Lord,ship. Wor,ship.
Fellow,ship. Friend,ship.
These words in _ship_ have the final syllable derived from the verb to
_shape_, which is to _make_, that is, to give a _form_ to a thing. Now
the word _Lord_ is an old Saxon word somewhat changed, and means
loaf-giving, (hlaf-ord); hence _lord-ship_ would mean originally “the
doing that which becomes a lord.” _Friend-ship_ now means the _state of
being friends_; originally, the _making of friends_. The word _worship_
is used both as a noun and a verb, and it means _worth-ship_, “doing
that which is good.” Hence we say “your _wor-ship_” when we speak to
magistrates, or persons in authority.
Words in _dom_, (German, _thum_).
King-dom. Christen-dom.
Duke-dom. Wis-dom, (wise-dom).
The meaning of these words is clear from the use which we daily make of
them. They imply a notion of a collection of things belonging to a
person: thus, a _kingdom_ originally meant the “_possessions of a
king_,” his “people and lands.” _Wis-dom_ is the “possession of a wise
man;” and we do not know of any better.
Words in _ness_.
Dark-ness. Like-ness.
Bright-ness. Great-ness.
This termination is very common in the German language, where it is
found in the form _niss_. It expresses in the words just given the
qualities of _dark_, _bright_, &c.
Words in _y_, (_ei_ in German).
These words differ somewhat in their meanings.
Slave, slavery. Rob, robber, robber,y.
In these instances the word in _y_ denotes a _condition_, as, “he is in
slavery;” or a profession, as, “he lives by robber-y, or villain-y, or
treacher-y, or knaver-y;” all of them very bad occupations. The word
‘robbery’ is now often used to express a single act committed, as,
“there was a great robbery committed lately.” It may also be observed,
that in all the instances above given, except villainy, the syllable
_er_ is placed between the first and last part of the word. From such
instances as ‘rob,’ ‘rob(b)-er,’ ‘robber-y,’ we might infer that many
words in _y_ are formed from nouns in _er_, which themselves are formed
from simple verbs. Thus, from the word ‘slave,’ the word ‘slaver,’
meaning a ship engaged in the slave-trade, has sometimes been used. Many
of these words in _y_ denote a place where something is kept, or a place
where animals are collected, or a place where something is made, as--
Pigger-y. Brewer-y. Granar-y.
Nunner-y. Factor-y. Nurser-y.
Some of them signify an art, in which sense they are akin to the first
examples that we gave, though of a more respectable class.