diately from the French, and the French from the Latin, the latter has been preferred to the former. And when any word is introduced from the Saxon, the Latin or any other language, without an exemplar, it is to be taken for granted that the fpelling in both languages is precifely coincident. Where the root is obfolete, incorrect, local, &c. the derivatives have been generally omitted; and where the original has precifely the fame fignification with the word derived from it, a particular explanation was judged unneceffary. To avoid a too frequent recurrence to foreign originals, the words of a cognate fignification, or fuch as come from the fame root, are not always referred to that root or to its offspring in the fame language, but are frequently noted as derived from each other, especially when there is any refemblance or analogy to countenance fuch a notation. The difficulty of explaining a variety of words in common ufe, many of which have numerous, collateral, and yet different fenfes, and many of these better felt than defcribed, will, it is hoped, apologize for any obfcurity, bombaft, tautology, or inelegance of expreffion which may be observed in the explanation. As this dictionary is defigned for general ufe, fome will doubtlefs think there has been too much, and others, perhaps, that there has been too little precifion obferved in this compilation. The work, however, fuch as it is, the author now ventures into the world, hoping he has but little to fear from the manly criticism of the true scholar, and still less from the known candour of the impartial public. POST SCRIPT. As a work of this nature muft of neceffity take up a great deal of time in printing, it was thought requifite to go to the prefs before the manufcript copy was quite completed. From this circumstance a few words, which have fince occurred to the compiler, and which could not be inserted in the body of the work, are added by way of Supplement. The defects of common dictionaries have long been felt. A work on this plan has been much defired. The author has endeavoured to render it as complete as poffible. He has introduced, either in the body of the work or in the Supplement, all the words he could find or remember. But the copi oufnefs of the English Language, as might well be expected, leaves him fhort of that perfection which the plan feems to require: and therefore, after all that has been done, he seeks his apology and his confolation in that well known adage: "To err is human, to forgive divine." Perfhere, April 28th, 1775. GRAM GRAMMATICAL DISSERTATIONS; OR, A Comprehenfive GRAMMAR of the ENGLISH TONGUE. SOUN DISSERTATION I. On the Sounds of the Letters in the English Alphabet. OUNDS are fugitive things, hard to catch, and difficult to retain; and therefore it is no wonder fo much should have been faid, with fo little agreement, by thofe learned writers who have profeffedly treated on this fubject. I think it must be allowed, that the poffible, and perhaps the actual, founds of the vowels in the English alphabet will admit of an endless variety. But it is the felicity of the English language, that the far greater part of these different founds are too trifling to be worthy of notice. The whole octave or practical scale of mufic admits but of twelve diftinct founds called femi tones; and though there must be, according to the nature of the fcale, an infinite gradation of founds between each of these intervals; yet they are all judged too minute to be reduced to practice. Juft fo it is with the founds of the English vowels; and that not merely by a provincial or corrupt pronunciation, but as ufed by real scholars, and, if I am not greatly mitaken, by the polifhed fpeakers in the metropolis itself. Nor is there any great inconveniency arifing from this variety of founds, for in unaccented, fhort, and infignificant fyllables, the founds of the five vowels in pronunciation will be foundnearly coincident. It must be a nice ear that can diftinguish the difference of found in the concluding fyllable of the following words. Altar, alter, manor, murmur, fatyr. The rules of proper pronunciation, fo far as they refpect the diftinct and different founds of the vowels, may be reduced to a small number. The epithets fhort and long have been introduced with evident impropriety; for a long found, properly fpeaking, is nothing more than a fhort found increased in quantity, or drawn out to a greater length in pronunciation. The broad and the narrow are certainly more expreffive; and, if we want a further distinction, let it be called the middle or intermediate. Thus the first letter or vowel in the alphabet, will be found to have three diftinct founds: as in the words, all, an, ale. The two laft I call the proper founds of this letter, because they belong to this fingle letter and to no other. Thefe, therefore, fhould be carefully noted, and kept as diftin&t and pure as poffible. The fecond vowel has like wife three founds; as in the words, them, the, me. The first ard fecond are the proper founds of this letter, and are both sufficiently diftinguished from the laft: for I cannot be perfuaded to think, that the e in the and me, and the ee in thee, which is the fame thing, are to be founded exactly alike. It is confeffed, that among fine fpeakers, especially in London, there is a prevailing affectation of confounding thefe two founds, or rather of lofing the fecond in the laft; and this perhaps may be confidered, pardon the expreffion, as one of the provincial modes of pronunciation in the metropolis. For want of this diftinction, however, many words are confounded in the English language, which feem to have a fufficient claim to be diftinguished: fuch as, thee, the; meet, meat; beet, beat; and many others that might be enumerated. Before I difmifs this article, I beg leave to mention what I look upon to be another corrupt mode of pronunciation in London. It is that in which the firft found of this letter is converted into that of the broad u; as though the found of the e in ber, and that of a in car were exactly coincident. I will only add that the middle found of the e, for which I have been contending, is, or at leaft, ought to be, retained in the words, bero, rebuild, refrain, adbefion, cobefion, and others of a like formation. Would it not be best likewife to retain the first and proper found of the e in bermetical, bernia, bermaphrodite, and many others that might be mentioned? The third vowel has likewife three diftinct founds; as in the words, bind, bird, bill. The firft of thefe is the proper found, the fecond being coincident with that of the full, and the third with that of the narrow e. The o has, I think, four diftinct founds; as in the words, cloth, ton, tone, tomb. The third is the proper found of this vowel; the firft being found to coincide with the broad e, the fecond with the broad, and the fourth with the narrow . A 2 The The has three diftinct founds; as in the words us, ufe, rule. The middle is the proper found of this vowel, the first coincides with the fecond, and the third with the fourth found of the o. They, as a vowel, may be confidered in found as the fubftitute of the i. Thus we have what may be called the proper founds of the vowels, which are seven in number; two of the a, two of the e, one of the i, one of the o, and one of the . But in order to fee which other vocal founds are to be diftinguished in the English language, we muft have recourse to the various combinations of the vowels ufed in the formation of fyllables. Thea has one found: as in Cafar, and coincides with the middle found of the e, or rather with that of the narrow i. The ai has perhaps but one found: as in the words, praife, fail, quail, and feems to be one of the proper diphthongs as comprifing the founds of the two vowels. The au has three founds: as in the words, autber, aunt, gauge. These refpectively coincide with the broad, middle, and narrow founds of the letter a. The aw has one found: as in the word, aw!, which correfponds with the broad a. Ay has one found: as in bay, lay, which coincides with the found of the ai EA has three founds: as in the words, beart, heaven, feat. The first coincides with the middle found of the a, the fecond is perhaps bett diftinguished by that kind of uncertain found which any of the vowels may acquire in a fhort or infignificant fyllable, and the last coincides with the middle e. narrow i. EE has one found: as in fee, thee, and coincides with the narr El has two founds; as in weight, deceit. The first coincides with the ai, and may be confidered as another proper diphthong, the fecond correfponds to the narrow i. EO has three founds: as in the words, George, lespard, people. The first coincides with the broad o, the fecond with the broad e, and the third with the narrow i. EU has one found: as in fud, and coincides with the middle u. as in fe, which coincides with the proper found of the u. EW has likewise one found, EY has two founds: as in the words, eyre, and rey. The first coincides with the broad, and the fecond with the narrow i. I has three founds: fie, friend, chief. The firft coincides with the broad i, the fecond with the middle e, and the laft with the narrow i. OA has two founds: as in broad, boat. The first coincides with the broad a, the fecond with the proper found of the o. of has one found: as in oil, teil, and makes what we may call another proper diphthong. 00 has three founds: as in the words, floor, flood, fool. The first coincides with the proper found on the e, the fecond with the broad, and the third with the narrow z. OW has two founds: as know, now. The firft coincides with the proper o, and the laft is the found of a proper diphthong. OE has one found: as in Phoebe, and coincides with the middle e, or otherwife with that of the narrow i. OU has three founds: as in noun, could, though. The first coincides with the ow, the fecond with the broad u, and the laft with the proper found of the o. Or has one found: as in boy, joy, and is a proper diphthong UA has two founds: as in the words guard, perfuade. The first coincides with the middle, and the fecond with the narrow found of the a. UE has one found: as in true, and coincides with the narrow . UI has three founds as in the words, guide, build, fruit. The first coincides with the proper found of the i, the fecond with the narrow i, and the third with the narrow u. EAU has two founds: as in the words, beauty, beau. The first correfponds with the proper found of the u, the other with the proper found of the o. IEU has two founds: as in lieu, lieutenant, unless the laft may be rather confidered as a corruption. The first coincides with the narrow, the last has the found of if. From the foregoing obfervations, in which I have endeavoured, as much as poffible, to diveft myfelf of all provincial modes of pronunciation both in town and country; we may deduce the following table. Abroad, O broad, au, aw, oz. A narrow proper, ea. E, broad proper, ea, O proper, oa, eu, otu, cau. C has two modifications, the bard, and the foft: as in cull, cell. It is always bard, like k, before a, o, u, and all confonants, and at the end of words; as, call, coal, cut, public. But fofi, likes, before i, e, and y: as in cit, cease, cypress. G has like wife a bard and a soft modification: as in gun, gin. It is always bard before a, 0, u, and all confonants, and at the end of words: as in get, got, gut, glad, jug. For the most part, oft before e, i, and y: as in gem, gill, clergy. But all proper names in the Bible have g bard before e, and it as in Gera, Gilboa : is likewife bard in many English words before e, and i as in geefe, geld, get, gear, girl, give, giddy, dagger, anger; and in many more which may be fupplied by obfervation. CH has one bard, and two foft modifications: as in Baruch, arch, chaife. The first prevails in words of Hebrew and Greek original, and the last in such as come from the French. PH, when joined in the fame fyllable, is founded like f: as in Ajaph, elephant. S has two modifications, a fort, and a flat: as in this, bofe. The flat found prevails in all words made plural or increased by the addition of s: as in pins, foxes, loves. TH has likewife a fharp and a flat found as in thin, thine. TI before a wewe is frequently foftened down to : as in flation, nation, in which the i is nearly if not quite loft. W, when used as a vowel, has the found of u: as in few, new; but when used as a confonant it has a found peculiar to itfelf: as in que, William. N. B. The other confonants have little or no variation. DISSERTATION II. On the Parts of Speech, and the Inflections of Words. THE HE kinds of words, or parts of Speech, in the English language, are ten. Article, fubfantive, adjective, pronoun, verb, participle, adverb, conjunction, prepofition and interjection. The Latin Grammarians, without the article, which they have not in their Language, make eight parts of speech, confounding the fubftantive and adjective, under the common name of a noun: but this is a manifeft impropriety. The fubftantive and the adjective are certainly as diftinct parts of speech as the noun and the pronoun, or the verb and the adverb. Several other diftributions have been propofed by different English authors, which we need not enumerate. And one very ingenious writer feems to give it as his opinion that all divifions on this fubject are equally uncertain and arbitrary. But notwithstanding this, it is prefumed, the divifion given above will be found, on the matureft deliberation, to have a precision which cannot well be controverted. Of an ARTICLE. An article is a part of speech set before nouns to fix their vague fignification: as a man, the man ́; as house, the house. The articles are a, an, and the. Of a NOU N. A Nown, or fubftantive, is the name of any perfon, place, or thing: as John, London, bonor, goodness. There are to numbers; the fingular, which speaks of one: as a man, a troop: and the plural, which speaks of more than one: as, men, troops. The plural is usually formed by adding s to the Angular: as, noun, rours; verb, verbs. When the fingular ends in s, x, cb, or fb, the plural is formed by adding the fyllable es: as, mifs, miffes; box, boxes; peach, peaches; brush, bushes. When the fingular ends in y with a confomont before it, the plural is formed by changing the y into ies: as, lady, ladies; cherry, cherries. When the fingular ends in f, or fe, the plural is formed by changing the f, or fe, into ves; as, life, Irves; half, halves, &c. except dwarf, grief, boof, muff, &c. which take 1, to make the plural. Sometimes the plural is formed by adding the fyllable en: as, ox, oxen: fometimes by changing the vowel: as, man, men : and fometimes by changing the vowels, and confonants: as, penny, pence; moufe, mice. Some few words, coming immediately from the Hebrew, form the plural by adding im to the fingular: as, cherub, cherubim; seraph, feraphim. Some from the Greek, eading in ea, change the es into a; as, phænomenon, phænomena. Some from the Latin in wi, change the us into i; as, radius, radii; magus, magi. Some nouns have no plural: as, wheat, &c. others no fingular; as, afbes, &c. and fome are the fame in both numbers: as, Sheep, &c. There are two genders; the mafculine, and the feminine. The mafculine denotes the bekind: as, a man, a prince. The feminine denotes the fbe-kind: as, a woman, a princess. Nouns fignifying things without life, are properly of no gender: as, a pen, a table. By a common figure in the English tongue, the fun is of the mafculine; the moon, the church, Ships, and frequently countries and virtues, such as France, Spain, faith, hope, &c. are of the feminine gender. Mafculine. Here likewife it may be necessary to observe, Feminine. Marchionefs Woman Feminine. Mafuline. Feminine. Deacon Deaconess Mafculine. Man Nephew Prince Niece Baron Baronefs Father Mother Prophet Prophetess Nouns have truo cafes; the nominative, and the genitive: the genitive cafe is formed by adding s, with an apostrophe, to the nominative: as, men, men's ; ox, ox's, NOTE. In the formation of this cafe I have complied with a late refinement; and what I really think a corrupt cuftom. The genitive cafe, in my opinion, might be much more properly formed by adding s, or, when the pronunciation requires it, es, without an apostrophe: as, men, mens; ox, oxes; horfe, borfes; afs, affes. This cafe undoubtedly came from the Saxon, and the best English writers after the Norman Conqueft, even down to the times of Chaucer and the Reformation, formed it juft in the fame manner they did the plural number, viz. by the addition of s, es, or is, and were rather sparing in the ufe of it. After that the is and es were discontinued by degrees, though the latter, in a few inftances, is retained to this day in our verfion of the Bible. As to the apoftrepbe, it was feldom used to diftinguish the genitive cafe till about the beginning of the prefent century, and then feems to have been introduced by mistake. At that time the genitive cafe was fuppofed to have had its original from a contraction: as, John's book, for John his book: but that notion has been fufficiently exploded: and therefore the ufe of the apostrophe, efpecially in thofe inftances where the pronunciation requires an additional fyllable, is, I prefume, quite indefenfible. To write ox's, afs's, fox's, and at the fame time pronounce it oxes, affes, foxes, is fuch a departure from the original formation, at least in writing, and fuch an inconfiftent ufe of the apostrophe as cannot be equalled perhaps in any other language; and though it may be faid that the apostrophe has fome propriety as a note of diftinction, yet no one, I think, who has any knowledge of grammar, can well miftake the plural number for the genitive cafe. However, it appears to me, at prefent, to be a diftinction of very little importance. Formerly there were notes ufed to diftinguifh the ablative cafe fingular, of Latin nouns of the first declenfion, and the genitive of the fourth, which are now laid afide by correct writers, and I cannot but think that, fometime or other, this will be the fate of the apostrophe in the genitive cafe. Of an ADJECTIVE. An adjective is a word that fignifies the quality of any perfon, place, or thing; as, a good man, a great city, a fine houfe. "Moft adjectives have, at least, two degrees of comparison; which are commonly called the comparative, and the fuperlative. The comparative is formed, for the moft part, by adding er to the pofitive: as, long, longer ; fhort, forter: the fuperlative by adding eft: as, long, longeft, &c. NOTE. Long is the pofitive ftate of the adjective; and therefore, as many authors obferve, cannot be properly called a flep or degree. Thefe degrees of comparison are frequently formed by the adverbs, very, infinitely, more, moft, lefs, leaft: as, more fhort, very, moft, or infinitely fhort; lefs common, leaft common, &c. There are a few adjectives peculiar in their comparison : as, good, better, beft ; bad, worse, worft, &c. |