On Feb 14, 2005, at 11:28 PM, d. collins wrote:
(I had a similar revelation last year about the circumflex in French, which usually indicates a consonant after the vowel which became silent and then was dropped.)
The consonant in question always being an s: hôpital>hospital, hôtel>hostel, forêt>forest, pâte>paste, etc.
Usually, but not always -- âme>anima, sûr>securus, chaîn>catena, rôle>rotulus.
mdl
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