~ 
1801.] Comments on Mafon’s Supplement to Fobnfon’ s Diétionary. 403 
pied, or pie-bald, defcribes larger {pots 
than fleckered. 
There are many frequentative verbs in 
-er, of which the immediate etymon is be- 
come obfolete; fuch are to glitter trom 
glede, a live coal ; to linger from long, un- 
lefs to lounge be the intermediate verb ; fo 
clatter, pammer, fimmer, fmatter, loiter, 
&c. Ta bicker feems allo to be a verb of 
this clafs, deriving from beak: if fo, it 
means to firike at often with tbe beak, aod 
was originaily applied to the quarrelling 
end fighting of birds :-it anfwers to the 
French decgueter. Milton has thus em- 
ployed the word with picturef{que propri- - 
ety: 
- And from about him fierce effufion roll’d 
Of imoke, and ‘bickering flame, and fparkles 
dire, i 
Dr, Johnfon’s ftrange derivation of bicker 
from the Welfh does not account for the 
prefence of the &: fuch confonants may 
‘be dropped in procefs of time, but are 
never inferted. ; 
It is not peculiar to the Englith lan- 
guage to form frequentatives in this man- 
mer: the other Gothic dialects do the 
fame. German ; flattera, kleltern, poltern, 
Schmeitern: Hollandith ; flammeren, {chii- 
teren, klappercx: Swedith; fladdra, klet- 
tra: Anglo-Saxon; fliccerian, &c. 
Flot{am.——Lawyers affe& archaifms of 
language, as of drefs: of this kind are 
Siitfam, jetfam, and, as they might with 
equal propriety fay, Lgfam. Why not 
tpell floatfome, jetfome, ligfome ? for thefe 
words were formed originally with the 
fame afhx, as irkfome, lightfome, toilfame, 
tircfome, buxome, &c.. ; 
From a Gotine root anfwering to the 
German faame, feed, comes the Anglo- 
Saxon famnian, to gather, famnung, af- 
sembly, famodh, together, and the imfepa- 
rable prepolition fam, correfponding to 
the Latin coz, and Englilis with, and ferv- 
ing both for a prefix and an affix. ‘Thus, 
fam-hiran, fellow-hireling ; fam-male, 
mefmates ; fam radhe, 
fam-wifle, matrimony ( confcioufinels); lang - 
farm, loggfome; bockfam, buxome ; halfam, 
avhbolefome ; eorkfam, irkfome, &c. in all of 
which' words, jam may be tranflated by 
avith; as, hired with another, 
ewith another, counfelled ith. another, 
knowing ¢uith another; and again, with 
longne(s, with bending, with healing, 
qwith irke. ‘This formative fyllable jaz, 
whence the modern fome, is probably the 
imperative mood of famnian, to\gather : 
{as with is of, awthan, tojoim with oicrs 
alike-counfelled 5, 
eating. 
twigs, from withe, an ofer :) and requires 
an objective cafe. 
This being admitted, it follows that the 
Enghih formative fyllable Jome can with 
propriety be united only to fubflantives, 
or to verbs in the fubftantive or infiniuve 
mood. And confequently that {uch adjec. 
tives as longfome, wwholefome, loucfame, &c. 
ought to be exchanged ‘tor dengthjome, heal- 
fome, lonely, 8c. long, whole, lone, not 
being fubftantive etymons. But fromthe 
Iofiaitives, 10 float; yetan, to fink; and 
ligan, to lie; it feems allowable to deduce 
Jloatfome, jetfome, and ligfome. 
> Flaxive.—Vhere are many adje&tives in 
ive, as Communicative, conducive, excpref~ 
feve, and they are moftly tormed from i- 
finitives of Latin origin, as za communi- 
cate, to comduce, to expres. In fignifica- 
tion they nearly bear to the participles 
prefent of fuch infinitiyes the reiation of 
habituality to actuality : habitually com- 
municating, habitually conducing, habi- 
tually exprefiing. The Latin afix ieus 
is probably from zre,whole primitive mean- 
ing is to flow: Euphrates tbat jam molliar : 
motion in confequence of inclination, 
fronenefs is therefore the radical idea af. 
fociated with the formative {ylilable ive. 
The mott precile definition of ¢ommuzica- 
tave, &c. would confequently be proxe to 
communicate, Sc. 
To flux is a technical term of the metal- 
lurgilts, and means, to melt by immingling 
a iubftance which increafes fufibility. 
Such fubftance is called a flux. ‘ Fluxive 
therefore is an epithet adapted for borax, 
which fluwes tin ; or for lead, which fluxes. 
glass ; but net, as in Ben Jonfon, for argue 
ments, or for liquor fpilt on a table. 
Sportive, talkative, and fome other hy 
brid words formed by this affix, are {till 
freely ufed by writers ; but they are not 
fu‘iciently numerous to. juftify a wanton 
ainexation of the fyllable ive to verbs of 
Saxon defcent. 
fly-flap.—This compound, although 
employed by Congreve, is anomalous. 
We fay, chuck farthing, fear-nought, get- 
penny, bold-faft, pick tooth, fave-all, feares 
crow, fnel-feaft, tel-tale, turn-coat, WEE 
tail, &c. We are accuftomed therefore ta 
conftrue the incipient word as a verb, and 
the concluding word as a {ubftantive: fo 
that fy-flap fuggefts the idea of one who. 
avoids flaps, of a pick-pocket. We 
ought then to fay, fap-fly or fly flapper. 
form.—Mr. Mafon jultly oblerves, that 
this word is pronounced with the o long, 
when it means ‘* the feat of a hare,” or 
6 a long bench.” Why not in thefe 
; cales 
