the reason why so many zero-derivatives from verbs of Latin and French

origin, coined the 15th and 16th centuries, were subsequently replaced by

suffixal derivatives in -al, -age, -ance, ment. «After 1650 the suffix

formation have completely gained the upper hand of the direct conversion of

the disyllabic and trisyllabic words derived from French and Latin

verbs»(Biese/4/).

Zero-derivation with loan-words.

As for Latin and French words and derivation from, there are

comparatively few derivatives before (Biese/4/). French words were for some

time felt to be foreign elements and were not «converted» with the same

ease as native stems were. The phenomenon is in no way different from the

one it is observed with derivation by suffixes. Loan words remain strangers

for a time, and it usually takes time before a derivation type is applied

to a heterogeneous class of words. Zero - derivation was facilitated by the

eo-existence of borrowed substantives and verbs., as anchor substantive a

880 (=L) / anchor verb e 1230 (the OED has doubts, but F ancrer is recorded

in the 12th e., as Bloeh ). Account substantive 1260/verb 1303, change

substantive 1225/verb 1230, charge substantive 1225/verb 1297, cry

substantive 1275/verb 1225, dance substantive 1300/verb 1300, double

adjective 1225/verb 1290, doubt substantive 1225/verb 1225, poison

substantive 1230/verb 13.., rule substantive 1225/verb 1225.

There are quite a few verbs with French roods for which no French

verbs are recorded and which may accordingly be treated as zero

derivatives: feeble verb 1225/adjective 1175, hardy verb 1225/adjective

1225, master verb 1225/substantive a 1000, pool verb 1275/adjective 1200,

saint verb 1225/substantive 1175. On the other hand, the substantive grant

1225 may be derived from the verb grant 1225. It is only after 1300 that

the process of zero-derivation is as firmly rooted with French as with

native words. Though French originals for later English words may occur, it

is just as safe to consider them as derivatives, as centre verb 1610 fr,

centre substantive 1374, combat verb 1564 fr, combat substantive 1567 (or

the reverse), guard verb 1500 fr, guard substantive 1426 and others.

Words of Scandinavian origin were more easily incorporated than French

words, and derivation occurs as early as the 13th c.: trist «trust», boon

«ask as a boon, pray for», brod «shoot, sprout», smithy «make into a

smithy» a.o. (see Biese /4/).

The illustration of various types.

Type loan verb fr. loan substantive

(desubstantival verbs.)

Many PE verbs. go back to OE : answer (andsharu / andswarian), blossom

(blostm / blostnian), claw (clawu / clawian), fish (fisc / fiscian), fire

(fyr / fytian), harm (hearm / hearmian),wonder (wundor / wundrian), bill

«strike with the bill, peck», ground «bring to the ground», loan (1240),

back (OE), butter (OE), experiment (ME), lamb (OE), night (OE), piece (ME),

pit «cart into a pit»(OE), plank (ME), plate (ME), plow, plough (OE),

plague (ME), priest (OE), promise (ME), prose (ME), ridge (OE), rivet (ME),

rode (ME), root (EME), sack (OE), sauce «season» (ME), scale (ME), screen

(ME), shoulder (OE), side (OE), silver (OE), sponge (OE), spot (ME), story

(ME), streak (OE), summer (OE), table (ME), thong (OE), tin (OE), veil

(ME), winter (OE), all before 1500.

Angle «run into a corner» (ME), balance (ME), butcher (ME), cipher

(ME), cloister (ME), coffin (ME), collar (ME), colt «run wild as a colt»

(ME), cipher (ME), fancy (1465), fin (OE), gesture (ME), girdle (OE), glove

(OE), gossip (OE), grade (1511), husk (ME), kennel (ME), knob (ME), ladle

(OE), latch (ME), launder (ME), lecture (ME), libel (ME), mother (OE),

neighbor (OE), place (ME), pole (ME), riddle «speak in riddles» (OE), shell

(OE), shop (ME), star (OE), stomach «be offended» (ME), sun (OE), vision

(ME), all 16th century blanket (ME), casket (1467), lamp (ME), leaf (OE),

pilot (1530), race «run» (ME), soldier (ME), all 17th century Capture

(1541), diamond (ME), onion (ME), stocking (1583), tour (ME), all 18th

century Scrimmage (1470), shin (OE), signal (ME), torpedo (1520), vacation

(ME), wolf «eat like a wolf» (OE), 19th century, major 1927.

It would be difficult to give a complete list of derivatives as there

is an ever growing tendency verbs from substantives without derivative

morphemes. A few recent are service, contact (1929), audition, debut,

package, chairman, page, date (1928), process (1945), waitress (1946),

pressure (not in OED or Spl.), feature (rec., as in the play features).

Mencken/11/ gives many more, most of which are, however, hardly used.

It is likewise useless to try a classification to sense-groups, as

there is no class-denoting formative. The verb may denote almost any verbal

action connected with the basis of the underlying substantive. The verb bed

has or has had the meanings «spread a bed», «put to bed» (with various

implications), «go to bed», «sleep with», and there are more technical

meanings. Bladin/5/ had already pointed out that «every action or

occurrence can be designated by a verb derived from the very noun the idea

of which most easily enters the mind of the person wanting to state a

fact», and if Jespersen/7/ says that «it is difficult to give a general

definition of the sense-relation between substantive and de-substantival

verbs», this is rather an understatement. It may be recognized certain

groups, as «put in ...», «furnish, cover, affect ...», but it should be

noted that each of these senses is only one the many which the same verb

has or may have. Biese/4/, therefore, makes no attempt at classification,

and he is certainly right in doing so. It may, however, be worthy of note

that the privative sense as in dust «remove the dust (from)» is frequent

only with technical terms denoting various kinds of dressing or cleaning.

Exs are bur wool or cotton, burl cloth, poll, pollard trees, bone, gut,

scale fish.

The meaning of a certain verb is clear in a certain speech situation.

That brain means «smash the b.»,can «preserve in cans», winter «pass the

winter», is a result of given circumstances which establish the bridge of

understanding between the speaker and the person or persons spoken to.

There are derivatives from proper names, as boycott 1880 (orig. spelt

with a capital, from the name of Captain Boycott who was first boycotted),

Shanghay 1871 ‘drug and press on board a vessel’, Zeppelin 1916 ‘bomb from

a zeppelin’ (also clipped = zap).

Some verbs often occur in the -ing substantive only (originally or

chiefly), while finite verb forms or infinitives are not or rarely used, as

hornpiping ‘dancing a hornpipe’ (no verb rec.), slimming, orcharding

‘cultivation of fruit trees (no verb rec.). Dialling ‘the art of

construction dials’, speeching, electioneering, engineering,

parlamenteering, volunteering are the original forms. Converted cpds with

-monger for a second-word are current only in the -ing form (merit-

mongering, money-mongering etc.). Innings are not matched by any other verb

form, nor are cocking ‘cock-fighting’, hopping ‘hop-picking’, moon-shining

‘illicit distilling’ and others.

Type idle verb fr. idle adjective. (deadjectival verbs).

To the OE period go back bitter, busy, cool, fair, fat, light, open,

right, yellow (obs black, bright, dead, strong, old).

From the period between about 1150 and 1200 are recorded obs sick

‘suffer illness’, soft, low (obs meek, hory, hale). The following date

from the period between about 1200 and 1300 (Biese/4/ has included the

Cursor Mundi in this period): black, brown, loose, slight, better, blind

(obs hardly, certain, rich, wide, broad, less). From the 14th century are

recorded ready, clear, grey, sore, pale, full, dull, round, gentle,

English, tender, perfect (obs able, sound, weak, unable, honest, noble).

From the 15th century purple, stale, clean, from the 16th century shallow,

slow, quiet, empty, bloody, idle, equal, dirty, parallel (and many other

now obs words, as Biese/4/ points out). The 17th century coined crimson,

giddy, worst, blue, gallant, shy, tense, ridicule, unfit, ruddy (and many

how obs words. Biese/4/). From 18th century Are recorded net ‘gain as a net

sum’ 1758, total (once 1716, then 1859), negative, northern (said of

landscape), invalid ‘enter on the sick-list’, queer ‘cheat’ , from the

19th century desperate ‘drive desperate’, stubborn, sly ‘move in a

stealthy manner’, chirk ‘make cheerful’, gross ‘make a gross profit’

1884, southern (said of wind), aeriform, true. From our century there are

such words as pretty, wise, lethal, big.

Usually, deadjectival verbs denote change of state, and the meaning is

either ‘become ...’ or ‘make ...’. Intransitive verbs with meaning ‘be...’

(as idle, sly, equal) from quite a small group. Some verbs have a

comparative or superlative as root: better, best, worst, perhaps lower.

Type out verb fr out particle (verbs derived from

locative particles).

Derivation from locative particles is less common than the preceding

types. In Old English there are yppan, fremman (with i-mutation from up,

fram), framian, utian. Later are over ‘to master’ 1456, obs under ‘cast

down’ 1502, off ‘put off’ 1642, down 1778, nigh ‘draw near’ 1200, thwart

1250, west ‘move towards the west’ 1381, south 1725, north 1866, east 1858.

These words, however, are not very common (except out and thwart).

Type hail verb fr hail interjection (verbs derived

from minor particles).

Derivation from exclamation and interjection (most of there

onomatopoeias) is more frequent. It will, however, be noted that many of

these conversions have undergone functional and formal changes only without

acquiring a well - grounded lexical existence, their meaning merely being

«say..., utter the sound...». Exs are hail 1200, nay «say nay, refuse»

13.., mum 1399, obs. Hosht «reduce to silence» etc., whoo (16th century),

humph (17th century), encore, dee-hup (to a horse), pshaw, halloa, yaw

(speak affectedly», hurrah (18th century), tally-ho (fox-hunting term),

boo, yes, heigh-ho «sigh», bravo, tut, bow-wow, haw-haw, boo-hoo «weep

noisily» etc. (Biese/4/ also Jespersen/7/).

The meaning ‘say...’ may occur with other words also when they are

used as exclamation or interjections, as with iffing (other verb forms are

not recorded), hence ‘order hence’ (obs., 1580). And it may be reckoned

here all the words of the type sir ‘call sir’.

From about 1600 on, geminated forms also occur as verbs. A few have

been mentioned in the foregoing paragraph; others are snip-snap

(1593),dingle-dangle, ding-dong, pit-pat (17th century), pitter-patter,

wiggle-waggle (18th century), criss-cross, rap-tap, wig-wag (19th century)

etc.

The limits of verbal derivation.

Derivation from suffixed nouns is uncommon. Biese’s/4/ treatment of

the subject suffers from a lack of discrimination. He has about 600

examples of substantives and adjectives; but the ‘suffixes’ are mere

terminations. Words such herring, pudding, nothing, worship are not

derivatives. The terminations -ace, -ice, -ogue, -y (as in enemy) have

never had any derivative force.

Theoretically it would seem that the case of a suffixal composite such

as boyhood is not different from that of a fill compound such as spotlight.

But obviously the fact that suffixes are categorizes generally prevents

suffixal derivatives from becoming the determinants of pseudo-compound

verbs. There are very few that are in common use, such as waitress (rec.),

package (rec., chiefly in form packaged, packaging), manifold OE

(obsolescent today), forward 1596, referee 1889, such adjectives as dirty,

muddy. Many more are recorded in OED (as countess, patroness, squiress,

traitress ‘play the...’, fellowship, kingdom a.o.).

Another reason seems to be still more important. Many of the nominal

suffixes derive substantives from verbs., and it would be contrary to

reason to form such verbs as arrival, guidance, improvement, organization

when arrive, guide, improve, organize exist. Similar consideration apply to

deadjectival derivatives like freedom or idleness. The verb disrupture is

recorded in OED (though only in participial forms) but it is not common.

Reverence is used as a verb, but it is much older (13.., 1290) than the

verb revere (1661). It should also be noted that the alternation

revere/reverence shows characteristics of vowel change and stress which are

irregular with derivation by means of -ance, -ence. For same reason

reference is not a regular derivative from refer, which facilitated the

coinage reference ‘provide with references’ etc. 1884.

There are no verbal derivatives from prefixed words either. The verb

unfit ‘make unfit’ 1611 is isolated.

Type look substantive fr. look verb (deverbal

substantives).

Deverbal substantives are much less numerous than denominal verbs. The

frequency-relation between the two types has been approximately the same in

all periods of the language. An exception is to be made for the second half

of the 13th century «when the absolute number of conversion-substantives is

larger that of the verbs formed from substantives» (Biese/4/).

Form the 13th century are recorded (unless otherwise mentioned in

parentheses, the resp. Verbs are OE) dread (1175), have, look, steal, weep,

call (1225), crack, ‘noise’, dwell, hide, make, mislike, mourn, show, spit,

‘spittle’, stint, wrest ‘act of twisting’ a.o.

From the later ME period are recorded (indications in parentheses

refer to the respective verbs) fall (OE), feel (OE), keep (OE), lift (ME),

move (ME), pinch (ME), put (ME), run (OE), snatch (ME), sob (ME), walk

(OE), wash (OE).

From the 16th century date craze (ME), gloom (ME), launch (ME), push

(ME), rave (ME), say (OE), scream (ME), anub (ME), swim (OE), wave (OE);

from the 17th century contest (1579), converse (ME), grin (OE), laugh (OE),

produce (1499), sneeze (1493), take (ME), yawn (OE); from the 18th century

finish (ME), hand (OE), pry (ME), ride (OE), sit (OE). From the 19th

century fix (ME), meet (OE), shampoo (1762), spill (OE).

As for the meaning of deverbal substantive, the majority denote the

act or rather a specific instance of what the verbal idea expresses quote,

contest, fall, fix, knock, lift etc. This has been so from the beginning

(Hertrampf and Biese/4/). «The abstract nouns, including nouns of action,

are not only the most common type of conversion-substantives; they are also

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