"——Whose pere is hard to find,
Algife England and France were thorow saught."
Rel. An. Poet. 115.
Since is merely a participle of the old verb seon, to see. In ancient authors we find it variously written; as sith, sithence, sin, sithen, &c. and the common people in New England still pronounce it sin, sen or sence. Of all these, sin or sen, which is so much ridiculed as vulgar, comes nearest to the original seen.[89] This explanation of since unfolds the true theory of languages, and proves that all words are originally derived from those which are first used to express ideas of sensible objects. Mankind, instead of that abstract sense which we annex to since, if we have any idea at all when we use it, originally said, seen the sun rose, it has become warm; that is, after the sun rose, or that circumstance being seen or past. We use the same word now, with a little variation; but the etymology is lost to most people, who still employ the word for a precise purpose, intelligible to their hearers.
But has two distinct meanings, and two different roots. This is evident to any person who attends to the manner of using the word. We say, "But to proceed;" that is, more or further. We say also, "All left the room, but one;" that is, except one. These two significations, which are constantly and insensibly annexed to the word, will perhaps explain all its uses; but cannot be well accounted for, without supposing it to have two etymologies. Happily the early writers furnish us with the means of solving the difficulty. Gawen Douglass the poet, was cotemporary with Chaucer, or lived near his time, was Bishop of Dunkeld in Scotland, and probably wrote the language in the purity of his age and country. As the Scots in the Low Lands, are descendants of the Saxons, in common with the English, and from their local situation, have been less exposed to revolutions, they have preserved more of the Saxon idiom and orthography than their southern brethren. In Douglass we find two different words to express the two different meanings, which we now annex to one; viz. bot and but. The first is used in the sense of more, further or addition; and the last in the sense of except or take away.
"Bot thy work shall endure in laude and glorie,
But spot or falt condigne eterne memorie."
The first Mr. Horne derives from botan, to boot, to give more; from which our English word boot, which is now for the most part confined to jockeys, is also derived; and the other from be utan,[90] to be out or away. That these etymologies are just is probable, both from old writings and from the present distinct uses of the word but. This word therefore is the blending or corruption of bot and beut, the Imperatives of two Saxon verbs, botan and beutan.[91]
And is probably a contraction of anan, to give, the verb before mentioned; and ad, the root of the verb add, and signifying series or remainder. An ad, give the remainder.
The word with, commonly called a preposition, is likewise a verb. It is from the Saxon withan, to join; or more probably from wyrth, to be, or the German werden, devenir, to be. The reason for this latter conjecture, is that we have preserved the Imperative of wyrth or werden, in this ancient phrase, "woe worth the day;" that is, woe be to the day. The German verb, in its inflections, makes wirst and wurde; and is undoubtedly from the same root as the Danish værer, to be. But whether with has its origin in withan, to join, or in werden, to be, its sense will be nearly the same; it will still convey the idea of connection. This will plainly appear to any person who considers, that by is merely a corruption of be, from the old verb beon; and that this word is still used to express connection or nearness; "He lives by me;" "He went by me;" that is, he lives be me.
This verb be was formerly used in this phrase; be my faith, be my troth; that is, by my faith, as in Chevy Chace.[92] We still find the same verb in a multitude of compounds, be-come, be-yond, be-tween, be-side, be-fore. Thus we see what are called prepositions, are mere combinations or corruptions of verbs; they are not a primitive part of language, and if we resolve this phrase, he went beyond me, we shall find it composed of these words, he went, be, gone, me; yond being nothing but the participle of go.