On the Letter ' r. 
137 
Caught, Laj. Br. caJite, ccehte, ikahte. Dev. koj^t. Daughter, A. S. 
dohtor, Genn. tochter, Dev. darter. Night, Germ, nacht, Orra. nihht, 
A. S. niht, nceht, neaht, Dev. neart. Thought, A.S. ]iohte, Dev. ^Aor?. 
Might, Genu, macht, Orm. mihht, A. S. 7«(3pA^, meaht, Dev. 
meart. Aught and navght, A. S. a/i^ and Orm. oAAi and nohht, 
Dev. ori and tio?^^ And the verb o?/^Af, A. S. aht, ahte, cehte, is in 
Dev. ort. 
Finally and briefly : we are now in a position to explain the ap- 
parent, and apparently inexplicable, interchange of r and f, which 
we find at least in two words zart (Dev.) = soft, and arter = after. 
The fact is that / is not turned into r in these words. 
Soft, A. S. seft, besides exhibiting the guttural in Germ, sacht, Dan. 
sagte (soft, gentle), Dutch zacht. Old Dutch (ap. lulian) saecht and 
sacht, Sw. sakta (gentle, slow), has in Early English also the form 
saught ; and a fter appears with a guttural in the Old Saxon agter and 
the Early Dutch agter and achter. These therefore are the forms 
which, sHghtly corrupted, survive in zart and arter. 
THE END. 
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