terjections. And Servius (to whom learning has great obligations) advances fomething which almost justifies you for calling this class, what you lately termed it, the common fink and repofitory of all heterogeneous, unknown corruptions. For, he fays," Omnis pars orationis, quando "definit effe quod eft, migrat in Adverbium *.”

H.

I think I can tranflate Servius intelligibly-Every word, quando definit effe quod eft, when a Grammarian knows not what to make of it, migrat in Adverbium, he calls an Adverb.

These Adverbs however (which are no more a separate part of speech than the particles we have already considered) fhall give us but little trouble, and shall waste no time: for I need not repeat the reasoning which I have already used with the Conjunctions and Prepofitions.

66

"Interjectio poffet ad Adverbium reduci; fed quia majoribus noftris placuit illam diftinguere; non eft cur in re tam tenui hæreamus."

Caramuel.

"CHEZ eft plutôt dans notre langue un Adverbe, qu'une Particule."

De Broffes.

* « Rectè dictum eft ex omni adjectivo fieri adverbium." Campanella.

460

All Adverbs ending in LY (the most prolific branch of the family) are fufficiently understood: the termination (which alone caufes them to be denominated Adverbs) being only the word LIKE corrupted; and the corruption fo much the more eafily and certainly difcovered, as the termination remains more pure and distinguishable in the other fifter languages, the German, the Dutch, the Danish and the Swedish; in which it is written lich, lyk, lig, liga. And the Encyclopædia Britannica informs us, that—“ In "Scotland the word Like is at this day frequently used "instead of the English termination Ly. As, for a goodly "figure, the common people fay, a goodlike figure."

ADRIFT

Is the past participle Adrifed, Adrif'd, Adrift, of the Anglo-faxon verb Dɲifan, Adɲifan, to Drive.

"And quhat auenture has the hiddir DRIFFE?”

i. e. Driffed or Driffen.

Douglas. Booke 3. pag. 79.

AGHAST, A GAST.

May be the paft participle Agazed,

"The French exclaim'd-The Devil was in arms.

"All the whole army ftood Agazed on him."

First part of Henry 6. A&t 1. Sce. 1.

I

Agazed

Agazed may mean, made to gaze: a verb built on the verb To gaze.

In King Lear (Act 2. Sce. 1.) Edmund fays of Edgar, "GASTED by the noise I made,

"Full fuddenly he fled."

Gafted, i. e. made aghaft: which is again a verb built on the participle aghaft. This progreffive building of verb upon verb is not an uncommon practice in language.

In Beaumont and Fletcher's Wit at feveral Weapons, (Act 2.) "Sir Gregory Fopp, a witless lord of land,” says of his clown,

"If the fellow be not out of his wits, then will I never "have any more wit whilst I live; either the fight of the "lady has GASTERED him, or elfe he's drunk."

I do not bring this word as an authority, nor do I think it calls for any explanation. It is fpoken by a fool of a fool; and may be fuppofed an ignorantly coined or fantastical cant word; or corruptly used for Gafted.

An objection may certainly be made to this derivation : because the word AGAST always, I believe, denotes a con

fiderable

fiderable degree of terror; which is not denoted by the verb To Gaze: for we may gaze with delight, with wonder or admiration, without the least degree of fear. If I could have found written (as I doubt not there was in speech) a Gothic verb formed upon the Gothic noun Aris, which means Fear and Trembling (the long-fought etymology of our English word Ague *); I should have avoided this objection,

* Junius fays-" AGUE, febris. G. Aigù est acutus. Nihil Nihil nempe ufi"tatius eft, quam acutas dicere febres."

But Skinner, a medical man, was aware of objections to this derivation, which Junius never dreamed of. He therefore fays" Fortaffe a Fr. "Aigú, acutus. Quia (faltem in paroxyfmo) acutus (quodammodo) morbus

eft, et acutis doloribus exercet: licet a medicis, durationem magis quam "vehementiam hujus morbi refpicientibus, non inter acutas, fed chronicas "febres numeretur."

But Skinner's qualifying paroxyfmo, quodammodo, acutis doloribus, by which (for want of any other etymology) he endeavours to give a colour to the derivation from Aigu, acutus, will not answer his purpose: for it is not true (and I fpeak from a tedious experience) that there are any acute pains in any period of the AGUE. Befides, S. Johnson has truly observed, that "The cold fit is, in popular language, more particularly called the "AGUE; and the hot, the fever." And it is commonly faid-" He has "an AGUE and fever."

I believe our word AGUE to be no other than the Gothic word Aris, fear, trembling, fhuddering.

1. Because the Anglo-faxons and English, in their adoption of the Gothic fubftantives, (moft of which terminate in s) always drop the terminating s. 2. Because,

jection, and with full affurance have concluded that AGAST was the past participle of ArISAN, i. e. Arised, Aris'd, Arist. i. e. made to fhudder, terrified to the degree of trembling. There is indeed the verb AгGAN, timere; and the past participle Arias, territus; and it is not without an appearance of probability, that, as Whiles, Amonges, &c. have become with us Whilft, Amongst, &c. so Arids might become AGIDST, AGIST, AGAST; or Arids might become Agisd, Agist, AGAST. And the last seems to me the most probable etymology.

A GO.

Go, Ago, Ygo, Gon, Agon, Gone, Agone, are all used indiscriminately by our old English writers as the past particple of the verb To Go.

Go.

"But netheles the thynge is Do

"This fals god was foone Go

"With his deceite, and held him close.”"

Gower. Lib. 6. Fol. 138. pag. 2. col. 2.

2. Because, though the English word is written AGUE, the common people and the country people always pronounce it AGHY, or AGUY.

3. Because the distinguishing mark of this complaint is, the trembling or fhuddering; and from that distinguishing circumstance it would naturally take its name.

4. Because the French, from whom the term Aigu is fuppofed to have been borrowed, never called the complaint by that name..

"The