The analogies of songstress, children, and betsërôro show that excess of expression frequently occurs.
The analogy of mâ and bet show that worse may possibly be a positive form.
The word vërri indicates the belief that the s is no part of the root.
Finally the euphonic processes of the Scandinavian languages tell us that, even had there been an s, it would, in all probability, have been ejected. These difficulties verify the statement that the word worse is one of the most perplexing in the language.
[§ 320]. Much, more.—Here, although the words be unlike each other, there is a true etymological relation. Mœso-Gothic, mikils; Old High German, mihhil; Old Saxon, mikil; Anglo-Saxon, mycel; Old Norse, mickill; Scotch, muckle and mickle (all ending in l): Danish, megen, m.; meget, n.; Swedish, mycken, m.; myckett, n. (where no l is found). Such is the adjectival form of the positive, rarely found in the Modern Gothic languages, being replaced in German by gross, in English by great, in Danish by stor. The adverbial forms are miök and miög, Norse; much, English. It is remarkable that this last form is not found in Anglo-Saxon, being replaced by sâre, Germ, sehr.—Grimm, D. G. iii. 608.
The adverbial and the Norse forms indicate that the l is no part of the original word. Comparison with other Indo-European languages gives us the same circumstance: Sanskrit, maha; Latin, mag-nus; Greek, μέγας (megas).
There is in Mœso-Gothic the comparative form máiza, and there is no objection to presuming a longer form, magiza; since in the Greek form μείζων, compared with μέγας, there
is a similar disappearance of the g. In the Old High German we find mêro, corresponding with máiza, Mœso-Gothic, and with more, English.
Mickle (replaced by great) expresses size; much, quantity; many, number. The words more and most apply equally to number and quantity. I am not prepared either to assert or to deny that many, in Anglo-Saxon mænig, is from the same root with much. Of the word mâ notice has already been taken. Its later form, moe, occurs as late as Queen Elizabeth, with an adjectival as well as an adverbial sense.
[§ 321]. Little, less.—Like much and more, these words are in an etymological relation to each other. Mœso-Gothic, leitils; Old High German, luzil; Old Saxon, luttil; Anglo-Saxon, lytel; Middle High German, lützel; Old Norse, lîtill. In these forms we have the letter l. Old High German Provincial, luzíc; Old Frisian, litich; Middle Dutch, luttik; Swedish, liten; Danish, liden.—Deutsche Grammatik, iii. 611. From these we find that the l is either no part of the original word, or one that is easily got rid of. In Swedish and Danish there are the forms lille and liden; whilst in the neuter form, lidt, the d is unpronounced. Even the word liden the Danes have a tendency to pronounce leen. My own notion is that these changes leave it possible for less to be derived from the root of little. According to Grimm, the Anglo-Saxon lässa is the Gothic lasivôza, the comparative of lasivs=weak.—Deutsche Grammatik, iii. 611. In Anglo-Saxon there was the adjectival form læssa, and the adverbial form læs. In either case we have the form s.