Re: THEORY: Evolution of infixes/ablaut?

On Sun, 19 Mar 2000, Nik Taylor wrote:

> Tom Wier wrote:
> > What you're talking about, incidentally, has happened quite often before.
> > Modern English "apron" used to be "napron";  "orange" used to be
> > "norange" (cf. Spanish <naranja>, IIRC).   In both of those cases, it was
> > the reverse of the one you mention:  the /n/ gravitated to the article, so that
> > "a norange" becomes "an orange", etc., but qualitatively the same kind of
> > process.
>
> In the same direction is "ekename" --> "nickname"; where "eke" meant
> "replacement" or something like that.
ecce, OE, "also", maybe.  Just guessing.

>
> --
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