IS 



Contributions to Er/gHJh Synonymy. 



[Aug. 1, 



mcnt of Latin philology, additional ma- 

 ttrials. 



The fiift regular treaiife of the mo- 

 derns exclufively confecraied to the com- 

 paiiliin of vernacular i'ynonyms, is that 

 of Girard 5 tlie publication ot wl-.ich ob- 

 tained (or him a I'eit amonst the academi- 

 cians of Fiance. Tl:e fiill edition is dated 

 1718 J an tnhirped edition, 1747. This 

 work is generally known j it has ratlin' 

 the merit of letting a ^'ood example tii.n 

 offtttlngit well : the refinements oi' uiage 

 he finds out or makes out, and records 

 them with livelinei'^ snd with pcrfpiciiity ; 

 but he emits to analyze the caufes of his 

 refiilts, and never lleks in hdtoricai ety- 

 mology for the realbns which attach to 

 the feveral fynonyms diltini^ accefl'ory 

 ideas. Tnis work was leinibliflicd in 

 J 776, with additional articles, by Beau- 

 zee. Other liipplemcntaiy matter occurs 

 in the Encyc'opedy : a fuither Treatile 

 on French Synonyms, by the more carctul 

 Koubaud, appeared in i 7S7 at iJerlin. 



At Bologna, in 1732, "tie publKhed 

 Sinonimi ed egv^'umU ItalMii raccoli da 

 Carlo Cij}an%ri Rabbi, of wnich a I'ccond 

 augmented edition was given at Venice in 

 1764, by Alell'andro Maria Bandiera. — 

 This woik has value as a record of the 

 til'age of the time ; but ufage has little to 

 do with the proper application ot a defin- 

 able word. 



Dr. Trufler publiflied in London, in 

 1766, a partial abftra^t of Giiard's work. 

 Thofe words which were common to the 

 French and Englidi langu.iges, and which 

 retained in both the lame relative value, 

 were numerous enough to I'upply a large 

 flock of tranflaied aitides. Thefe were 

 interfperfed with origioal definitions of 

 fome contiguous terms peculiar to our- 

 selves. His neat and uleful, though not 

 wholly trult-wor.'hy, book attained a fe- 

 cond edition in 1783. It will net he fn- 

 perfeded by the f'ubfequent, but inferior, 

 attempt of Mrs. Piuzzi. 



In 1783, alio, was printed at Berlin, a 

 fecond edition of S'oich's Eflay toward 

 defining German Words of like Mean- 

 ing. Without Giraid's dexterous choice 

 ot examples, which makes •inftiuflion 

 both amufe and tell, the German ly- 

 rionymill has produced a work of fuller 

 and founder information. It is fclioJaftic, 

 tliffufe, and loo nictaphyfical j but it tie- 

 quently explains the reafon of the coUeft- 

 ed fafts. Without the etymological 

 method of Stolch, it is Ii'ipoflible to ap- 

 preciate ufage ; to diiccrn how mucli is 

 iinalterahlc in habit ; or in what direfticn 

 wne may Hide into untried propriety. So 



much of meaning as inheres in the radical 

 and primary fignification of a word is ne- 

 ceffanly inimoital ; but that which has 

 accrued Irom cafual application foon dies 

 out ;\nd difapj ears, 



Ebe.haid, another German phllologift, 

 pu'-'liilied at Halle, in iSos, a more ex- 

 tenlive Synonym'uoH of his language. He 

 has improved on the previous labouis of 

 Stolch, by condenfjng them, by conlult- 

 ing the mallei ly Dictionary of Adcluns; 

 for contiTtive and addilionul matter, and 

 by the compolition of many wholly new 

 articles. Yet perhaps he has realoned too 

 much a fojlcrhri from ufige — too little a 

 priori fiom etymology ; he has oftener 

 llated the vjhat than the -ivhyoi praflice ; 

 and fliarpens inftinil iultead of unfolding 

 rtafoii. 



Our Englifli books of fynonymy might 

 he improved by an approximation to the 

 foreign models ; they miglit combine the 

 relearch of Stolch with ihe obfeivation of 

 Girard ; and involve a range ol terms co- 

 extenfive with the contents of the eight 

 volumes of' Eberhard. It is not the pur- 

 pofe of this your Correfpondent 10 at- 

 tempt a talk which would requite attain, 

 ments d various, fagacity fo alert, and 

 ii'idullry (o perfcvenng : but he al'piies 

 occafionally to be one ot many in affifting 

 to collect and diftinguifli the lefembling 

 words of Britifh writ. 



Both Dr. Trufler and Mrs. Piozzi have 

 begun their books with the I'ynonyms of 

 to abandon, piob.tbly fioin a n.otive of 

 alph.ibetic clafTificatioii. Let us under- 

 take, for a firit cxperimtnt, the fame let 

 of words. Some addition may be made 

 to the lift of terms ; and it will in general 

 be more expedient to arrange foremcit 

 tliofe of Gothic, and next thofe of Latin 

 oiigin. 



I. To give up. — z. To forfake. — 3. 

 To leave. — 4. To yield. — 5. To aban- 

 don. — 6. To defert. — 7. To quit. — 8, 

 To cede. — 9. To refign. — 10. To ne- 

 glccT:. — II. To relinqulh. — 12. To fur- 

 render. 



1. To give up is to give in an attitude 

 which aniiounces the flipericrity of the 

 Receiver, It iinplies, therefore, furrcnder, 

 humiliating if not unwilling ciriTion, lofs 

 and facrifice : — 



Give up your f'A-ord, — He gives up 

 London to refide wholly on the eftate in 

 the country : his family is become fo 

 large that it would be imprudent to keep 

 two houfcs. — They give up their places 

 at prefeot only to curry favour with the 

 piincc's party. — Tli;U fellow is given up 

 to every vice. 



There 



