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<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS">Yes, it is 'em-' and not 'en-' because of the
[b]. You also get 'em-' before [m] and [p], e.g. emmarble and emmesh (but also
enmesh), and empanel and empacket. But not before [f] or [v], e.g. enfeeble,
enforce and envenom, envision. Here it is 'en-'. So it is a phonological rule to
have 'em-' before a bilabial consonant.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS">My affix dictionary says 'em-' is derived
through French from Latin 'im-' and is a combining form of 'in' 'in, into'. It
says in English it is often used as an intensifier or as a marker of
transitivity. But from the words I have seen that have this prefix it seems to
me it means 'to make'. E.g.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS">embank = 'to make banked'</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS">embase ~ imbast = 'to debase'</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS">embattle = 'to arrange for
battle'</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS">embed ~ imbed = 'to make like a
bed'</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS">embitter ~ imbitter = 'to make
bitter'</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS">embolden = 'to make bold'</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS">embrown ~ imbrown = 'to make
brown'</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS">embusy = 'to make busy'</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS">embiggen = 'to make bigger'</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS">According to my dictionaries many 'em-' words
are Shakespearean or Spenserian in origin. So Homer Simpson is not the first to
coin new words with 'em-' -- and probably won't be the last.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS">John Roberts</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS"></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS">***********************************<BR>John R
Roberts<BR>SIL International Linguistics Consultant<BR></FONT><A
href="mailto:dr_john_roberts@sil.org"><FONT
face="Arial Unicode MS">dr_john_roberts@sil.org</FONT></A><BR><FONT
face="Arial Unicode MS">***********************************</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS"></FONT><FONT
face="Arial Unicode MS"></FONT> </DIV>
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