Re: Middle English Verbal Prefix i-

>Adam Walker <carrajena@...> wrote:
>I'm not sure what the techical name for it is, but I
>do believe the function survives in many country
>dialects in the US where it's usually spelled "a" --
>as in "Don't rush me, I'm a-comin."  "Summer is
>a-comin in," seems quite acceptable to me, and "Adam
>lay a-bounden" just slightly archaic.
Rather, this "a-" is from the OE _a-_, from _an, on_, in, at.

AHD's second defintion: "In the act of; for example, _a-fishing, a-
going._"  It is the same prefix used in words like "aboard"
and "abed," meaning "on" or "in."

It is cognate to the English word "on."

_ge-_ and _y-_ were prefixed to form the past participle.  This _a-_
is prefixed to the present participle, i.e., the -ing form.  For
that reason, I don't think they would be the same.

Charlie

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