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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Untitled Article
by following it into all its legitimate consequences . Primitives . All words of two radical letters only , are roots or primitives , and often possess the threefold faculty of nouns , adjectives and verbs : —as : i « , *? tf , Vn , nD , nti > , w , ^ n , &c .
Words of three letters , which I consider as a second class of primitives , possess the same characteristics ; though those whose first , middle or last letters are servile consonants * are probably derivatives from roots of two letters ; but the small remains we now have of Hebrew render it very difficult ,
if not impossible , to reduce them in all cases , and to assign to each its proper place . In these circumstances a cautious and judicious discrimination is necessary , whatever may be the reasons or partialities of the lexicographer .
Derivatives . The first class of derivatives are such as have one or more of the serviles prefixed to primitives of two or three letters , and which vary the meaning of the primitive word accordingly . The second class of derivatives are
formed by inserting J * , n , *\ > or > between roots of two letters ; as from a ** comes ran **; from b& comes ^> i «; IU from fa ; IKn from nn , &c . The third class of derivatives consist of such primitives as have any of the serviles affixed to them .
The fourth class of derivatives are those which have the usual prefixes , the inserted vowel serviles , and the common terminations connected with them in one word , numerous examples of which exist in the Hebrew Bible . Compounds .
When the Hebrew language was in its infancy and words were few , the ancestors of the Jews found it requisite , in many cases , to double a word for the purpose of expressing their ideas and
ieelings with any accuracy . Hence from i ^ came a « l « ; from * ?** came 7 K ? K -from ID came nDnD , &c . &c . In process of time , when experience and words increased , these reduplications became inconvenient and
unnecessary ; hence , by degrees ntOK becam e contracted into n : m ; *? fcV ? K into bb&' nDnD into aaD ; ^ ibl into ?? J ; * ? lVa into V ?^ , &o . &t \ , but still retaining the idea of the original
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compounds , and having occasionally some of the vowel serviles inserted ^ expressive of a slight shade of difference , according to the nature or qualities of the objects which presented themselves to the observation of the speakers .
1 here is another class of compounds , which Parkhurst calls pluriliterals , consisting chiefly of the union of two different primitive words , but which are too well known to mention Here .
Such compounds are frequent in most ancient languages , particularly Welsh and Greek , and form an essential part of the beauty and expressive energy of these respective languages .
Both these classes of compounds are susceptible of those derivations , though perhaps not to an equal extent , which are observable in the branches of primitive words or roots . These observations are capable of a great variety of easy illustrations , which are not admissible within the
compass of a letter , and which would be imprudent to introduce in the pages of your valuable Repositoiy . I shall however , with your permission , state , from these remarks , the plan upon which a rational and useful portable Lexicon might be formed , and add one example by way of illustration .
1 . Write down and print the root in larger characters than the derivatives , to which-add a short but clear explanation in English . 2 . Arrange all the derivatives which still exist underneath the primitive
word , in such a manner as may best preserve the leading idea of the root , and preserve the chain of connexion unbroken . And though the primitive words must be arranged alphabetically , this is not necessary to be attended to
in the derivatives , because the root being the word sought for , these will be readily found by the merest Tyro in the language . 3 . Place the compounds under the derivatives , with the roots from whence they are derived within a parenthesis .
4 . When any difficulty occurs re- * specting the original signification of a , primitive ; when the chain of connexion is broken , owing to any of the derivatives being lost > or when any Hebrew custom or idiom requires explanation , let any observations necessary to be made , be thrown into notes &nd placed at the bottom of the page .
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Hints for an Hebrew-English Lexicon . 393
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), July 2, 1821, page 393, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2502/page/13/
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