English words as spoken and written; designed to teach the powers of letters and the construction and use of syllables and words

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1900 Excerpt: ...de cry' in struct pan ic ac cord' gas'tric clas sic §156 The suffix ic, added to a noun, changes that word to an adjective with the sense of relating to or of the nature of, as in--po et'ic cy lin'dric cen'tric spher'ic his tor ic the at ric seen ic se raph'ic syn od ic pro phet ic mag net'ic ro man tic «ha ot ic des pot ic sar cas tic ma jes tic sul phu ric ar tis tic or gan ic an gel ic Words ending in ic or ics are usually accented on the syllable preceding. DICTATION EXERCISE "Vanity seeks wealth; for wealth yields costly raiment, rare ornaments, stately dwellings, showy equipages, and gaudy jewels. Pride seeks it; for it commands titles and grandeur. "Taste seeks it; because it gives things that are beautiful, refining, elegant, instructive, such as manuscripts, pictures, statues. Love seeks it; for it means the delights of home for the family. "Religion seeks it, to be the messenger and servant of benevolence in ministering to poverty, suffering, and ignorance."--Beecher. §157 When ce or cl is followed in the same syllable by a vowel, it sounds as sh (§ 97), as in--o'cean de fi'cient con'scious spa'cious vi cious her ba ceous fi nan'cial pre cious specie judicial musician conscience fa cial au da cious se ta ceous a tro'cious ra pa cious pug na cious ca pri cious men da cious an'cient physi'cian espe'cial fero'cious social commercial suspicion tenacious lus cious pro vin cial de li cious ve ra cious Before e in scep'tic, and before i in sclr'rhus, c has its hard sound like k. Sceptic is also spelled skeptic. §158 The syllable ac or oc beginning a word generally precedes a syllable beginning with c. This brings two c's together, as in--ac'cent ac com'plice ac com'mo date ac count' oc'ci put ac cept a ble ac ...