#95193
02/11/2003 5:12 AM
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There are many words starting with the prefix "ex-" that add an "h" (exh-) when the next letter is a vowel. The appearance of the "h" in these words seems to be pretty arbitrary at this point. But at some time there must have been a common genesis which either lost or added the "h" within these paticular words. I suspect there was some sort of inner metanalysis (see "metanalysis": http://wordsmith.org/board/showflat.pl?Cat=&Board=miscellany&Number=29152) at work here. But I'm not sure that term would apply to what's happening within a single word. And why didn't they all add/lose the "h" at the same time by the same process? Some examples of this: exhort, exorbitant; exhilerate, exhibit, exigency, exist; exhale, exalt (many more)
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#95194
02/11/2003 10:43 AM
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It seems to me WO'N, that the only common thing about these words is the prefix 'ex', which implies, out of or out from. The 'h' in most words that you have as examples come, I suspect, from roots which start with the letter 'h'. Exhale, for e.g., I know is from the Latin halare, which means breathe. Exhume is another that comes to mind; hume is from humus, for ground. It is interesting that 'h' in these words is invariably followed by a vowel, but that might be incidental to the pronounciation of h. It is difficult to enunciate when followed by consonants and is therefore probably not commonly used that way.
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#95195
02/11/2003 10:55 AM
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Pooh-Bah
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WO’N, I must be missing the point here, but the words you quote follow the Latin in either having or not having the ‘h’ at the start of the prefixless® original.
Sorry maahey, I should have checked - you beat me to it!
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#95196
02/11/2003 11:24 AM
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maahey and dxb have it right. Each one of your exhamples, Juan, exibits the h in the Latin root if it is present in the English and doesn't if it isn't.
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#95197
02/11/2003 12:41 PM
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Each one of your exhamples, Juan, exibits the h in the Latin root if it is present in the English and doesn't if it isn't.
Yep, I learn something every day here. What's ibit?
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#95198
02/11/2003 1:05 PM
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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What's ibit?
'e 'asn't bit anythin' that I saw.
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#95199
02/11/2003 1:57 PM
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But it seems to me that this is a sound transition rather than an etymology derived from a former language [i.e. Latin]. Because if you try to say almost any of the words with an "ex-" prefix, followed by a vowel, the "h" sound naturally flows in place there, it's almost impossible to say these words (with a written "h" or not) without the support of, at least, a mild "h", esepcially when the vowels take the short pronunication. Exceptions seem to be when the vowel takes the long form, but even then, you can detect and feel a wisp of the "h" there. So my first question is...was the "h" originally there and then dropped from some of these words, or was the "h" added later because it was vocalized? The derivative language (Latin) may have originally dicated the written forms, but somewhere along the way, there was a shift in writing or saying these words which seems to have affected only some of them.
Go to the "ex--" section of the dictionary and compare all the words there (it's only about 4 pages long).
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#95200
02/11/2003 2:53 PM
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words with an "ex-" prefix, followed by a vowel, the "h" sound naturally flows in place there, it's almost impossible to say these words (with a written "h" or not) without the support of, at least, a mild "h",
I don't have access to a dictionary right now WO'N, but I am running through, some such words as you describe, in my head and I do not hear an 'h' in them. For e.g., exAlting, exEmplary, exIstential, exOrbitant, exUberant. Is it to do , you think, with different schools of pronounciation? Or could the faint 'h' sound you hear, be emanating from the 'x'? It is not a sharp 'X'; more of an 'eggz' or 'eggzh'
Didn't understand the long and short versions; could you please explain that some more.
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#95201
02/11/2003 2:59 PM
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What's ibit?
Jackie, are your referring to exhibit? Hibit is from habere, to hold.
[candid board moment]If any one has noticed, I am only using examples of roots which start with 'h'. Am relearning some common roots of words from a vocabulary book I have and I am currently at the section on words starting with 'h'. 
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#95202
02/11/2003 3:04 PM
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exile -- long "i" exit -- short "i' (for instance) It seems easier to limit the "h' sound before a long vowel than before a short one.
running through them in my head
Don't think them, say them...verbalize. This is about sound. You'll feel the "h" is there.
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#95203
02/12/2003 11:12 AM
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Go to the "ex--" section of the dictionary and compare all the words there
From the AHD4:
A) Words starting with exh without exception derive from Latin ex- and words with a root beginning with h.
2) Words starting with exo fall into two categories. We shall discuss only one category here, leaving the other for the next section. Words in which the elements are the prefix exo- and a root, either Greek or Latin. Of these only exorcise seems to have had an h (or what passed for an h) in the Greek root, but the h was lost in Greek.
Þ) Words starting with ex and a vowel. There are about three or four exceptions to the rule that there was no h in the Latin or Greek root. In all of the exceptions, the h was lost in Latin or Greek.
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#95204
02/12/2003 1:56 PM
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Thanks, Faldage. Okay, so we've established that at least some of these words had "h" in their root language, and that the transition was to move away from the "h" (in writng, anyway). But, then, why was the "h" dropped in the Latin and Greek?
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#95205
02/12/2003 5:50 PM
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I did the ex- search in our brand spanking new brick and mortar AHD4 last night (how many couples do you know who would give each other a dictionary as a mutual Valentine's Day present?). I posted this morning without consulting anything but my memory. I'm not sure if there were any hs that got lost in Latin, but it's not uncommon for a vhv (where v is any short vowel) to become a long v in Latin. The h was sometimes silent in Latin. I won't be able to devote any brick and mortar time on this till tomorrow night. I'm not going to do it on line.
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