1802. ] Comments on Mafon’s Supplement to Fobnfon’s Dictionary 113 
Philippize.—According to Mr. Mafon, 
this word derives from the fub(tantive 
Philippic, in which cafe it ought to be 
written Philippicize, and fignifies to /peak 
or write invediives. It is not in this 
fenfe that Mr. Burke has employed the 
term. It derives from Philip, a man’s 
name, and ought to fignity to peak as 
Philip. The Athenian orator, who lent 
a tongue to the wifhes of Philip of Mace- 
don, was faid to Philippize: the Lon- 
donian orator, who exprefled unbought 
fentiments, confentaneous with thote of 
Philip Earl Stanhope, was faid zaturally 
to Philippize. 
Poach.— The article Poach, in John- 
fon’s Dictionary, is blamed with  reafon 
by Mr. Mafon. This verb certainly de- 
rives from the French poche, a pocket. 
Its primary fenfe, therefore, is to pocket; 
in which meaning it is commonly {pelled 
to pouch. It fecond fenfe is to pocket pri- 
wvately: in this ‘fignification it is much 
uled, efpecially of game, both as an ac- 
tive and neuter verb. A third fen‘e is, 
to form into a pocket, as when we fay, to 
pouch the lip, to poach eggs. To. thefe 
three fenfes all the authorities in Johnfon’s 
Di&tionary are reducible; it does not ap- 
pear that to poach means zo pierce, or to 
begin without completing. Ground is {aid to 
be poachy when it eafily forms pockefs—when 
the feet of cattle Jeave in it a lafting im- 
preflion. Poachard is a fort of pelican, fo 
called from the pouch at its throat. 
Quay.—This word being ufually pro- 
nounced kay, probably came to us from 
the Hollanders, who write it kaye: why 
fhould nut the & bereftored? Q is at 
prefent a redundant letter, in found equi- 
valent with &; but it might conveniently 
be referved as a character equivocal with 
the Greek chi, or kh, which is, in the 
{pelling of many Oriental and other names, 
a diftin&t and neceflary letter. 
Rad.—Spenfer ules rad both for the 
pait tenfe and participle of the verb 
to read. Horfley has endeavoured toin- ? 
troduce, or, if Louth may be trufted, 
to reftore, redde. It is, no doubt, in- 
conveniently ambiguous, that feveral 
verbs in our language fhould be nearly 
inflexible, which is often the cafe of thofe 
ending ind or ¢.. But when authorities 
difagree about the expedient form of 
_ change, appeal muft be had to analogy. 
Let us bring together fuch as moft nearly 
_refemble the verb in queftion :— 
Beat — beat or bet — beaten 
Bleed —— bled — bled 
Breed — bred — bred 
Feed — fed — fed 
Monruty Mage, No. gt. 
. 
Heat — het ' — heated or het 
*Lead — led =— led 
Let | — let wm let 
Read — read — read 
Set — fet — fet 
Shed — fhed — fhed 
Shred — fhredded ow fhred 
Speed — fpéd — fped 
Spread — fpread — fpread or fpreaden 
Sweat — {wet — fweated 
Wet — wetted 
o—= wet 
Tt is evident, then, that the tendency of 
thefe verbs is to. employ a long vowel in 
the prefent, a fhort vowel in the paft, and 
that the participle is diftinguifhed with 
leat cacophony when inflected with the 
fyllable ez. No ambiguity would arife - 
from writing in the prefent tenfe, beaie, 
heate, leade, reade, fpreade; but the verb 
feweate would thus be diverted from its 
habitual pronunciation, and would be lefs 
intelligible with its new found. The 
patt tenfes, bet and red, would be equi- 
vocal; it feems lefs harfh te preferve the 
fpellings beat and read, but with the 
fhort vowelfound. ‘The participles in ez, 
many of which Middleton withed to fa- 
miliarize, have a novelty of found which 
forbids the expectation of their being 
glibly received: yet thofe Engliih verbs 
are plainly the moft complete, which, 
like 
Hide 
Shape 
hid 
fhaped — 
hidden 
fhapen 
——y 
are provided with diftin& infleétions 
the paft tenfe and participle. 
Raile.—The verb to raile, to fiream, 
comes, fays Mr. Mafon, from rater, old 
Fr. couler. Suppofing raier (which fome-~ 
times fignifies in French /ac irradiare, ta 
make the milk [pin out of the dug) to have 
been ever applied to flowing in general ; 
yet whence the /if this were a true deri- 
vation? Toraile, means to form ftripes, 
and defcends from rail, a crofs-beam, a 
firip of wood, Ottfried has regilon, to 
en in; ‘Latian, evtrigan, to unpen; and 
the Hollanders, rijez, ‘to zeciofe. Hencey 
by means of the athx e/, denoting an in- 
firument, comes the Swedith rigel, the 
German riegel, and their Englith colla- 
teral rail. It does harm to affign a French 
origin to our Gothic words ; becaufe thefe 
are, by the ufage of our tongtie, far more 
flexible and compoundable than thofe of 
fouthern origin:- to fay nothing of the 
2 
for 
* By fpelling led, leeding, leeder, one might 
efcape the rifk of confounding this family of 
words with lead, plumb 3 leading, plumbing 5 
leader, plumber. 
P confite 
