([6.]) Mutes or nasals are assimilated to liquids; thus n to l: as, homullus, manikin, for *homon-lus (cf. homun-culus); ūllus ([274]); d to l: as, sella, seat, for *sed-la from the stem sed- (cf. sedeō); caelum, chisel, from the stem caed- (cf. caedō) with simplification of the double l after the diphthong ([170, 7]); n to r: as, irruō, I rush in; and with progressive assimilation n to a preceding l: as, tollō, I lift, for *tolnō ([833]); fallō, I cheat ([932]); pellō, I push ([932]). But no assimilation is to be assumed for parricīda, which does not stand for patricīda ([133, 1]).
([7.]) One liquid, r, is assimilated to another, l: as, pelliciō, I lead astray ([956]), for *per-liciō; agellus, small field, for *agerlos; pūllus, clean, from *pūrlos (cf. pūrus, clean).
([8.]) A spirant, s, is assimilated to a preceding liquid in velle, wish, for *velse, ferre, carry, for *ferse (the infinitive ending -se appears in es-se, [895]); facillimus, easiest, for *facilsimus ([345]); sacerrimus, holiest, for *sacersimus ([344]). But where ls and rs are not original but the result of lightening ([170, 3]; [10]) they remain unchanged: as, arsī, I burnt, for *artsī from the stem ard- (cf. ardeō, [1000]); alsī, I felt cold, for *alcsī from the stem alg- (cf. algeō, [1000]).
([9.]) g and d were assimilated to a following unsyllabic i (i̭) the result being ([153, 2]) ii (i̭i̭); thus peiior, worse, for *ped-i̭or, from the stem ped- ([532]), whence also the superlative pessimus for *petsimus ([166, 2]); maiior, greater, for *mag-i̭or (the stem mag- appears in magis); aiiō, I say, for *ag-i̭ō (the stem ag- appears in ad-ag-ium, prōd-ig-ium, [219]). These forms were pronounced by Cicero with doubled i̭ ([23]), and traces of the spelling with double ii are still found ([23]), though in common practice only one i is written ([153, 2]). On the confusion of syllabic quantity with vowel quantity in these words, see [133], 2.
[167]. Pronunciation of two successive consonants is sometimes facilitated by the insertion of a consonant which serves as a glide. Such insertion is not frequent.
In inflection a p was thus developed between m and s, between m and l, and between m and t (elsewhere mt changed to nt, see [164], 3): as, sūmpsī, I took, sūmptus, taken, from sūmere for *sūmsī, *sūmtus; and in the corresponding forms of cōmō, dēmō, prōmō ([953]); exemplum, pattern, for *exemlum from the stem em-, take (cf. eximere, [103, a]).
[168]. A word may be lightened by the disappearance of an initial, a medial, or a final consonant.
Disappearance of an initial consonant is sometimes called Aphaeresis, of a medial, Syncope, of a final, Apocope.