| 释义 |
† -lechesuffixOrigin: Apparently formed within English, by derivation. Etymon: -lock suffix. Etymology: Apparently < the same Germanic base as Old English -lāc -lock suffix, with i-mutation of the stem vowel.A productive suffix in Old English (especially in the later period) forming verbs (of weak Class I) chiefly from adjectives and nouns. Old English verbs in -lǣcan usually (but not invariably) form a pair with a corresponding adjective in -lic -ly suffix1 (or adverb in līce -ly suffix2); although there is no apparent etymological relationship between the suffixes, the parallelism is striking. It seems clear that an association between these suffixes existed in the minds of speakers. (The verbal suffix apparently cognate with -lic is -līcian , which, although attested, is less common and, interestingly, occurs chiefly in doublet formations matching verbs in -lǣcan , perhaps in fact representing a remodelling of the latter after the adjectival suffix. The two verbal suffixes appear to have been to some extent interchangeable; compare K. Brunner E. Sievers's Altenglische Grammatik (ed. 3, 1965) §407 note 11). Examples of de-adjectival formations are cūðlǣcan to become known, be friendly with ( < couth adj.; compare cūðlic couthly adj.), efenlǣcan evenleche v. ( < even adj.1; compare efenlic evenly adj.), nēahlǣcan neighleche v. ( < nigh adj.; compare nēahlic near, neighbouring: see nighly adv.), rihtlǣcan rightleche v. ( < right adj.; compare rihtlic right, correct: see rightly adv.); less frequent are denominal formations, e.g. loflǣcan to praise ( < lof n.; compare loflic laudable), sumorlǣcan to draw near to summer ( < summer n.1; compare sumorlic summerly adj.), winterlǣcan to draw near to winter ( < winter n.1; compare winterlic winterly adj.); occasional formations are also attested from other parts of speech, e.g. edlǣcan to repeat ( < ed- prefix), gesamodlǣcan to bring together ( < samed adv.; compare samodlīce together), ðæslǣcan to agree with, be suitable ( < thes adv.; compare ðæslic suitable, congruous). A small number of these Old English verbs survived into Middle English, e.g. cuðleche to be friendly with, evenleche v., neighleche v., rightleche v.; these are all attested (among other sources) in texts written in the so-called ‘AB language’ of the south-west midlands. A few new formations are first attested in early Middle English (also from texts in AB language), e.g. cnawleche knowledge v. ( < icnawe acknowledging, confessing: see knows adj.), ladleche to disfigure ( < loath adj.; compare ladlich loathly adj.), nightleche to draw near to night ( < night n.; compare nightlich nightly adj.), uncumeleche uncomeleche v. ( < Old English uncȳme unseemly, mean, paltry; compare Middle English uncumelich uncomely adj.), although some or all of these may represent reflexes of unattested Old English formations. The suffix ceases to be productive in Middle English. See further A. McIntosh ‘English compounds containing OE -lāc, -lǣcan, ON -leik and some related matters’ in L. E. Breivik et al. Essays on Eng. Lang. in Honour of Bertil Sundby (1989) 221–36. In Old English the past tense of verbs in -lǣcan is in West Saxon usually -lǣhte , by analogy with verbs like rǣcan reach v.1 (in the past participle -lǣht and -lǣced forms vary); sporadic instances of this type are also attested in non-West Saxon dialects; see A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. (1959) §751(2). The reflex of this past tense form survives into early Middle English alongside regular past tense forms; compare e.g. early Middle English nehlehte (past tense singular of neighleche v.) alongside regular nehlechede. This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online December 2020). <  suffix |