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Re: CHAT: Lost (was: Azurian.)

From:Eric Christopherson <rakko@...>
Date:Thursday, August 9, 2007, 4:20
On Aug 8, 2007, at 12:33 PM, Mark J. Reed wrote:
> A quick scan through /usr/dict/words, leaving out compounds with > -frost, -most. -post and so on, finds 14 -ost words, exactly split 7-7 > between short and long O:
I keep thinking there's a word I know of that ends in -most but which doesn't actually come from compounding with the word most, but I can't seem to think what it is. (As I recall, it originally ended in - mest, which consisted of the final -m of the root and the superlative morpheme -est, but was later remodeled by analogy to <most>.)
> > Short O: > accost > cost > frost > lost > Pentecost > provost > teleost
I've always heard <provost> with a long O. The AHD, at least, shows that as the majority pronunciation, followed by one with /@/, but none with a "short O". But YMMV.
> > Long O: > almost > compost > ghost > host > impost > most > post > > The words accost, Pentecost, and almost might be pronounced by analogy > with -cost and -most, but aren't really compounds of them. Compost > and impost are etymologically related to post but, again, not > compounds. > > > -- > Mark J. Reed <markjreed@...>