FAITH. A. s. Fægð....That which one covenanteth or engageth. It was formerly written FAIETH. "Sainct Paule speaketh of them, where he "writeth that the tyme shoulde come when some "erring in the FAIETH, shoulde prohibite mari"age." Dr. Martin, of Priestes unlauful Mariages, chap. 2, pag. 15. "The very profession of FAIETH, by the whiche "we beleue on the Father, the Sonne, and the Holy Ghoste, of what writyng haue we this? Id. chap. 2, (pag. 20.) "In saint Gregories daies, at whose handes "Englande was learned the FAIETH of Christ." Id. chap. 8. (pag. 116.) It is the third person singular of the indicative of Fægan, dangere, pagere, to engage, to covenant, to contract. SMITH.... One who smiteth, scil. with the hammer, &c. Thus we have blacksmith, whitesmith, silversmith, goldsmith, coppersmith, anchorsmith, &c. "A softe pace he wente ouer the strete Miller's Tale, fol. 14, pag. 2, col. 2. This name was given to all who smote with the hammer. What we now call a carpenter, was also antiently called a SMITH. The French word car. penter was not commonly used in England in the reign of Edward the third. The translation of the New Testament, which is ascribed to Wicliffe, proves to us that at that time SMITH and carpenter were synonimous: and the latter then newly introduced into the language. "He bigan to teche in a sinagoge, and manye "heeringe wondriden in his teching, seiynge, of "whennes ben alle these thingis to this man, and "what is the wisdom whiche is gouun to him, and "suche vertues that ben maad by hise hondis. "Wher this is not a SMITH, ether a carpentere, "the sone of Marie." Mark, chap. vi. (v. 2, 3.) STEALTH...the manner by which one STEALETH. MONTH.... moon was formerly written mone; and MONTH was written MONETH. It means the period in which that planet moneth, or compleateth its orbit. "And he his trouth leyd to borowe "To come, and if that he liue maie, Gower, lib. 4, fol. 67, pag, 1, col. 2. « His wife unto the sea hym brought "With all hir herte, and hym besought, "Within he saith, two MONETHES daie." Gower, lib. 5, fol. 76, pag. 2, col. 1. EARTH....that which one ereth or eareth, i. e. plougheth. It is the third person of the indicative of epian, arare, to ere, to eare, or to plough. "He that erith, owith to ere in hope." 1 Corinthies, cap. 9, (v. 10.) "I haue an halfe acre to erie by the hygh waye Vis. of P. Ploughman, fol. 31, pag. 1. "The mans honde doth what he maie, Gower, lib. 1, fol. 26, fag. 1, col. 1. "I haue, god wotte, a large feld to ere, Knyghtes Tale, fol. 1, pag. 1, col. 1. "His fiue flokkis pasturit to and fra, "And with ane hundreth plewis the land he arit." Douglas, booke 7, pag. 226. "Taucht thame to grub the wynes, and al the art Douglas, booke 13, pag. 475. "He that eres my land, spares my teame, and giues mee leaue to inne the crop." Alls Well that Ends Well, pag. 233. "That power I haue, discharge, and let them goe Richard II. pag. 35. Instead of EARTH, Douglas and some other antient authors use ERD, i. e. ered, er'd....that which is ploughed. The past participle of the same verb. "The nicht followis, and euery wery wicht Douglas, booke 4, pag. 118. Douglas, booke 6, pag. 187. "Thare speris stikkyng in the ERD did stand." "Of youth thay be accustumed to be skant, "The ERDE with pleuch and harrowis to dant.” Douglas, booke 9, pag. 299. "O thou Faunus, help, help, I the pray, "And thou, Tellus, maist nobill god of ERD (k).” Douglas, booke 12, pag. 440. MATH...A. S. Maped. The third person singular of the indicative of Mapan, metere, to mow. As latter math....i. e. that which one moweth later, or after the former mowing. "Lo, now of al sic furour and effere «The lattir meith and terme is present here." Douglas, booke 13, pag. 454. BROTH....the third person of the indicative of bɲipan, coquere. That which one bɲiped. Hence the old English saying, of a man who has killed himself with drinking...." he has fairly drunk up "his broth"....the Italian brodo is the past participle of the same verb..... That which is briped, bɲod. WATH....i. e. where one wadeth, the third person singular of l'adan, to wade; is used commonly in Lincolnshire and in the North, for a ford. GARTH; i. e. girdeth; is commonly used in the same counties for a yard. (k) Where we now say EARTH, the Germans use ERDE; which Vossius derives from the Hebrew. "Ab Hebræo est "etiam Germanicum ERD." From the Hebrew also he is willing to derive tellus. But both ERD and tellus are of northern origin, and mean.... ERD....that which is er-ed. En-ian. Ar-are. And it is a most erroneous practice of the Latin etymologists to fly to the Hebrew for whatever they cannot find in the Greek: for the Romans were not a mixed colony of Greeks and Jews; but of Greeks and Goths. As the whole of the Latin language most plainly evinces. FIFTH In the same manner are formed the &c. ten.eth, twenty-eth, &c. or, which maketh up the number five, six, nine, ten, twenty, &c. LENGTH In the same manner are formed our BREADTH Words of admeasurement, length WIDTH breadth, width, depth, heigth. Which DEPTH are respectively the third persons HEIGTH singular, lenged, bræded, Faded, dippeð, Heafed, of the indicatives of lengian, extendere; bɲædan, dilatare; ladan, procedere ; dippan, submergere; hearan, extollere. F. It has been remarked indeed that Milton always wrote heigth, as our antient authors also did; but the word is now commonly written and spoken height: which seems to oppose your etymology. H. That circumstance does not disturb me in the least for the same thing has happened to many other words. But this interferes not at all with their meaning nor with their derivation; though it makes them not quite so easily discoverable. So it has happened to MIGHT; which the Anglo-Saxons wrote Mazed or Mægde, i. e. what one MAYETH....quantum potest aut valet aliquis. MIGHT is the third person singular of the indicative of Magan, posse, |