ON CERTAIN ADVERBS OF PLACE.
§ 381. It is a common practice for languages to express by different
modifications of the same root the three following ideas:--
1. The idea of rest _in_ a place.
2. The idea of motion _towards_ a place.
3. The idea of motion _from_ a place.
This habit gives us three correlative adverbs--one of _position_, and two
of _direction_.
§ 382. It is also a common practice of language to depart from the original
expression of each particular idea, and to interchange the signs by which
they are expressed; so that a word originally expressive of simple position
or _rest in a place_ may be used instead of the word expressive of
direction, _or motion between two places_. Hence we say, _come here_, when
_come hither_ would be the more correct expression.
§ 383. The full amount of change in this respect may be seen from the
following table, illustrative of the forms _here_, _hither_, _hence_.
_Moeso-Gothic_ þar, þaþ, þaþro, _there, thither, thence_.
hêr, hiþ, hidrô, _here, hither, hence_.
_Old High huâr, huara, huanana, _where, whither, whence_.
German_ dâr, dara, danana, _there, thither, thence_.
hear, hêra, hinana, _here, hither, hence_.
_Old Saxon_ huar, huar, huanan, _where, whither, whence_.
thar, thar, thanan, _there, thither, thence_.
hêr, hër, hënan, _here, hither, hence_.
_Anglo-Saxon_ þar, þider, þonan, _there, thither, thence_.
hvar, hvider, hvonan, _where, whither, whence_.
hêr, hider, hënan, _here, hither, hence_.
_Old Norse_ þar, þaðra, þaðan, _there, thither, thence_.
hvar, hvert, hvaðan, _where, whither, whence_.
hêr, hëðra, hëðan, _here, hither, hence_.
_Middle High dâ, dan, dannen, _there, thither, thence_.
German_ wâ, war, wannen, _where, whither, whence_.
hie, hër, hennen, _here, hither, hence_.
_Modern High da, dar, dannen, _there, thither, thence_.
German_ wo, wohin, wannen, _where, whither, whence_.
hier, her, hinnen, _here, hither, hence_.
§ 384. Local terminations of this kind, in general, were commoner in the
earlier stages of language than at present. The following are from the
Moeso-Gothic:--
Innaþrô = _from within_.
Utaþrô = _from without_.
Iuþaþrô = _from above_.
Fáirraþrô = _from afar_.
Allaþrô = _from all quarters_.
§ 385. The -ce ( = es) in _hen-ce_, _when-ce_, _then-ce_, has yet to be
satisfactorily explained. The Old English is _whenn-es_, _thenn-es_. As
far, therefore, as the spelling is concerned, they are in the same
predicament with the word _once_, which is properly _on-es_, the genitive
of _one_. This origin is probable, but not certain.
§ 386. _Yonder_.--In the Moeso-Gothic we have the following forms:
_jáinar_, _jáina_, _jánþrô_ = _illic_, _illuc_, _illinc_. They do not,
however, quite explain the form _yon-d-er_. It is not clear whether the d =
the -d in _jâind_, or the þ in _jainþro_.
§ 387. _Anon_, is used by Shakspeare, in the sense of _presently_.--The
probable history of this word is as follows: the first syllable contains a
root akin to the root _yon_, signifying _distance in place_. The second is
a shortened form of the Old High German and Middle High German, -nt, a
termination expressive, 1, of removal in _space_; 2, of removal in _time_;
Old High German, _ënont_, _ënnont_; Middle High German, _ënentlig_,
_jenunt_ = _beyond_.
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