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PREFACE. n the present dissertation I shall treat of the history and use of the suffixes - ery ry, - age and - ment in English. a The English suffixes have not yet been made the object of an historical investigation. What has been written on them is almost confined to the accounts given in the English Grammars by MATZNEKRo, cn, SWEEaTn d others. These accounts are, for the most part, , very summary the origin of the suffix is stated and its different significations given with a few examples. KOCH has treated English word-formation more fully than anybody else, and his lists of examples contain a larger number of formations than is usually given in the Grammars. His account, however, lacks clearness and order. In dealing with the. French and Latin suffixes KOCH, it seems to me, makes a fault when he takes Latin for his starting-point. This arrangement is by no means advisable, as comparatively few formations can be traced back to Latin, and especially as regards suffixes like - ery -ry, and - age it is quite out of place, because these suffixes, save in a few exceptional cases, do not answer to Lat. - erium and - aticum. A book on English Affixes by S. S. HALDEMAinN N recommended by SKEA, T but it is, in point of fact, a very meagre compilation of suffixes and prefixes with short notes and a few examples. L Concise Etymological Dictionary Oxford 1901, p. 631. The best that has been written so far on this subject is found in NED. and it goes without saying that I have availed myself of the excellent articles on the suffixes . contained in that dictionary. I have chosen the above-mentioned suffixes for my investigation chiefly because they are among the most commonly used ones of thoseadopted from French besides, they might well be grouped together from the point of view of their meanings, as many of these are common e to the three suffixes. 1 have divided my accounts of the suffixes into two chief sections, the one dealing with their early history, the other with their meanings. An investigation into the history of the French suffixes in English, apart from its interest as a study on English word-formation, may also give us some information on the relation between the French and Native element in the English language. As this is a question of great interest, I have tried in an introduction to give an account of the position of the- ativaen d French suffixes, and especially of the relation of the latter to the Native element in English. I here take the opportunity of expressing my sincere thanks to Professor Eilert Ekwall, who suggested this work and whose kind advice has always been at my disposal throughout the preparation of it. My thanks are also due to Lector Charles Scott Fearenside, who has revised the language of my treatise and who has also helped me during the proof-reading. Lutld, November 1910. Fredrik Gadde. TABLE OF CONTENTS . Page . ... Preface .................................................................................. 1 . . 1 . . 1 Table of Contents .................................................................... V Works Consulted and Abbreviations Used .................................. vi Introduction ............................................................................ i The French and Native Element in English .............. ii Hybridism ......................................................... jii The Native Suffixes............................................... IV The French Suffixes . ...........................