163. Of two successive consonants belonging to different syllables
(175), the first is, as a rule, assimilated to the second (_regressive
assimilation_), rarely the second to the first (_progressive
assimilation_). A consonant may be assimilated, either entirely or
partially, to another consonant.
Assimilation is very common in prepositions prefixed to a verb.
164. PARTIAL ASSIMILATION. (1.) A voiced mute before an unvoiced
consonant became unvoiced: as, #rēx#, _king_, for #*rēgs# (cf. #rēgis#);
#rēxī#, _I guided_, for #*rēgsī# (cf. #regō#); #rēctus#, _guided_, for
#*rēgtus#; #scrīpsī#, _I wrote_, for #*scrībsī# (cf. #scribō#);
#scrīptus#, _written_, for #*scribtus#; #trāxī#, _I dragged_, for
#*trāghsī#; #tractus#, _dragged_, for #*traghtus# (152). The spelling
did not always conform to this pronunciation: as, #urbs#, _city_,
pronounced #urps# (54) but spelled with #b# by analogy to the oblique
cases #urbis#, #urbem#, etc.; #obtineō#, _I get_, pronounced #optineō#.
(2.) An unvoiced mute before a voiced consonant became voiced. The
prepositions #ob#, #ab#, #sub#, for #*op#, #*ap#, #*sup#, owe their
final #b# to their frequent position before voiced mutes: as, #obdūcō#,
#abdīcō#, #sub dīvō#. The forms #*op# (still preserved in #op-eriō#, _I
close_, 1019) #*ap# (preserved in #ap-erio#, _I open_, 1019; cf. Greek
ἀπό) and #*sup# (preserved in the adjective #supīnus#, _supine_) were
then crowded out by #ob#, #ab#, and #sub#.
(3.) Nasals changed their place of articulation to that of the following
consonant. Thus, dental #n# before the labials #p# and #b# became labial
#m#: as, #imbibō#, _I drink in_, #impendeō#, _I hang over_. Labial #m#
before the gutturals #c# and #g# became guttural #n# (62): as,
#prīnceps#, _leader_, #singulī#, _severally_ (the original labials
appear in #prīmus#, #semel# (138)); #hunc# for #*homce# (662). Labial
#m# before the dentals #t#, #d#, #s# became dental #n#: as, #cōnsecrō#,
_I consecrate_, from #com# (#cum#) and #sacrō#; #tantus#, _so great_,
from #tam#; #quondam#, _once_, from #quom#; #tandem#, _at length_, from
#tam#. But sometimes the etymological spelling was retained: as,
#quamdiū#, _as long as_. But #m# does not change to #n# before #t# or
#s# in the inflection of verbs and nouns, where #mt#, #ms# develop into
#mpt#, #mps# (167): as, #sūmptus#, #sūmpsī#, from #sūmō#.
(4.) #p# and #b# before #n# changed to #m#: as, #somnus#, _sleep_, for
#*sop-nus# (cf. #sopor#); #omnis#, _all_, for #*op-nis# (cf. #opēs#);
#Samnium#, for #*Sabnium# (cf. #Sabīnī#).
(5.) #m# before unsyllabic #i# (#i̭#) became #n#: as, #quoniam# (with
vocalic #i#; 153, 4), _since_, for #*quoni̭am# from #quom iam# (1882);
#coniungō#, _I join together_, for #*comiungō#.
(6.) #c# between #n# and #l#, and before #m#, changed to #g#: as,
#angulus#, _corner_, with anaptyctical (172) vowel #u# for #*anglus#,
from #*anclus# (cf. #ancus#); #segmentum#, _section_, from the stem
#sec-# in #secāre#.
165. It appears that at a very early period the neighbourhood of a nasal
changed an unvoiced mute into a voiced one: as, #ē-mungō#, _I clean
out_, by the side of #mūcus#; #pangō#, _I fix_, by the side of #pāc-# in
#pāx#, _peace_ (gen. #pāc-is#).
166. ENTIRE ASSIMILATION. (1.) One mute is assimilated to another: thus
#p# or #b# to #c#: as, #suc-currō#, _I assist_; #t# or #d# to #c#: as,
#sic-cus#, _dry_ (cf. #sit-is#, _thirst_), #accipiō#, _I accept_; #d# to
#g#: as, #agglūtinō#, _I glue on_; #t# or #d# to #qu#: as, #quicquam#,
_anything_; #t# or #d# to #p#: as, #appellō#, _I call_; #quippe#, _why?_
(1690).
(2.) A mute is assimilated to a spirant: thus, #p# to #f# in #officīna#,
_workshop_, for #*opficīna#, syncopated form of #*opificīna#; #d# to
#f#: as, #afferō#, _I bring hither_; when #t# is thus assimilated to #s#
the result is #ss# after a short vowel, and #s# after a long vowel
(170, 7) or when final (171); as, in the #-s-# perfects, #concussī#, _I
shook_, for #*concutsī# (#concutiō#, 961); #messuī#, _I mowed_, for
#*metsuī# (#metō#, 835); #suāsī#, _I advised_, for #*suātsī# (#suādeō#,
1000); #clausī#, _I shut_, for #*clautsī# (#claudō#, 958); #haesī#, _I
stuck_, for #haes-sī# (868) from #haerēre#, stem #haes-# (154); in the
same way #possum#, _I can_, for #*potsum# (cf. #pot-est#, 752);
#prōsum#, _I am of advantage_, for #*prōtsum# (cf. #prōd-esse#);
#legēns#, _reading_, for #*legents# (from the stem #legent-#, cf.
genitive #legent-is#). An #s# is never assimilated to a following #t#:
as, #haustus#, _drained_ (1014), from the stem #haus-#, present #hauriō#
(154). Forms like the rare #hausūrus# (Verg.) are made after the analogy
of dental stems.
(3.) One spirant, #s#, is assimilated to another, #f#: as, #difficilis#,
_difficult_, #differō#, _I am unlike_, from #dis# and #facilis#, #ferō#.
(4.) A mute is assimilated to a nasal: thus #d# to #m# in #mamma#,
_woman’s breast_, from the stem #mad-# (cf. #madeō#, 1006); #rāmus#,
_branch_, #rāmentum#, _splinter_, from the stem #rād-# (cf. #rādō#, 958)
with simplification of the double #m# after the long vowel. #d# to #n#
in #mercēnārius#, _hireling_, from the stem #mercēd-#, _reward_, (for
#mercennarius#, see 133, 1); #p# to #m# in #summus#, _highest_, from the
stem #sup-# (cf. #super#). A progressive assimilation of #nd# to #nn#
belongs to the Oscan dialect, and occurs only very rarely in Latin: as,
#tennitur# (Ter.), #distennite# (Plaut.). See 924; 950.
(5.) One nasal, #n#, is assimilated to another, #m#: as #immōtus#,
_unmoved_. But an #m# before #n# is never assimilated: as, #amnis#,
_river_.
(6.) Mutes or nasals are assimilated to liquids; thus #n# to #l#: as,
#homullus#, _manikin_, for #*homon-lus# (cf. #homun-culus#); #ūllus#
(274); #d# to #l#: as, #sella#, _seat_, for #*sed-la# from the stem
#sed-# (cf. #sedeō#); #caelum#, _chisel_, from the stem #caed-#
(cf. #caedō#) with simplification of the double #l# after the diphthong
(170, 7); #n# to #r#: as, #irruō#, _I rush in_; and with progressive
assimilation #n# to a preceding #l#: as, #tollō#, _I lift_, for #*tolnō#
(833); #fallō#, _I cheat_ (932); #pellō#, _I push_ (932). But no
assimilation is to be assumed for #parricīda#, which does not stand for
#patricīda# (133, 1).
(7.) One liquid, #r#, is assimilated to another, #l#: as, #pelliciō#, _I
lead astray_ (956), for #*per-liciō#; #agellus#, _small field_, for
#*agerlos#; #pūllus#, _clean_, from #*pūrlos# (cf. #pūrus#, _clean_).
(8.) A spirant, #s#, is assimilated to a preceding liquid in #velle#,
_wish_, for #*velse#, #ferre#, _carry_, for #*ferse# (the infinitive
ending #-se# appears in #es-se#, 895); #facillimus#, _easiest_, for
#*facilsimus# (345); #sacerrimus#, _holiest_, for #*sacersimus# (344).
But where #ls# and #rs# are not original but the result of lightening
(170, 3; 10) they remain unchanged: as, #arsī#, _I burnt_, for #*artsī#
from the stem #ard-# (cf. #ardeō#, 1000); #alsī#, _I felt cold_, for
#*alcsī# from the stem #alg-# (cf. #algeō#, 1000).
(9.) #g# and #d# were assimilated to a following unsyllabic #i# (#i̭#)
the result being (153, 2) #ii# (#i̭i̭#); thus #peiior#, _worse_, for
#*ped-i̭or#, from the stem #ped-# (532), whence also the superlative
#pessimus# for #*petsimus# (166, 2); #maiior#, _greater_, for
#*mag-i̭or# (the stem #mag-# appears in #magis#); #aiiō#, _I say_, for
#*ag-i̭ō# (the stem #ag-# appears in #ad-ag-ium#, #prōd-ig-ium#, 219).
These forms were pronounced by Cicero with doubled #i̭# (23), and traces
of the spelling with double #ii# are still found (23), though in common
practice only one #i# is written (153, 2). On the confusion of syllabic
quantity with vowel quantity in these words, see 133, 2.
[Errata:
164 ... #scrīptus#, _written_, for #*scribtus#;
writtén
#trāxī#, _I dragged_, for #*trāghsī#;
#*trāghsī#,
166(4) ... #distennite# (Plaut.).
last . invisible]
(6.) Mutes or nasals
(6).]