A WORD.
| Sing. | Plu. | |
|---|---|---|
| Nom. | Word | word |
| Gen. | Wordes | worda |
| Dat. | Worde | wordum |
| Acc. | Word | word |
| Voc. | Eala thu word | eala ge word |
| Abl. | Worde | wordum |
Hickes Sax. Gram.
[175] Custodes in castellis strenuos viros ex Gallis collocavit, et opulenta beneficia, pro quibus labores et pericula libenter tolerâ rent, distribuit.—Orderic. Vital. lib. 4.
[176] The word ax for ask is not a modern corruption. It was an ancient dialect, and not vulgar.
[177] So Gillies, in his Hist. of Greece, chap. II. talks about the death of the "friend of Achilles;" but leaves the reader to discover the person—not having once mentioned the name of Patroclus. I would observe further that such appellations as the son of Leda are borrowed from the Greek; but wholly improper in our language. The Greeks had a distinct ending of the name of the father to signify son or descendants; as Heraclidæ. This form of the noun was known and had a definite meaning in Greece; but in English the idiom is awkward and embarrassing.
[178] Readers of the last description are the most numerous.
[179] Czar, the Russian appellation or Emperor, is a contraction of Cæsar. It is pronounced in the Russian, char or tshar.
[180] In ancient inscription, and the early Roman authors, v was written u, and pronounced oo or w. The following extracts from the laws of Romulus, &c. will give the reader an idea of the early orthography of the Latin tongue:—
1 Deos patrios colunto: externas superstitiones aut fabulas ne admiscento.