How to parse. ...

298 ENGLISH LANGUAGE. [Par. 549-551.

their meaning (e.g. "influence " no longer means
"the power that flowed from the stars on to men,"
but " any modifying power "), from a narrow technicality to a broader and metaphorical meaning.
549 A few French " words of society " and military
terms were introduced during the eighteenth century. Later introductions have been for the most
part technical terms of philosophy and science,
formed from the Greek.
Inflections.
550 Six Periods may be marked out in the growth of
the English language: I. A.D. 450-1100; II. A.D.
1100-1250; III. A.D. 1250-1350; IV. A.D. 1350 -1500; V. A.D. 1500-1600; VI. A.D. 1600 to present time.
551 First or " Synthetical Period," A.D. 450 -1100. - This may be called the c Inflectional or
Synthetical Period;" for during this period the
language shewed a power of construction (syn, con;
thetical, structional) so as to represent Tense, Person, Number, Gender, Case, &c., by Inflections. In
particular, the distinction was carefully observed
between