ple, a vast number of languages had at an early period of their
development, besides the singular and plural, a dual number, some even a
trinal, which they have let go at a later. But what I mean by a language
renouncing its powers will, I trust, be more clear to you before my
lecture is concluded. This much I have here said on the matter, to
explain and justify a division which I shall make, considering first the
losses of the English language in _words_, and then in _powers_.

{Sidenote: _Words become Extinct_}

And first, there is going forward a continual extinction of the words in
our language--as indeed in every other. When I speak of this, the dying
out of words, I do not refer to mere _tentative_, experimental words,
not a few of which I adduced in my last lecture, words offered to the
language, but not accepted by it; I refer rather to such as either
belonged to the primitive stock of the language, or if not so, which had
been domiciled in it long, that they might have been supposed to have
found in it a lasting home. Thus not a few pure Anglo-Saxon words which
lived on into the times of our early English, have subsequently dropped
out of our vocabulary, sometimes leaving a gap which has never since
been filled, but their places oftener taken by others which have come up
in their room. Not to mention those of Chaucer and Wiclif, which are
very numerous, many held their ground to far later periods, and yet have
finally given way. That beautiful word 'wanhope' for despair, hope which
has so _waned_ that now there is an entire _want_ of it, was in use down
to the reign of Elizabeth; it occurs so late as in the poems of
Gascoigne{129}. 'Skinker' for cupbearer, (an ungraceful word, no doubt)
is used by Shakespeare and lasted till Dryden's time and beyond.

Spenser uses often 'to welk' (welken) in the sense of to fade, 'to sty'
for to mount, 'to hery' as to glorify or praise, 'to halse' as to
embrace, 'teene' as vexation or grief: Shakespeare 'to tarre' as to
provoke, 'to sperr' as to enclose or bar in; 'to sag' for to droop, or
hang the head downward. Holland employs 'geir'{130} for vulture
("vultures or _geirs_"), 'specht' for woodpecker, 'reise' for journey,
'frimm' for lusty or strong. 'To schimmer' occurs in Bishop Hall; 'to
tind', that is, to kindle, and surviving in 'tinder', is used by Bishop
Sanderson; 'to nimm', or take, as late as by Fuller. A rogue is a
'skellum' in Sir Thomas Urquhart. 'Nesh' in the sen