a. 



GABLE. 



153 



G 



G. 



Tlu* letter U derived from the Latin alphabet, in which it first 

 appear*. In the Greek alphabet its place a supplied by :cla. 

 It, a* man* probable, the sound of this Greek letter was toe came as 

 toe ooMonantal nouud at the beginning of the word j*dge (see Z), it 

 may perhan be inferred that the hissing sound now given to the letter 

 g existed already in some dialect of ancient Italy. The sound at any 

 rate i* familiar to the modem Italian. The sound of the letter ;/ in 

 the Kngli^h language is two-fold. Before a, o, and u, and occasionally 

 before i and e, it is the medial letter of the guttural order. The other 

 sound, which it ponnosioi only before i and e, is one of the medial* of 

 the sibilant series, and ia also represented by the letter j as pronounced 

 by the English. [ALPHABET, col. 234.] The sibilant sound is written 

 in Italian by two letters, gi, as Giacomo, Jacob, or by yg, as o </(', 

 to-day. The two-fold nature of the sound corresponds to the double 

 sound of the letter c, which is .sometimes a i-, sometimes an t. [See C.J 

 The guttural <j u liable to many changes in different dialects or 

 language*. 



1. g and k are convertible. Thus the Greek and Latin forms genii, 

 Tpn; gen, fir, as Been in gen-us, yir-os, gi-g(e)n-o, yt-y(i)r-optu ; gnoic, 

 as seen in gnotc-o, yi-yntoxti severally correspond to the German and 

 English knit, hue : kind, tin. 



2. g and an aspirated guttural : as, Greek, xv > German, yam ; 

 English, goat and gander. Perhaps \cuyi* may be related to the 

 German ga/en and English gape. There con be no doubt as to the 

 connection between the Greek xftt, the Latin liet-terniu, and the 

 German get-lem. The close connection of the two sounds may also be 

 aeen in the pronunciation of the final y in high German like ch, as 

 Ludtng, &c. 



3. g and h. As the letter A, when pronounced at all, is only a weak 

 aspirate, this interchange strictly belongs to the lost head. As an 

 additional example, we may refer to the Latin word i/allia, which has 

 all the appearance of being a diminutive, like bellut, uUia, tuettus, from 

 beiHu, *>u, atinut. If this be admitted, the primitive was probably 

 ganut ; and we see its corresponding form in the German halm, a cock. 



4. y often disappears : First, at the beginning of a word, as in the 

 Latin anter, a goose, compared with the forms given above, and in the 

 English enough compared with the German yenug. A large number of 

 examples of this may be seen in the poetical participles of the English 

 language, commencing with a y, as yclrjil, i/rlad, &c. ; also in ago for 

 agone ; in all of which the fuller form began with ge, as is still seen in 

 German. The loss of y is particularly common before I and n, as 

 Eng. like, Germ, ylticlt ; Lat. notco, natcor, nitor, from ynotco, ynatcor, 

 guitar. Secondly, in the middle of words between vowels. This may 

 be aeen in French words derived from the Latin, as : legere, lire, read ; 

 maguler, maitlre, master ; Liger'a, Loire, &c. ; also in English words 

 connected with German, as nagel, nail ; teget, tail ; regtn, rain, Ac. 

 In such cases the vowel is generally lengthened. Lastly, at the end of 

 word*, as, taij-tn, lay : mag, may ; tay, day ; here again the syllable is 

 -t:. ii.--i.. DM, 



6. g and jr are convertible ; as, yctter-day, compared with the Germ. 

 getter* ; yam with galrn-rn ; yellow with ;/eU>. In our own language 

 we find related words showing this difference : yard and garden ; yate, 

 a dialectic variety of gate ; yare for gave (Percy's K< -liqiies,' i. p. 294, 

 note) ; and fade, a perfect of to no (Glossary of same). 



6. y is convertible with gu and v. In the Latin language there co- 

 cxut the form* lingua, lingo; unyuo, umjo ; vrgueo, uryeo, Ac. In the 

 French language g* is presented to the eye, but ./ to the ear, in the 

 following: guerre , gutjie, g uarder, Ac. ; while in English we 1m 

 letup, icurd, orguanl. 1'udcr this head it may be observed, first, that 

 a final ic in the English language often corresponds to a guttural in 

 other Teutonic dialects, as law, rate, cruv, row, maw, Ac. ; secondly, that 

 we often have two letters, <-, where the German has a guttural g, as 

 fulluf, firrotr, morror,frrov, gallmrt, marrow, borrow, barrow. 



7. g and It interchangeable. Thu U generally confined to those coses 

 at the beginning of words, when an r or / follows, as in the .lv.ii.- 

 i- inns, y\papoy, yAi)xr, ya\arot, in place of j8A<$afX>i>, 0\ijx uy t flaAacot. 

 Hence the Ijitin ytani. So the Turku have given to Prussia the 

 name of Okantndaoat, that in, Ilrandcnburg. ThU change of a gut- 

 tural to a labial is more intelligible, where a syllable originally com- 

 mencing with -mli lettera as yit or you has subsequently :ip] mlcd to it 

 a syllable which contains a weak vowel, c or i. l!y each addition there i . 

 produced the vowel assimilation which the Germans call umlaut, but at 

 the same time a small remnant of the original vowel-sounil i* retained 

 in the form w. Thus gouz-out in Breton is an infinitive signifying t<> 

 know, connaltre. The suffix of the first (tenon of the future u inn, 

 the effect of which U to modify the bane youz, so as to produce the 

 form, gwiz-inn, je connaltroi, and in a compound, na-r&-i>in, jo recon- 

 naltrai. Here the g wholly disappears, and we have in its place a lip- 

 I. it. r r. Such a change is of rujieated occurrence in Breton : and it is 

 on this account that our example ho* been taken from this outlying 



language. We have, however, an example of a similar influence in 

 English, where g"ud, Germ. ./'. on receiving the comparatival sufKx rr 

 through some such form as gwtUtr, and become* eventually 



8. g and d : as ht-nirrrip for -rn-^rrriP- Examples of this interchange 

 may be heard from the mouth of nearly every child in its first attempt* 

 to apeak, as l>i/ flat for (lay Fatrkrt, dood boy, do airay, Ac. ThU 

 change, as in the last case, is common before I ; hence the' Latin dulr'u 

 by the side of the Greek y\vxvt. 



S. The guttural g and the sibilant <j. It was stated in C that the 

 hard sound of that letter in the Western languages of Europe often 

 corresponded to a hissing sound in the Eastern. So too the hard g 

 belongs to Europe, the j sound to Asia. Thus re-j, a king, i* in the 

 East rajah. 



10. The sibilant g and di or li before a vowel For examples, Me 

 DandB. 



GABION. A hollow cylindrical bosket open at both ends. They 

 were formerly mode of different dimensions, according to the 

 for which they were to be employed ; they are now, however, all mode 

 of one size in the British service, namely, 2 feet in diameter (ext 

 and 2 feet 9 inches high in the wicker-work. They are constructed 

 hi the following manner : A circle of 22 inches in diameter in 

 on the ground, each quarter of this circle is divided into 4 or 5 

 parts, according to the suppleness or stiffness of the iclthn to be used 

 in vailing this basket work; at each of these points upright p 

 3 feet 6 inches in length are driven. The wicker-work which then 

 follows may be either performed with two rods, called 

 with three or more, called wailing; all that is requisite is that each 

 rod should be successively twisted over and outside those before it, 

 passing as many pickets or stokes as there are rods to be waled, 

 before being brought inside. Fresh rods are introduced as fast as each 

 rod used in wailing comes to on end, and they should not be all of one 

 length to terminate together; each layer is hammered down tight 

 on the one preceding. When the wicker-work has ri-i n 1,1 tin- 

 height of 2 feet 9 inches, the whole is stitched together with rope 

 yarn or twists I withes, the gabion pulled up an. I tin- piekets cutoff 

 and pointed at a length of 3 inches on each side beyond the wicker- 

 wofk. Gabions are used in the revetment of field works, SAI-.-. I'AIIA- 

 PETS, HATTMIIKS, Ac.; they are then placed on end, the earth fr.un 

 the excavation thrown into them, when they act as a >;l<iiniu;i wall to 

 the earth which is thrown over and in front of them. When tin- 

 height of the parapet requires it, two rows of gabions are placed one 

 over the other, generally with a line of .fascines between, the whole 

 being terminated with three rows of fascines placed pyramidally, that 

 is, two as a base and one at top, the revetment having a slope of 

 3 inches in 2 feet to the front. The weight of a gabion varies much 

 according to the density of the wood from 20 to 40 Ibs., and upwards ; 

 in fact, like many other points in military art, this requires grr. i 

 thought. In the West Indies, after gabions had been made of tie 

 usual size for the attack of a poet, they were found so heavy that it was 

 impossible to carry them. 



There is another <lr -. ription of gabion termed tap roller, - 

 sapping. Tin- sip n.ller consists of two gabions each G feet Ion/, tin- 

 larger one 4 feet in diameter, the smaller 2 feet 8 inches, both st i 

 made, fastened together, the smaller inside the larger, and the iir 

 tilled with faggot* or pickets of strung wood, so as to be musket proof. 

 This is used in pushing on in front of a sap as a mantlet [S.vr.] 



During the siege of Scl.ostopol it was fminil iliilieult to procure 

 brushwood to make gabions, and Major l-'Iphinstne, II. E.. proposed 

 using the iron hay-bands (hoop-iron) employ'! in puking tin c. im- 

 pressed hay instead of the withes ; these were tried and found of 

 great service, not so liable to l>e destroyed by the explosion of guns 

 when used in the revctm. nt of embrasures, Ac, Since then this 

 idea has been further dev. -lo| ;\ by Captain Tyler, U.K., whose - 

 has been adopted to a certain extent, in the service. This . 

 consists of a plate of thin ^ u. which, when required to 



serve as a gabion, is formed into a cylinder by being sewn together l>\ 

 eyes provided for the purpo.se at its edges, but which, from lying flat, 

 is easily carried. It is doubtful, however, whether a square gabion of 

 sheet-iron would not answer all purposes better. 



GAHI.K, the triangular upper p:,rt of the end wall of a building. 

 corrcsjHmding to the sloping sides of the roof whiel; in it. 



The acuteneos of the angle depends therefore on t!..- pit h of the roof, 

 and dillcirf considerably in different e.x.r rmerly the entire 



end of the building of which the gable is a part was not uncommonly 

 termed the gable, but it is now i ! the gable- 



end. The term gable is not used in classical architecture, the place 

 of the gable being occupied by the pediment. In Eliza! 

 domestic architecture, the open ornamental terminations of projecting 

 wings, &c. are called gables, though they have no connection with 



