Thus _ad_ drops the _d_ in _ascend,_
becomes _ac_ in _accord, af_ in _affiliate, an_ in _annex, ap_ in
_appropriate, at_ in _attend; con_ becomes _com_ in _commotion,_ also
in _compunction_ and _compress, cor_ in _correspond, col_ in _collect,
co_ in _co-equal_; _dis_ becomes _dif_ in _differ_; _ex_ becomes _e_ in
_eject, ec_ in _eccentric, ef_ in _effect_; _in_ becomes _il_ in
_illuminate, im_ in _import, ir_ in _irreconcilable; ob_ becomes _op_
in _oppress, oc_ in _occasion, of_ in _offend_; and _sub_ becomes _suc_
in _succeed, sup_ in _support, suf_ in _suffix, sug_ in _suggest,
sus_ in _sustain_. The final consonant is changed to a consonant that
can be easily pronounced before the consonant with which the following
syllable begins. Following the rule that the root must be changed as
little as possible, it is always the prefix, not the root,
which is compelled to yield to the demands of euphony.
A little reflection upon the derivation of words will thus often give
us a key to the spelling. For instance, suppose we are in doubt whether
_irredeemable_ has two _r_'s or only one: we now that _redeem_ is a
root, and therefore the _ir_ must be a prefix, and the two _r_'s are
accounted for,--- indeed are necessary in order to prevent our losing
sight of the derivation and meaning of the word.
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