WRITTEN CONTRACTIONS:-- Other written contractions
Other Contractions are: Barthol'mew (T. of Sh. Ind. i. 105); Ha'rford for "Haverford" (Rich. III. iv. 5. 7); dis'ple for "disciple" (B. J. Fox, iv. 1; so SPENSER, F. Q. i. 10. 27); ignomy for "ignominy" (M. for M. ii. 4. 111, 1 Hen. IV. v. 4. 100 [Fol.]; genman (UDALL); gentl'man (Ham. [1603] i. 5); gent (SPENSER） freq. for "gentle" (so in O. E.); easly (CHAPMAN, Odyss.) for "easily;" par'lous for "perilous" (Rich. III. ii. 4. 35); inter'gatories for "interrogatories" (M. of V. v. 1. 298); canstick for "candlestick,"-- “I had rather hear a brazen canstick turned.” 1 Hen. IV. iii. 1. 131. Marle (B. J. E. out &c. v. 4) for "marvel;" whe'er for "whether" (O. E.); and the familiar contraction good-bye, "God be with you," which enables us to scan Macbeth, iii. 1. 44. We also find in's for "in his;" th'wert for "thou wert;" you're for "you were;" h'were for "he were." So "she were" is contracted in pronunciation: “'Twere goód | she were spó | ken wíth: | for shé | maystréw.” Hamlet, iv. 5. 14. Y'are for "you are;" this' for "this is:" “O this' 1 the poison of deep grief; it springs
All from her father's death.” Hamlet, iv. 5. 76. “Thís' a | good blóck.” Lear, iv. 6. 187. So we ought to scan “Lear. Thís is a | dull síght. | Aré you | not Ként? |
Kent. The sáme.” Lear, v. 3. 282. “Sir, thís is | the gént | lemán | I tóld | you óf.” T. of Sh. iv. 4. 20. “Sir, thís is | the hoúse. | Pléase it | you thát | I cáll?” Ib. 1. This, for "this is," is also found in M. for M. v. 1. 131 (Fol. this 'a); Temp. iv. 1. 143; T. of Sh. i. 2. 45. Many other passages, such as T. G. of V. v. 4. 93, M. for M. iv. 2. 103, T. of Sh. iii. 2. 1, require is to be dropped in reading. This contraction in reading is common in other Elizabethan authors; it is at all events as early as Chaucer, Knighte's Tale, 233. Shall is abbreviated into 'se and 's in Lear, iv. 6. 246; R. and J. i. 3. 9. In the first of these cases it is a provincialism, in the second a colloquialism. A similar abbreviation "I'st," for "I will," "thou'st" for "thou wilt," "thou shalt," &c., seems to have been common in the early Lincolnshire dialect (Gill, quoted by Mr. Ellis). Even where not abbreviated visibly, it seems to have been sometimes audibly, as, “If thát | be trúe | I shall sée | my bóy | agáin.” K. J. iii. 4. 78. “I shall gíve | worse páy | ment.” T. N. iv. 1. 21. “He ís, | Sir Jóhn: | I féar | we shall stáy | too lóng.” 1 Hen. IV. iv. 2. 83. With seems often to have been pronounced wi', and hence combined with other words. We have "w'us," (B. and F. Elder Brother, v. 1) for "with us," and "take me w'ye" (ib.) for "with ye." Beside the well-known "doff" "do-off," and "don" "do-on," we also find "dout" for "do-out" (Hamlet, iv. 7. 192); "probal" for "probable" (Othello, ii. 3. 344).
