explanation, how, by means of these references, pupils can prepare classified lists of examples illustrating the various principles of orthography, and thus construct their own Spelling-book, as it were. The PRIMARY DICTIONARY was originally prepared by Dr. Webster, and was first published in 1833. In 1857 it was carefully revised and much improved by his son, Mr. William G. Webster. In these two forms, the work has had a very extensive circulation and popularity, many impressions of it having been printed and distributed. Under the editorial care of Mr. William A. Wheeler, it has now been considerably enlarged and brought in all respects into conformity with the new edition of the Quarto Dictionary published in 1864. To the friends of education it is submitted in the hope that the alterations and improvements which have been made will secure for it an increased degree of favor. DORCHESTER, Mass., September 2d, 1867. C, C, soft, like s sharp, as in Oil, Join, Moist, Oyster. CONSONANTS. Çede, Accept. Th, th, sharp (unmarked) as in Thirtieth. Call, Coneur. . Chorus, Eeho. Gem, Engine. Th, th, flat or vocal, as in X. x, like gz, as in Thither. Singing. Anger, Ink, Example. Ph, ph, likeƒ (unmarked), as in Seraphic. Ġ, g, soft, like j, as in S, s, sharp (unmarked), as in 8, §, flat or vocal, like z, as in **When one letter of an improper diphthong, or of a triphthong, is marked, it is to be taken as rep resenting the sound of the combination, and the letter or letters which are not marked are to be regarded as silent; as in aim, clean, céil, people, route, sõul, journal, tōw, &c. The combined letters ce, ci, sci, se, si, or ti, occurring before a vowel in a syllable immediately preceded by an accented syllable, are generally equivalent to sh; as in o'cean, cetaceous, social, logician, suspicion, auspicious, con science, nauseous, controversial, dissen'sion, ini'tial, ora'tion, fictitious, &c. Such syllables are not always respelled, as, in general, they will naturally be pronounced correctly by an English speaker. But in all exceptional, doubtful, or difficult cases, the appropriate respelling is used. ACCENT. The principal accent is denoted by a heavy mark; the secondary, by a lighter mark; as in Su'perintendent. In the division of words into syllables, these marks, besides performing their proper office, supply the place of the hyphen, except in some compound and derivative words. (vi) RULES FOR SPELLING CERTAIN CLASSES OF WORDS. FOUNDED ON THE ORTHOGRAPHY OF DR. WEBSTER, AS EXHIBITED IN THIS VOLUME. $1. The letters fand 1, at the end of mon- 6. In derivatives formed from words osyllables, and standing immediately after ending in c, by adding a termination beginsingle vowels, are generally doubled: as inning with e, i, or y, the letter k is inserted staff, cliff, doff, puff; all, bell, hill, toll, null. after the c, in order that the latter may not The words clef, if, of, and sol, are exceptions. be inaccurately pronounced like s before the § 2. The letter s, at the end of a monosyl- following vowel as, colic, colicky; traffic, lable, and standing immediately after a single trafficked, trafficking, trafficker. vowel, is generally doubled, except when it is used to form the possessive case or plural of a noun, or the third person singular of a verb: as in grass, press, hiss, moss, truss. The only important exceptions are as, gas, has, was, yes, his, is, thus, and us. § 7. In derivatives formed by adding a termination beginning with a vowel to monosyllables and words accented on the last syllable, when these words end in a single consonant (except x) preceded by a single Ivowel, that consonant is doubled: as, plan, § 3. les f, l, and s, the only conso-planned, planning, planner; hot, hotter, hottest; nants that are ever doubled at the end of a wit, witty; cabalı, caballer; abet', abetted, word are b, d, g, m, n, p, r, t, and z. The abetting, abet/tor; begin', beginning, beginifollowing list contains all the important words ner; infer', inferred', infer/ring. in which these letters are doubled; namely, ebb; add, odd, rudd; egg; inn, bunn; err, burr, purr; mitt, butt; fizz, fuzz, buzz. § 4. A consonant standing at the end of a word immediately after a diphthong or double vowel is never doubled. The words ail, peat, haul, door, and maim, are examples. § 5. Monosyllables ending, as pronounced, with the sound of k, and in which c follows the vowel, have usually k added after the c: as in black, fleck, click, knock, and buck. The words lac, sac, talc, zinc, roc, soc, arc, marc, orc, and fisc, are exceptions. Words of more than one syllable, ending in ic or iac, which formerly ended in k, also words derived from the Latin or Greek languages, or from other sources, and similar to these, or formed in an analogous manner, are now written without the k: as, maniac, elegiac, cubic, public. The word derrick is an exception. Words of more than one syllable, in which c is preceded by other vowels than i or ia, commonly end in ck: as, arrack, barrack, hammock, hillock, wedlock The words almanac, sandarac, limbec, xebec, manioc, and havoc, are exceptions. The derivatives of the word gas (except gassing and gassy) are written with but one s: as, gaseous, gaseity, gasify. Excellence, as being from the Latin excellens, retains the double l, though one has been dropped from the termination of excell. It is no exception to this rule that chancellor, and the derivatives of metal and crystal, as metalloid, metallurgy, crystalline, crystallize, and the like, are written with the doubled, since they are derived respectively from the Latin cancellarius (through the French), and metallum, and the Greek κpúσrados. So also the word tranquillity retains the double as being from the Latin tranquillitas, while the English derivatives of tranquil, though often written with two l's, are more properly written with only one, as tranquilize, tranquilizer, and the like. § 8. When a diphthong, or a digraph representing a vowel sound, precedes the final consonant of a word, or the accent of a word ending in a single consonant falls on any other syllable than the last, or when the word ends in two different consonants, the final consonant is not doubled in derivatives formed by the addition of a termination beginning vü viii RULES FOR SPELLING. with a vowel: as, daub, daubed, daub'er; brief, | One I also is dropped in a few words formed briefler, briefest; travel, traveling, trav'eler; by adding the termination ly to words ending profit, profited; act, act'ed, act'or. in ll, in order to prevent the concurrence of three l's: as, dull, dully; full, fully. The final consonant is doubled in the derivatives of a few words ending in g, in order to diminish the liability to its being pronounced like j, before e or i: as humbug, humbugged, humbugging; periwig, periwigged. The word woolen is more generally thus written, in the United States, with one ; but in England it is written woollen. NOTE. There is a large class of words ending in a single consonant, and accented on some other syllable than the last, the final consonants of which are, by very many writers doubled in their derivatives, unnecessarily and contrarily to analogy. These words are chiefly those ending in 1, with also a few of other terminations. The following list, the words in which are chiefly verbs, includes the most important of those in regard to which usage varies, namely, apparel, barrel, bevel, bias, bowel, and its compounds, cancel, carburet (and all similar words ending in uret), cavil, carol, channel, chisel, compromit, counsel, cudgel, dial, dishevel, dowel, drivel, duel, empanel, enamel, equal, funnel, gambol, gravel, grovel, handsel, hatchel, imperil, jewel, kennel, kidnap, label, laurel, level, libel, marshal, marvel, medal, metal, model, panel, parallel, parcel, pencil, peril, pistol, pommel, quarrel, ravel, revel, rival, rowel, shovel, shrivel, snivel, tassel, tinsel, trammel, travel, tunnel, unravel, vial, victual, worship. In this Dictionary, the derivatives of these words are made to conform to the rule, as recommended by Walker, Lowth, Perry, and other eminent scholars. § 10. In derivatives formed from words ending with silent e, the e is generally retained when the termination begins with a consonant; as, pale, paleness; hate, hateful; chaste, chastely, chasteness; move, movement. When, however, the e is immediately preceded by another vowel (except e), it is often dropped from the derivative: as, due, duly; argue, argument; true, truly; awe, awful; and the derivatives and compounds of these words. The words wholly, nursling, wisdom, abridgment, acknowledgment, lodgment, judgment, and the compounds of some of these, are exceptions. The last four, however, are written by many authors, abridgement, acknowledgement, lodgement, judgement. § 11. In derivatives formed from words ending with silent e, when the termination begins with a vowel, the e is generally omitted, except in the cases mentioned in the next paragraph: as, bride, bridal; guide, guidance ; plume, plumage; use, usage; grieve, grievance; come, coming; shape, shaping; move, movable; sale, salable; fleece, fleecy; force, forci ble; true, truism. The e is retained in the word hoeing, shoeing, and toeing (from hoe, shoe, and toe), in order to prevent a doubt as to the pronunciation, that might arise in case it were omitted. It is retained, also, in the words dyeing, singe§ 9. Derivatives formed from words ending ing, springeing, swingeing, tingeing (from dye, in a double consonant, by adding one or more singe, springe, swinge, tinge), to distinguish syllables, commonly retain both consonants: them from dying, singing, springing, swingas, ebb, ebbing; odd, oddly; stiff, stiffness; ing, tinging (from die, sing, spring, swing, skill, skillful, skillfulness; will, willful, will- ting). The e, standing, in a derivative, before fullness; dull, dullness; full, fullness. So also a termination beginning with a or o, and imthe double is retained in the words install-mediately after c or g, is retained in order to ment, inthrallment, thralldom, and enrollment preserve the soft sounds of these consonants: (from install, inthrall, thrall, and enroll), in as, peace, peaceable; manage, manageable; order to prevent the false pronunciation they outrage, outrageous. might receive if spelled with one . Many writers, especially in England, omit one in these words, as also in the derivatives of skill, will, dull, and full, formed by adding the syllables ly and ness. The derivatives of pontiff are exceptions to the rule, being written with only one f; as, § 12. In derivatives formed from words ending in ie, by adding the termination ing, the e is dropped, and the i changed to y, in order to prevent two i's from coming together: as, die, dying; hie, hying; lie, lying; tie, tying; vie, vying. § 13. In derivatives of words ending in y, |