INTRODUCTION. 



It is proper to inform the reader that the following Dictionary contains scarcely one half of the Yoruba 

 Language. There are doubtless some primitive words which the compiler has not learned ; and several 

 thousand derivative vocables have been omitted for the sake of brevity. This severe abridgement, however, 

 is no real defect, since the exact meaning of the omitted words may be ascertained by the rules of derivation 

 quite as easily as we can determine the meaning of inflected nouns and verbs in Latin from the nominative 

 and infinitive. For the convenience of the reader, supposing him to be already acquainted with the rules of 

 derivation as laid down in the Grammar, we here present a review of the various classes of words which 

 have been omitted. 



I. Many verbs of the following kinds : 



1. Verbs composed of a verb and noun ; as, beru, to be afraid ; from ba, to meet, and era, fear. The 

 omitted verbs of this class are formed chiefly as follows : 



a. Of da, to make, and a noun ; as, dSse, to sin, from 6se, sin. 



b. Of die, to be, to act, to make, and a noun ; as, diolu (olu, a prince, officer), to be a prince, to rule as a 

 prince. 



c. Of li, to have, and a noun ; as, 16^e (^^e, sin), to have sin, to be sinful, to sin ; laini (aini, need), to be 

 needy, destitute. 



d. Of mo, to know, and a noun ; as, mete (ete, consideration), to be considerate, provident. 



e. Of ^e, to do, to make, to be, and a noun ; as, iaimS (aim5, ignorance), to be ignorant, untutored ; saro 

 (aro, meditation), to meditate. Verbs of this class are very numerous. 



2. A considerable number of verbs which appear to be formed by placing two verbs in juxtaposition ; 

 as, bllu (bi, to push, and lii, to strike), to beat upon, as waves ; sare (sa, to run, and re, to go), to run ; but in 

 fact, the second member of these verbs is a contracted noun, for ilu, a striking, vch, a going. Bearing this in 

 mind, the omitted verbs of this class are easily defined by referring to the roots. 



3. A considerable number of verbs composed of three or four words ; as, fesetfe, to trample on. A little 

 practice will enable the reader to analyse these verbs, or, as the natives express it, " to take them to pieces," 

 and thus discover their meaning. Usually an elision occurs in the first syllable ; as in fesete, which is com- 

 posed of fi, to make, ese, the foot, ih, to jyress. But sometimes the first vowel of the noun is elided ; as, 

 teriba, to bow, from te, to bend, ori, tJie head, ba, to meet. 



4. Many compound transitive verbs ; as, fi . . . hai), fo show ; da . . . lebi (li ebi), to condemn. 



All the foregoing verbs are in fact phrases, and it is probable that none of them would be treated as 

 vocables in a dictionary compiled by a native. 



IL The number of nouns omitted from the Dictionary is very large : 



1. Several classes of nouns formed from verbs primitive and derivative. 



a. Nouns formed by the prefixes ' a ' and ' i.' 



b. By the prefix ' ai.' 



c. By the prefix ' ati.' 



d. By reduplicating the first syllable of the verb. For the meaning of nonns formed by these prefixes see 

 " Derivation of Nouns" in the Grammar, or refer to each prefix in the Dictionary. 



2. Nouns formed from nearly all nouns by the prefixes, al, all, el, el, ol, ol, alai, olu, oni. (See Derivation 

 of Nouns and Dictionary.) 



3. Nouns formed from most verbs by prefixing ' a,' as above, with the addition of a suffix, chiefly d^u, to 

 surpass ; kp6, together ; tin), completed ; as, asedzu, excess, lit. an action surpassing or exceeding the bounds 

 of propriety ; asekpS, an acting together, co-operation ; asetai), a completed action, completion. Sometimes 

 other suffixes aro employed ; as, la, to be safe, e. g. asalil, a running to be safe, esrajye, from sd, to run. 



