§ 68. Ultimate a-affection. ĭ and ŭ became respectively e and o in the ultima when the lost ending had a; thus gw̯edd ‘aspect’ < *u̯id-ā § 63 iv;—bod ‘be’ < Kelt. *bu-tā § 189 iv (6); ciwed ‘rabble’ < Lat. cīvitās;—gramadeg < Lat. grammatica; colofn < Lat. columna.
Hence adjectives having ɥ, (< ĭ) or w (< ŭ) in the ultima change these to e and o in the fem., the affection being due to the lost fern, ending ‑ā; thus Brit. *u̯indos, *u̯indā gave respectively gw̯ynn, gw̯enn ‘white’.
The adj. *briktos had regularly fem. *briktā, which by the rule became *brektā; now *ikt > īth and *ekt > eith, later aith § 108 iv (1); hence brīth ‘speckled’, f. braith, which is thus seen to be quite regular.
The affection is original only in adjectives of the ‑os/‑ā declension; but after the loss of the inflexional endings, it spread by analogy to other stems; e.g. crwnn ‘round’ < Brit. *krundis (: Ir. cruind) has f. cronn on the analogy of trwm < Brit. *trumbos (: Ir. tromm) f. trom; and gwyrẟ < Lat. vir’dis has f. gwerẟ on the analogy of ffyrf, fferf < Lat. firmus, firma. Doubtless deilien wyrdd in M.Ỻ. i. 155 represents a local survival of the old fem., as in tonn wyrt (‑t ≡ ‑ẟ) w. 9a ‘green wave’.
§ 69. Ultimate i-affection. i. This was caused by i̯, ī (from ī, ē, ō or ū), or by accented ĕ́ or ĭ́. Kelt. post-tonic es before a vowel became i̯ and caused this affection § 75 vii (1), so e(p) see ib.; also Lat. i, and sometimes e, before a vowel.
ii. (1) a becomes Ml. W. ei, Mn. W. ai: eil, ail ‘second’ < *ali̯ós: Lat. alius;—yspeit, ysbaid ‘space’ < Lat. spatium;—rhaib ‘spoil’ < Lat. rapio;—beirdd ‘bards’ < *bardī; meib ‘sons’ < Brit. *mapī;—ugeint, ugain ‘twenty’ < *u̯ikantí < Ar. u̯ī̆k̑m̥tí;—lleidr ‘thief’ < Lat. latrō;—deigr ‘tear’ < *dakrū § 120 iii (1).
(2) ak or ag before a consonant, which becomes ae in Ml. and Mn. W. § 104 ii (1), iii (1), § 108 iv (1), is affected to ek or eg which gives Ml. W. ei, Mn. W. ai, see ib. Thus Saxones > Saeson but Saxō > *Sex > Seis, Sais;—*kaktos ‘serf’ (< *qaptos) > caeth, but pl. *kaktī > ceith, caith ‘serfs’;—*dragnos > draen ‘thorn’ § 104 ii (1), pl. *dragnesa > *dragni̯a > drein, drain.
(3) In disyllables before consonant groups containing r, and before ch, the affection of a appears as ɥ, which alternates with ei in Ml. and early Mn. W. Thus heyrn b.t. 29, r.m. 121, r.p. 1362, r.b.b. 47, pl. of haearn ‘iron’;—r͑eydɏr r.p. 1301 beside r͑yeidɏr r.p. 1222, pl. of rhaeadr ‘cataract’;—kedyrn w.m. 51
