「#1348. 13世紀以降に生じた v 削除」 ([2013-01-04-1]) で，形容詞 poor の語形についても触れた．この語は古フランス語 povre に由来し，本来は v をもっていたが，英語側で v が消失したということだった．しかし，対応する名詞形 poverty では v が消失していない．これはなぜかという質問が寄せられた．
後者には名詞語尾が付加されており，もとの v の現われる音環境が異なるために両語の振る舞いも異なるのだろうと，おぼろげに考えていた．しかし，具体的には調べてみないと分からない．
そこで，第一歩として Jespersen に当たってみた． v 削除 について，MEG1 より2つのセクションを見つけることができた．まず §2.532. を引用する．
§2.532. A /v/ has disappeared in a great many instances, chiefly through assimilation with a following consonant: had ME hadde OE hæfde, lady ME ladi, earlier lafdi OE hlæfdige . head from the inflected forms of OE hēafod; at one time the infection was heved, (heavdes) heddes . lammas OE hlafmæsse . woman ME also wimman OE wifman . leman OE leofman . gi'n, formerly colloquial, now vulgar for given . se'nnight [ˈsenit] common till the beginning of the 19th c. for sevennight. Devonshire was colloquially pronounced without the v, whence the verb denshire 'improve land by paving off turf and burning'. Daventry according to J1701 was pronounced "Dantry" or "Daintry", and the town is still called [deintri] by natives. Cavendish is pronounced [ˈkɚndiʃ] or [ˈkɚvndiʃ]. hath OE hæfþ. eavesdropper (Sh. R3 V. 3.221) for eaves-. The v-less form of devil, mentioned for instance by J1701 (/del/ and sometimes /dil/), is chiefly due to the inflected forms, but is also found in the uninflected; it is probably found in Shakespeare's Macb. I. 3.107; G1621 mentions /diˑl/ as northern, where it is still found. marle for marvel is frequent in BJo. poor seems to be from the inflected forms of the adjective, cf. Ch. Ros. 6489 pover, but 6490 alle pore folk; in poverty the v has been kept . ure† F œuvre, whence inure, enure . manure earlier manour F manouvrer (manœuvre is a later loan). curfew, -fu OF couvrefeu . kerchief OF couvrechef . ginger, oldest form gingivere . Liverpool without v is found in J1701 and elsewhere, see Ekwall's edition of Jones §184. Cf. further 7.76.
Jespersen は，形容詞における v 消失は，屈折形に由来するのではないかという．v の直後に別の子音が続けば v は脱落し，母音が続けば保持される，という考え方のようだ．いずれにせよ音環境によって v が落ちるか残るかが決まるという立場を取っていることになる．
参考までに，v 消失については，さらに §7.76. より，関係する最初の段落を引用しよう．
§7.76. /v/ and /f/ are often lost in twelvemonth (Bacon twellmonth, S1780, E1787, W1791), twelvepence (S1780, E1787), twelfth (E1787, cf. Thackeray, Van. F. 22). Cf. also the formerly universal fi'pence, fippence (J1701, E1765, etc.), still sometimes [fipəns]. Halfpenny, halfpence, . . .
この問題については，もう少し詳しく調べていく必要がありそうだ．以下，関連する hellog 記事を挙げておく．
・ 「#1348. 13世紀以降に生じた v 削除」 ([2013-01-04-1])
・ 「#2276. 13世紀以降に生じた v 削除 (2)」 ([2015-07-21-1])
・ 「#2200. なぜ *haves, *haved ではなく has, had なのか」 ([2015-05-06-1])
・ Jespersen, Otto. A Modern English Grammar on Historical Principles. Part 1. Sounds and Spellings. London: Allen and Unwin, 1909.
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