Dom, head or hood, ship, ness, ity, tude, and th, how different soever in appearance, are, in signification, nearly the same; they are all used in forming what are called abstract nouns; they are generally added to adjectives, and express that kind of idea which the mind is capable of forming, of qualities in a separate, or, as it were, self-existent state. Freedom, denotes the state or condition of being free; greatness, that of being great; felicity, from the Latin felix, happy, denotes the state of being happy; magnitude, from the Latin magnus, great, the state of being great; width, the state of being wide: head or hood, and ship, are more commonly joined to substantives than to adjectives, and form the name for the state or condition which the word describes, as in childhood, manhood, heirship, lordship.

Ed, as a termination, has been explained already in our observations on verbs; it is equivalent to done, or terminated.

Ee, is added to a few words chiefly verbs, and signifies that the person or thing of which we speak is the object, or the result of what is expressed by the verb, to which the termination is added; thus, trustee, is he to whom any thing is entrusted; patentee, is he who holds a patent.

Er, is a termination which may be added to any

verb in the language; it forms a noun, signifying the doer of that which the verb expresses. It is of Gothic origin, and in the German language is still used as the pronoun of the third person singular. Words with this termination are, in English, applied to both genders. Speaker, denotes the person that speaks; walker, he that walks, &c.

Ery. See what is said of ate, and its derivations. Ess, sometimes written ix, is synonymous with er, in denoting the agent or person who does a thing; but it is restricted in its application to the feminine gender. We have examples of it in author, authoress; executor, executrix. When the substantive is not derived from a verb, the termination ess, is sometimes added merely to distinguish the sex, as in count, countess; lion, lioness.

Eur, or ure, is a French termination, of similar import with ness, and tude, already oxplained. Like them it is affixed to adjectives, and sometimes to verbs, to form nouns of the kind called abstract. From the adjective grand, is formed grandeur, signifying greatness; from the French verd, green, is formed verdure, greenness from please, we have pleasure, that which has the power of pleasing.

Full or ful, though frequently employed as a termination, is still used by itself; it therefore requires

no explanation; it has the same signification in composition as when used alone; merciful, means full of mercy; hopeful, full of hope.

Fy was already explained as a verbal termination; signifies do or make, and is added to adjectives or substantives to form verbs; simplify, is to make simple, &c.

Hood. See dom, &c.

Ible. See able.

Ic. See al.

Ive, is from the Latin termination ivus, and is for the most part added to words originally of the Latin language. It signifies causing or having the power of producing what the word implies to which it is added; thus instructive, is that which has the power of instructing; persuasive, that has the power of persuading.

Ile is from the Latin termination ilis, and implies likeness, or the possession of such qualities as distinguish the thing denoted by the word to which they are added; puerile, from the Latin puer, a boy, means having the qualities of a boy; infantile, having those of an infant.

Ise or ize. See what is said of verbal terminations.

Ish, as well as ile, denotes likeness, or of that kind, and when added to adjectives, it implies that the thing spoken of possesses the quality expressed by the

primitiye in an inferior, but indefinite degree; as in childish, foolish, whitish, blackish.

Ity. See dom, &c.

Less, is a termination of very frequent occurrence. It is part of the Saxon verb lesan, to dismiss, or be without, and in every instance has this signification; thus careless, is without care; thoughtless, without thought; endless, without end, &c.

Ment is a termination, which when added to verbs, as it generally is, has the same effect with ness, tude, &c. added to adjectives; it implies being in that state or condition which is expressed by the verb; thus, enjoyment, denotes a state of enjoying; contentment, being contented; but sometimes it means the effect of what is expressed by the verb; hence judgment, either signifies the act or condition of judging, or that which has resulted from judging.

Ness. See dom, &c.

Ous is a termination added to substantives to form adjectives; it is nearly synonymous with full or having; beauteous, means full of beauty or having it; glorious, having glory, &c.

Ship. See dom, &c.

Some, when used as a termination, denotes that the thing or quality to which it is added, exists in an unlimited degree; it is joined both to substantives and

verbs, and sometimes even to adjectives, as in the following examples: toilsome, burthensome, gladsome.

Th. See dom, &c.

Tide, in the Saxon language, signified time, and

In a

in the Danish, it is still used in that sense. few English words it is affixed, and conveys the same meaning, hence Whitsuntide, noontide, &c.

Tude. See dom, &c.

Ure. See eur.

Ward, is from the Saxon wardian, to look at or to direct the view; it assumes the various forms of gard, guard, guardian, garden, warden, warder, and yard, in all of which, there is expressed the idea of looking after, or of something looked after. As a termination, it still conveys the notion of looking or being in that direction, as in backward, heavenward, eastward, &c.

Y is an affix expressive of abundance, and is generally added to nouns, to form adjectives having this signification. Hilly, woody, snowy, rainy, mean abounding with hills, woods, &c.