There is a lot of greedy peepul in this world, dear readers. Happy Ike-him wiv the chin-hair up above-is one of 'em.

Nib (nib), f. pet-form for Isabella (izə belə) (cf. Fl.).

Nikey (naiki), m. pet-form for Isaac (aizək). Cf. Fl.; and Grose, Dic. of Vulg. Tongue, (revised by Egan), 1824.

Noddy (nodi), m. <Nicodemus (nikõdijməs).

1865. DICKENS, Our Mutual Friend, i. 71.

"Do you like the name of Nicodemus? Think it over. Nick, or Noddy".

Ibid., i. 72.

"Noddy Boffin", said that gentleman. "Noddy. That's my name. Noddy-or Nick-Boffin. Wat's your name?"

Rowney (rouni), f. <Rowena (rou⚫ijnǝ).

1866. FLOR. MARRYAT, For Ever and Ever, i. 164.

"Do you think so?" exclaimed Tom Cornicott. "Well, then, I'll lay ten to one that when you have seen Rowney Bellew, you'll say that Masters is wrong, and that I have not, in the least, exag gerated her beauty.

Cf. Ibid., i. 183. Miss Rowena Bellow.
Tibbie, Tibs (tibz), f. pet-form

for Isabella (izə belə).

Thy Name is Truth, 94.

Aileen only looked down sorrowfully

at Tibbie.

W. SCOTT, Mid-Lothian's heart (Postscript).

Isabella, or Tibby Walker, saved from the fate which impended over her, was married by the person who had wronged her: ..

Tina (tainǝ), f. occasional petform for Caterina (kætə rainǝ). 1856-57. GEORGE ELIOT, Scenes of Clerical Life, 94.

"Why do you push me away, Tina?" Isaid Captain Wybrow in a half-whisper; "are you angry with me for what a hard fate puts upon me? Would you have me cross my uncle who has done so much for us both in his dearest wish? You know I have duties we both have duties before which feeling must be sacri ficed".

"Yes, yes, said Caterina, stamping her foot, and turning away her head; don't tell me what I know already".

Toppey (topi), m. occasional petform for Theophilus (piofilǝs). 1846. Ainsworth, Magazine, vol. x. 439. "Theophilus dearest, you are hurt?" "Hurt! oh heavens!" murmured Theophilus, placing his hand pathetically on his left breast.

"No, no, not there, Theophilus, dearest; your head, my love".

"Head! I have no head, I am all heart", he added with a rueful look. "Here, here, lies my grief", beating his breast violently as he spoke. "Here", he continued, "here lies my grief".

"You're in pain Toppey, dearest“, said Mrs. Cheffins.

Winny (wini), f. occasional

'I must call up nurse', continued the pet-form for Williamina (wiljə

daughter of the household; 'to carry off this poor dismal baby. Come, my Tibs! Come to Verry!'

But Tibs was not to be deluded thus. The sobs increased in strength, and she refused to be comforted until nurse came and carried the protesting child off bodily to bed.

1895. F. ANSTEY, Voces Populi, 152. Now, tell me, would dear Tibbie think I meant anything personal if I send her a cat?

'mijnǝ).

THACKERAY, The great Hoggarty Diamond, p. 24.

These thirteen sthreamers of red hair represent his thirteen celebrated sisters.

Biddy, Minny, Thedy, Winny (short for Williamina), Freddy, Izzy, Tizzy, Mysie, Grizzy, Polly, Dolly, Nell, and Bell all mar'ied all ugly, and all carr❜ty hair. And of which are you the son, young man? though to do you justice, you're not like the family".

B. Surnames and equivalents of personal names.

Pseudo-ellipsis.

Before proceeding to an examination of the elliptical phenomenon as revealed in this collection of hypochoristic forms, let us turn to the phenomenon we have termed pseudo-ellipsis and to the examples offered by our material. But as pseudo-ellipsis is produced by linguistic associations, it will be advisable first to cast a glance at the latter. In so doing we can determine the psychological basis not only for this phenomenon, but also for several phenomena within the domain of true ellipsis.

What an important part the associations play in the life of language may be inferred merely from the fact that but for them it would be impossible to master a language. KRUSZEWSKY is no doubt right when he says: »Sollten wir versuchen die Wörter unserer Muttersprache oder irgend einer andern Sprache derart auswendig zu lernen, wie wir es z. B. mit den Namen der Flüsse eines gewissen Erdteiles oder die Städte irgend eines Reiches thun, so würden wir es nicht einmal mit dem besten Gedächtniss zu stande bringen. Nehmen wir aber an, es wäre nicht so schwierig, nehmen wir an, dass wir im stande wären den ganzen Wörtervorrat auswendig zu lernen, aus dem die Umgangssprache besteht. Dann müsste die Fähigkeit diese Masse zu handhaben noch wunderbarer erscheinen.» It is the play of association that helps the memory to master the linguistic material. The fact is that the various morphems of a language are spontaneously arranged in associative groups, and stand in multifarious associative relations to each other.

Association is brought about by various causes. Thus, for instance, it arises between morphems which are often or intimately combined with each other. It is this association through syntactical contiguity, by which the semological ellipsis is conditioned. Those morphems that contrast semologically are liable to be associated with each other. An illustrative example is afforded by Lat. gra

1 Principien der Sprachentwickelung in TECHMER's Internat. Zs für allgem. Sprachwissenschaft, iii, 1887, p. 171.

vis and levis,, which chiefly owing to semological contrast, but also to some phonological resemblance have been associated, and have given rise to the form grevis. Association between morphems also springs from phonological, morphological, or semological resemblances. Associative groups based on semological resemblance are formed for example by synonyms, grammatical categories such as numerals and pronouns; furthermore, by all nomina actionis, by all comparatives, etc., provided, however, that what the members of these categories have in common in the way of semological contents, has not found a uniform expression, for in that case they will form associative groups due to morphological resemblance. In English the comparative is formed either by the suffix -er or the adverb more, and in this language, therefore, the category of the comparative is based exclusively on semological likeness, but it includes two morphological groups of association. Again, of morphological nature is the association which in English groups together all genetives in -s, all plurals in -s, all nomina agentis in -er, all nomina actionis in -ing, etc. The various groups of association cross each other multifariously and between the various morphems of a language is thus spun a web of associations of great intricacy and subtlety. Each morphem stands therefore in manifold associative relations to several others, and may easily awake any one of those in our consciousness. The associations in language not only make it possible to master the linguistic material, they form also the psychological basis for analogy, that important factor in the transformation of language.

The kind of association which is of paramount interest to us here, is the one that arises through phonological resemblance. A word may call forth another in our consciousness through perfect or remote phonological likeness. These phonological relatives seldom appear quite clearly in our consciousness, but if we listen attentively we may, however, occasionally become aware of them. Thus an English ear, says TEGNÉR1, might, when the word dove is pronounced, feel a faint reminiscence of the rhyming word love. This supposition seems to be corroborated by such a pet-form as lovey-dovey. TEGNÉR adds that, although the mental conception

1 Cf. E. TEGNÉR, Språkets makt öfver tanken, Stockholm, 1880, p. 25.

2 1902, Ally Sloper's H.-H., Sept. 6, 4323.

"What! Another new dress? Where on earth do you think the money is coming from to pay for all these extravagances?"

"I don't know, lovey-dovey-I never was good at figures."

of the bird is not essentially influenced by this reminiscence, it is, however, not altogether unaffected by it.

Such an influence on the emotional effect of a word, is perhaps more evident, when the phonological relatives are homonyms. Thus, when Disraëli, the name of the famous politician, is abbreviated into Dizzy we may assume that the emotional effect due to the abbreviation, receives an additional element by unvoluntary association with the homonymous adjective dizzy. And when Bismarck, the name of the great German statesman, is curtailed into Bizzy, is it not probable that the phonologically identical adjective busy has lent an additional force to the emotional value of the elliptical form? Similar examples from the domain of elliptical names are not rare. The abbreviation Sherry <Sheridan, the name of the English dramatist and politician, awakes a reminiscence of the appellative sherry. The form Boney, curtailed from Bonaparte, i. e. the emperor Napoleon I., has its emotional effect influenced by the phonological relatives bony (adj.), or bony (sb.) or even by to bone (slang to steal). When Mr Percival Bailey-Martin in White's novel ('Mr. Bailey-Martin') resents having his Christian name mutilated into Pur by his younger brother, perhaps this resentment is chiefly due to the ludicrous association with the verb to purr1.

The associative power of phonological resemblance may, however, manifest itself in another way than through influence on the emotional effect of a morphem. On this power is based the possibility of using a phonologically resembling morphem instead of the one that is meant. One finds this possibility exploited in punning or allusive phrases. »These are», JESPERSEN 2 says, round-about expressions, in which the speaker avoids the regular word, but hints at it in a covert way by using some other word, generally a proper name, which bears a resemblance to it or is derived from it really or seemingly». As examples we might quote from JESPERSEN: I'm for Bedfordshire, i. e. I want to go to bed; to send a person to Birching-lane, i. e. to whip him (Birchin(g)-lane, Cornhill, London); to live in Cumberland, i. e. in an cumbrous state, etc.

The same principle is at work in the kind of slang that is termed rhyming slang. This was first in vogue during the late

Cf. our list of elliptical names.

2 Cf. Tidskrift for Nordisk Filologi, ix. 3. række, p. 64.