Re: Latin - English derivatives

> When borrowing words directly from Latin, extracting the supine stem
> give a verb form where one does not have to worry about softening 'c'
> and 'g',

Btw, Richard, I do not wish to be a nuisance, but would you elaborate
on this? I think I can imagine what you mean (somehow connected with
the phonetic relationship c, g + i, e/a, o, u in English?), and still,
it would be useful to hear more of an explanation.

I guess this is to be found in a historical grammar of English?

> The only likely pattern when doublets occur is that the form based on
> the supine is more abstract; this is simply the difference between a
> popular loan and a learned loan.

Yes, I would say "refer" and "relate" reflect the same
concrete/abstract relationship, "refer" being more connected with,
say, concrete action. I find this idea great.

Eva