释义 |
▪ I. ac-, prefix assimilated form of L. ad- to, bef. c-(k-) and qu-, as in ac-cumulāre, ac-cēdĕre, ac-quiescĕre. Reduced in OFr. to a-, and so entered Eng. in 3–4. But in 4–5 the spelling ac- was artificially restored in Fr. in imitation of L., and in 4–5 this extended to Eng. as in ac-count, ac-quit, EE. a-cunte, a-cwite, a-quite. In all modern words from L., ac- is written, though a- only is pronounced. While the refashioning of the OFr. words was going on, ac- was ignorantly extended to some words having a- = OFr. an- en-:—in-, or es-:—ex-, as a(c)cloy, a(c)cumber, a(c)coup, EE. acloye, acumbre, acoupe, OFr. encloer, encombrer, encoulper = L. inculpare, and even to some words with a- = OE. a- or on-, as a(c)curse, a(c)know, a(c)knowledge. ▪ II. ac- the earlier spelling of many words, which in consequence of the refashioning mentioned in the prec. are now spelt acc-, under which they will be found. |