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macht to, till night. I might add, as analogical confirmations, Fr. jusque à, Lat. usque ad, &c. used in the same sense.

I did not observe, till I had written this article, that Lye throws out the same idea; Add. Jun. Etym.'

It is more particularly in his observations on the word TILL, that we have our doubts about the etymology presented by this author. In the first place, he has confounded two words, which, though similar in spelling, are very different both in origin and in meaning. We have stated above, that the preposition to is in Scotch resolved, euphonia gratia, into till, when the succeeding word begins with a vowel. Thus, "gie't till him" is the same with the English " give it to him" but this is still the preposition to, only accommodated with a consonant to prevent the biatus of concurring vowels: the proof of which is that, if we adopt in the same phrase a word with a consonant immediately following, we have to restored," giet to me." When, on the other hand, till has a reference to time, it remains till, whether the succeeding word begins with a vowel or a consonant; as in the phrases, "keep it till she return,"—" work till the sun goes down," &c. in which, and in all similar phrases, the idea of time must be expressed by till, or, if not, the phrase is without a meaning. Here, consequently, we have no doubt that Mr. Horne Tooke is right, and Dr. Jamieson wrong; as, indeed, whenever they happen to differ, is frequently the case.

In taking notice of the sound denoted by the letters Quh, Dr. Jamieson makes mention of the pronoun who, and of the coincidence which may be traced between it and the Latin qui or quis. Here was a most inviting opportunity presented to him for exploring the etymology of the word, and for anticipating a part of Mr. Horne Tooke's discoveries, the pronouns remaining as yet unexplained by him :-but no; this object stood without the sphere of the Doctor's ambition, though the Gothic verb quithan, to speak, of which the past tense quoth or quod is not altogether disused, obviously presented itself to his notice. The following, which is not without its use, and is of some though inferior importance, is presented to us in lieu of ety. mology:

QUH, a combination of letters, expressing a strong guttural sound, S.

"The use of Qub," Sibb. has observed, " instead of Wh, or Hw, is a curious circumstance in Scottish orthography, and seems to be borrowed immediately, or at first hand, from the Gothic, as written by Ulphilas in the fourth century. In his Gothic gospels, commonly called The Silver Book, we find about thirty words beginning with a character (O with a point in the centre) the power of which has never been exactly ascertained. Junius, in his Glossary to these Gospels, assigned to it the power and place of 2; Stiern heilm

C 3

heilm and others have considered it as equivalent to the German, Scandinavian, and Anglo-Saxon Hw; and lastly, the learned Ihre, in his Suio-Gothic Glossary, conjectures that this character did not agree in sound with either of these, but "sonum inter hu et qu medium habuisse videtur." Unluckily he pursues the subject no farther, otherwise he could scarcely have failed to suggest the Scottish Qub particularly as a great proportion of these thirty Gothic words can be translated into Scottish by no other words but such as begin with these three letters." Gl.

This writer has discovered considerable ingenuity in his reflections on this singularity in our language. But he could not mean, that Qub, in our orthography, could be borrowed immediately from the Gothic, as written by Ulphilas. For it had been in use in S. for several centuries before the Codex Argenteus was known to exist, or at least known in this country. It was probably invented by some very early writer, in order to express the strong guttural sound of which it is the sign. This perhaps seemed necessary; for as the E. pronounce their wh much softer than we do quh, they probably gave a similar sound to A.S. hw, ever after the intermixture of Norman.

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Sibb. has partly mistaken Junius, who, after observing that the Goths by the letter referred to, expressed 2, in the place of which the A.S used ow, adds: But whether the Goth, letter in every respect corresponds to 2, does not sufficiently appear to me, because there are not a few words in the Codex Argenteus, which do not seem so much to have the hard sound which belongs to 2, as that softer aspiration which is found in A. S. hw, or E. wh."

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Notwithstanding the idea at first thrown out by Sibb., that our qub has been immediately borrowed from the Gothic," he afterwards, although not very consistently, "to avoid any charge of hypothetical partiality," assumes " a different element or combination of lettera, viz. Gw, a sound. which," he says, "occurs not unfrequently in the antient language of Germany; ex. gr. gwaire, verus, gwallichi, potentia, gloria. When this harsh sound," he adds, " gave way almost every where to the bw, the character, which Ulphilas had invented to express it, fell of course to be laid aside. In Seotland alone the sound was preserved, and appears to this day under the form of Quh."

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This assumption, which he retains in his Gl., is totally groundless. In what way soever we received our qub, there seems no reason to doubt that it expresses the sound of the letter employed by Ulphilas. This appears incontestable from the very examples brought by Sibb.

This letter could not be meant to express the sound of A.S. cw, because the words in which this occurs in A.S. are denoted by another Goth. character, resembling our vowel u; as quairn mola, AS cearn; queins uxor, A.S. cwen, quithan dicere, A.S. cwethan, &c. To the latter the learned Verel. gives the sound of qu; but to the former, of bw or ghw; Runograph. Scandic, p. 69.

It has been observed, that "this Goth. character appears to be the antient Aeolic Digamma asperated in pronunciation." This supposition is founded on the probability, that "the Gothic tongue was

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from the same stem as the antient Pelasgic, the root of the Greek," I am not, however, disposed to venture so far into the regions of conjecture; especially as some learned writers have contended that, as Úlphilas used several Roman characters, as F, G, H, R, he also borrowed the form of this from their 2. V. Michaelis' Introd. Lect. N. T. sect. 70,

As little can be said with respect to its resemblance to the Hebrew Ain; it being generally admitted that the sound of this letter is lost. It is, however, a pretty common opinion among the learned, that it denoted a very strong guttural sound.

"I'shall only add, that where there is no difference between the E. and S. words, except what arises from this peculiar orthography, it is unnecessary to give examples. There is no occasion for this in most cases, even where there is a change of the vowel.

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Mr. Macpherson has so distinctly marked the relation of the different dialects to each other, and also to the Lat., as to the pron. who, that I shall make no apology for inserting his short table.

S.

MoesG. A.S. O.Sw. Lat.

Quba, qubas bwa; buo, quis,

Qubay, qubo,

Qubays, qubis,

Qubam,

bua, qui,

who:

bue, quae,

bwaes; buars, cujus ;

whose :

quam;

} w

whom.

qukamma,
qukamma, bwam; huem, quem;

I have not observed, however, that quhay occurs in a different sense from quba. They are used in common for E. who.

Qubay sall haue the curage or spreit to punis thaym for feir of this insolent prince?" Bellend. Cron. Fol. 11. a.

Anone Eneas induce gan to the play

With arrowis for schute, quhay wald assay.

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Doug. Virgil, 144. 8. The use of qulay is now become provincial, being almost, pecu-liar to Loth.'

We now present one among the very unfavorable specimens of Dr. Jamieson's etymological powers:

BIRR, s. Force. V. BIER.

To BIRR, v. n To make a whirring noise, especially in motion ; the same with birle, S.

Ang grete staf sloung birrand with felloun wecht
Hynt Mezentius

Doug. Virgil, 298. 21. V. BIER, s.

· Rejoice, ye birring paitricks a';
Ye cootie moorcocks, crousely craw;
Your mortal fae is now awa',

Tam Samson's dead.

--

Burns, iii. 119.

Any person who had read the following passage in Horne Tooke's last volume, p. 181-185, might, we think, have gone a little farther:

"Our English verb To Bar is the Gothic and Anglosaxon verb BAIKAN, Beongan, Birgan, Býrgan; which means, to defend,

to keep safe, to protect, to arm, to guard, to secure, to fortify, to strengthen, and the past participle of this verb has furnished our language with the following supposed substantives.

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6 A BAR A BARN

A BARON

A BARGE

A BARGAIN

A BARK, a vessel
The BARK of a tree
The BARK of a dog
A BAKKEN

A HAUBERK
A BURGH

OR

BOROUGH A BURROW

OR WARREN A BOROWE BURIAL

HAUBERG

USBERGO

A BAR in all its uses is a Defence: that by which any thing is fortified, strengthened or defended.

A BARN (Bar-en Bar'n) is a covered inclosure, in which the grain, &c. is pro tected or defended from the weather, from depredation, &c.

A BARON is an armed, defenceful, or powerful man.

A BARGE is a strong boat.

A BARGAIN is a confirmed, strengthened agreement. After two persons have agreed upon a subject, it is usual to conclude with asking Is it a BARGAIN? Is it confirmed?

"A BARK is a stout vessel.

"The BARK of a tree is its defence: that by which the tree is defended from the weather, &c. "The cause is, for that trees last according to the strength and quantity of their sap and juice: being well munited by their BARK against the injuries of the air."

Bacon's Natural History, Century 6. "The BARK of a dog is that by which we are defended by that animal.

"A BARKEN, according to Skinner- "Vox in comitatu Wilts usitatissima, Atrium, a Tard of a house vel a verbo To Bar ; vel a Germ. Bergen, abscondere; A. s. Beongan, munire, q. d. locus clausus, respectu sc. agrorum.

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"A HAUBERK. Vossius, Watchter, and Caseneuve concur in its etymology." Halsberga vel Halsperga, vox est Saxonica, proprieque signat thoracem ferreum, sive armaturam colli et pectoris ; ab Hals, collum, et Bergen, tegere, protegere, munire. Quomodo et in Legg. Ripuariis. cap 36. § 11. Bainberga, pro ocrea, sive crurum armatura." Vossius. De vitiis sermonis. lib. 2. cap. 9. "The French, in their accustomed manner changing the L in balr to u, made the word HAUBERG: and the Italians, in their manner, made it USBERGO.

"A BURGH OF BOROUGH meant formerly a fortified Town.

"A BURROW for rabbets, &c. is a defended or protected place: to which a WARREN is synonymous, meaning the same thing: for WARZEN is the past participle of Venian, defendere, protegere, tueri.

"Foxis han BORWIS or dennes. and Briddis of the eir han nestis. but mannes sone hath not where he shal reste his hede." Mattheu. chap. viii. (v. 20.)

"A JOROWE

"A BOROWE was formerly used for what we now call a Security, any person or thing by which repayment is secured; and by which the Lender is defended or guarded from the loss of his loan.

"Thou broughtest me Borowes my biddings to fulfyll.”

Vis. of P. Ploughman, fol. 5. pag. 2.
"For I dare be his bold Borowe that do bet will he neuer. 20
Id. fol. 47. pag. 2.

"And I will be your Borow ye shall haue bred and cloth."
Id. fol. 115. pag. 1.

""We fynde in the lyfe of saynt Nycholas, that a lewe lente a crysten man a grete somme of golde unto a certayne daye, and toke no sykernesse of him, but his fayth and saynt Nycholas to BOROWE." Diues and Pauper. 2d comm. cap. 9. ""I pray God and saynt Nycholas that was thy BOROWE, that barde vengeaunce come to the.

Diues and Pauper. 2d comm. cap. 9 ""Yf the Borower upon usure fayle of his daye of payment, he that is his BOROWE may paye that moneye with the usure to the Lener, and do his dettour for whome he is BOROWE paye to hym ayen that moneye with the usure. For it is to the BOROWE none usure.' 19

Diues and Pauper. 7th comm. cap. 25. BURIAL, Byngel, is the diminutive of Byng or Burgh; a defended or fortified place. To Bury, Byngan, sepelire, means To Defend: as Gray in his Elegy expresses it "These bones from insult

to protect." It cannot escape you, that the Latin sepelire has the same meaning: for seps or sepes" notat id, quod objectum, prohibet introitum in agrum vel hortum." "

This instructive specimen of etymological investigation sufficiently indicates that bir, which in sound differs little from bur or bar, as pronounced either by Englishmen or Scotchmen, is merely the past participle of the same Gothic verb from which so many of our words are derived. This single passage of Mr. Horne Tooke also explains a variety of terms which have puzzled Dr. Jamieson; or of which, at least, whether he puzzled himself with them or not, he has rendered no satisfactory account. Among these is the term Law-Borrows; of which he says, it is from Law and borgh or borrow, a pledge,' &c. v. Borch. On turning to Borch, we have the following explanation:

BORCH, BORCH, BOWLCH, BOROW, S. A surety. The term properly denotes a person who becomes bail for another, for whatever purpose.

Thar leyff thai tuk, with conforde into playn,
Sanct Jhone to borch thai suld meyt haille agayn.
Wallace, iii. 337. MS.

• He him betuk on to the haly Gaist,

Saynct Jhone to borch thai suld meite haill and sound.

Ibid. v. 63. MS. i. c. He

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