| 释义 |
▪ I. -t, suffix1
formative of the pa. pple. in some weak verbs, for earlier -d and -ed (see -ed1), due usually to the devocalization of d after a breath consonant, as in nipped, nip'd, nipt. In some verbs the use of t for -ed goes back to OTeut., esp. in app. contracted or irregular verbs, as bought, brought, might, thought, wrought (Goth. bauht, brâht, maht, þâht, waurht); in others it appears in WGer., as sought (Goth. sôkid, OS. and OE. sôht); in others only in OE. as laught (læht), taught (tæht, taht). But in the majority of cases the t is of later appearance, arising from the reduction of -ed to -'d, -d in Middle or Mod. Engl., with consequent devocalization of d, not only after breath consonants, as in dropt, nipt, crept, slept, swept, left, lost, tost, past, but, in certain cases, after liquids and nasals, as in felt, spelt, spilt, dreamt, burnt, meant, pent; also in contracted formations, such as built, bent, lent, sent, spent, girt, cast. But in many words where the pronunciation has t, the current spelling is -ed, e.g. blessed, dropped, hushed, passed for blest, dropt, husht, past. See the article -ed suffix1.
▪ II. -t, suffix2
formative of the pa. tense of some weak verbs, for earlier -te, -de, -ede (:—da, -ida, -eda). Parallel in formation to the prec., and generally going along with it in ME., and identical in form in mod.E.; but in OE. a pa. tense in -te was sometimes used where the pa. pple. retained the fuller -ed, as in cyssan to kiss, cyste, cyssed, settan to set, sette, seted (and sett). In mod.Eng. on the contrary the spelling in t is more frequent in the pa. pple., esp. when used adjectivally, than in the pa. tense: cf. tempest-tost, the wind tossed the ship; in time past, he passed his time. In some cases even the form in -ed is a mere modern fashion of spelling, at variance with both the pronunciation and the history; thus, kissed was in OS. kusta, OE. cyste, ME. kist, as actually pronounced; it has come to be spelt kissed, because in other verbs -ed is pronounced -t.
▪ III. -t, suffix3
A formative of ns.a. from verbs, going back to OTeut., and answering variously to the Indo-Eur. suffixes -tos, -tā, -tis, -tus, the t of which remained in Teutonic, when preceded by a guttural, labial, or s; e.g. draught, drift, flight, frost, gift, heft, might, plight, shaft, shrift, slaught, thirst, thought, thrift, weft, etc. (in some of which the formation is later and imitative). In a few cases the t is a later Eng. change of -þ after h, ȝ, as in sight (OE. siehþ), in which þ normally represented Indo-Eur. t. See -th1.
b. from adjs. (or ns.), changed from earlier -þ, -th (in length, etc.) after h, ȝ, as height (Goth. hauhiþa, OE. híehþo, ME. heiȝþe, highth); sleight (ON. slægþ, ME. sleiȝþe); theft (OE. þiefþ, ME. þiefþe); dreight (for dreighth, from dreiȝ, dree): here the suffix was OTeut. -iþô: -iðô: Indo-Eur. -tā. See -th1. Also dought (OE. duᵹuþ:—*dugunþ), drought (OE. drûᵹuþ, Sc. drouth), where the OE. suffix -uþ was for -unþ:—Indo-Eur. -ntis. |