O. E. =y=. This is usually represented by _e_ (except before _h_, _gh_), e.g. _abegge_, _berie_, _berthe_, _besy_, _bregge_, _dede_ (did), _evel_, _felle_ (also _fille_), _felthe_, _ferst_, _fest_, _hell_ (also _hill_, _hull_), _ken_ (also _kin_), _kende_ (usually _kinde_), _kesse_ (also _kisse_), _knette_, _krepel_, _lere_, _lest_ (listen), _lest_ (= pleases, also _list_), _mende_ (also _minde_), _merie_, _merthe_, _pet_ (also _pitt_, _put_), _scherte_, _schetten_, _senne_ (also _sinne_), _stere_ (stir), _thenke_ (from _þyncan_), _werche_ (also _worche_), _werse_ (also _worse_): to these must be added _hedde_, _hed_, pret. and past partic. of _hyde_, in which original _ȳ_ was shortened (also _hidde_, _hid_). On the other hand, we have _gilt_ (also _gult_), _gultif_, _lifte_ (sky), _stinten_ (not _stenten_), _thinne_ (not _thenne_), _thurste_, _wierdes_. Gower does not use the forms _birthe_, _bisy_, _dide_ (did), _mirie_, _mirthe_, _stire_. The results obtained for certain words from rhymes by Fahrenberg[T] are rather misleading. For example, he suggests the conclusion that _fille_ (subst.) and _fulfille_ are used with _i_ only, but of the nineteen instances which he quotes, all but two are in rhyme with _wille_, a natural combination (at least for _fulfille_), and one which has determined the form in most cases. Apart from this, both _felle_ (subst.) and _fulfelle_ are found (_felle_ in rhyme, iii. 2609). Again, _senne_ is much more common than would appear from the rhymes. Fahrenberg can quote only one instance in rhyme, as against twenty-nine of _sinne_, but this is certainly due to the greater frequency of the words (such as _beginne_, _winne_, &c.), which give rhymes to _sinne_. The word occurs seven times in the Prologue, once it is in rhyme, _Sinne_ : _inne_, and of the other six instances five are of _senne_ and one only of _sinne_. On the other hand, _hell_ (from _hyll_) alone appears in rhyme, but _hill_ or _hull_ are commoner forms in use. The mistakes tell both ways, but on the whole the conclusion that _i_ is much commoner than _e_ in these words is seriously incorrect. For the use in rhyme of the words of this class with open tone syllable, as _stere_, _lere_ (from _lyre_), see under =e=. (2) O. E. LONG VOWELS AND DIPHTHONGS. O. E. =ā=. The _ǭ_ of _hom_ rhymes, as in Chaucer, with the _ọ̄_ of the preterites _com_, _nom_, and also _fom_ with _nom_, v. 4007. These must be regarded as imperfect rhymes, due to the want of strictly correct rhyme-words. Gower has regularly _most_ (O. E. _māst_) and but once in rhyme _mest_ (O. E. _mǣst_), _lest_ : _althermest_, i. 3101 f.: also regularly _oght_, _noght_, and _oghte_ (verb), but _tawht_ : _awht_, i. 2770, and _aghte_ : _betaghte_, viii. 747.