FORMATION OF WORDS. 13 



thirsty from gbe, to he dry. Before a dental consonant, the nasal ' i) ' is changed to 

 ' n ' ; as, onde, a priaoyiei\ from de, to hind. In one case ' or) ' becomes ' am ' in the 

 Iketu dialect, and ' oi ' in Yoruba : viz. ambo, oib6, a tvliite man.^ from b6, to peel* 

 Hence, oi-ombo (oro amb6), tlie tvMte matiUs fruity the usual name of tlie orange ; 

 and okpaimbo (okpe ambo), tliexoliite mavUs palm.^ that is, a pine-apple. 



§ 43. The prefix ' ai ' (composed of ' a ' and ' i,' not)., and its equivalent ' e,' are 

 attached to verbs to form nouns of a negative meaning; as, aim5, or emo, tlmt 

 vjliich is unTcnown or unusual.^ a monster • aidze, that which is not eaten or must 

 not he eaten. Roots vs^ith this prefix are also used imperatively ; as, aiwi, do not 

 speak., heep silence ! ' 



With SyllabiG Prefixes. 



§ 44. Aba (composed of the prefix 'a' and ba, to meet) is prefixed to verbs to 

 torm nouns implying union ; as, abata, a marTcetrpUice (lit. aba ita, the meeting of 

 streets') ; abase, a helper (lit. aba ^e, Iw who meets one to do something). Aba is 

 sometimes changed into eba; as, ebado, a shore (lit. eba odo, tlie meeting of tJte 

 water). 



§ 45. Abi, which signifies heirig in a state of., haviiuj^ is prefixed to nouns, to form 

 nouns expressing a quality, endowment, or condition ; as, abiye (abi iye), that tvhich 

 has feathers ; abara (abi ara), that which has a hody., e. g. agaliti abara yiyi, the 

 lizard which has a hody of roughness., i. e. a rough hody. 



§ 46. Abu is sometimes a derivative from bu, to give j as, abuso, a falsehood (lit. 

 abu iso, tJie giving of taW). In other cases abu is equivalent to abi ; as, aburo, that 

 which stands erect (lit. abi iro, heing in a standing posture). For the vowel change, 

 see § 16, 3. 



§ 47. 1. Ada (from dd, to mdke) is prefixed to nouns, to form others implying 

 the cause or result of an action ; as, adalu, a mixture., adulteration (from ada, a 

 making., and ilu, a mixing) ; adakpe (ikpe, a calling)., contraction of words., by 

 elision ; adado (odo, water)., an island. 



2. Sometimes the final ' a '/of ada is elided, thus shortening the prefix to ' ad ' ; 

 as, adete, a leper., from ete, leprosy ; adogui) (oguq, war)., that which causes xoar • 

 adote (ote, enmity)., that tvhich causes enmity. 



§ 48. 'Afi' or 'af (from fi, to make) is prefixed to verbs; as, afih^q, « *Acw, 

 display (lit. afi, a making., h^q, to appeal"). It is also prefixed to nouns when they 

 are followed by verbs ; as, af onahAq, a guide (lit. a, lie., fi, makes., 5na, a road., 

 h^r), to appear., i. e. one who shows the roaxT). 



§ 49. Am, a contraction of amy, a knowing., he who knmvs., is prefixed to nouns ; 

 as, amero (ero, co7isideration)., a discreet person., discretion; amoye (oye, intel- 

 ligence)., an intelligent man. 



§ 50. Ati (probably composed of ' a ' and ' ti,' from) is prefixed to verbs to 

 form nouns expressing the abstract idea of the verb ; as, atiri, seeing. 



§ 51. Bu and ibu are formed from ibi, a place ; the final 'i' being changed into 

 ' u ' (§ 16, 3). They are prefixed to nouns ; as, Trado, or ibudo, a camp (lit. ibi ido, 

 tlie place of camping) ; budzoko or ibudi:oko, a seat (ibi id^oko, the place of sitting). 



* "When the skin of a negro peels off, especially after a burn, the surface becomes white like the 

 skiu of a white man. Ambo or oibo means, literally, loho is peeled. 



