The adverbial form has a tendency to make the vowel of the preceding syllable full.
Of this effect on the part of the adverbial form the adverbial comparative rather is a specimen. We pronounce the a as in father, or full. Nevertheless, the positive form is small, the a being pronounced as the a in fate.
The word rather means quick, easy=the classical root ῥαδ- in ῥάδιος. What we do quickly and willingly we do preferably. Now if the word rather were an adjective, the vowel of the comparative would be sounded as the a in fate. As it is, however, it is adverbial, and as such is properly sounded as the a in father.
The difference between the action of the small vowel in -re, and of the full in -or, effects this difference.
[§ 316]. Excess of expression.—Of this two samples have already been given: 1. in words like songstress; 2. in words like children. This may be called excess of expression; the feminine gender, in words like songstress, and the plural number, in words like children, being expressed twice over. In the vulgarism betterer for better, and in the antiquated forms worser for worse, and lesser for less, we have, in the case of the comparatives, as elsewhere, an excess of expression. In the Old High German we have the forms betsërôro, mêrôro, êrërëra=better, more, ere.
[§ 317]. Better.—Although in the superlative form best there is a slight variation from the strict form of that degree, the word better is perfectly regular. So far, then, from truth are the current statements that the comparison of the words good, better, and best is irregular. The inflection is not irregular, but defective. As the statement that applies to good, better, and best applies to many words besides, it will be well in this place, once for all, to exhibit it in full.
[§ 318]. Difference between a sequence in logic and a sequence in etymology.—The ideas or notions of thou, thy, thee, are ideas between which there is a metaphysical or logical connexion. The train of such ideas may be said to form a sequence and such a sequence may be called a logical one.
The forms (or words) thou, thy, thee, are forms or words
between which there is a formal or an etymological connexion. A train of such words may be called a sequence, and such a sequence may be called an etymological one.
In the case of thou, thy, thee, the etymological sequence tallies with the logical one.