NATURE OF ROOTS AND WORDS. 519 



gener, "son-in-law, and Gr. gamos, wedlock." By the side of this 

 word gambros we may place pentheros, the Greek word for a father- 

 in-law (from the root bandh, whence also Eng. bind, and Gr. penthos 

 ="grief"), with the passing remark that Euripides and Sophocles 

 invert these significations, the former using gambros for " father-in- 

 law," the latter pentheros for " son-in-law. From other various roots 

 of similar signification are derivable the Germ. Schwager, Schwdher, 

 Schwieger, all indicating relations by marriage ; the Lat. socius ; 

 the various Indogerm. names for sister; the Lat. nepos, Gr. anepsios, 

 our nephew, niece, Germ. Neffe, Nichte, Old Norse ni/i;=" sister " or 

 "bride," Old-High-Germ. wi/i!=" granddaughter," "niece," "step- 

 daughter." Beside the Lat. jus from ju, as given above, we may 

 place lex, from lig (whence lig-are), with the same meaning of binding. 

 This by no means exhausts the illustrations that might be drawn 

 from the same source ; but quite sufiicient has been said to show over 

 what an immense field this one idea ranges, and I must refer my 

 readers for further illustration to Professor Max Miiller's interesting 

 treatment of several Aryan roots in his " Lectures on the Science of 

 Language."* The four words house, wife, justice and ^oke are far 

 enough apart, in fact, to show this, almost without further amplifica- 

 tion. Nor do I hold myself responsible for the correctness of all 

 Geiger's derivations : a sufficient number are beyond doubt to fully 

 illustrate the point under consideration. 



III. — Variations of Meaning in the Same Word. 

 These variations must of course be distinguished, on the one hand, 

 from those which are the result of metaphor, or of application extended 

 from one object to others on account of a real or fancied resemblance 

 (e.g. the use of the word beam for the rays of light, ckc.) ; and on the 

 other, from words of different derivation, that have accidentally 

 assumed the same form (e.g. cleave=:" to adhere;" Germ, kleben ; and 

 c^ea-ue="to split;" Germ, kla/ff'en). The variations here meant are 

 such as arise from mere indefiniteness of application, from failure 

 or disinclination to invent a new word for the varying conception. 

 As examples of the occurrence of this variation of the same word in. 

 different languages, I may mention the English bell=^tintinnabulum, 

 and the German 6e^^e7^=" to bark;" Engl. c?ttm6=="mute;" Germ. 

 rfM??im=" stupid" (the word "dumb" being commonly used in the 



* First Series, Lectures vi., vii. ; Second Series, Lecture vii. 



