meaning. In M. E. there is a phrase myster habben, which quite synonymous with nede habben and, in some texts any rate, just as usual; side by side with it a type A phr myster, ben + dative, is found. The former of these two pressions occurs, for instance, Cursor Mundi 14035 (all tex 19044 (all texts), 28275, 28717; Assumption of oure Lo 68, Hampole Works I, pp. 46, 66, 226, 229, 234, 251; II, 1 Bruce III 357; XIX 616; Rel. Pieces Thornton MS. 59 Rom. Rose B 5614; C 6078, 6519; Lay Folks' Cat. Th. &c. &c. The second phrase is met with: Cursor M. 15661 C & G; Hampole's Prose Treatises p. 12; Rom. Rose B 278 Chaucer, Cant. T. C 6581; Alexius Vernon & Laud MS. 1 1. 300 (without dat.) &c. Now the fact that beside the paral phrases nede habben and nede is + dative there was a v neden no doubt led to the formation of the denominat myster, which, like neden, originally was a type A verb. does not appear to have come into use till about the end the 14th century.

Wars of Alex. 4281 (Ashm.), I's mistris neuire medcyne for malidy on erthe.

York Myst. Plays 57/54 What mystris pe?

Secreta Secretorum 2nd transl. 104/29, þe enchau tere rade on his mule, þat bar him whanne hym myste ed by be way.

Aymon 129/14. For it mystreth me wel.

Eneydos 62/3, What mystreth him to edifie Cartag

27. neden, 'be necessary'.

The O. E. verb neadian, niedan means 'compel', a signific tion which neden also often has in early M. E. (in Ancre Riwle exclusively!). In late O. E. the verb, also occurs in th sense of 'be necessary', which is not a further developme of the original sense, but is only the consequence of the O. I noun nied (nead, neod) having two meanings: compulsion and 'necessity'. Two instances of this second sense are foun in vol. II p. 89 of Grein-Wulker's. Bibl. d. Ags. Prosa (Ru of St. Benet, ed. Schröer) 'on cealdum eardum neodad, pa þæs reafes mare sy; on hleowfæstum læs. Ðæs abbodes for sceawunge sceal beon be þysum, hu &æs neodige'. A construc tions cannot be instanced from O. E., and even in M. E. the

do not appear to have been usual till a comparatively late date. There is a sentence in the Cotton Hom. (E. E. Hom.) p. 217: 'Llaford to mine gôde ne beniéded pe', which may be considered an early instance of the A construction. The following examples are all at least a century later.

N. E. Leg. 32/122, Me nedes nogh[t] so fer to frayne. Hampole, Works I p. 113, Rawl. MS., Now pe nedis to help þi-self.

Id. Ibid I 227, hym nedide to hafe wysdome.

Hampole, Prose Treatises p. 32, it nedys to hym to do many gud werkis.

Will of Pal. 5315, eche barn ... was purueyed prestly of al þat hem neded.

Rom. Rose C 5990, him shal neden fetheres mo.

Chaucer, Boethius III pr. III 76, him nedede non help. Id. Troil. & Cris. IV 1344, Us neded for my wending nought to care.

Id. Cant. T A 4020, hem nedede no gyde; etc.

Gower Conf. Am. VI 726, Thus have I lacke of that me nedeth.

Destr. of Troy 5163, hit nedis vs to haue ffode till our folke.

Hoccleve, Reg. of Pr. 210, pe nedip a gyde.

Secr. Secretorum 2nd transl. 63/35, yf pe nedys of a woman, drawe to be to here þat þow trowys trewe. Ibid. 102/9, þat nedys þe; 103/2, hym nedys to werkys.

Ibid. 3rd transl. 155/18, Thegh a man haue neuer so good fortune, hym nedyth of Purveyance.

Ibid. 187/3, of veleyny the nedyth to kepe.

Ibid. 195/32, tak thou medesyne what the nedith.

28. plesen, 'please'.

This verb cannot be said to have supplied a want in M. E., in fact it is hard to assign any special reason for its introduction from O. F. (plaisir, pleisir, plesir) since there were already two verbs in M. E., listen and liken, that had about the same signification. It shows how irresistible the influx of O. F. words must have been. As, generally speaking, plesen has preserved Its original construction until the present day, it will be suf

ficient to adduce a few instances of such phrases as un went a change later on.

Hoccleve, Minor Poems III, 416, Despende on m drope of thy largesse... if it thee lyke & plese.

Book of the Kn. of La Tour Landry 11/2, God yeu and sendithe where hym plesithe.

Generydes 443, my message wold I say, if it please.

29.

Ibid. 824, If it please yow ye may respite his payn milarly 1390, 1394, 1523, 1734, 1786, &c.

Ibid. 1245, when euer it please yow do so meche for
Ibid. 6529,... as it please yow to do.

Merlin 253/18, cheseth with yow soche as yow ples Ibid. 302/32,... yef it plese hym. Yef it plese occurs 51/1, 81/27, 86/29, 169/7, 230/3 &c.

Caxton, Reynard, p. 72, he shall werke and aveng as it plesyth hym.

semen, 'seem, appear'.

O. E. seman, connected with the noun som, 'concord, ag ment, reconciliation', and the adverb same, 'similarly', me 'conciliate, settle, arrange', so that the M. E. and Mod. E. nification cannot be considered a development of the sense the O. E., verb. In early M. E. semen often means 'be suita fitting, convenient, becoming', e.g. Juliana 54, wel semed beon swuch streon; Cursor Mundi 3311 C, all hir dedis hir seme; a late instance is found in Cleanness (E. E. All. 793, wel hit hem semed, and a still later one in Destr. of T 3046, Hir nose... was... nawther to wide no to wan, but hom wel semyt. Sim. Ibid. 3832. I even have one dating fr 1576: hit seemes hir well, Phy, phy, phy, phy, to sing (G coigne, Compl. of Phil. p. 111). Now O. N. sæma has exac the same meaning, so that M. E. semen 'be suitable &c' is a continuation of O. E. seman, but a Scandinavian lo word. *) It semep = 'it suits, it is becoming, it has a pleas appearance', soon got a more general meaning, that of pear', as in Orm's Dedication 66,... alls it semepp; Gen. Exod. 2169 It semet wel dat ge spies ben; Havelok 978,]

*) Cf Björkman, Loan Words, p. 81 and 219.

he was shrid, so semede he; Cursor Mundi 2751 C, It semes not to be bi will. Ibid. 5749 C, þe tre þat semed to bren; Cf. Ibid. 13806, 21456, 24584. Prov. of St. Bernard, Digby MS. (Anglia III) 100, Fals he his and feir he semep. A constructions do not occur till after 1300. The following are the earliest I have found.

Cursor Mundi 3284 C, Hir semed na wight to be wilde; other texts similar.

Ibid. 26386 C, ypocrites þat wald ai wrenk þair aun wittes For to sem þam-self god and lele; other t. sim. Will. of Pal. 1686, þe brennest best þe beres me

semen.

Ibid. 2413, me semeth it be best to buske vs of þe bere felles.

Wars of Alex. 862, mee seemed þat tyme, That I sawe he God go graith too hur bedde.

Dest. of Troy 198, He were seker as hym semeyd for sight of him euer.

Ibid. 530, Hit sittes, me semeth to a sure knyght... To be counseld.

Ibid. 2431, Hit semit me for certayn.

Chaucer, Hous of Fame 1525, Right swiche a maner murmuringe, For al the world, hit semed me.

Id. Cant T. A. 39, Me thinketh it accordaunt to resoun, To telle yow al the condicioun of ech of hem, so as it semed me.

Id. Ibid. F. 56, Hem semed han geten hem protecciouns Agayn the swerd of winter kene and cold. Cf. Conf. Am. I 1891; IV 1774; V 4365.

30, smerten, 'cause pain'.

I mention this verb here, because in O. E. it has hitherto only been met with in the compound fyr smeortende.

A constructions are frequent in M. E., but most of them are not suitable for my purpose, as an alteration of spelling would transform them into modern English, as, S. E. Leg. 379/90, þat him smert ful sore; Prov. of Hendyng 172, Holde ich nomon for onsele, Operwhyle þah he fele Sumþyng þat him smerte. This is not the case with the following ones.

O. E. Hom. II 21/27, Hire ne oc, ne ne smeart.

Ancr. Riwle 238/29, Me weled hit bitterliche smerten. Prov. of Alfred. 243, By-hud hit on þire here; þat eft ne smerte.

S. E. Leg. 482/11, po him smert sore.

Minot's Poems V 13, Sare it þam smerted þat fere out of Fraunce.

Piers Pl. A III 161, þe pore may haue no pouwe to playne, pouz hem smerte.

Chaucer, Cant. T. A 230, he may not wepe al-tho him sore smerte.

Ibid. A 1394, Now trewely, how sore that me smerte t' Athenes right now wol I fare.

31 wanten, 'be deficient'.

Of Scandinavian origin; O. N. vanta from vant, the neuter form of the adj. vanr, corresponding to O. E. wana, which is used both as a noun and as an adjective, in both cases often accompanied by a dative, e. g. Boethius 22/20, þæs anes hire is nu wana. Mat. XIX 20, (Corp.) hwæt is me gyt wana? Mark X 21 = Luke XVIII 22, An þing he is wana; Luke XXII 35, was eow ænig þing wana? The verb wanten makes its appearance in the beginning of the 13th century.

Ureisun of uwe Lefdi (O.E. Hom I) 73, heo sigge alle pet de ne wonted neuer ore.

Sawles Warde (O. E. Hom. I) p. 253, ne schal ham neauer wontin.

Gen. & Exod. 2244 hem or—of ne wante now.
Ibid. 2995, hem wantede might and sped.

Poems Harl. MS. 2253, 165/34, 3ef me shal wonte wille of on, þis wunne weole y wole forgon.

Cursor Mundi 16547 C, suilk a tre pam wanted all; other texts similar; so 8782.

Alexius Ashm. MS. 42 (in Horstm. Ae. Leg. Neue F.) 1. 34, paim wantid nathinge in erthe bot ane.

Will. of Pal. 176, wanted him neuer one.

Ibid. 4969, ne wanted hem no-þing þat þei wold haue. Eng. Works of Wyclif 420/29, hem wantip teching to wende to heuene bi cristes weye.

Ibid. 433/11, for þis good maner man hap meede, & gif he fayliþ hym wantip meede.