merriment_; _pity, pitied, pities, pitiest,
pitiless, pitiful, pitiable_; _contrary, contrariness, contrarily_.

EXCEPTIONS.--1. This rule applies to derivatives, but not to compounds:
thus, we write _merciful_, and _mercy-seat_; _penniless_, and _pennyworth_;
_scurviness_, and _scurvy-grass_; &c. But _ladyship_ and _goodyship_, being
unlike _secretariship_ and _suretiship_; _handicraft_ and _handiwork_,[116]
unlike _handygripe_ and _handystroke_; _babyship_ and _babyhood_, unlike
_stateliness_ and _likelihood_; the distinction between derivatives and
compounds, we see, is too nice a point to have been always accurately
observed. 2. Before _ing_ or _ish_, the _y_ is retained to prevent the
doubling of _i_: as, _pity, pitying_; _baby, babyish_. 3. Words ending in
_ie_, dropping the _e_ by Rule 9th, change the _i_ into _y_, for the same
reason: as, _die, dying_; _vie, vying_; _lie, lying_.

RULE XII--FINAL Y.

The final _y_ of a primitive word, when preceded by a vowel, should not be
changed into _i_ before any additional termination: as, _day, days_; _key,
keys_; _guy, guys_; _valley, valleys_; _coy, coyly_; _cloy, cloys, cloyed_;
_boy, boyish, boyhood_; _annoy, annoyer, annoyance_; _joy, joyless,
joyful_.

EXCEPTIONS.--1. From _lay, pay, say_, and _stay_, are formed _laid, paid,
said_, and _staid_; but the regular words, _layed, payed, stayed_, are
sometimes used. 2. _Raiment_, contracted from _arrayment_, is never written
with the _y_. 3. _Daily_ is more common than the regular form _dayly_; but
_gayly, gayety_, and _gayness_, are justly superseding _gaily_ and
_gaiety_.

RULE XIII.--IZE AND ISE.

Words ending in _ize_ or _ise_ sounded alike, as in _wise_ and _size_,
generally take the _z_ in all such as are essentially formed by means of
the termination; and the _s_ in monosyllables, and all such as are
essentially formed by means of prefixes: as, _gormandise, apologize,
brutalize, canonize, pilgrimize, philosophize, cauterize, anathematize,
sympathize, disorganize_, with _z_;[117] _rise, arise, disguise, advise,
devise, supervise, circumcise, despise, surmise, surprise, comprise,
compromise, enterprise, presurmise_, with _s_.

EXCEPTIONS.--1. _Advertise, catechise, chastise, criticise_,[118]
_exercise, exorcise_, and _merchandise_, are most commonly written with _s_
and _size, assize, capsize, analyze, overprize, detonize_, and _recognize_,
with _z_. How many of them are real exceptions to the rule, it is dif