I. VERBS FORMED SIMPLY BY THE TERMINATIONS -er, -ir
In the majority of cases belonging to this class the termination -er or -ir is added to the noun or adjective without any further change, e.g. —
(a) le coup, couper, ' to eut ' V écume, écumer, ' to foam '
la gomme, gommer, ' to gum ' la fête, fêter, ' to feast '
le mont, monter, ' to rise ' le leurre, leurrer •, 'to allure'
la fin, finir, ' to finish ' la guerre, aguerrir, 'toharden'
* By analogy with verbs of this class there are also some verbs formed from particles.
i72 Contes Choisis
(b) long, longer, 'to goalongside' bas, baisser, 'tolower'
aigre, aigrir, ' to embiîter ' blanc, blanchir, ' to whiten ' cher, chérir, ' to cherish ' pâle, pâlir, ' to turn pale '
It will be noticed that the termination is joined to the last consonant, and that final e of the primary word is dropped.
Note hère also —
un, unir, ' to unité'; arrière, arriérer, ' to put off' ; devant, devancer, ' to forestall ' ; outre, outrer, ' to carry to excess '
In some verbs derived from nouns and adjectives certain phonological changes take place, e.g. —
f becomes v —
captif, captiver, ' to capture ' chef, achever, ' to complète ' sauf, sauver, ' to save '
X representing original c becomes ch —
faux (Lat. falcem), faucher, ' to mow '
representing original ss becomes ss —
roux (Lat. rus&us), roussir, 'toredden'
representing original ti or ci becomes s —
prix (Lat. pretium), priser, ' to value'
C final becomes ch or qu —
blanc, blanchir, ' to whiten ' franc, franchir, ' to go across ' jonc, joncher, ' to strew ' flanc, flanqxxer, ' to flank ' bivouac, bivouaquer, ' to bivouac '
n, s, and 1 are often doubled —
le bouchon, 'wisp,' ' cork ' ; bouchonner, 'towisp,' 'rubdown'
la moisson, ' harvest ' ; moissonner, ' to reap '
le rayon, ' ray ' ; rayonner, ' to radiate,' ' beam '
le moyen, ' means ' ; moyenner, ' to médiate,' ' contrive '
la subvention, 'subsidy,' ' aid ' ; subventionner, ' to subsidise,' 'aid'
le pas, ' step ' ; passer, ' to pass '
épais, ' thick ' ; épaissir, ' to thicken '
mou, mol, 'soft' ; mollir, ' to soften,' 'slacken*
le travail, ' work ' ; travailler, ' to work '
l'émail, 'enamel' ; émailler, 'toenamel'
le sommeil, ' sleep ' ; sommeiller, ' to slumber '
le sourcil, ' eye-brow • ; sourciller, ' to knit one's brow *
Word-Formation 173
But note —
chemin, cheminer; ras, raser
eau representing Lat. -ell- becomes -/-, e.g. —
le créneau, ' battlement ' (Lat. creneHum) ; créneler, ' to embattle ' l'oiseau, ' bird ' (Lat. aviceWa, aucellus) ; oiseler, ' to catch birds ' la peau, ' skin ' (Lat. péMis) ; peler, ' to peel '
Verbs derived from Low Latin verbs in -tiare change ti into s, e.g.—
acquietiare, accoiser (obsol.), 'tocalm,' ' appease ' minutiare, menuiser, 'tocut,' ' carpenter '
or c, e.g.
or ss, e.g.
agentiare, agencer, ' to arrange, ' * dispose abantiare, avancer, ' to advance'
directiare, dresser, 'toerect,' 'raise' altiare, hausser, ' to raise,' 'lift'
In some verbs consonants are inserted again which hâve been dropped in the primary word, e.g. —
la chair, ' fiesh ' (Lat. carnis) ; se carner (hort. ), ' to become
flesh-coloured ' le cor, ' horn ' (Lat. cornu) ; corner, ' to blow a horn,' ' to tingle ' le bitume, ' asphalt ' (Lat. bitumen) ; bituminer, ' to asphalt '
Sometimes a consonant, generally t, is inserted for the sake of euphony, e.g. —
l'abri, 'shelter'; abriter, ' to shelter,' ' screen '
le clou, ' nail ' ; clouter, ' to stud, ' ' nail '
le licou, ' the halter ' ; se délicoter, ' to take the halter off '
le filou, ' pickpocket ' ; filouter, ' to steal,' ' swindle '
In a few verbs a change of vowel takes place which reminds one of the modification of vowels in German [Kopf, kôpfen; glati, gldtten), e.g.—
bas, ' low ' ; baisser, ' to lower '
This change of vowel is generally accounted for by the original form of the primary word, e.g. —
contraire (Lat. contrarius), contrarier, ' to contradict* justice (Lat. justitia), justicier, ' to exécute '
Form verbs from the following nouns and adjeetives and give their English meaning : —
hfil
la cuirasse
absent
la perfection
la bêche
la crevasse
présent
la formule
la barricade
folâtre
patient
l'aventure
la gambade
opiniâtre
la caresse
le vagabond
V avantage
le genou
le cachet
l'aliment
le ménage
le verrou
le feuillet
le tourment
le voyage
la grenouille
la ballotte
légitime
égal
la merveille
le labour
le courage
le signal
la mitraille
liquide
le monceau
l'influence
V essaim
la ruine
timide
bavard
le salaire
le frisson
la racine
goguenard
le badaud
le papillon
la prison
la bombarde
le marteau
V addition
le poison
Vembarras
la querelle
la mention
la coutume
