AN

ESSAY ON ENGLISH VERBS.

THERE are four terminations that belong to classes of verbs in the English language, and impart distinct characters to them. These terminations are FY, EN, LE, and ER.

CHAPTER I.

Of verbs ending in FY, EN, and LE.

1. FY.

THIS class corresponds to the verbs ending with facere in the Latin language, from which we derive the termination, softened as it came to us through the medium of the French. The verbs in FY are formed from Latin nouns; as, from mollis, TO MOLLIFY; from vilis, TO VILIFY; from pax, pacis, TO PACIFY, &c.; or they are softened from the Latin, as from liquefacere, TO LIQUEFY; stupefacere, TO STUPEFY, &c.

It is remarked, by H. Tooke, that the abbreviations of language, which are always improvements superadded in its progress, are often bor

rowed by one from some other more cultivated tongue. We have some verbs ending with IZE, EULOGIZE, FAMILIARIZE, SIGNALIZE, &C. very much resembling verbs in FY; but their number is not, perhaps, so considerable. This abbreviation we have adopted from the Greek.

2. EN.

SWEETEN, BRIGHTEN, HARDEN, FRIGHTEN, STRENGTHEN, BOLDEN, STIFFEN, &C.

These are all formed from Anglosaxon, or Gothic nouns (mostly adjective nouns), and when used in an active sense, likewise correspond to the Latin verbs in facere, as rubefacere, TO REDDEN; candefacere, TO WHITEN, &c.; when used in a neuter sense, they correspond to the Latin verbs ending in SCO, as albescere, TO WHITEN, or become white; durescere, TO HARDEN, or become hard; mollescere, TO SOFTEN, or become soft; rigescere, TO STIFFEN, &c.

3. LE.

We have a good many DIMINUTIVE verbs with this termination, like those ending with illo, in Latin. The termination has sometimes no such effect, as in kindle, wrestle, &c. but in general it conveys an expression of diminutiveness, or of our contempt and dislike.

To SCRIBBLE, is derived by Dr. Johnson from the Latin scribo-scribillo. It does not, however,

signify to write little, but that what is written is little worth.

TO PRANKLE, is a diminutive from to prance.

Now sounding tongues assail his ear,
Now sounding feet approachen near,
And now the sounds encrease,
And from the corner where he lay
He sees a train profusely gay,
Come PRANKLING o'er the place.

TO DRIBBLE, from to drip.

Parnell's Faery Tale.

Ye novelists, that mar what ye would mend,
Sniv'lling and driv'lling folly without end;
Ye pimps, who under virtue's fair pretence,
Steal to the closet of young innocence,
And teach her, inexperienced yet and green,
To scribble as ye scribbled at fifteen ;
Who, kindling a combustion of desire,
With some cold moral think to quench the fire;
Though all your engineering proves in vain
The DRIBBLING stream ne'er puts it out again.

Cowper.

ten thousand casks

For ever DRIBBLING out their base contents.

Cowper.

TO PRATTLE, from to prate.

The little strong embrace

Of PRATTLING children.

Thomson.

To SHUFFLE, perhaps a diminutive of to shove, implying to shove in a careless or contemptuous

manner.

When we have SHUFFLED off this mortal coil.

Shakespeare.

TO DRIZZLE, from the Anglosaxon dreos-an,

dejicere, præcipitare.

When the sun sets, the air doth DRIZZLE dew.

Romeo and Juliet.

TO DWINDLE, from Anglosaxon dwin-an, tabescere; thwin-an, decrescere, minui.

To TINKLE, from to tink.

Just and but barely to the mark it held
And faintly TINKL'D on the brazen shield.

Dryden.

TO SWADDLE, from to swathe, Anglosaxon sweth

an, vincire.- Bailey.

To DANDLE, from to dance.

Sporting the lion ramp'd, and in his paw

DANDL'D the kid.

Milton.

To DIRLE (Scotch), is derived by Dr. Jamieson from the Swedish darr-a, to tremble.

Bot ane DIRLING or ane littill stound.

G. Douglas' Virgil, p. 424. 1. 49.

"If there be an L," says Wallis (as quoted in Dr. Johnson's Grammar of the English tongue), "as in jingle, tingle, mingle, there is implied an

iteration, or frequency of small acts." This, if there is any thing in it, would account for to dirle being more expressive to us than to darr (Swedish darr-a), and to tremble, than to tremb (Latin trem-ere), would have been.

TO CRACKLE, from to crack, seems both a diminutive and frequentative, denoting " an iteration

"of small acts."

Who has not listened in a calm and sunny day to the CRACKLING of furze bushes, caused by the explosion of their little elastic pods? - Smith's Introduction to Botany.

TO DINLE (Scotch), is derived by Dr. Jamieson "from Islandic dyn-a tonare, or rather Belgic "tintel-en, to tingle." Perhaps it is rather a diminutive from the Anglosaxon dyn-an, to make a noise. In the north country, windows are said to dinle, when they are made to shake and ring by the near report of a gun, a clap of thunder, or a carriage passing in the street before them.

TO STRIDDLE (Scotch), from to stride.

Sin' I could STRIDDLE o'er a rig.

66

Burns.

TO STRADDLE, supposed to come from to "striddle or stride (Johnson)," is more a word of contempt.

TO TICKLE, a diminutive from to touch, by an attenuation of the vowel, like sip from sup; click from clack; tip from top. The interchange of ch and k is common in the language. Serenius gives as etymons of touch, Moso-Gothic tek-an, Islandic tak-a.

And sometimes comes she with a tithe pig's tail
TICKLING a parson's nose as 'a lies asleep,

Then dreams he of another benefice:

Romeo and Juliet.