The Development of Language; An Elementary Study of Language History and of the Growth of Our Speech for Use in Schools (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos, missing text, images, or index. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. 1921. Not illustrated. Excerpt: ... CHAPTER XVIII SUFFIXES A suffix is a word element standing at the end of a word or root. Thus, in 'conqueror' the syllable -or is a suffix. We have seen that most prefixes are also used as separate words. Most suffixes are not used as separate words, but are employed only to give special meaning to words or parts of words to which they are added. I. Latin Suffixes Latin suffixes are sometimes greatly changed in form in the words which have come through French. Thus, the suffix which appeared in Latin as -anus is found as -ain in the English word 'fountain.' In 'mountain, ' however, the suffix represents -aneus of late Latin. In the lists of suffixes which follow, the ending of the masculine nominative singular is given. But as has before been stated (page 115), the other cases, rather than the nominative, really represent the forms through which the modern French words and their English derivatives have come. Furthermore, the feminine ending instead of the masculine has given the form of the suffix as it appears in certain words. These Latin suffixes are found in words which were brought into English or developed at different periods, and they differ in form accordingly. Thus we have 'human' and 'humane, ' 'urban' and 'urbane.' The forms ending in -ane represent the spelling and the accent of the French words which were early introduced into English, while the forms in -an are derivatives of a more recent date. The most important suffixes which have come from Latin are the following: 1. -able, -ible, -ble. The meaning of this suffix is 'able to be' or 'that may be' or 'fit to be.' In Latin it had the form -bilis. 'Credible' is derived from Latin credibilis. There was a Latin adjective habilis, meaning 'easy to have' or 'easy to handle, ' derived from habed