the formative of the comparative degree in adjs. and advbs.
A. In adjs. ME. -er, -ere (-ore, -ure), -re, OE. -ra (fem., neut. -re) represents two different suffixes used in OTeut. to form the compar., viz.: -izon- (Goth. -iza, OHG., OS. -iro, ON. -ri with umlaut), and -ôzon- (Goth. -ôza, OHG. -ôro, ON. -ari). These OTeut. suffixes are f. the adverbial -is, -ôz: see B. In OE. only a few comparatives retained the umlaut which phonetic law requires in the -izon- type; in mod. Eng. no forms with umlaut remain, except better, elder (OE. bętera, ięldra), the comparatives being ordinarily formed by adding -er to the positive. The ‘irregular comparatives’ worse (OE. wiersa = Goth. wairsiza) and less (OE. lǽssa) contain the suffix -izon in a disguised form, and the analogy of other comparatives has given rise to the extended forms worser and lesser. In mod. Eng. the comparatives in -er are almost restricted to adjs. of one or two syllables; longer adjs., and also disyllables containing any suffix other than -y or -ly, having the periphrastic comparison by means of the adv. more. Earlier writers, however, have beautifuller, eminenter, slavisher, etc.; a few modern writers, e.g., Carlyle, affect the same method. The periphrastic form is admissible (esp. in predicative use) for all adjs., even monosyllables, which are not extremely common colloquially.
2. In hinder, inner, the comparative suffix, though in WGer. and ON. formally coincident with that treated above, is quite distinct in origin, repr. OTeut. -eron-, f. OAryan -ero-.
B. In adverbs. The OE. form of the comparative suffix was -or, corresp. to OS., OHG. -ôr, Goth. -ôs:—OTeut. -ôz. OTeut. had also a suffix -iz with the same function, corresponding to L. -is in magis, nimis, and cogn. with L. -ior of adjs.; it is represented by Goth. -is, ON. -r with umlaut; in OE. by the umlaut in monosyllabic comparatives like lęng:—*langiz longer, bęt:—*batiz better, which died out in early ME., being superseded by the adj. forms. The relation between the two OTeut. suffixes is much disputed: a widely held hypothesis is that -ôz is f. -ô adverbial suffix + -iz. The advbs. that take -er in the comparative are chiefly those that are now identical in form with adjs. (either repr. OE. advbs. in -e, or modern adverbial uses of the adj.): e.g., ‘to work harder,’ ‘to stand closer.’ Exceptional instances are oftener, seldomer, sooner. The advbs. in -LY2 are now compared periphrastically with more, though in earlier writers the inflexional comparison is common, e.g., easilier = more easily, ME. entierlocure = more entirely; in poetry it still occurs, as in keenlier (Tennyson).
