Learn English – Why is “success” spelled with double -S
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What is the function of the double s at the end of the word, success?
Best Answer
It makes it clear that it's /səkˈsɛs/ rather than /səkˈsis/ or /sʌks/.
History bit:
Originally, it made the next syllable start with an /s/ sound, even though the last syllable doesn't exist any more.
The Latin verb succedere (from which we get succeed) had a past participal successo and some past historic forms had a similar double-S (successi, successe, successero, succedessi) while some imperfect forms had a double-S but not also the D (succedessi, succedesse, succedessimo, succedeste, succedessero).
The Latin noun successus and it's various forms (successum, successibus and so on) came from that verb.
In these Latin words, that these two Ss are both pronounced, one ending a syllable and the next beginning the next syllable.
This became an English word that was sometimes spelt success and sometimes successe. Even in the second spelling, the final -se wasn't pronounced because English had already stopped pronouncing terminal -e in most cases.
The successe spelling died out around the late 17th Century or so, leaving us with just success.
Still, that it doesn't serve the role it did in Latin doesn't make it solely a historical legacy, as I said at the beginning, it's clear that success is pronounced /səkˈsɛs/ but it wouldn't be as clear rather than whether succes was pronounced /səkˈsis/, /səkˈsis/ ("suckies") or /sʌks/ ("sucks").
In most cases where a word ends in (vowel)-(consonant)-e, we pronounce the last syllable with a long vowel sound. Conversely, most words that end with a double consonant get a short vowel sound.
So: when adding "es", "er", "est", or "ed" to the end of the word would appear to change the vowel sound, double the consonant.
Examples:
quizes - ize is usually pronounced like "eyes", so change it to quizzes to preserve the short I sound
subed (short for "substituted") - ube is usually pronounced "oob" or "yoob", so change it to subbed
biger - ige is usually pronounced "eyej", so change to bigger
late 14c., "having a commanding quality," from Old French imperial (12c.), from Latin imperialis "of the empire or emperor," from imperium (see empire). Meaning "pertaining to an empire" (especially the Roman) is from late 14c.
early 14c., from Old French empire "rule, authority, kingdom, imperial rule," from Latin imperium "rule, command," from imperare "to command," from im- "in" (see in- (2)) + parare "to order, prepare" (see pare).
So both English words have roots in the Latin imperium (at one stage or another) and come to English via Old French where they spelled one with an E and one with an I.
Best Answer
It makes it clear that it's /səkˈsɛs/ rather than /səkˈsis/ or /sʌks/.
History bit:
Originally, it made the next syllable start with an /s/ sound, even though the last syllable doesn't exist any more.
The Latin verb succedere (from which we get succeed) had a past participal successo and some past historic forms had a similar double-S (successi, successe, successero, succedessi) while some imperfect forms had a double-S but not also the D (succedessi, succedesse, succedessimo, succedeste, succedessero).
The Latin noun successus and it's various forms (successum, successibus and so on) came from that verb.
In these Latin words, that these two Ss are both pronounced, one ending a syllable and the next beginning the next syllable.
This became an English word that was sometimes spelt success and sometimes successe. Even in the second spelling, the final -se wasn't pronounced because English had already stopped pronouncing terminal -e in most cases.
The successe spelling died out around the late 17th Century or so, leaving us with just success.
Still, that it doesn't serve the role it did in Latin doesn't make it solely a historical legacy, as I said at the beginning, it's clear that success is pronounced /səkˈsɛs/ but it wouldn't be as clear rather than whether succes was pronounced /səkˈsis/, /səkˈsis/ ("suckies") or /sʌks/ ("sucks").