Chapter 122

ON CERTAIN ADVERBS OF PLACE.

§ 381. It is a common practice for languages to express by different modifications of the same root the three following ideas:--

1. The idea of rest _in_ a place.

2. The idea of motion _towards_ a place.

3. The idea of motion _from_ a place.

This habit gives us three correlative adverbs--one of _position_, and two of _direction_.

§ 382. It is also a common practice of language to depart from the original expression of each particular idea, and to interchange the signs by which they are expressed; so that a word originally expressive of simple position or _rest in a place_ may be used instead of the word expressive of direction, _or motion between two places_. Hence we say, _come here_, when _come hither_ would be the more correct expression.

§ 383. The full amount of change in this respect may be seen from the following table, illustrative of the forms _here_, _hither_, _hence_.

_Moeso-Gothic_ þar, þaþ, þaþro, _there, thither, thence_. hêr, hiþ, hidrô, _here, hither, hence_. _Old High huâr, huara, huanana, _where, whither, whence_. German_ dâr, dara, danana, _there, thither, thence_. hear, hêra, hinana, _here, hither, hence_. _Old Saxon_ huar, huar, huanan, _where, whither, whence_. thar, thar, thanan, _there, thither, thence_. hêr, hër, hënan, _here, hither, hence_. _Anglo-Saxon_ þar, þider, þonan, _there, thither, thence_. hvar, hvider, hvonan, _where, whither, whence_. hêr, hider, hënan, _here, hither, hence_. _Old Norse_ þar, þaðra, þaðan, _there, thither, thence_. hvar, hvert, hvaðan, _where, whither, whence_. hêr, hëðra, hëðan, _here, hither, hence_. _Middle High dâ, dan, dannen, _there, thither, thence_. German_ wâ, war, wannen, _where, whither, whence_. hie, hër, hennen, _here, hither, hence_. _Modern High da, dar, dannen, _there, thither, thence_. German_ wo, wohin, wannen, _where, whither, whence_. hier, her, hinnen, _here, hither, hence_.

§ 384. Local terminations of this kind, in general, were commoner in the earlier stages of language than at present. The following are from the Moeso-Gothic:--

Innaþrô = _from within_. Utaþrô = _from without_. Iuþaþrô = _from above_. Fáirraþrô = _from afar_. Allaþrô = _from all quarters_.

§ 385. The -ce ( = es) in _hen-ce_, _when-ce_, _then-ce_, has yet to be satisfactorily explained. The Old English is _whenn-es_, _thenn-es_. As far, therefore, as the spelling is concerned, they are in the same predicament with the word _once_, which is properly _on-es_, the genitive of _one_. This origin is probable, but not certain.

§ 386. _Yonder_.--In the Moeso-Gothic we have the following forms: _jáinar_, _jáina_, _jánþrô_ = _illic_, _illuc_, _illinc_. They do not, however, quite explain the form _yon-d-er_. It is not clear whether the d = the -d in _jâind_, or the þ in _jainþro_.

§ 387. _Anon_, is used by Shakspeare, in the sense of _presently_.--The probable history of this word is as follows: the first syllable contains a root akin to the root _yon_, signifying _distance in place_. The second is a shortened form of the Old High German and Middle High German, -nt, a termination expressive, 1, of removal in _space_; 2, of removal in _time_; Old High German, _ënont_, _ënnont_; Middle High German, _ënentlig_, _jenunt_ = _beyond_.

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