lastly, before I proceed on my Alphabet, that it is surpri sing how prone the country-people of the north and midland parts of England are to the use of this grammatical figure, especially in respect of the article The, which in the shape of Tor Th they will join to words which begin with a consonant, or with more than one; causing thereby much / roughness and harshness, and even difficulty of pronunci ation; o'er th' bridge, or o'er th'brig, as they speak it, for over the bridge.

Now, the prefixes, or other particles, which usually coalesce with the words they belong to, so as to alter or disguise them, are these: A, An, Al, Ap, By, Di, De, Do, I, In, It, Mine, Ne, O, Saint, The, Two, Three, and To And these I propose to go through in their order.

A.-An Accomplice. The monkish historians perpetually use the word Complices in Latin; and Complice itself, as an English word, occurs in Weaver, Fun. Monuments, p. 266, and see Johnson. So that I suspect a Crasis here, and that it was first a Complice, corrupted afterwards to Accomplice, which in that case would require the article an to be prefixed. The word accomplice might facilitate the corruption with unthinking people.

AN.-A Nayword. This is a common expression for a by-word or proverb, and is probably a Crasis of an AyeWord; that is, a word, or saying, always and perpetually used, agreeable to the ancient use of Aye. If this be not the meaning and original of it, it will be difficult to account for it.

A Narrow, id est, an arrow. See Mr. Hearne and Gul. Neubrig. p. lxxxv. lxxxvi. The prefix has here evidently grown and fastened itself to the noun.

Jacke Napes, which Skelton gives us p. 160, seems to be Jack an Apes, as Littleton writes it; but I am doubtful about this, as Nape or Knape is the same as knave or servant. See Gloss. to Douglas's Virgil.

A Nogler. This is the name formerly given to those people who travelled the country with Sheffield wares; a a practice now generally left off there, insomuch that the name itself is falling into oblivion, as the original of the word has long since done. I take the etymon to be this: what we call an higler was once written an hagler, and so you will find it in Dr. Fuller's Worthies, p. 278. Now, an hagler is very easily turned into a nagler, and with a open a nogler. Dr. Johnson omits the higler, and describes the hugler as one that is tardy in bargaining, from to haggle.

But it seems the higler and the hagler is the same person, and so this sense of the latter word is omitted by him.

A Newt. An eft, or small lizard, of which newt is the common name in Derbyshire and Staffordshire. Plott. Hist. Staff. p. 244. 251; and it is used by Shakespeare's Macbeth, A. IV. Sc. 1. "Newt, says Dr. Johnson, is supposed by Skinner to be contracted from an evet," and it certainly is so. The Saxon word is efete; so that the gradation is an efete, an evet, a nevet, a newt, consonant being turned into u, just as v in Devil is changed into u by those who pronounce it, as the vulgar often do, Deul.

A Needle, anciently written a neld, which perhaps may by Crasis be an eld, the same as an else, used by shoe makers.

Nawl, i. e. an awl, implement of the cobler, used by Beaum. and Fletcher, VIII. p. 55.

A Noddy; quasi, by a Crasis, an oddy; a singular or whimsical person.

A Nailbourn. This word is both so written and pro nounced in Kent, and, answering to the vipseys or gypseys in Yorkshire, Camd. Col. 901, or Ray on the Deluge, p. 95, means a torrent which flows only now and then, or once in a few years. Now, when these torrents broke out, they were supposed to betoken famines, sicknesses, and deaths, chiefly I presume sicknesses; whence I conjecture there is a Crasis in the case, a nailbourn being in fact an ailbourn, as the forerunner of ails or diseases. It is written, however, eylebourn by Dr. Harris, p. 240, 23, 411. and so Philipot gives it, p. 42. which perhaps may be a corruption of ailbourn but as these desultory torrents often abound with small eels, it is possible they might take their names from thence, quasi eelbournes. But there will still be a Crasis in nailbourn.

AT.-This particle coheres chiefly in such pames of per sons as are taken from situation; as,

Tash, which Mr. Camden thinks is contracted from at ash. Remains, p. 123.

Twells. As we have the name of Atwells, or Atwell, one has certainly reason to think that Twells is a Crasis for at Wells.

AB or AP. We have certain names now in England, brought originally, I suppose, from Wales, in which the ab or ap is become a part of the name that followed it. At first they were patronymics, though they are not so now. Thus Pugh is ap Hugh; Price or Brice, ap Rice; Pritchard, ap Ri chard; Prideaux, ap Rideaux; Bevan, ap Eran; Bowen, ap Owen; Powel, ap Hoel.

BY Bilive, i. e. by le Eve; sometimes written blite and plyve. Gloss. to Chaucer, v. Blive.

DI-Didapper, the bird, quasi Dive-Dapper; -which is confirmed by its being called Dab-Chick in Kent.

Do.-Don and doff, i. e, to do on, and do off. See Johnson in Vocibus,

DE.-In names of persons drawn from the places of their abode, or extraction, the French particle De will often coalesce with the name of the place, if it begin with a vowel. Danvers, de or d'Anvers, Daeth, de or d'Aeth, a town in Hainault; Dashwood may be supposed to be de or d'Ashwood; Davill, d'Eivill; Camden, Remains, p. 122; Doily, de Oily, ibid. p. 111; Dauney, ibid. p. 122. Aunay is a plot of ground where alders grow; and, to name no more, Depereux is undoubtedly d'Evereux.

ECHE or EACH.-Hence every chone, Skelton, p. 192, i. e. every each one; which we have now contracted to every one. I. This pronoun easily coalesces, as I'm, I'll, I'ld, i. e. I would. Percy's Songs, p. 81. Ychulle, Percy, III. p. xvii. ie. I shall, ye shall.

IN.-Ith for in the; hence yth, Percy, I. p. 6.

IT.-Hence 'tis.

MINE. My neam, my nont; nuncle, nont. These words are used familiarly in the north by young people to the elder sort, though there be no aliance or relation between them. Eame is the Saxon for uncle, and the possessive propoun mine has grown to it. The second is from nine aunt in like manner, as likewise nuncle (see Shakespeare, Lear I.sc. 13.) and nont.

NE. This old negative very readily coincided with words þeginning with a vowel or a w.

Nis and nys, i. e. ne is, or is not: Skelton, p. 62. Nill, for ne will; nilt, ne wilt: Fairfax, Chaucer. Hence will or will: Invective against Wolsey. So nil'd for ne would: Mirrour of Magistrates, p. 487.

Not, and nolt, for ne zot, or know not, written in Machabree, folio 220, note. Nolt occurs in Fairfax, xviii. 50. None is either ne one or no one.

Nere, i. e. ne were: Fairfax, xii. 81.

Nould, ne would: Fairfax, v. 47; x. 61; alibi.

Nought, ne ought; written also formerly noght.

Nam, neam; nart, neart; nad, ne had; nist, ne wist: all in Chaucer.

O.-Ho! I take to mean O ye.

OF. o'th', i, e. of the.

Hence ath the, Percy, i. p. 6,

where the abounds by the mistake of the copyist; for p. 3, you have athe, for of the, twice.

SAINT. This word, prefixed to the names of certain holy men, or reputed to be so, either adhered, by means of its last letter T, to the name of such saint, or the whole of it was joined to it; especially in certain of our sirnames borrowed from the names of saints. I shall specify, first, some cases where the last letter only adheres, which mostly hap pens where the name begins with a vowel. Thus the French S. Agnan or Aignan was pronounced by some in France S. Tignan: H. Steph. Apolog. pour Herodote iii, p. 242, Edit. 1735.

A Tantony pig; so written in Drake's Eborac. p. 315, meaning a pig of St. Anthony.

Tawdery, i. e. St. Audrey; "a term borrowed from those times when they tricked and bedecked the shrines and altars of the saints, as being at vye with each other on that occa sion. The votaries of St. Audrey (an isle of Ely saint) exceeding all the rest in the dress and equipage of her altar, it grew into a byword upon any thing that was very gaudy, that it was all taudry, as much as to say, all St. Audrey:' Canting Dict. v. Taudry.

Talkmund. St. Alkmond's church at Derby is commonly called Talkmund.

San Telme. The meteor called St. Elmo in Ulloa, ii, p. 350, is written Sin Telmo.

$. Tathan, St. Athan or dithan. Memorial of Brit. Piety, Append. p. 40.

Twinnel, i. e. St. Winnol. Ibid. p. 48.

Tool y-street, Tooley-bridge, Tooley-corner, all in Southwork, from St. Ólave, pronounced Olye, as Camden gives it, Remains, p. 123.

St. Fooses. St. Osithe's, written St. Touses in Bailey's Life of Bishop Fisher, p. 88. Mr. Camden observes, that St. Osyth is turned into Saint Tows: Remains, ibid.

St. Tabbe. St. Ebba was the famous prioress of Coldingham, who chose to deform herself, with her nuns, rather than be abused by the insolent Danes. See Camden, Remains, l c. also Fuller, Worthies in Rutland.

St. Thetha, or St. Teath. St. Etha was a Cornish Saint. St. Tomer. This name we have in Camden's Remains, p. 151, for St. Omer, or de Sto. Avdomaro.

St. Tole. St. Aldate's church, or St. Old's, at Oxford, is vulgarly called St. Tole's. Pointer, Oxon. Acad. p. 109. Town. This sirname, I imagine, may be corrupted of St Owen, who occurs in Camden, p. 151.

I come now to those instances where the whole substance, as it were, of the word Saint is incorporated with the name, as is evident from many of our sirnames taken from the names of saints. The French San, as in Sampol, Sammarthanus, &c. coheres thus in their language.

Samond: i. e. St. Amand, or de Sto. Amando.
Simberd. St. Barbe, or de Sta. Barbara.

Camden, p. 150. Sinclair. De Sta. Clara, or de Sto. Claro, as Newcourt, in Repert. i. p. 224. But q. if this be not an error.

Sanlis, Senliz, Singlis. These are St. Lis, or de Sto. Lisio, or Sylvanectensis, for which see Camden, p. 150.

Sentlo. St. Lo, or de Sto. Laudo. Camden, p. 151.

Sentlow. This is different from the former, being interpreted de Sancto Lupo. Camden. ibid. Lupus is the name of

a saint.

Sellinger.

So they commonly pronounce this name; whereas the orthography is St. Leger, i. e. de Sto. Leodegario. Camden, p. 156.

Semarton, St. Martin, or de Sto. Martino. Camden, p. 151. Semarc. St. Medard. Camden, p. 150. But one would rather think St. Marc.

Seimple, Sampol. The first is the Scotch name, the second the French; both are St. Paul.

Seimpere, Sampier, or Sempere. St. Peter, or de Sto. Petro. Semour. De Sto. Mauro.

THE-Bydene, i. e. by the even, or by night. Romance of Amys and Amylion.

At

To thende. To the ende. Caxton, Myrrour, cap. 5. Taylot. Glocestershire word; meaning an hay-loft. first, no doubt, they said in taylot, for in the hay-loft; and then converted the whole into a substantive, calling a hay-loft by that name.

Tuffold, or Tovel. This means an hovel in Derbyshire, where they first said in tovel, i. e. in the hovel; and then, by mistake, took tovel to be the substantive, for hovel.

Ton and Tother: as, do you take ton, and I'll take tother; meaning the one and the other. The ton, Percy i. p. 7, where either the or tabounds; and yet this is very commonly used, as is the tother, for which see Percy, p. 58.

Tierne cross, in Sommer's Antiq. of Canterb. p. 11, 169, is the iron cross.

Nathless. Not the less. See Dr. Johnson.

To. By cutting off the' o, this sign glues itself to many verbs in Caxton, and other authors; as tabound, taccomplish, tariette it, i. e. to impute it; toffer; talledge hungrẻ and thurste, Caxton, in Myrrour, cap. 5, is to allay them.