SYZYGIES AND QUADRATURES. The syzygies of a planet or of the moon are those points of its orbit at which it is in conjunction or opposition with the sun: the quadraturcs are the precisely intermediate positions. Thus at new and full moon the moon is in syzygies ; at half moon, in quadratures.
p is the thin (tennis) letter of the dental or palato-dental series. For 1 the various forms of the symbol by which it is represented, see ALNIABET. The chief changes to which the letter is liable are as follows : T is interchangeable with c, as Lat. nuc (aux), Eng. nut. [See C (§ 6).] The resemblance of these letters in Latin manuscripts is so close, that it is often difficult to distinguish them. Hence there is much uncertainty in the orthography of many words in that language. Yet there is no doubt that contio, an abbreviation of conrentio (cortntio, in the sense of condo, actually occurs in the so-called bacchanalian inscription), and nuntius or nountios, an abbreviation of nori-ren-turs (compare nor-i-tins), should be preferred to the forms condo, nuncios, which are commonly found in English editions of Latin authors.
T interchangeable with d. [See D.] T interchangeable with th, whether as pronounced in thin or in the. Thus the Latin t corresponds for the most part to th in English, as to, tees, tennis, tundo, turn, trudo, torqueo, pater, water, of the former lan guage, severally correspond to thou, three, thin, thump, then, thrust, throw, father, mother, of the latter. As regards the pair of words, torquer), throw, it is worth observing that they both have a double meaning—hurl and twist. Even the termination of the third person in the Latin and old English verbs presents the stuno analogy, as amat, torah.
T, or PT, interchangeable with p. [See P (§§ 7,8).] T interchangeable with s. [See S.] T interchangeable with 1. Thus the Latin words lingua (also (lingua), lacy-ulna (also doer-ama), laccrare, figure (also clicare), severally appear in English as tongue, tear (subst.), tear (verb), tie. ..11 itis of the Latin is allied to mild in English. Compare also the Latin ali-guod, &c., with the German et-was, &c. [See L.] T interchanges with ad. This is perhaps not common. Examples are--Lat. et, Germ. und, Eng. and ; Lat. sed or set, Germ.
send-ern, F,ng. sunder, sundry, &c.; Lat. fund-us, Eng. bottom.
T interchangeable with a. Thus from the Icelandic perfect parti ciple haldin we have a masc. nom. huldinn (for &Wins), and a neuter nom. hablit ; for it is an error to treat the t of this last form as a neuter suffix, seeing that neuters never differ from masculines except by curtailment. This change of 71 with land d, accounts for the varied forms of our English participles, holden, molten, melted, fdt, and the Scotch forms in it, as abasit.
T disappears from the beginning of words before 1, as in haus, the so-called participle of fcro, but in fact connected with the Latin tolls, and the Greek 7An.w, TaA-as, ToA-m. An older form of fates was perhaps flatus or 8ilattli.
T in the middle of words, when flanked by vowels, often disappears. Thus the Latin words pater, tads, rita, amatus, (mufti, reappear in French as pre, nc (in the compound as-sez, from ad-satia),ree, crime, eimec. Similarly, from the map of Gallia, viewed in connection with the map of France, may be derived the examples, Anton', Eure ; Cute riyes, Choryes ; eatalauni, Chalons (cur Marne).
T at the end of words is frequently dropped. Of the omission of a final 1 iu pronunciation, the French language has numerous examples, AA in et, fait, est, &c. It is very probable that a final t has in this way disappeared from the third person singular of many tenses in the French verb, as it aim', it aimera, gel it finisse, &c. In the interroga tive form aime-t-il, the interposed t really belongs to the verb, and owes its preservation in this form to the fact that a vowel follows. It is an error to attribute the insertion of the letter to the necessity of avoiding an hiatus. Even the Greek language drops this t in the suffix of the third person, as in Term, trustre, for -starts-sr, everrere. Com pare the middle forms rtarserce, ETVIIr7170.
Ti before a vowel is often changed to a sibilant represented by s, ch. (ke. Thus from the Latin faction (factio) are derived the French larva and the English fashion. So araritia, malitia, vitium, became in French and English, arurice, malice, rice.