."
"And the prefix, an?" queried Morhang.
"Is it possible, sir, that I have put myself to the trouble of talking to you for a solid hour about the Critias with such trifling effect? It is certain that the prefix an, alone, has no meaning. You will understand that it has one, when I tell you that we have here a very curious case of apocope. You must not read an; you must read atlan. Atl has been lost, by apocope; an has survived. To sum up, Antinea is composed in the following manner:
—
. And its meaning, the new Atlantis, is dazzlingly apparent from this demonstration."
I looked at Morhange. His astonishment was without bounds. The Berber prefix ti had literally stunned him.
"Have you had occasion, sir, to verify this very ingenious etymology?" he was finally able to gasp out.