:

Conjunctions are not equally neceffary in all forts of writing. In poetry, where great concifenefs of phrafe is required, and every appearance of formality avoided, many of them would have a bad effect. In paffionate language too, it may be proper to omit them: because it is the nature of violent paffion, to speak rather in disjointed fentences, than in the way of inference and argument. Books of aphorifms, like the Proverbs of Solomon, have few connectives; because they inftruct, not by reasoning, but in detached obfervations. And narrative will fometimes appear very graceful, when the circumstances are plainly told, with fcarcely any other conjunction than the fimple copulative and which is frequently the cafe in the hiftorical parts of Scripture. When narration is full of images or events, the omiffion of connectives may, by crowding the principal words upon one another, give a fort of picture of hurry and tumult, and fo heighten the vivacity of defcription. But when facts are to be traced down through their confequences, or upwards to their caufes; when the complicated defigns of mankind are to be laid open, or conjectures offered concerning them ; when the hiftorian argues either for the elucidation of truth, or in order to ftate the pleas and principles of contending parties; there will be occafion for every fpecies of connective, as much as in philofophy itself. In fact, it is in argument, investigation, and science, that this part of fpeech is peculiarly and indifpenfably neceffary."

CHAPTER X.

Of INTERFECTIONS.

INTERJECTIONS are words thrown in between the parts of a fentence, to exprefs the paffions or emotions of the fpeaker: as, "Oh! I have alienated my friend; alas! I fear for life :” "O virtue! how amiable thou art !"

The English Interjections, as well as thofe of other languages, are comprised within a small compafs. They are of different forts, according to the different paffions which they serve to exprefs. Those which intimate earnestnefs or grief, are, O! oh! ah! alas! Such as are expreffive of contempt, are pish! tush! of wonder, heigh! really! frange! of calling, bem! ho! fohe! of averfion or disgust, fob! fie! away! of a call of the attention, lo! behold! hark! of requesting filence, hush! hift! of falutation, welcome! hail! all hail! Befides thefe, feveral others, frequent in the mouths of the multitude, might be enumerated; but, in a grammar of a cultivated tongue, it is unneceffary to expatiate on fuch expreffions of paffion, as are fcarcely worthy of being ranked among the branches of artificial language.

CHAPTER XI.

Of DERIVATION.

SECT. 1. Of the various ways in which words are derived from one another.

HAVING treated of the different forts of words, and their various modifications, which is the first part of Etymology, it is now proper to explain the methods by which one word is derived from another.

Words are derived from one another in various ways, viz.

1. Subftantives are derived from verbs.

2. Verbs are derived from fubftantives, adjectives, and fometimes from adverbs.

3. Adjectives are derived from fubftantives. 4. Subftantives are derived from adjectives. 5. Adverbs are derived from adjectives.

1. Subftantives are derived from verbs: as, from " to love," comes "lover;" from " to vifit, vifiter;" from "to furvive, furviver;" &c.

In the following inftances, and in many others, it is difficult to determine whether the verb was deduced

from the noun, or the noun from the verb, viz. "Love, to love; hate, to hate; fear, to fear; fleep, to fleep; walk, to walk; ride, to ride; act, to act ;" &c.

66

2. Verbs are derived from fubftantives, adjectives, and fometimes from adverbs: as, from the fubftantive falt, comes to falt ;" from the adjective warm, "to warm ;" and from the adverb forward," to forward." Sometimes they are formed by lengthening the vowel, or foftening the confonant; as, from "grafs, to graze :" fometimes by adding en; especially to adjectives: as, from "length, to lengthen; fhort, to fhorten."

3. Adjectives are derived from fubftantives, in the following manner: Adjectives denoting plenty are derived from fubftantives by adding y: as, from "Health, healthy; wealth, wealthy; might, mighty," &c.

Adjectives denoting the matter out of which any thing is made, are derived from substantives by adding en: as, from "Oak, oaken; wood, wooden; wool, woollen," &c.

Adjectives denoting abundance are derived from fubftantives, by adding ful: as, from "joy, joyful; fin, finful; fruit, fruitful," &c.

Adjectives denoting plenty, but with fome kind of diminution, are derived from fubftantives, by adding fome: as, from "Light, lightfome; trouble, troublesome; toil, toilfome," &c.

Adjectives denoting want are derived from substantives, by adding less: as, from "Worth, worthlefs ;" from care, carelefs; joy, joyless," &c.

Adjectives denoting likenefs are derived from fubftantives, by adding ly: as, from "Man, manly; earth, earthly; court, courtly," &c.

Some adjectives are derived from other adjectives, or from fubftantives, by adding ifb to them; which termination, when added to adjectives, imports diminution, or leffening the quality: as, "White, whitish ;" i. e. fomewhat white. When added to fubftantives, it fignifies fimi

litude or tendency to a character: as, "Child, childish ; thief, thievifh."

Some adjectives are formed from fubftantives or verbs, by adding the termination able; and thofe adjectives fignify capacity: as, as, "Anfwer, anfwerable; to change, changeable."

66

4. Subftantives are derived from adjectives, fometimes by adding the termination nefs: as, White, whiteness; fwift, fwiftnefs:" fometimes by adding th or t, and making a fmall change in fome of the letters: as, "Long, length; high, height."

5. Adverbs of quality are derived from adjectives, by adding ly, or changing le into ly; and denote the fame quality as the adjectives from which they are derived: as, from "bafe," comes 66 bafely;" from "flow, flowly;"

from "able, ably."

There are fo many other ways of deriving words from one another, that it would be extremely difficult, and nearly impoffible to enumerate them. The primitive words of any language are very few; the derivatives form much the greater number. A few more instances only can be given here.

Some fubftantives are derived from other fubftantives, by adding the terminations hood or head, fhip, ery, wick, rick, dom, ian, ment, and age.

Subftantives ending in hood or head, are fuch as fignify character or qualities; as, " Manhood, knighthood, falfehood," &c.

Subftantives ending in ship, are those that fignify office, employment, state, or condition: as, "Lordship, ftewardfhip, partnership," &c. Some fubftantives in hip, are derived from adjectives: as," Hard, hardship," &c.

Substantives which end in ery, fignify action or habit: as, "Slavery, foolery, prudery," &c. Some fubftantives of this fort come from adjectives; as, "Brave, bravery," &c. Subftantives ending in wick, rick, and dom, denote do

minion, jurisdiction, or condition : as, "Bailiwick, bishoprick, kingdom, dukedom, freedom," &c.

Subftantives which end in ian, are thofe that fignify profeffion; as, "Phyfician, musician," &c. Thofe that end in ment and age, come from the French, and generally fignify the act or habit; as, "Commandment, ufage."

Some fubftantives ending in ard, are derived from verbs or adjectives, and denote character or habit : as, "Drunk, drunkard; dote, dotard."

Some fubftantives have the form of diminutives; but these are not many. They are formed by adding the terminations, kin, ling, ing, ock, el, and the like, as, "Lamb, lambkin; goofe, gofling; duck, duckling; hill, hillock; cock, cockerel," &c.

That part of derivation which confifts in tracing English words to the Saxon, Greek, Latin, French, and other languages, must be omitted, as the English scholar is not fuppofed to be acquainted with thefe languages. The best English dictionaries will, however, furnish fome information on this head, to thofe who are defirous of obtaining it. The learned Horne Tooke, in his "Diverfions of Purley," has given an ingenious account of the derivation and meaning of many of the adverbs, conjunctions, and. prepofitions.

It is highly probable that the fyftem of this acute grammarian, is founded in truth; and that adverbs, prepofitions, and conjunctions, are corruptions or abbreviations of other parts of speech. But as many of them are derived from obfolete words in our own language, or from words in kindred languages, the radical meaning of which is, therefore, either obfcure, or generally unknown; as the fyftem of this very able etymologift is not fully admitted and established; and as, by long prescription, whatever may have been their origin, the words in queftion appear to have acquired a title to the rank of diftinct fpecies; it feems proper to confider them, as fuch, in an elementary treatife of grammar: especially as this plan coincides with

M