Grammar

Two years ago I looked at Parts of Speech but only covered the most commonly known. Here are some other terms used in grammar but, rather than explaining their use, this time I have simply looked at the etymology of the word.

Ablative - is the 'grammatical case denoting removal or separation', it came to English through the Old French and Latin route, where in the Latin phrase casus ablativus we see the meaning of 'case of removal'. Here the root is Proto-Indo-European bher meaning 'to carry' and a word we still use in the sense of 'to bear children'.

Absolute - came to us from the Latin absolvere and is ultimately from Proto-Indo-European swe leu which literally means 'ourselves apart (from)'.

Accidence is derived from 'accident', itself from Proto-Indo-European ad kad 'to make fall' (which hardly sounds accidental to me!)

Accusative is clearly derived from 'accuse', which features the suffix ad used to mean 'with regard to' and the Latin causa 'a reason' which is of unknown origin.

Active came to English through the French/Latin route and is ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ag 'to drive, move'.

Adjunct is from 'adjoin', once again featuring the prefix ad 'with regard to' and the Proto-Indo-European yeug 'to join'.

Analysis comes from the Greek ana lyein, literally 'to unfasten throughout' and from Proto-Indo-European an 'upon, above' and leu 'to loosen, divide'.

Antonym is from the Greek anti 'opposite' and onym 'name' and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European anti nomm with exactly the same meaning.

Apostrophe - from the Greek apo 'off, away from' and strephein 'to turn', in turn from Proto-Indo-European apo strebh, 'to turn away'.

Article refers to anything written, with a root in Proto-Indo-European ar 'to fit together' and coming to English via articulus meaning not only 'a part' but also 'knuckle'.

Assonance features that ad suffix again, here with the Proto-Indo-European root swen to give 'with regard to sound'.

Clause shares an origin with the verb 'to close', these from Latin clausus 'to shot, close' and intriguingly from Proto-Indo-European klau meaning 'hook, peg, crooked, forked branch', all being seen in the sense of 'closing'.

Colon had me worried but only comes from the Latin word for 'part of a poem', itself from Greek kolon and used to mean 'part of a verse' but literally 'limb, member' and particularly referring to the leg but also a tree limb. These all have a root in Proto-Indo-European kel 'bent, crooked'.

Comma is the Latin for 'short phrase', itself from Greek komma 'piece which is cut off' and from the root Proto-Indo-European kop 'to beat, strike', itself also the root of 'hatchet'.

Conditional is from 'condition', itself from Latin and ultimately Proto-Indo-European deik 'to show'.

Conjugate is from the Latin coniugatus and ultimately Proto-Indo-European kom yeug 'to join together'.

Consonant is ultimately from Proto-Indo-European kom swen 'to join sound'.

Dative can be traced through Latin dativus 'pertaining to giving' to the Proto-Indo-European root do 'to give'.

Declension is from Latin declinare, also the root of 'decline', and traced back to Proto-Indo-European de 'from' and klein 'to lean'.

Decline (see above)

Definite shares a root with 'define' in de 'from' and dhigw 'pierce, fix, fasten'.

Diaeresis has two root elements, dia 'apart' and ser which means 'to seize' and shares an origin with 'heresy'.

Ellipsis has two elements, enin and leikw the Proto-Indo-European word meaning 'to leave'.

Epistrophe has two Proto-Indo-European elements epi 'near, at, against and strebh 'to wind, turn'.

Feminine comes from Proto-Indo-European dhei 'to suck' as in 'she who suckles'.

Finite shares a root with 'finish' and 'fix' in Proto-Indo-European dhigw 'to pierce, fix, fasten'.

Fricative shares an origin with 'friction' in Proto-Indo-European bhreie 'to rub, break'.

Gender shares a root with 'gene' in Proto-Indo-European gene 'to give birth'.

Hyperbaton has two Proto-Indo-European elements uper 'over' and gwa 'to go'.

Imperative also has two Proto-Indo-European elements en 'in' and pere 'to produce'.

Imperfect from the prefix im 'not, opposite of' and from the same root as 'perfect' per 'completely' and dhe to set, put'.

Interrogative comes from 'iterrogate' and Proto-Indo-European inter reg 'to stretch out in a straight line'.

Indefinite the opposite of 'definite' (see above).

Infinite the opposite of 'finite' (see above).

Intransitive is the opposite of 'transitive' (see below).

Irregular features the prefix in 'opposite of' and the Proto-Indo-European reg in 'a straight line'

Labial refers to the way a word is sounded, this from 'lip' and Proto-Indo-European leb 'to lick'.

Litotes is a Greek word meaning 'plainness, simplicity' and from the Proto-Indo-European root lei 'smily, sticky, slippery'.

Meiosis is a Greek word from the Proto-Indo-European root mei 'small'.

Metaphor again of Greek origins, where meta 'over, across' precedes Proto-Indo-European bher 'to carry' and 'bear children'.

Metre is derived from the same root as the metric measurement, this Proto-Indo-European me 'to measure'.

Neologism three Greek elements this time: neo 'new', logos 'word', and ism 'condition or quality of being'.

Nominative comes from 'nominate', itself from 'name', which is a Proto-Indo-European word nomm meaning 'name'.

Object a word which has certainly changed its meaning over time. It has two elements ob in front of, against' and the Proto-Indo-European root ye 'to throw, impel'.

Onomatopoeia still appears more Greek than English, this coming from onoma 'word, name' and the same Proto-Indo-European root as 'poet', this kwei 'to pile up, build, make'.

Oxymoron another obviously Greek word, here Proto-Indo-European ak 'be sharp, rise to a point' precedes moros 'stupid'.

Parataxis features more Greek, with para from Proto-Indo-European per 'forward, toward, near' and a Proto-Indo-European word tag 'to touch. handle' which is also the root of 'tactics'.

Parse comes from Proto-Indo-European pere 'to grant, allott'.

Particle also comes from Proto-Indo-European pere as above.

Participle shares an origin with 'participate' in Proto-Indo-European pere 'to grasp, allot' and kap 'to grasp'.

Passive comes from Latin root pati meaning 'to suffer'.

Person is of Greek origin and could share a root with the mythical Persephone in meaning 'mask'.

Semicolon while 'semi' does mean 'half', it comes from the rootsem 'imperfect' which explains why a semicolon is not half a 'colon' - if it did this wouldbe defined as 'half bent or crooked' and that would just be plain silly.

Sentence is from the past participle of 'sense', traceable to Proto-Indo-European sent 'to go'.

Simile shares an origin with 'similar' in Proto-Indo-European sem 'one, as one'.

Subject is along the lines of 'object' (see above) only here the Proto-Indo-European upo is 'under' with ye 'to throw, impel'.

Subjunctive links the prefix sub 'under' with the Proto-Indo-European root yeug 'to join'.

Subordinate another sub or 'under' with a word having the same origin as 'order', this Proto-Indo-European ar 'to fit together'.

Supine comes from the Latin supinus used figuratively to mean 'inactive, indolent' and derived from the Proto-Indo-European root sup 'under'.

Syntax is from the Greek where syn 'together' precedes tassein 'arrange'.

Transitive links the prefix trans 'across, beyond' and the Proto-Indo-European root ire 'to go'.

Vocative shares a root with 'vocal' in Proto-Indo-European wekw 'to speak'.

Vowel comes from exactly the same Proto-Indo-European root wekw 'to speak'.

Zeugma is a Greek word meaning 'that which is used for joining' literally 'a yoking' and comes from Proto-Indo-European yeug 'to join'.

Lost Letters of the English Alphabet

I spend a lot of time reading old documents. As anyone who has done such will tell you, this is not something which comes easily. Not only is the handwriting often abysmal but these also contain letters we have long since abandoned. This turned my thoughts to wondering where these letters originated and why they fell by the wayside leaving just the 26 letters of the alphabet taught from our very first day in school (and often before).

Our modern alphabet uses the symbols, for that what letters really are, used in Latin. Yet the English language came from the Germanic group, Old English brought here by the Saxons after the Roman Empire abandoned our islands. This early tongue used a runic alphabet, as did the closely related Old Scandinavian who knew the variants as futhark, with the latter name coming from the first six letters of their alphabet.

I have attempted to put these in alphabetical order, using the modern equivalents as a guide. However this proved difficult with several as there are no comparable equivalents, hence this is an approximation of alphabetical order.

Ash is probably familiar to many, it is still pronounced as 'eye'.

Tironian ond is named after the Roman Tiro who invented a shorthand system where 'ond' represented 'and'.

Yogh hardly has a modern equivalent, although perhaps the best way to hear it is in the 'ch' pronunciation as in the name of composer Bach.

Insular G may not be the catchiest of names for a letter, hence perhaps the reason it is sometimes called 'Irish G', it was used as well as yogh until eventually replaced by same.

Eng was invented in 1619 by scribe Alexander Gill and intended to replace the 'ng' at the end of words.

Ethel was a letter, one which should be seen as the 'oe' equal of ash.

Long s will be familiar to us all as the 's' in the middle of words, rarely found at the beginning or end of words. In truth it is not strictly a different letter but simply a different way of writing 's'.

Thorn was replaced by the sound 'th' and pronounced exactly the same. It fell out of use due to its similarity to the 'y'. It is the harder pronunciation of 'th', as in 'this', 'that', 'the' and 'other'.

That is not a word here but a letter. Once used much less than thorn it outlived same and can still be found in churches and religious texts.

Eth is the softer pronunciation of 'th', such as in 'thick' and 'thin'. It fell out of use quite early, replaced by thorn.

Wynn was the equalivalent of the modern 'w'. The 'w' is an odd letter because the way we say the letter is actually wrong - it should be 'double v' and not 'double u'. Even stranger the Latin, from where we get the letter, did not have a 'u' but a 'v', albeit the latter being used as the vowel.

Ampersand is still in use, indeed text messaging has increased its popularity to a point where it is undoubtedly used more often and by more people than ever before. While today we use it as an abbreviation, it was once considered a letter in its own right and even placed at position 27 in the alphabet as recently as the 19th century.

It does strike me that many of these letters would come in extremely useful if they were included in the piles of letters dished out by Rachel Riley on Coundown. It might have helped the chap on the right to win more games.

Yes it's me on your Television

Follow the link to this CrowdFunding site, as I do my bit to raise money for a venue for our local Literary Festival. Speaks for itself although worthwhile just pointing out this chap is on Countdown being broadcast November 4th 2015.

Any authors, publishers, poets, editors, et al out there who would like to come to Tamworth and take part in any of our future events just drop us a line, we are always glad to hear from you.

Thank you for your time and your help!

Yet Even More Words You Will Never Use

Some time ago I listed an A-Z of very unusual words. While flipping through dictionaries and the like on the hunt for word meanings and origins, too often I find myself distracted by words which may or may not be in official use but which would certainly be unknown to the vast majority. So the result is the following A to Z of words which would be of great help to any would-be Countdown contestant and a pain in the proverbial for guests on Call My Bluff.

A is for AZYGOUS - generally only used in an organic sense where the meaning is 'single, not existing in pairs'.

B is for BURHEL - and the name of a breed of wild sheep found in the Himalayas.

C is for CATAFALQUE - a delicious word which would probably be used more were it not for it being the name of a decorative wooden frame for a coffin, used primarily for those lying in state.

D is for DZO - the name given to a beast, the hybrid of a male yak and a cow.

E is for EUSTASY - something we may hear more often, it is the change of sea level due to melting ice caps, glaciers or techtonic movement.

F is for FURCULA - not a word you will have used to describe 'a forked organ or structure' but one you will certainly have seen as it is the correct description for the wishbone of a bird.

G is for GRALLATORIAL - is an adjective relating to long-legged wading birds.

H is for HOPPLE - the act of tying the legs of a quadruped together to prevent it going anywhere.

I is for INFUNDUBULAR - never used but often seen, it means 'funnel-shaped'.

J is for JOWAR - a variety of sorghum native to Asia.

K is for KNAG - the short remains of a dead branch.

L is for LORICATE - having bones or scales forming armour as a defence.

M is for MYRMIDON - either a hired ruffian or a lowly servant.

N is for NUCHAL - an adjective relating to the nape of the neck.

O is for ORTHOGONAL - simply means 'having right angles'.

P is for PUTLOG - a short horizontal timber projecting from a wall which allowed scaffolding boards to be used.

Q is for QUODLIBET - a medley of well-known tunes.

R is for RYOKAN - a traditional Japanese inn.

S is for SWIPPLE - the swinging of a flail.

T is for TYCHISM - the idea that chance is the controlling factor in the entire universe.

U is for UMBLES - the edible offal of deer.

V is for VELUTINOUS - covered with soft fine hairs.

W is for WIGHT - an archaic term for a person.

X is for XERIC - means 'very dry'.

Y is for YERKNOD - a donkey.

Z is for ZNEES - a synonym for 'frost'.