Page:The Sources of Standard English.djvu/127

Old English.	Scandinavian.	Orrmin.
Arasian	Reisa	Reʓʓsenn, to raise
Scop	Skálld	Scald, minstrel
Forbtian	Skierra	Skerre, scare
Cræftig	Slægr	Sleh, sly
Spor	Slódi	Sloþ, track
Fægr	Smuk[1]	Smikerr, beautiful
Þeon	Þrífask	Þrife, thrive
Fultume	Upphelldi	Upphald, an upholding
Rod	Vöndr	Wand, rod
Wansian	Vanta	Wantenn, carere
Fyðer	Vængr	Weng, wing
Wyrse	Vaerre	Werre, waur in Scotch
Geol	Iól	Yol, Yule

Orrmin's work proves that England had not yet lost the power of compounding words with Prepositions and such words as even, full, orr, un, and wan. This gives wonderful strength and pith to his verse. We de­generate writers of later days use few compounds but those with out, over, under, and fore; and in this respect England falls woefully short of India, Greece, and Ger­many. Orrmin, like the Peterborough Chronicler, separates the Verb and the Preposition; he says, ‘to standenn inn’ (instare), ‘he strac inn,’ from the old strican, to pass.^[2] Inn is by him often pared down to i, as in the Southern Homilies; Shakespere has ‘digged i the dark.’ The letter n often vanishes before a dental, as in the case of tonth, tooth.

The old bufan now becomes abufenn (above); bifóran changes to biforr (ante).

1. Every one remembers Cowper's ‘Sir Smug.’ The old Danishword has been sadly degraded.
2. Sir Roger de Coverley at the theatre ‘struck in,’ hearing some people talk near him. Addison would have been puzzled to give the derivation of this verb.