be directed to its original meaning, and if they are taught to trace its derivative significations. Mr. Oswald, the author of the works which we have placed at the head of this article, has evidently comprehended the principle which we have been advocating, and he tells us that the Etymological Manual was originally suggested to his mind rather as an aid to himself, than with any idea that it might become more extensively useful. We are glad, however, that he has been induced to present this little work to the public, as we are convinced that it is calculated to facilitate in an eminent degree the labour both of the teacher and the scholar. The Manual consists of about seventy short pages, and contains nearly all the Latin and Greek roots from which English words are derived, and to each root a few examples are attached. Besides, he has given a list of what we are inclined to consider as perhaps a still more important part of the language: we allude to the prefixes and affixes, or, as these latter are now more frequently called, suffixes. Thus of English or Saxon origin, he gives us fore, before, forerunner, foresee, forewarn. Mis, (miss in German) ill or defect, misconduct, misapply, with many others. He also gives a list of prefixes of Latin and Greek origin, and also of suffixes with their meaning. We cannot more clearly show the principle on which the author proceeds, than by giving a few examples.

Ate*, having-affectionate, inanimate.

Ble, may or can be—laudable, visible, portable.
En, made of wooden, earthen, brazen.

Ful, ous, ose, y, some, full-hopeful, glorious, verbose, earthy, troublesome.

Less, without-heartless, hopeless, fearless.

It is intended that this Manual should be committed to memory, but we think this quite unnecessary. When used in connection with reading lessons, it will bring into full play the child's discriminating powers; and those who have never tried this system will be equally astonished and gratified to observe the delight and satisfaction which the pupil displays in being able to trace the root through all the various modifications which it assumes. In a work which was suited to the capacities of the younger pupils, it was impossible that any great number of examples could be given, and it was therefore necessary that there should be a work of a larger size, to which the more advanced student

*We think that there is some objection to saying Ate, having: first, because it is not true; next, because in our opinion there is hardly any way of explaining such words by mere definition of the termination: but if it is done, it should be done better than in this and other instances. The same remark applies to y and other terminations, which are translated by the word full. Earth-y does not mean full of earth,

might refer, and we may add, from which teachers also might derive assistance. This Mr. Oswald has furnished in his Etymological Dictionary, where the student will find almost every English word of any importance that is derived either from the Greek or the Latin language. He has arranged the words in classes, and under their respective roots. He has inserted under the Latin primitives words borrowed from the French, Spanish, and Italian, as they are generally derived from Latin roots, though much altered both in orthography and inflexion. We wish indeed he had added the words of the modern languages through which they have come to us, as the student will frequently not perceive the changes which the words had undergone before they reached us. This difficulty might also have been partly obviated by giving a tabular view of such systematic changes as Latin words undergo in passing directly into our language. When the usual acceptation of a word differs from its literal, the peculiarity is generally explained in short notes, which sometimes contain good information. In every word of extensive use the author has marked the progress of its meaning, and shown by what gradations it has passed from its primitive to its remote and accidental signification. Our readers will better understand the plan of the work by a few examples.

Fan-um, n. 2. a Temple: as fan'atic*, one mad with wild and extravagant notions of religion; profane, before or on the outside of the temple—not practising the duties of religion (unholy, not sacred.)

To this Mr. Oswald appends in a note, that Fanatics are those who passed their time in temples (fana), and being often seized with a kind of enthusiasm, as if inspired by the Divinity, showed wild and antic gestures; such as cutting and slashing their arms with knives, shaking their heads, &c. The profane, those who were not initiated into the mysteries of religion, and therefore made to stand before or on the outside of the temple.-We give this note just as it is, without vouching for the accuracy of it.

Again, if the root be from the Greek language, we find the same industry employed, in tracing it through all the phases under which it appears, and though we have observed some mistakes, they are of comparatively slight importance.

*Fanátic, we believe, is the received accentuation.

Odos (odos) a road or way, a journey: as meth'odist one who observes method; period'ic, pertaining to a period.

amethodical, a.

‡ meth'od, n.

method'ic, a.

period'ic, a. period'ically, ad.

immethod'ically, ad. || period, n.

synod'ical, or synod'ically, ad.

A little

We by no means wish it to be inferred from what we have said, that the work may not be very considerably amended, but it is a performance very creditable to the author, and it will be found a great assistance to the teacher. It would no doubt have swelled the book to a much larger size, if the author had included words of Saxon origin; still we think that many might have been added with much advantage to the student. It would have required, however, a knowledge of the Saxon language to have done this with any degree of accuracy, and this we suspect, from some slight slips which we observe, the author does not possess. consideration will, for instance, convince Mr. Oswald that he is wrong in supposing that the Saxon prefix Be, signifies to make. He gives as an instance to becalm, to make calm; but the simple word to calm also has the same signification. In fact, this little prefix Be has sadly puzzled all Teutonic etymologists. It is found in a great many words, without apparently changing the meaning, like the Gothic Ga, and Saxon Ge, and Anglo-Saxon Bi. A number of German words have the same particle, and we think that in many of them we can recognise the idea of nearness or closeness, attached to the preposition bey, the English by. Thus to besiege, is to sit near anything; to bereave, to take from beside a person; or it sometimes gives the signification of completeness, as to becalm, to make calm all over; to bespatter, to dirty all over. Before and behind we would explain as close in front, close at the back; in because the be may be the substantive verb, andthe word will then be equi

* Episode in poetry, a separate incident, story, or action, introduced for the purpose of giving a greater variety to the events related in the poem: an incidental narrative, or digression separable from the main subject, but naturally arising from it.

+ Exodus or Exode, departure from a place; particularly the departure of the Israelites from Egypt under the conduct of Moses; the second book of the Old Testament, which gives a history of the departure of the Israelites from Egypt. ↑ Method, literally, according to a way; a suitable and convenient arrangement of things, proceedings, or ideas; way, manner, classification.

|| Period, literally, a way or path round or about, a circuit; hence the time which is taken up by a planet in making its revolution round the sun, or the duration of its course, till it returns to the point of its orbit where it began, &c, These notes are from Mr. Oswald's book.

valent to the cause being, i. e. the cause being that you did so and so; or perhaps it is nothing more than by cause. It is curious that in the old Prussian language the preposition be is found to be Po, the labials being interchangeable. As an example of this, we give the very name of the country itself Prussia, which in German is Preussen, and in the old language was Poreussen, i. e. the country near to Reussen, Russia. Again Pommern, Pomerania, i. e. lands po meer, near the sea, which all will immediately allow as an exact description of that district. If we cross from Europe into Asia, and examine the languages of the East, we shall be surprised to find the appearance of this same particle with only some slight alterations. In Sanscrit it is abhi, not improbably contracted to bhi, which signifies before, near, at ; and Pott,* who has just published a very curious and interesting work, on what he calls the Indo-Germanic languages, observes, that it appears as a suffix of the dative case in the Sanscrit; tubhi-am, to you, where every one will recognise the Greek suffix, q, and the Latin ti-bi, i-bi; and in the plural termination bis, as no-bis, vo-bis. Even the Latin termination bus is no doubt the very same preposition, as in sermoni-bus. We may add also the Greek preposition ì as of the same family.

We

A moment's consideration will enable the author to see that the prefix Em does not give the signification of to make, to those verbs in which it is found. It is, in fact, nothing else than the preposition in; and we find a corroboration of this in the very examples which he gives. Thus embellish is to put beauty into a thing; to empower, to put power into; to empassion, to put passion into. have also such words as embrace, embower, &c., which though somewhat different from the words just mentioned, are easily explained by reference to the meaning of in. In Latin, indeed, we recognise two distinct roots, one the preposition in, and another in the adverb inde, where the in is evidently like the i in ibi, a part of the pronoun is. We should almost be inclined to think that the French en was sometimes from this last root, as, va-t-en, go away from this; s'enfuir, to fly away from this; while the other signification is found in enhardir, to put courage into, to embolden. It is by no means uncommon in that language, to find a word with the same orthography and two distinct significations, and evidently derived from distinct roots, thus mariage is a sea-term, from mare, and also marriage from maritus; coudre, a hazel-tree,

*See Etymological Investigations into the Indo-Germanic languages, particu larly in relation to the change of sound in the Sanscrit, Greek, Latin, Lithuanian, and Gothic Languages, by Dr. Aug. F. Pott. Published at Lemgo, 1833,

from corylus; and to sew, from consuere; péche, fishing, from piscari; and pêche, a peach, from malus Persica; and many others which will no doubt be suggested to our readers; so that we are perfectly aware that em may have two significations, but none of the words produced by Mr. Oswald will enable him to prove the position he has taken. All the modern languages can produce such words as hail, the Latin salve, from the Teutonic hael; and hail, congealed water, from hagel in Italian atto, from the two words aptus and actus; and in German münze, from mentha and moneta.

Mr. Oswald ought scarcely to say that sus is for sub or sursum; this last is nothing else than sub-versum contracted; and that this is the case is proved by other words of the same kind, as rursum, re-versum; deorsum, de-vorsum; seorsim, se-versum. The author has also mistaken the derivation of some Greek words: thus dropsy is found both under dwp and ὄπτω (όπτομαι); the first alone is correct. As an example of another mistake, Iliad can never be supposed to have any connexion with ad, as the author supposes.

The errors in Mr. Oswald's book seem to arise from his not having paid sufficient attention to the true forms of the original words, and to the principles of Greek and Latin etymology; thus we find

AERESIS (aipeois ab aipew), a taking. (See Heresis) aphær'esis, n. diar'esis, n.'

Whatever difficulty there may be in the explanation, the pupil should not be led to suppose that the h of apheresis belongs to the prefixed preposition. There is no word Aeresis, and therefore it should not have been given; the explanation is also imperfect, but it is better done under Heresis. Under HOL-Os, the whole, all, the author gives catholic, &c., rightly attaching the aspirate to the second part.

6

AGIL-IS, a. swift, active; as agility, &c.'

The author has evidently adopted this mode of dividing the Latin word agilis, in order to explain to the English reader the forms agile, agility, &c.: but we think that this mode of dividing the word will tend to mislead Latin students, who may use the book, and prevent them from correctly separating the adjective termination of agilis from the verbal root.

EGOR-A for AGOR-A, (ayopa) a public place; &c. allegory, n. allegorical, a. panegyr'ic, n. and a. &c.

Though there is no doubt of the etymological connexion between αγορά, ἀγορεύω, and the latter part of ἀλληγορία, &c. ; we do not think the author's explanation is good. Egora does not exist; and allegory, and its connected family of words, should have been referred directly to the true Greek forms, αλληγορία, &c.