justment of syllables to attain the requisite degree of euphony, for the adoption of such compounds by foreign ears. Generally,
words of three syllables recommend themselves to the English ear for quantity, in geographical names adopted from an Indian language,
as heard in
and Toronto.
Oswego, Chicago, Ohio, Monadnock, In the terms suggested in the following lists of
words, intended to be introduced into our geographical nomen clature, the principles of elision and concentration referred to,
have been applied. The root-forms carry the entire significa tion to which they are entitled, in the elementary vocabulary, they have been divested, by analysis, of their adjuncts. Thus, in the Algonquin, the syllable ac stands for land, earth,
after
ground, soil ; be, for water, liquid ; bic, for rock, stone, metal, hard mineral ; co for object ; ke for country, precinct, or terri tory ;
os
for pebble, loose
term for a beautiful scene
stone, ;
detritus ; min, good ; ia, the
na, a particle, which, in compound
words, denotes excellence ; oma, a large body of water j non, a place ; gan, a lake ; coda, a plain village, or cluster of houses, &c.
"
or valley ; oda, a
town,
By adding the primary syllable of a word, as conveying the
entire signification of the word, and employing it as a nominative
which are also made use of in their concen words is formed, which are generally shorter than their parent forms, more replete in their meanings, and securing, at the same time, a more uniformly euphonious