@DL 05:14 Oct 26, 2012
Yes, I'd agree: Otoy = O toy = O toi scauāt = scavant (was the older, regular present participle of 'scavoir') In ancient texts, 'savoir' was often spelt 'scavoir' (even though there is some scholarly doubt as to the etymological foundation for this — supposedly from Latin 'sciere')
And the use of ā etc. as a ligature to save compositors' space and time is very common in early texts; it is found in Latin and English too, with suffixes like -que and -cum commonly being shortened in this way, not to mention the -an, as you say. Survives in the fi, fl, ff, ffi, ffl ligatures, the ampersand &, and until comparatively recently in some founts ʃt, st, and ct also existed as ligatures. |