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<div>I think more precise function of the prefix en-/em- is to form a causative verb,</div> <div>i.e. the verb with the the meaning 'to cause to do something' or 'to cause to become something' (this something relates to the base word, e.g. 'big', 'bold', 'powerful', etc.)</div> <div> </div> <div>Hayim Sheynin <BR><BR><B><I>John Roberts <dr_john_roberts@sil.org></I></B> wrote:</div> <BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid"><!-- Network content --> <DIV id=ygrp-text> <div> <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">************<WBR>*********<WBR>*********<WBR>*****<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@<WBR>sil.org</FONT></A><BR><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS">************<WBR>*********<WBR>*********<WBR>*****</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS"></FONT><FONT face="Arial Unicode MS"></FONT> </DIV> <div></div></DIV><!--End group email --></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><p>
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