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Re: Middle English Verbal Prefix i-

From:caeruleancentaur <caeruleancentaur@...>
Date:Tuesday, March 14, 2006, 4:29
>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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Adam Walker <carrajena@...>