ii. p. 32. There is not, I believe, any such Italian word in that sense, but it might be formed from fallire. This word has two meanings in Italian, one from the Latin fallere, to deceive; the other from the Gothic, to fail (manquer, commettre des fautes) German fehlen, Swedish fel-a, &c.: and if fault, is a past partiIciple of an Italian verb, it is of fallire, to fail. To FAULTER, is properly a frequentative of to fail, though more nearly perhaps of to falt. Traiste weile, unpunyst ze sall me not astert One sic ane wise, gif ze falt efterwart. G. Douglas's Virgil, p. 17. 1. 20. It war yneuch, and mycht suffice, think we, Ibid. p. 279. 1. 28. Quhidder was it we, or than Paris that faltit. Ibid. p. 316, 1. 26. Gif he has faltit, summond him to your seinzie. Sir D. Lindsay, vol. ii. p. 56. Chalmers's Edition. Is not faultering in pronunciation, frequent failing or faulting in articulation? Comfort came down the trembling wretch to raise, Goldsmith. She faints, she falls, and scarce recovering strength, |