Note 4 — Chapter II · BEGINNING OF NINETEENTH CENTURY

Only in one subordinate point did Rask make a mistake (b = b), which is all the more venial as there are extremely few examples of this sound. Bredsdorff (Aarsagerne, 1821, p. 21) evidently had the law from Rask, and gives it in the comprehensive formula which Paul (Gr. 1. 86) misses in Rask and gives as Grimm’s meritorious improvement on Rask. “The Germanic family has most often aspirates where Greek has tenues, tenues where it has mediæ, and again mediæ where it has aspirates, e.g. fod, Gr. pous; horn, Gr. keras; þrír, Gr. treis; padde, Gr. batrakhos; kone, Gr. gunē; ti, Gr. deka; bærer, Gr. pherō; galde, Gr. kholē; dør, Gr. thura.” To the word ‘horn’ was appended a foot-note to the effect that h without doubt here originally was the German ch-sound. This was one year before Grimm stated his law!