1. Examples from the Greek:—σχῆμ-α, scheme; λύρ-α (lyr-a), lyre; ζών-η (zon-a), zon-e; βάσ-ις, base; φράσ-ις, phras-e; τρόπ-ος, trop-e. From Latin, ros-a, ros-e; fin-is, fin-e; fum-us, fum-e; pur-us, pur-e; grad-us, grad-e. Compare, in verbs, ced-o, ced-e.
Remarks.—This rule admits of a modification; e.g. we form from ζῆλ-ος zeal (the sound hardly perceptibly differing from zel-e); from ὥρ-α (hor-a), hour; from flos (flor-is), flower and flour (the long sound communicated to the vowel in the other words by the added e, being in these already contained in the diphthong). Add ven-a, vein; van-us, vain; sol-um, soil, &c.; and compare -ceed in proceed, succeed, formed from compounds of ced-o. Some, but not all, of these words have come to us through the French.
2. Examples from the Greek:—ῥεῦμ-α, rheum; χάσμ-α, chasm; μύρρ-α, myrrh; γλῶσσ-α, gloss; νύμφ-η (nymph-a), nymph; δίσκ-ος, (disc-us), disk; πλίνθ-ος, plinth; ψαλμ-ός, psalm. From Latin, fraus (fraud-is), fraud; laus (laud-is), laud; plant-a, plant; orb-is, orb; plumb-um, plumb; long-us, long, flux-us, flux; port-us, port. Compare, in verbs, damn-o, damn; err-o, err; add-o, add; vex-o, vex.
Remarks.—From roots ending in the same consonant doubled, our derived words ordinarily drop one of them; e.g. στέμμ-α, stem; gemm-a, gem; summ-a, sum; penn-a, pen; carr-us, car. (Note this tendency of our language, by comparing our man with the German mann.)
If the root ends in s or v preceded by a diphthong, or in a consonant +s[[5]] or +v preceded by a vowel, our derived words add e, as παῦσ-ις (paus-a), paus-e; caus-a, cause-e; næv-a, nav-e; puls-us, puls-e; dens-us, dens-e; ἁψ-ίς, aps-e; laps-us, laps-e; vers-us, vers-e; valv-a, valv-e; nerv-us, nerv-e.[[6]] The cause of this lies in the genius of our language, which totally rejects the ending v, and uses s (single) very sparingly in the singular number, except in the ending ous, the genitive case, the third person of the present tense, the obsolete wis, and was. Other words are, the interjection alas; pronouns or pronominal particles; proper names, as Thomas, Chaos; compounds, as Lammas, Christmas; plural adverbs, as towards, thereabouts; and the (perhaps) plural—it ought to be so—alms.[[7]]
From roots ending in a mute +a liquid, our derived words also end in e, and are then in fact dissyllables; e.g. βίβλ-ος, bible; κύκλ-ος, cycl-e; μίτρ-α, mitr-e; νίτρ-ον, nitr-e; πέτρ-ος, petr-e. In this class of words the final letters (after the analogy of Latin) have sometimes become transposed; e.g. λεπρ-ός, lep-er. So now-a-days, cent-er as well as centr-e. Compare metr-e, diamet-er.
To apply our rules to the words required to be formed in an English shape from μῦθ-ος.
Very few words in our language end in th which are not of purely native growth. Frith is questionable exception. Besides the monosyllable plinth, we have imported from the Greek colocynth, hyacinth, labyrinth, with the proper names Corinth, Erymanth, all terminating in nth.
In the ending the our language does not rejoice. Most of such words are verbs, so distinguished from their cognate substantives, as wreathe from wreath. We have, as substantives, lathe (A.-S. leð), hythe (hyð), scythe (more properly sithe, sıðe), tythe (tyðe); as adjectives, blithe (blıðe), lithe (lıð). There may be one or two more.
In all these the sounds is ð (th in this) not þ (th in thick). This appears worth notice.