18
PHONOLOGY.
6) Weakening
of
originally
long
vowels is
frequent,
even
in the
older
texts,
such
as the
Cura
Pastoralis;
this is
chiefly
restricted
to
the
inflected forms of com-
pounds
ending
in -lie
(43.
l)
which contain
a
guttural
vowel,
particularly
a
or
o,
in
the
inflectional
ending:
thus,
misleca, mislecan,
mislecum, mislecor,
mislecost.
Occasionally
the vowel
is
more
closely
assimilated to
that
of
the
ending,
as
in
ne"odlucor,
atelucost.
NOTE
3.
Forms like hordern
are
of
early
occurrence;
those
in
-werd
are
later,
the older
language
employing
either the full
form
-weard,
or else
-ward,
-word
(43.
2.
6;
51).
NOTE 4.
Changes
of a
very
radical nature
are exhibited
by
the
final
syllables
of
a
number
of
compounds,
which
ceased to be felt as such
at an
early
period.
Thus,
for
example,
freols,
freedom,
iieol,
pre-
cipitous,
hlaford,
lord,
succeed to
*fri-hals,
*ni-hald
(iiihold, Corp.,
nihol,
Ep.
Erf.),
*
hlaf-
weard
;
similarly, suiting, swulung,
and
furlong,
measures
of
land,
for
*
sulh-laug,
*
furh-lang. Long
a,
from Germ,
ai,
formerly
stood
in
the final
syllables
of
6orod,
troop,
from
*eoh-rad;
b6ot,
boasting,
from
bi-hat, behat; eofot, -ut,
debt,
from
ef-hat
(cf.
ebhat
Ep.
Erf.
=
eobot
Corp.);
*eofolsian,
blaspheme
(North,
ebalsia,
ebolsia),
from *ef-halsian
(or*ef-wil-
slan,
cf.
The
Academy
for
Aug.
7, 1886,
p.
92)
;
6ret,
battle
(beside
6retta,
warrior,
6rettan,
fight},
from
*or-hat;
onettan, incite,
from
"onhatjan;
fullest
beside
fylst,
aid,
fullest an
(once
fulla'-stan,
Beow.)
and
fylst an,
assist,
from *ful-last
(OHG.
fol-lelst).
Germ.
<?,
Prim.
OE. zfe or
a,
was found in
hiered,
family,
Anglian
hiorod,
from
"hiw-rsed;
awer,
nawer,
etc.,
anywhere,
nowhere,
from
(nja-hwsfer;
probably
JElfred
and
similar
proper
names,
for
JElf-r&(l
(57.
note
2)
;
and
in
geatwe,
equipment,
frsetwe,
adornment,
beside
getawe.
OE.
e,
the umlaut of
6,
in
arfest, aefst,
envy,
zeal
(Ps.
efest,
North,
aefest,
a>fist),
from
*
a-f-Ost,
and
ofost,
ofst,
zeal
(obst
Ep.
Corp.,
obust
Erf.,
North,
cefest,
oefist),
from
*of-st
(cf.
(,-fstan, hasten,
Ps.
oefest(l)an,
North,
oefistla).
Originally long
i
is
lost
in
the
pro-
nouns
hwelc,
swelc,
selc,
ilca
(339
;
342
;
347)
;
cf
. Goth,
hwilelks,
swalelks.
Long
6 is
shortened
in
oroff,
oruS
1
,
LWS.
orff,
breath
(cf.
orefflan, orjian,
breathe),
from
*or-68
1
for
*
uz-an>
(185.
note
1);
long
u in
fracoff,
infamous,
from
*fra-cul5
(cf.
unforcuS).
From
ea
sprang,
the u of
fultuin,
aid
(fulteain
is
historical
OE. in
Erf.,