Origins of English Words
English draws from Latin, French, German, Norse, Sanskrit and 400+ other languages โ a linguistic melting pot
Key Facts
- 1
Old English (Anglo-Saxon, 450โ1100): words like be, water, strong, man, child, house, eat
- 2
Middle English (Norman French influence, 1100โ1500): beef, pork, justice, liberty, government โ French nobility words
- 3
Modern English: Latin (via science/church), Greek (medicine/philosophy), Norse (sky, skin, egg), Arabic (algebra, sugar, coffee)
๐ Did you know? The Norman Conquest (1066) gave English nearly half its vocabulary โ French words entered as the language of the nobility while Anglo-Saxon remained the language of the common people
Quick Reference
Category
Etymology
Country
๐ฌ๐ง UK
Year / Era
1066
About
English draws from Latin, French, German, Norse, Sanskrit and 400+ other languages โ a linguistic melting pot