What if a student in a class asks!

@helenS [quote]it's not a result of conscious decisions.[/quote]

So the entire thing can be just our deduction based on assumptions or post mortem logical reasoning?

@in10RjFox ... [u]informed[/u] assumptions.

@helenS and who was the informer? and who made the assumption? Was there any documented evidence to say this was how the word was derived ?

Similarly, is there any documentation for why "H" is silent in the word "Honest".

@RedBaron so what's the definition of the larger word ?

@in10RjFox Read my original answer.

@RedBaron so [b]it depends [/b] is the answer ?

@Fluffybull [b]bi[/b] is two. So it is nary. All the words have something to do with method.

@in10RjFox Dictionary is diction + ary. Imaginary is, in effect, imagine + ary

@Fluffybull okay.. So what is [b]ary[/b] ?😜