Have you ever wondered about words that are spelled similarly except for a silent “e” at the end, such as “dot” and “dote,” “fat” and “fate,” “hat” and “hate,” “not” and “note,” “win” and “wine,” and more? Despite their visual resemblance, these pairs actually have different etymologies, making their orthographic similarities purely coincidental.
For instance, the adjective “fat” has roots in Old English fætt and the prehistoric Germanic faitjan (to fatten), while “fate” originates from Latin fatum (meaning “that which has been spoken”).
These types of word pairs are not uncommon in English, a language with a rich history of absorbing vocabulary from various sources. As explained in a 2018 article, English, being a Germanic language, has borrowed words from Latin and other languages like French.
Regarding the silent “e” at the end of these words, its usage has evolved over time to indicate the pronunciation of the preceding vowel, which may have different sounds.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the final “e” in words following a consonant is typically silent and serves various orthographic functions. One of these functions is to signify that the preceding vowel historically has a long sound, as seen in examples like “wine” (contrasted with “win”) and “paste” (contrasted with “past”).
In some instances, the silent “e” remains in spelling even when the vowel sound has become short, as seen in words like “infinite” and “rapine.”
The Oxford English Dictionary also notes that the silent final “e” is typically dropped before suffixes starting with a vowel. Therefore, in gerunds like “doting” and “hating,” the “e” in “dote” and “hate” would be omitted.
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