1001 Questions and Answers on Orthography and Reading | Page 8

That part of etymology which
treats of present sources of English words.
78. Give examples of Paronymous derivation. Kingdom, from king;

Manly, from man, etc.
79. What is Historical derivation? That part of etymology which treats
of the foreign sources of the English language.
80. Give examples of Historical derivation. Book, from boc; Moon,
from mona, etc.
81. When use a, and when an, in a sentence? Use a before all words
beginning with a consonant sound, and use an before words beginning
with a vowel sound, h mute, or h initial, if the accent is on any other
syllable than the first.
82. Why do words in the English language become obsolete? Because it
is a living language.
83. What is a new word? One that has recently come into use.
84. Name some new words. Outsider, intensify, repudiate, and idiom.
85. What is meant by suspended animation of a word? A word that
passes out of use for a while and then resumes its place in literature.
86. Give examples of suspended words. The words reckless, abate, and
abandon, fell into disuse in the seventeenth century, but have since
been revived.
87. What letters are called the pivots? Y and w.
88. Why are they so called? Because of their peculiar sounds in
changing from vowels to consonants.
89. What kind of new words should be avoided? Any word formed
contrary to the genius of the language.
90. What is meant by idiom? A peculiar mode of expression.
91. What is diction? Diction treats of the selection and right use of
words.

92. When is our diction pure? When we use only such words as belong
to the idiom of our language.
93. What are Synonyms? Words having a similar signification.
94. What is a Synonymicon? A dictionary of synonymous words.
95. What is meant by a reputable word? One that is used by educated
people.
96. What is an Anacoluthic word? One that is unnecessary to the
completion of a sentence.
97. What is an Idiomatic word? A word belonging to an individual
language.
98. What is an Ideographical language? One in which the characters
represent ideas rather than sounds.
99. Can there be a derivative word without an affix? There can; as,
brought from bring.
100. What is Dactylology? The art of spelling words with the fingers.
101. What is the Pythagorean letter? Y.--Am. Cyclopedia.
102. Why so called? Because its Greek original represents the sacred
triad used to designate the diverging paths of virtue and vice.

NUMERICAL VALUES OF THE LETTERS.
1. What is meant by the Numerical value of letters? Its value as a
numeral used in the notation of different languages.
2. Have all the letters Numerical value? All except J, U, W, and Y.
3. What is the Numerical value of A? 500.

4. By whom used? The ancient European Nations.
5. What is the Numerical value of B? 300.
6. By whom used? The Romans.
7. What is the Numerical value of C? 100 in the Roman notation.
8. What is the Numerical value of D? 500 in the Roman notation.
9. What is the Numerical value of E? 5.
10. By whom used? The ancient Greeks.
11. What is the Numerical value of F? 40 in some of the Ancient
notations; 80 in the Arabian; and 10,000 in the Armenian.
12. What is the Numerical value of G? 400.
13. By whom used? The Latins.
14. What is the Numerical value of H? 100 in the Greek notation; and
200 in the Latin.
15. What is the Numerical value of I? 1 in the Roman notation; and 100
in some of the Ancient notations.
16. What is the Numerical value of K? 20 in the Greek notation; and 60
in the Semitic.
17. Give the Numerical values of L. 50 in Roman, and 30 in Semitic
notation.
18. What are the Numerical values of M? As a Roman numeral, 1,000;
Greek and Hebrew, 40.
19. What is the value of N as a Numeral? In the Greek notation, 50;
Roman, 90; and by some other, 900.

20. What is the Numerical value of O? 70 in the Greek; and 11 in the
Ancient Latins.
21. What is the Numerical value of P? In the Greek notation, 5; in the
Latin, 80; and in the Roman, by some authors, 7, by one, 100, and by
still another, 400.
22. As a Numeral, what is the value of Q? 500.
23. By whom used? Several of the Ancient Nations of Europe.
24. What is the Numerical value of R? 80
25. By whom used? The ancient Romans.
26. What is the Numerical value of S? 7
27. By whom used? The Ancients.
28. Give the values of T as a Numeral. 300 in the Greek