From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
According to surveys,[1][2] the percentage of modern English words derived from each language group are as follows:
| Latin | ≈29% |
| French | ≈29% |
| Germanic | ≈26% |
| Greek | ≈5% |
| Others | ≈10% |
The following are lists of words in the English language that are known as «loanwords» or «borrowings,» which are derived from other languages.
For Old English-derived words, see List of English words of Old English origin.
- English words of African origin
- List of English words of Afrikaans origin
- List of South African English regionalisms
- List of South African slang words
- List of English words from indigenous languages of the Americas
- List of English words of Arabic origin
- List of Arabic star names
- List of English words of Australian Aboriginal origin
- List of English words of Brittonic origin
- Lists of English words of Celtic origin
- List of English words of Chinese origin
- List of English words of Czech origin
- List of English words of Dravidian origin (Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu)
- List of English words of Dutch origin
- List of English words of Afrikaans origin
- List of South African slang words
- List of place names of Dutch origin
- Australian places with Dutch names
- List of English words of Etruscan origin
- List of English words of Finnish origin
- List of English words of French origin
- Glossary of ballet, mostly French words
- List of French expressions in English
- List of English words with dual French and Anglo-Saxon variations
- List of pseudo-French words adapted to English
- List of English Latinates of Germanic origin
- List of English words of Gaulish origin
- List of German expressions in English
- List of pseudo-German words adapted to English
- English words of Greek origin (a discussion rather than a list)
- List of Greek morphemes used in English
- List of English words of Hawaiian origin
- List of English words of Hebrew origin
- List of English words of Hindi or Urdu origin
- List of English words of Hungarian origin
- List of English words of Indian origin
- List of English words of Indonesian origin, including from Javanese, Malay (Sumatran) Sundanese, Papuan (West Papua), Balinese, Dayak and other local languages in Indonesia
- List of English words of Irish origin
- List of Irish words used in the English language
- List of English words of Italian origin
- List of Italian musical terms used in English
- List of English words of Japanese origin
- List of English words of Korean origin
- List of Latin words with English derivatives
- List of English words of Malay origin
- List of English words of Māori origin
- List of English words of Niger-Congo origin
- List of English words of Old Norse origin
- List of English words of Persian origin
- List of English words of Philippine origin
- List of English words of Polish origin
- List of English words of Polynesian origin
- List of English words of Portuguese origin
- List of English words of Romani origin
- List of English words of Romanian origin
- List of English words of Russian origin
- List of English words of Sami origin
- List of English words of Sanskrit origin
- List of English words of Scandinavian origin (incl. Danish, Norwegian)
- List of English words of Scots origin
- List of English words of Scottish Gaelic origin
- List of English words of Semitic origin
- List of English words of Spanish origin
- List of English words of Swedish origin
- List of English words of Turkic origin
- List of English words of Ukrainian origin
- List of English words of Welsh origin
- List of English words of Yiddish origin
- List of English words of Zulu origin
See also[edit]
- Anglicisation
- English terms with diacritical marks
- Inkhorn term
- Linguistic purism in English
- List of Germanic and Latinate equivalents in English
- List of Greek and Latin roots in English
- List of proposed etymologies of OK
- List of Latin legal terms
References[edit]
- ^ Finkenstaedt, Thomas; Dieter Wolff (1973). Ordered profusion; studies in dictionaries and the English lexicon. C. Winter. ISBN 3-533-02253-6.
- ^ Joseph M. Williams (1986) [1975]. Origins of the English Language. A social and linguistic history. Free Press. ISBN 0029344700.[page needed]
External links[edit]
- Ancient Egyptian Loan-Words in English
- List of etymologies of English words
Where do new words come from? How do you figure out their histories?
An etymology is the history of a linguistic form, such as a word; the same term is also used for the study
of word histories. A dictionary etymology tells us what is known of an English word before it became the word entered
in that dictionary. If the word was created in English, the etymology shows, to whatever extent is not already
obvious from the shape of the word, what materials were used to form it. If the word was borrowed into English,
the etymology traces the borrowing process backward from the point at which the word entered English to the
earliest records of the ancestral language. Where it is relevant, an etymology notes words from other languages that
are related («akin») to the word in the dictionary entry, but that are not in the direct line of borrowing.
How New Words are Formed
An etymologist, a specialist in the study of etymology, must know a good deal about the history of English
and also about the relationships of sound and meaning and their changes over time that underline the reconstruction
of the Indo-European language family. Knowledge is also needed of the various processes by which words are created
within Modern English; the most important processes are listed below.
Borrowing
A majority of the words used in English today are of foreign origin. English still derives much of its vocabulary
from Latin and Greek, but we have also borrowed words from nearly all of the languages in Europe. In the modern
period of linguistic acquisitiveness, English has found vocabulary opportunities even farther afield. From the
period of the Renaissance voyages through the days when the sun never set upon the British Empire and up to
the present, a steady stream of new words has flowed into the language to match the new objects and
experiences English speakers have encountered all over the globe. Over 120 languages are on record as sources
of present-day English vocabulary.
Shortening or Clipping
Clipping (or truncation) is a process whereby an appreciable chunk of an existing word is omitted,
leaving what is sometimes called a stump word. When it is the end of a word that is lopped off, the process
is called back-clipping: thus examination was docked to create exam and gymnasium
was shortened to form gym. Less common in English are fore-clippings, in which the beginning of a
word is dropped: thus phone from telephone. Very occasionally, we see a sort of fore-and-aft
clipping, such as flu, from influenza.
Functional Shift
A functional shift is the process by which an existing word or form comes to be used with another
grammatical function (often a different part of speech); an example of a functional shift would be the development
of the noun commute from the verb commute.
Back-formation
Back-formation occurs when a real or supposed affix (that is, a prefix or suffix) is removed from a word to
create a new one. For example, the original name for a type of fruit was cherise, but some thought that word
sounded plural, so they began to use what they believed to be a singular form, cherry, and a new word was
born. The creation of the the verb enthuse from the noun enthusiasm is also an example of a
back-formation.
Blends
A blend is a word made by combining other words or parts of words in such a way that they overlap (as
motel from motor plus hotel) or one is infixed into the other (as chortle from
snort plus chuckle — the -ort- of the first being surrounded by the ch-…-le
of the second). The term blend is also sometimes used to describe words like brunch, from
breakfast plus lunch, in which pieces of the word are joined but there is no actual overlap. The
essential feature of a blend in either case is that there be no point at which you can break the word with everything
to the left of the breaking being a morpheme (a separately meaningful, conventionally combinable element) and
everything to the right being a morpheme, and with the meaning of the blend-word being a function of the meaning of
these morphemes. Thus, birdcage and psychohistory are not blends, but are instead compounds.
Acronymic Formations
An acronym is a word formed from the initial letters of a phrase. Some acronymic terms still clearly show their
alphabetic origins (consider FBI), but others are pronounced like words instead of as a succession of
letter names: thus NASA and NATO are pronounced as two syllable words. If the form is written
lowercase, there is no longer any formal clue that the word began life as an acronym: thus radar (‘radio
detecting and ranging’). Sometimes a form wavers between the two treatments: CAT scan pronounced either like
cat or C-A-T.
NOTE: No origin is more pleasing to the general reader than an acronymic one. Although acronymic etymologies are
perennially popular, many of them are based more in creative fancy than in fact. For an example of such an alleged
acronymic etymology, see the article on posh.
Transfer of Personal or Place Names
Over time, names of people, places, or things may become generalized vocabulary words. Thus did forsythia
develop from the name of botanist William Forsyth, silhouette from the name of Étienne de Silhouette, a
parsimonious French controller general of finances, and denim from serge de Nîmes (a fabric made
in Nîmes, France).
Imitation of Sounds
Words can also be created by onomatopoeia, the naming of things by a more or less exact reproduction of the
sound associated with it. Words such as buzz, hiss, guffaw, whiz, and
pop) are of imitative origin.
Folk Etymology
Folk etymology, also known as popular etymology, is the process whereby a word is altered so as to
resemble at least partially a more familiar word or words. Sometimes the process seems intended to «make sense of» a
borrowed foreign word using native resources: for example, the Late Latin febrigugia (a plant with medicinal
properties, etymologically ‘fever expeller’) was modified into English as feverfew.
Combining Word Elements
Also available to one who feels the need for a new word to name a new thing or express a new idea is the very
considerable store of prefixes, suffixes, and combining forms that already exist in English. Some of these are native
and others are borrowed from French, but the largest number have been taken directly from Latin or Greek, and they
have been combined in may different ways often without any special regard for matching two elements from the same
original language. The combination of these word elements has produced many scientific and technical terms of Modern
English.
Literary and Creative Coinages
Once in a while, a word is created spontaneously out of the creative play of sheer imagination. Words such as
boondoggle and googol are examples of such creative coinages, but most such inventive brand-new
words do not gain sufficiently widespread use to gain dictionary entry unless their coiner is well known enough so
his or her writings are read, quoted, and imitated. British author Lewis Carroll was renowned for coinages such
as jabberwocky, galumph, and runcible, but most such new words are destined to pass in
and out of existence with very little notice from most users of English.
An etymologist tracing the history of a dictionary entry must review the etymologies at existing main entries and
prepare such etymologies as are required for the main entries being added to the new edition. In the course of the
former activity, adjustments must sometimes be made either to incorporate a useful piece of information that has
been previously overlooked or to review the account of the word’s origin in light of new evidence. Such evidence
may be unearthed by the etymologist or may be the product of published research by other scholars. In writing new
etymologies, the etymologist must, of course, be alive to the possible languages from which a new term may have
been created or borrowed, and must be prepared to research and analyze a wide range of documented evidence and
published sources in tracing a word’s history. The etymologist must sift theories, often-conflicting theories of
greater or lesser likelihood, and try to evaluate the evidence conservatively but fairly to arrive at the soundest
possible etymology that the available information permits.
When all attempts to provide a satisfactory etymology have failed, an etymologist may have to declare that a word’s
origin is unknown. The label «origin unknown» in an etymology seldom means that the etymologist is unaware of various
speculations about the origin of a term, but instead usually means that no single theory conceived by the etymologist
or proposed by others is well enough backed by evidence to include in a serious work of reference, even when qualified
by «probably» or «perhaps.»
By
Last updated:
March 16, 2023
89 English Words That Come from Other Languages [with Pronunciation and Examples]
You probably already find the number of words in English a little dizzying, but did you know that many of them actually came from other languages? Maybe even from your language?
That means some words will be really easy for you to learn, so you can quickly expand your English vocabulary.
Let’s explore 45 common words that English “took” from other languages.
Contents
- From French
- From German
- From Yiddish
- From Spanish
- From Japanese
- From Native American Languages
- From Chinese
- From Arabic
- From Russian
- From Portuguese
- From Swedish
- From Italian
- From Korean
Download:
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can take anywhere.
Click here to get a copy. (Download)
From French
In some ways, English, French and German are almost like three siblings who grew up together. Each language influenced the other two in some way, but one of the biggest influences on English was French.
In fact, from the 9th century until the 14th century, a form of French was even the “official” language in the courts of England! During those years, the common (non-royal) people spoke an older form of English, while the kings, queens and members of the court spoke French. And to make it more confusing, most documents were written in Latin.
As you can imagine, there was a lot of mixing between those languages. So let’s look at some interesting English words that still “look French.”
One more note: Be sure to listen to the pronunciations for these originally-French words. Many are probably said differently than you might expect!
1. Art
The word “art” originated from the Latin ars which originally meant “skill” or “craft”. It came to English through Old French.
Example:
She enjoys abstract art.
2. Beef
“Beef” came to English from the Old French word boef. But that’s not the only meat name with French origins! “Mutton,” “veal” and “pork” are all thought to be derived from Old French.
Example:
Cut the beef into slices and serve it with the sauce.
3. Ballet
This is a form of dance that developed in France.
Keep in mind that you don’t pronounce the “t” at the end. Instead, the second syllable should sound like “lay,” with the same vowel sound as the letter “a.”
Example:
My niece and nephew are in ballet class, so I watched their 5-hour ballet performance on Saturday. It was pretty long.
4. Cafe
It is written both with the accent mark (“café”) and without it (“cafe”) in English.
“Cafe” comes from the French word for “coffee,” but it’s also very similar the word for coffee in many other languages.
Example:
I’ve only got about 20 minutes for lunch, so I’ll just stop at a cafe for a quick sandwich.
5. Country
Originally from Latin, the English word “country” likely comes most directly from the Old French word cuntree.
Example:
I prefer to live in a hot country.
6. Croissant
A croissant is a type of pastry or bread that is light and flaky. A similar type of bread in English is a “crescent roll.”
Example:
Tina really loves to make croissants because they taste better than other types of bread.
7. Dance
The word “Dance” likely comes from the Old French verb dancier which means “to dance”.
Example:
He danced her across the floor.
8. Dragon
An awful lot of animal names (mythical and otherwise) can be traced back to French, but let’s face facts: “dragon” is the most fun. Other animals who owe their names to French include griffin, phoenix, dolphin, squirrel and more. You can guess which ones are real.
Example:
A dragon guarded the treasure.
9. Entrepreneur
An “entrepreneur” is a person who starts their own company. Other common forms of the word include “entrepreneurship” (a noun) or “entrepreneurial” (an adjective).
Example:
Elon Musk, the man who started SpaceX and Tesla Motors, is one of the most famous entrepreneurs in the world.
10. Faux pas
This phrase describes making a social mistake. It has several silent letters, including the “x” and the “s.”
If you make a “faux pas”, then the mistake usually isn’t very big and doesn’t hurt anyone physically, but it can make people uncomfortable.
Example:
I committed a pretty big faux pas last night. I kept trying to offer Maria beers, but I completely forgot that she stopped drinking alcohol three years ago!
11. Fruit
The word “fruit” passed through Old French (as fruges) before making its way to English.
Example:
We have a fruit bowl on the table.
12. Genre
In French, this word means “kind” or “style.” In English, it’s used to describe a category of something, especially when talking about entertainment.
You’ll especially hear people using this word to talk about books, movies and music.
Example:
Roy likes many types of music, but his favorite genre is heavy metal.
13. Hors d’oeuvre
These are small bits of food that are served at special events, usually parties. They’re very similar to appetizers, but appetizers are usually served before a larger meal.
Example:
We were invited to Tina and Roy’s engagement party. We expected a big meal, but there were only hors d’oeuvres. That was okay, though, since we weren’t that hungry.
14. Liberty
It means to be free to choose, think and act as you like. While “liberty” is a popular word in the US, it isn’t an original English word. It originated from Latin libertas (“freedom”) before passing through Old French liberté.
Example:
He lost his liberty privileges and, with them, his equilibrium.
15. Lingerie
This is used to describe women’s underwear or sleepwear that is usually sexy or special in some way.
Example:
These days, before some women get married, their friends give them a “lingerie shower.” That’s when the woman’s friends all get together and give her lingerie as a wedding gift.
16. Music
The origins of “music” go back to Greek and Latin, but before hitting the English language, it passed through Old French as musique.
Example:
What type of music are you listening to?
17. People
The Latin word populus transformed into the Anglo-Norman French word poeple, which later became the English word “people.” My, how far we’ve come.
Example:
Around 108 billion people have ever lived on our planet.
18. Renaissance
In French, this means “rebirth,” but in English it is often used to describe the historical period between 1300 and 1600 when art and science developed a lot.
Example:
I don’t know much about art, but I do know that Michelangelo and Raphael were two of the most famous artists from the Renaissance period.
19. Rendezvous
In English, this word is used to describe either a place where people plan to meet, or the action of meeting a person at a specific time.
Example:
We’re in a new city, and I’m sure you all want to explore it a bit. It’s 2:00 now, so let’s rendezvous back here at 6:00. Then we’ll go to dinner.
20. Very
Yes, even a simple word like “very” came through French. It likely originated with the Old French word verai, which meant “true.”
Example:
It’s very likely that he will join us on this trip.
That’s not a comprehensive list and there are still more English words and phrases that come from French.
From German
As I already explained, a lot of German words are also used in English.
21. Delicatessen
A “delicatessen” (abbreviated “deli”) is a shop where you can get sandwiches, coffee and other small foods. This comes from the German word Delikatessen, which means “fine/fancy foods,” but in English it just describes the place where you can buy those foods.
Some of the most famous delis are in New York, including Katz’s Delicatessen.
Example:
Delicatessens used to be more common in New York, but many are going out of business.
22. Fest
A “fest” is any kind of party, celebration or festival. In both English and German, it’s commonly used as a suffix (a word part added to the end of a word), and the most common one is Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest officially happens every year in Munich, Germany, but many other cities have their own Oktoberfests.
Example:
We went to Oktoberfest in Munich, it was crazy. There were so many people, and all of them were drunk!
23. Gesundheit
In German, this word means “health.” Especially in the United States, people often say “Gesundheit!” as a response when someone sneezes (others often say “bless you”).
Example:
When I sneezed, my aunt said “Gesundheit!”
24. Hamburger
A hamburger is a sandwich consisting of fillings—usually a patty of ground meat, typically beef—placed inside a sliced bun. This traditional American cookout food actually comes from the name of the German city, Hamburg.
Example:
They served hot dogs and hamburgers at the cookout.
25. Kindergarten
Translated literally, this word means “children’s garden.” It’s a common type of school in many parts of the world. Children often go to a year or two of kindergarten when they’re 5 years old before they start elementary school.
Example:
Our daughter is going to turn 5 next year, so we’ve been trying to find a good kindergarten for her.
26. Neanderthal
Neanderthals were humans like us, but they were a distinct species called Homo neanderthalensis. The word “Neanderthal” comes from another German place name. Thal used to mean “valley,” though now it’s spelled as Tal. Therefore, Neanderthal refers to the “Neander Valley,” which is where some of the first fossils of Neanderthals were discovered.
It’s now used in English when someone is very old-fashioned and not willing to change.
Example:
They were pushed back by Neanderthal security guards.
27. Nix
This comes from the German word Nichts, meaning “nothing.” So the next time you ask your server to nix the ketchup on your hamburger, you’ve just used two German words and one Chinese word!
Example:
I wanted to get the day off, but my manager nixed it.
28. Poodle
Everyone knows the word “dachshund” comes from German, but they’re not the only German dogs on the block. This canine name originally came from the Low German word puddeln, meaning “splash in water.”
Example:
My friend’s poodle is the best dog I know!
29. Waltz
A “waltz” is a type of formal dance. The word is also used to describe the type of music that plays during those dances, and it can also be used as a verb to describe the action of dancing this dance.
Example:
My friends say that dancing the waltz is easy, but I can’t do it. I’m just not coordinated, and everyone says I have “two left feet.”
30. Rucksack
A rucksack is another name for a backpack. “Ruck” comes from the German word Rücken (back) and sack is another German word which means either “bag” or, as you probably guessed, “sack.”
Example:
Alan is going to travel to Europe this summer, but he’s planning on only taking one rucksack. He’ll have to pack carefully if he wants everything to fit!
For even more words like this, check out this article with 76 other German loanwords.
From Yiddish
You may not have ever heard of Yiddish, but it’s a Germanic language that was common among Jewish people in Eastern Europe. Today it’s mostly spoken in Israel, Eastern Europe and some parts of the United States where Jewish families settled but is an endangered language.
Because of historical immigration, some Yiddish words may be more common in American English than in British English. Also, since it is a Germanic language, many Yiddish words are similar or even the same as German words.
31. Glitch
A “glitch” describes a small problem, but usually it’s a problem that doesn’t make it impossible to finish something.
Example:
I planned to go downtown to meet with Betty, but I ran into a glitch: The bus wasn’t running because it was a holiday. So I took a taxi instead.
32. Klutz
A “klutz” is a person who is very uncoordinated or clumsy. In other words, klutzes often have accidents and break things.
Example:
My cousin Charlotte is a real klutz. Every time she goes into a souvenir shop, she always seems to break two or three things, and then she has to pay for them!
33. Spiel
In Yiddish (and German), this word can mean “play,” but in English it’s used to describe a quick speech or story which has usually been said/told many times. Often a spiel tries to convince you of something.
Example:
My uncle Thomas believes a lot of conspiracy theories. When we ate Thanksgiving dinner, he did his whole spiel about how the government is controlled by lizard people!
34. Schmooze
This is a verb that means to talk with someone in a very friendly way, often to gain some benefit for yourself.
Example:
At the meeting, the professors were schmoozing with the president of the club. They want his club to donate money to the university.
From Spanish
Like French, Spanish is another Latin-based language that has influenced English. A lot of this Spanish influence is especially noticeable in American English, so many of these words could be less common in British English.
35. Guerrilla
In Spanish, this word literally means “little war.” In both Spanish and English it can be used to describe an unofficial group of people fighting the government. In English, it’s most commonly used as an adjective, in phrases like “guerrilla warfare” or “guerrilla marketing.”
Note that in Spanish, the “ll” sound is different than in English. As a result, in English this word sounds basically the same as “gorilla,” the animal.
Example:
The guerrilla fighters took control of the capital of the country, which gave them control of the government.
34. Macho
This word describes a person who is very strong or masculine. It can also be used to describe a person who is arrogant about his manhood. It’s also been used in the name of a professional wrestler and a popular disco song from the 1970s.
Example:
Peter is a real macho guy, but that’s annoying sometimes. He says that “real men don’t cry,” but I think he’s wrong.
35. Patio
In English, “patio” generally describes an area outside a house which often has a table and chairs, but no roof.
Example:
It was very hot today, so we decided to go out to the patio to drink a cold glass of lemonade. There are some trees there, too, so the sun wasn’t as bad.
36. Plaza
A “plaza” describes a public open area in a city, which can sometimes be called a “square.”
“Plaza” is also used in the names of many shopping malls, corporate building areas or other large open areas. If you’re a native Spanish speaker, notice that the pronunciation in English has a vibrated “z” sound, not a soft “s.”
Example:
Victoria needed to buy some Christmas presents for her friends, so she went downtown to the new shopping plaza to check out some of the stores that were recently opened.
37. Piñata
This is a happy word that describes a toy that is filled with candy. At parties, children take turns trying to break it open with a stick so the candy will fall out.
Example:
We had a birthday party for our 3-year-old boy, but we thought he was probably too young for a piñata. We thought all the kids would get hit in the head with the stick.
38. Savvy
It’s how we call a person who makes good judgments. The word “savvy” likely originates from the Spanish word sabe, which means “knows.”
Example:
Many people are no that politically savvy.
39. Siesta
A “siesta” is another name for “nap,” but it’s generally a nap that one takes in the middle of the day, especially after eating or while taking a break from work.
People often take siestas in hot countries because the middle of the day is when the heat is most intense. So it’s a good time to stay inside and sleep!
Example:
Wow, I ate that big plate of spaghetti and now I’m feeling super tired. I think I’ll take a quick siesta before I get back to work.
40. Tobacco
“Tobacco” is a type of plant and its leaves are dried and used for smoking. While the word is likely influenced by native languages, the English word “tobacco” was derived from the Spanish word tabaco.
Example:
I have never smoked tobacco in my life.
41. Vanilla
“Vanilla” is a spice that is used to flavor food like ice cream or can also be used in fragrances. The English word “vanilla” likely comes from the Spanish word vainilla, which itself comes from the Latin word for “pod.”
Example:
Vanilla ice cream is my favorite!
From Japanese
While English and Japanese do not share common roots, the cultures have crossed paths many times throughout the years and ultimately borrowed words from each other.
42. Honcho
The Japanese word 班長 (hanchō) refers to a chief or leader in both Japanese and English. It can also be used as a verb meaning to organize or to supervise a project, for example.
Example:
I was recently asked to honcho the new marketing project.
43. Skosh
You might use the word “skosh” without even noticing where it came from. It’s used to refer to a small amount and comes from either the Japanese word 少し (sukoshi) or the word すこし (sukoshi), both of which mean “a little.”
Example:
Next time just add a skosh of salt to your eggs.
44. Karaoke
You probably know what karaoke is. It’s when you sing along with the tune of a popular song while reading the lyrics from a screen. There are karaoke bars in many countries, including the US and the UK, but it’s most commonly associated with Japan.
Example:
Mitch really likes singing karaoke, even though he doesn’t have an amazing voice. But that doesn’t matter—the important thing is to have fun with friends!
45. Karate
Like karaoke, you probably recognize this word. It describes a popular martial art that originated in Japan. There, the word “karate” means “empty hand,” since you don’t need any special equipment or weapons to do it.
Example:
Lisa has a black belt in karate, so you’d better not try to steal her things.
46. Ninja
This word means “spy” in Japanese, but in English it’s used to describe a person who can move and attack silently, without being seen. People also associate ninjas with fighters who wear masks and all-black clothing, even though that may not be historically true.
In modern use, people who can do something incredibly well are often called “ninjas.” This is especially common in technological fields.
Example:
You should try Karl’s cookies—they’re delicious! Karl is a real baking ninja!
47. Origami
“Origami” is the art of folding small pieces of paper in order to form them into interesting shapes. Some origami can be really detailed and incredible!
Example:
If you want to try origami, it’s very easy to start. You just need some small pieces of paper. But if you want to become an expert, it could take years of practice.
48. Tsunami
This is a gigantic (very large) sea wave that is usually caused by an earthquake.
Unfortunately, the word tsunami has become more well-known ever since the 2004 Southeast Asia tsunami and the 2011 Japan tsunami. Those events killed hundreds of thousands of people.
Example:
Those recent tsunamis were terrible, but at least they made people more aware of the dangers of tsunamis.
From Native American Languages
When Europeans arrived to the Americas, they encountered millions of natives. The native groups had their own languages, and many of those influenced English.
Many of the Native American words were for place names, and others were adapted and changed to make them easier to pronounce in English.
These words are usually more common in American English than in British English.
49. Chocolate
“Chocolate” came to English after passing through Spanish, but originally it was xocolatl in the Nahuatl language of modern-day Mexico.
Example:
If you don’t know what chocolate is, then I feel very sad for you.
50. Moccasin
Depending on who you ask, you will probably hear different ideas about what a moccasin is. But at least everyone will agree that it’s a type of informal shoe.
Example:
I don’t like the cold winter weather in general, but I do enjoy wearing my warm moccasins when I’m inside.
From Chinese
In English, “Chinese” is used to refer to the different dialects of the languages in China and Taiwan, even though “Mandarin” is the actual name of the one with the most speakers.
If you look a bit closer, you’ll find that English has actually taken some pretty cool words from Chinese!
51. Dim sum
“Dim sum” is a style of food that’s common in southern China (specifically in and near Hong Kong).
The word originally meant “touch your heart,” but now it’s just used to describe a meal in a restaurant where the guests have many choices of small dishes of food. Many of the foods are steamed in bamboo baskets, and there are also other dishes like soup and fried bread.
Example:
Tony invited us to eat dim sum and we had a wonderful time! The food was delicious, and the little pieces were actually easy to eat with chopsticks.
52. Gung-ho
In Chinese this phrase means “work together,” but in English it’s used casually to express that you’re excited or enthusiastic about something. We generally use it as an adjective.
Example:
I was really gung-ho to eat dim sum, but when we got to the Chinese restaurant it was closed for a holiday! We were all really disappointed.
53. Kung fu
“Kung fu” is another popular style of martial arts. In kung fu, generally fighters only use their hands and feet, but not weapons.
Example:
I’m tired of bullies beating me up. I’m going to learn kung fu so I can defend myself if they attack me again!
54. Tofu
This is a word that originated from Chinese (as dou fu). But before it was adopted into English, it passed through Japanese and became “tofu.”
In Chinese, dou means “bean” and fu means “rotten” or “sour.” It sounds gross when you put it that way, but it can actually be pretty tasty!
Example:
I know you’re vegetarian, but this restaurant has lots of great options! For many of the dishes you can just substitute the meat with tofu or another vegetarian option.
55. Typhoon
A typhoon is just another name for a hurricane or a cyclone. If it’s in the Pacific Ocean near Asia, it’s called a typhoon.
The word was reinforced by the Chinese word taifeng, which means “big wind.” There were also some possible influences from other languages like Greek, Arabic and Portuguese!
Example:
In 2014 Typhoon Haiyan hit the Philippines and caused a lot of damage. It was one of the biggest typhoons ever recorded.
56. Yin and yang
In Chinese, yin represents feminine, dark and nighttime, while yang represents the opposite: masculine, light and daytime things. In English, these words are used to represent any opposites.
Example:
Mary is the yin to Peter’s yang. They’re complete opposites, but they have a happy marriage. I guess it’s true that “opposites attract”!
57. Ketchup
Ketchup may seem as American as burgers and cookouts, but the word itself may come from the Cantonese word 茄汁 (qié zhī), which means “tomato sauce.”
Example:
Could you please pass me a bottle of ketchup, please?
58. Chin-chin
In English and Chinese, it’s a drinking toast expressing good wishes before drinking. The word stems from the Mandarin word 請 (qǐng), which means “please.”
Thank you for the great night, let’s have the last drink! Chin-chin!
59. Brainwashing
It’s a term used in English to describe the process of manipulating a person’s beliefs, emotions and behaviors. It might not sound Chinese, but there’s a very good explanation for that.
“Brainwashing” is actually a literal translation of the Chinese word 洗腦 (xǐ nǎo). It originated in Chinese during the Korean War, referring to the practice of coercion and mind control.
It took off in the U.S. soon after.
Example:
The prisoners of war were subjected to intense brainwashing.
From Arabic
Though Arabic and English look incredibly different, many English words have their roots in Arabic since it is one of the oldest languages in the world.
60. Admiral
In English, an admiral is a high-ranking naval officer who is responsible for commanding fleets or groups of ships.
“Admiral” comes from أمير (pronounced amyr and sometimes translated as “emir”), which refers to a leader.
Example:
Horatio Nelson was the greatest admiral in the history of the Royal Navy.
61. Alcohol
We all are probably familiar with this word. But did you know that the word “alcohol” is derived from the word الكحل (alkahal), which meant “the kohl,” which originally referred to a powder.
Example:
I’m seriously thinking about cutting down on alcohol in January.
62. Algebra
“Algebra” is a branch of math where you solve equations. “Algebra” comes from الجبر (aljabar), which originally referred to putting together broken parts.
Example:
Algebra was my least favorite subject at school.
63. Average
In math, it’s the mean number from a set of numbers. In English, we also use this word to describe when something is typical or usual. “Average” originally came from عوار (eawar), which referred to damage to goods. Merchant-marine law changed the meaning.
Example:
It was an average experience for me.
64. Lemon
These bright yellow fruits have an interesting history. Coming from the word ليمون (leemoon), it passed through French before making its way to English.
Example:
Eating lemons can boost your immune system.
65. Sheikh
A “sheikh” is a ruler or leader of a group of people in Arab cultures. It’s used in English as a title for rulers in some countries, instead of words like “king” or “president.”
For example, the current leader of Dubai, Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, is a sheikh.
Example:
When meeting sheikhs, many foreign leaders hold hands with them as a sign of respect or friendship.
66. Sofa
“Sofa” likely started as the Arabic word صفّة (sofa) before entering the Turkish language, then the French language, then the English language. That’s quite a journey!
67. Zero
“Zero” comes from the word صفر (sifr), though it passed through Spanish, Italian and French before it entered the English language.
From Russian
Even though Russian and English look and sound very different they are actually both a part of the huge group of languages known as Indo-European.
68. Beluga
It’s a small whale with white teeth living mainly in Arctic waters. The type of sturgeon comes from the Russian word белуга (beluga), while the type of whale comes from белуха (beluhka). Both ultimately trace back to белый (belee), which means “white.”
Example:
The beluga whale is known as the “canary of the sea” because of its unique vocalizations.
69. Babushka
In Russian, this word means “grandmother,” but in English it usually refers to a scarf or head covering that you might imagine an old Russian woman wearing.
So if a girl or woman wears a scarf to keep her head warm, sometimes people jokingly call her a “babushka.”
Example:
I saw an old lady wearing a babushka walking down the street. She was carrying many shopping bags and having trouble walking, so I offered to help her carry her bags.
70. Disinformation
It means to give false information to mislead someone on purpose. “Disinformation” comes from the Russian word дезинформация (dezinformatsiya), which was the name of a KGB propaganda department.
Example:
The government’s disinformation campaign was designed to confuse the public and conceal the truth about the controversial policy.
71. Mammoth
It’s a large, extinct species of elephant that lived during the Ice Age. In English, this word is also used to say when something is huge or gigantic. “Mammoth” comes from the Russian word мамонт (mamont), which likely had Siberian roots.
Example:
The construction project required a mammoth amount of concrete and steel to complete the towering skyscraper.
72. Shaman
A “shaman” is a mystical expert who can function as a healer. This word for a tribal priest comes from the Russian word шаман (shaman), which likely comes from the Evenki language of Siberia.
Example:
The tribal shaman performed a sacred ritual to connect with the spirits of nature.
From Portuguese
With two languages that take so much of their vocabulary from Latin, you can expect lots of overlap and similarities. Here are the words we have just straight borrowed!
73. Bossa nova
There are many Portuguese loanwords in English. Bossa nova, which means “new wave” in Brazilian Portuguese, describes a kind of relaxing music.
Example:
You may think that you don’t know any bossa nova songs, but you almost certainly have heard a version of the “The Girl From Ipanema.” It’s a great bossa nova song, but it’s also the stereotypical example of “elevator music.”
74. Cashew
It’s a nut in the shape of a kidney that is rich in oil and proteins. “Cashew” is derived from the Portuguese word cajú, which likely came from the now-extinct Tupi language.
Example:
Try eating a few cashews as a snack, it’s a healthier option.
75. Cobra
Cobra is a poisonous snake from Africa and southern Asia. The word “cobra” is a shortening of cobra de capello, a Portuguese phrase meaning “snake with hood.”
Example:
At the zoo, we saw a black cobra.
76. Flamingo
While some may claim “flamingo” has Spanish origins, there’s also an argument that it may have come from Portuguese. The bright pink birds have not yet weighed in on the conflict.
Example:
A beautiful flamingo was standing gracefully on one leg in the pond at the zoo.
From Swedish
While the writing and pronunciation of a word may sound quite different in Swedish than in English, there is actually a lot more commonalities than you might expect between these two languages that share Germanic roots.
77. Moped
“Moped” (pronounced with two syllables: mo-ped) is a combination of the Swedish words “motor” and “pedaler.” Those words are nearly the same as their English equivalents “motor” and “pedals.”
It’s basically a bicycle with a motor. Many people call scooters or small motorcycles “mopeds,” but that’s not technically correct.
Example:
When I got my driver’s license, I really wanted a car. But cars are too expensive, so I bought a moped from my friend Ronnie instead.
From Italian
Like many of the other languages on this list, Italy and English share Germanic roots so many words sound similar, but others are just borrowed, like these.
78. Allegro
“Allegro” in music means to be performed at a brisk speed. In Italian, allegro means “cheerful.” Most other musical terms also came from Italian.
Example:
The last piece of the composition was in allegro form.
79. Alto
In English, “alto” often refers to a female singer with a lower voice, though the word actually comes from the Italian word alto, which means “high.”
Example:
Amy Winehouse is one of the best alto singers of all time.
80. Apartment
In English, an apartment is a set of rooms on one floor of a building. “Apartment” likely comes from the Italian word appartamento (though it also passed through French before entering the English language).
Example:
He lives in an apartment on the third floor.
81. Broccoli
It’s a very popular green vegetable. Did you know that the word “broccoli” comes from the Italian word broccoli, which is the plural of broccolo.
Example:
My mom made me eat steamed broccoli with every meal I had for lunch.
82. Cartoon
In English it means a simple drawing in a somewhat humorous style. It’s also an animated film for kids. “Cartoon” likely comes from the Italian word cartone, which were full-scale drawings used to prepare for paintings or frescoes.
Example:
We watched the Pocahontas cartoon on TV last night.
83. Cauliflower
It’s a white vegetable and you can actually make a nice grilled cauliflower steak! “Cauliflower” comes from Italian word cavolfiore, which literally means “flowering cabbage.”
Example:
I tried roasting cauliflower for dinner yesterday and it was delicious.
84. Cello
It’s an instrument in the violin family. “Cello” comes from the Italian word violoncello, which is the diminutive of violone, a type of double bass.
Example:
Have you done an hour of cello practice yet?
85. Paparazzi
“Paparazzi” is actually the plural form of the Italian word paparazzo. It’s used in English to describe a photographer or a group of photographers who take pictures of celebrities. Then they sell the photos to magazines or newspapers.
They’re not a very popular profession, as they take away celebrities’ privacy, but they were the subject of a popular song a few years ago.
Example:
When Princess Diana died in 1999, many people believed that the paparazzi were responsible for her death. Those photographers were constantly following her everywhere.
86. Piano
We are familiar with this large keyboard instrument. Did you know that “Piano” is a shortening of the Italian word pianoforte?
Example:
I learned to play piano in a music school near my house.
87. Soprano
“Soprano” is the highest singing voice and has the same meaning between languages. The word comes directly from the Italian soprano.
Example:
He composed this piece specifically for sopranos.
88. Violin
The violin is a stringed musical instrument that has four strings and is played with a bow. The word “violin” came to English from the Italian word violino, which is a diminutive of viola (a slightly larger stringed instrument).
Example:
The sound of the violin reminds me of my childhood.
From Korean
Just like K-Pop, the Korean language has had an influence on English.
89. Taekwondo
For our final word, we’ll look at another martial arts term. In Korean, taekwondo means “kick fist art” (pretty cool, right?!) and in English it’s used to describe the popular martial art.
Example:
After writing this article, I now want to learn a martial art. I’d like to learn taekwondo, but I want to learn how to use swords and other weapons, so it might not be the best option for me.
Wow! That was a lot of words, but I’m sure that you’ll have no trouble learning them. In fact, you probably already recognized some of them.
You don’t have to memorize this list! In fact, it’s always better to learn new words in context by hearing, seeing and reading them used naturally.
For example, to practice these and other words, consider a resource like FluentU. This program uses native-level English video content (chock-full of all sorts of borrowed words) to teach you new vocabulary while improving your understanding of the culture.
Look for words you recognize in English content and media to discover even more easy vocabulary words you may already know.
Until the next time we rendezvous, I hope you’ll stay gung-ho for learning new English vocabulary! Adios, amigos!
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Lecture 9. Etymological background of the English vocabulary. 1. Etymology as a branch of linguistics. 2. Native English vocabulary. 3. The role of borrowings in the formation of the English vocabulary. 4. Assimilation of borrowings. 5. Hybrid words 6. Etymological doublets. 7. False etymology. 8. International words.
1. Etymology is a branch of lexicology, the subject-matter of which is the origin and evolution of lexical items, i. e. historical changes in the sphere of lexis. Etymology is mainly based on a diachronic approach. The history of the English vocabulary, is a history of far-reaching changes. It is marked by losses and gains in the word-stock of the English language, its considerable expansion due to internal and external causes.
According to their etymology the majority of English words are taken, or borrowed, from other languages (Latin, French, Scandinavian, etc. ), about 70% of modern English lexicon are not English by their origin. From etymological point of view the English word-stock is mixed. It consists of native and borrowed , or loan words.
In linguistic literature the term native is used to denote words of Anglo-Saxon origin brought to the British Isles from the continent in the 5 th century by the Germanic tribes – the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes, and also words coined later on their basis. The term borrowing is used to denote the process of adopting words from other ‘donor’ languages and also the result of this process, the language material itself (lexemes, morphemes, some word-groups) which are also called loans.
. 2. Native words consist of very ancient elements and belong to very important semantic groups. Though the total number of native English words is less than that of the borrowed ones (25 -30%), they are very important because of their great word-building ability, collocability and frequency value. To native words belong most of prepositions, conjunctions, numera. Is, a lot of notional words: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs. According to their origin, native words are subdivided into three groups: 1. Words of the Indo-European word-stock , having cognates (words of the same etymological root, of common origin) in other Indo-European languages (Romance, Slavonic, Greek, Baltic, Iranian, Armenian, Sanskrit).
English words of this group denote e. Iementary notions without which no human communication would be possible. They include the following groups: a) Kinship terms: father (cogn. w. L pater), mother, brother, wife, son, daughter. b) Parts of the human body: nose, heart (cogn. w. L cor), lip, foot (cogn. w. Rus пядь) , ear. с ) Heavenly bodies: sun, moon. star (cogn. w. Gk aster). d) Times of day: day, night. e) Objects and phenomena of nature: wind, water, hill. f) Animals: cow, swine, goose, wolf, mouse. g) Plants: tree, birch, corn. h) Numerous adjectives: new, young; glad, sad (cogn. w. L satis. R сыт) i) Numerous verbs: be, do, sit, stand, eat, know j) Numerals from one to hundred.
2. Words of common Germanic origin having parallels in Germanic languages: German, Norwegian, Dutch, Icelandic, etc. Some of the main groups of Germanic words are the same as in Indo-European element: a) Parts of the human body: eye, head, hand, arm, finger, bone. b) Natural objects and phenomena: rain, frost, sea, land, ground. c) Seasons of the year: winter, spring, summer, except autumn which is a French borrowing. d) Animals: horse. sheep, calf, bear, hare, fox, hen. e) Plants: oak, fir, grass. f) Names of materials: stone, coal, wood, glass, iron, lead.
g) Objects connected with human activities and everyday life: house, room, ship, boat, bridge, shop, cloth, hat, shirt, shoe, bench. h) Certain abstract names: life, hope, care, evil, need. i) Adjectives: green, blue, gray, white, dark, bright, warm, hot, good. j) Auxiliary and modal verbs: shall, will, must, can, may. k) Notional verbs: see, hear, speak, tell, say, answer. l) Pronouns: I, you, he, we, this, that, my, his, except they which is a Scandinavian borrowing. m) Prepositions: in, out, on, under, to. n) Conjunctions: and, but, as. Together with the words of the common Indo-European stock these Common Germanic words form the bulk of the most frequent elements used in any style of speech.
3. English proper words are specifically English as they have no cognates in other languages. The origin of some of them, such as, boy, girl, bird is unknown, others like lord, lady, woman, daisy, always came into being due to compounding: e. g. lord < OE hlaford f. hlafweard = breadkeeper (loaf, ward).
3. Borrowing words from other languages is characteristic of English throughout its history. More than two thirds of the English vocabulary are borrowings. Mostly they are words of Romanic origin (Latin, French, Italian, Spanish). English history is very rich in different types of contacts with other countries, that is why it is very rich in borrowings. The Roman invasion, the adoption of Christianity, Scandinavian and Norman conquests of the British Isles, the development of British colonialism and trade and cultural relations served to increase immensely the English vocabulary. The majority of these borrowings are fully assimilated in English in their pronunciation, grammar, spelling and can be hardly distinguished from native words.
The term source of borrowing should be applied to the language from which the loan word was taken into English. Origin of borrowing refers to the language to which the word may be traced. Thus paper < Fr. papier < Lat. papyrus < Gr. papyros has French as its source and Greek as its origin. Alongside loan words proper we distinguish translation loans and semantic borrowings. Translation loans are words and expressions formed from the material already existing in the language, but according to the patterns taken from another language, by way of literal morpheme-for-morpheme translation. e. g. swan song from Germ. swanen gesung masterpiece – meisterstuck a collective farm – колхоз
The term semantic loan is used to denote the development in an English word of a new meaning due to the influence of a related word in another language. The English word “pioneer” meant “explorer” and one who is the first. Under the influence of the Russian word “пионер” it has come to mean “a member of the Young Pioneer Organization”. “ Dwell” – “to wander about” (under the influence of Scandinavian — “to live”).
Latin borrowings The role of words borrowed from Latin cannot be overestimated. It was counted that approximately a quarter of the Latin vocabulary has been taken over by English. But among Latin borrowings we must distinguish those borrowed: 1) 1. Through immediate contact, that is orally at the early stages of language development. 2. Later borrowings which came through writing. The first are mostly monosyllabic and denote things of everyday importance while the latter are mostly long bookish words. The first are thoroughly assimilated. e. g. pear, pea, pepper, cheese, plum, butter, wine, kettle, cup, dish, line.
A number of words adopted at that period pertain to trade: cheap, pound, inch. Some words had a military flavour, for the Romans built fortifications, military camps and roads: port, street, wall, mill. 2) The second great stratum of Latin words came into English at the end of the 6 -th century when the people of England were converted to Christianity. Since Latin was the language of church many Latin words (mainly of Greek origin) denoting religious concepts came into English: altar, angel, anthem, bishop, candle, disciple, devil, martyr, priest, temple Many Latin words borrowed at that period referred to other spheres of life: cap, chest, purple, silk, belt, lily, plant, school, verse, fever, circle, lion, tiger.
3) Another big group of Latin words came through French after the Norman Conquest (1066). They are referred to as the third stratum of Latin borrowings. 4) But the greatest stream of Latin words poured into English during and after the Revival of Learning (the Renaissance). For example: terms of philosophy, mathematics, physics: diameter, fundamental, momentum, radius, vacuum; words pertaining to law and government: alibi, coroner, veto, judicial; medicine: anesthetics, diagnosis; geography: equator, continental, peninsula. Some of these words can be traced to Greek roots. Here are some abbreviations met in writing: e. g. – for example, i. e. – that is, a. m. – before noon, etc. – and so on
Greek Borrowings
The Scandinavian Elements The Scandinavian Invasion of England which proved to be of linguistic importance began in the 8 -th century. In 878 the Wedmore Peace Treaty was signed and according to it the Danes (the Scandinavians) occupied the “Danelaw” regions on the Northern Coast of England. In 1017 the Danes conquered the whole of England reigned over it up to 1042. The Danish settlers intermingled with the native population. The fact of both languages being Germanic facilitated mutual understanding and word borrowings; therefore it’s sometimes difficult to say whether a word is of native or Scandinavian origin.
Words are sometimes called Scandinavian if they were not met in Anglo-Saxon written documents up to the 11 -th century. e. g. anger, fellow, gate, husband, sky, want, window, to hit etc. Among numerous Scandinavian borrowings we find the pronouns: same, both, they and adverbs: hence, whence, thence, which ousted the OE theoran, anon, hwanon. In distinguishing Scandinavian words we may sometimes apply the criterion of sound, such as [sk] in words of Scandinavian origin: scull, scare, scream, scrape, busk where the purely English words would have [S], since the OE sc turned into sh. Then again the hard [g] and [k] sounds before i, e speak for the words of Scandinavian origin: kid.
The Norman – French Elements The French layer rates second to Latin in bulk. It has been estimated that English owes one fourth of its vocabulary to French borrowings penetrated into English in two ways: 1. From the Norman dialect (during the 1 -st century after the Norman Conquest of 1066). 2. From the French national literary language beginning with the 15 -th century. The Normans who conquered England in 1066 (the battle at Hastings) were of Scandinavian origin (they had left their native country and seized a territory on the Northern coast of France and later adopted French language and culture). Their language differed somewhat from the central French dialect.
During two centuries after the Norman Conquest the linguistic situation in England was rather complicated: the feudal lords spoke the Norman dialect (Norman French), the ordinary people spoke English, scientific and religious literature was in Latin, the court documents, fiction were written in French. Latin and French were used in administration and school teaching. The Anglo-Norman dialect which was a good conductor of French words which penetrated into English in great numbers. Gradually English assimilated many French words that either ousted their Saxon equivalents or became synonymous to native words. e. g. happiness – felicity, help – aid, weak – feeble Before the Norman Conquest only a few words were borrowed (proud, turn, false, chancellor, market).
French borrowings of the 12 -16 -th centuries show both the social status of the Norman invaders and their supremacy in economic, cultural and political development. They are: terms of law: accuse, acquit, judge, amend, jury, prison military terms: army, peace, armour, assault, battle, powder, siege, officer, sergeant, soldier etc. religious terms: saint, miracle, charity, mercy, clergy, pray, religion trade and everyday affairs: barber, butcher, grocer, chamber, tailor, beef, veal, mutton, pleasure, leisure, comfort, delight terms of rank: duke, duchess, prince, peer
terms of art: beauty, colour, image, design, figure, costume, garment terms of architecture: arch, tower, pillar, column, palace, castle, mansion In most cases such words were completely assimilated: e. g. the [Z] turned into [G] in words age, marriage [J] [R] design, crime long [R] gave sound [ei]: grace, blame ch [C]: chance, change, charity The stress was shifted to the first syllable. These borrowings are now in common use. Later French borrowings may be easily identified by their peculiarities of form and pronunciation. e. g. automobile, foyer, garage, machine, technique
Borrowings from other languages 1. Celtic borrowings along with the Latin ones belong to the most ancient ones. The Celts were the people whom the Angles, Saxons and Jutes confronted when they migrated to the British lsles in the 5 th c. AD From the Celts the conquerors got to know a number of words: down, bard, glen, bald, druid, cradle. The English language retained a lot of Celtic names of certain regions (Kent). rivers (Avon, Exe, Thames), towns, e. g. l, ondon (Llyn ‘river’ + dun ‘a fortified hill’), hills, forests and other natural features.
2. Dutch. In the 14 -17 -th centuries due to intense overseas trade with the Low Countries (the Netherlands, Flanders) which involved shipping, nautical terms were borrowed: bowsprit, dock, deck, yacht, cruise, freight, scoop, etc. words related to trade (cloth-manufacturing and brewing): bale, brick, clock, pack, spool, brandy, booze, etc. Painters’ terms such as: sketch, easel, landscape and others were adopted during the flourishing period of the Dutch school of painting in the 17 th c.
3. Italian. The lexical items borrowed into English include loans in the fields of art, music, literature, architecture, military terms, words to do with Italian life and customs, food, finance, commerce, etc: balcony, loggia, opera, sonata, aria, solo, concert, sonnet, soprano, piano; colonel, squadron; firm (commerc. ), bank (financ. , via French); carnival, gondola, macaroni, pizza, umbrella, influenza, malaria, propaganda, bandit etc.
4. Spanish. Direct loans from Spanish and, to some extent, from Portuguese, which have entered English since the 16 th c. , include such as the following: embargo, cargo, armada, flotilla, breeze, renegade, guerrilla, negro, mulatto, caste, sherry, cigar, cockroach (Sp, cucaracha), etc. Via the language of the conquistadors, the Spanish conquerors in the Americas, came quite a few of the loans from the Western Hemisphere: tomato, chocolate (via French), cocoa, potato, barbecue, canoe, maize, hurricane, cannibal, tobacco, etc. 5. German: zinc, cobalt, quartz, nickel, paraffin, vitamin, kohlrabi, sauerkraut, schnitzel, schnapps, plunder, iceberg, waltz, kindergarten, leitmotif, Zeitgeist, rucksack, blitz, blitzkrieg, ablaut, etc.
6. Russian borrowings are subdivided into: a) pre-Revolutionary: samovar, tsar, steppe, vodka, kvass, knout, borsch, troika, steppe, verst, sable, sevruga, babushka, intelligentsia; b) post-Revolutionary: Soviet, bolshevik, kolkhoz, sputnik, perestroika, glasnost, pryzhok, etc. The age of colonialist expansion brought English into direct contact with languages from all parts of the world and resulted in numerous additions to its vocabulary, e. g. from the languages spoken on the Indian sub-continent: jungle, pyjamas, khaki, yoga, bungalow, verandah. guru, shampoo, etc. From the Malay-Polynesian and the languages of the Australian aborigines came borrowings like gong, taboo, boomerang.
Arabic: coffee (via Turkish), sofa, sash, hashish, sheikh, emir, harem, sherbet, zero; Chinese: tea, silk, tycoon, kung-fu; words adopted from Japanese: kimono, bonsai, geisha, haiku, karate, kamikaze, hara-kiri; Turkish: pasha, sultan, bazaar, caftan, kiosk (via French). A number of loans came from the languages spoken by North American Indians: opossum, skunk, moccasin, tomahawk, totem, chipmunk wigwam etc.
4. The term “assimilation of a loan word” is used to denote a partial or total conformation to the phonetic, graphical and morphological standards of the receiving language and its semantic system. The degree of assimilation depends upon: 1) the length of period during which the word has been used in the receiving language; 2) its importance for communication purpose; 3) its frequency. Oral borrowings are assimilated more completely and rapidly than literary borrowings (i. e. borrowings through written speech). Concerning the degree of assimilation of loan words we may distinguish 3 groups: completely assimilated loan words; partially assimilated loan words; non-assimilated loan words or barbarisms.
Completely assimilated words are found in all the layers of older borrowings. Latin borrowings: cheese, street, wall, wine. Scandinavian loan words: husband, fellow, gate, root, call, die, take, want, happy, ill, add, wrong. French: table, chair, fall, figure, finish, matter. Completely assimilated words follow all morphological, phonetic and orthographic standards of English. They are many times greater than partially assimilated. Being very frequent and stylistically neutral, they occur as dominant words in synonymic groups. They take an active part in word-formation.
Partly assimilated words can be subdivided into several groups: 1. Loan words not assimilated semantically because they denote objects and notions peculiar to the country from which they come: sari, sombrero, shah, rickshaw; 2. Words not assimilated grammatically (nouns borrowed from Latin and Greek, which keep their original plural forms: bacillus – bacilli, crisis – crises, phenomenon – phenomena; 3. Loan words not completely assimilated phonetically: machine, cartoon, police, regime, bourgeois; 4. Loan words not completely assimilated graphically: ballet, buffet, café.
Non-assimilated borrowings or barbarisms are words borrowed without any change in form: addio (Italian), tete-a-tete (French), dolce vita (Italian), A loan word never brings into the receiving language the whole of its semantic structure if it is polysemantic in the original language. The word sport can serve as an illustration. In Old French it had a much wider scope, denoting pleasure, making merry and entertainment in general. It was borrowed into Mid. E in this character but gradually acquired the additional meanings of outdoor games and exercises, and in this new meaning was borrowed into many European languages and became international. A borrowed word from Russian “Sputnic” – in Russian it has other meanings as well (спутник жизни).
5. Hybrid words Most foreign prefixes and suffixes have now become neutralized in English, and many derivative words are of mixed origin. Such words are called hybrids. Native root + Latin or French prefix em-body, en-dear, dis-burden, per-haps, re-call Native root + Latin or French suffix drink-able, starv-ation, word-age Latin root + English prefix a-cross, un-deceive, under-estimate Latin root + English suffix use-ful, quarrel-some, rapid-ly
6. Sometimes a word is borrowed twice into English. Words are derived from the same root but have a different meaning and form, because they developed in different ways (e. g. OE to to, too; OE ofof, off). The words shirt, shriek, share, shabby come from OE whereas their respective doublets skirt, screech, scar, scabby are etymological cognates, Scandinavian borrowings (regular variation of sh- and sc-). Such words are called etymological doublets.
These are words of the same etymological root but which came into the language by different ways: They appear due to the influence of different dialects. Two words at present slightly differentiated in meaning may have originally been dialectical variants of the same word. Thus we find in doublets the traces of old English dialects (e. g. whole (in the old sense of healthy or free from disease) and hale, raid and road). One of the doublets is native, the other is borrowed: screw (Scandinavian) – shrew (English) Both doublets may be borrowed from different languages, but these languages must be co-generic, for example: captain (Latin) – chieftain (French); senior (Latin) – sir (French); canal (Latin) – channel (French).
Etymological doublets may be borrowed from the same language but in different historical periods, one word earlier, the second later: travel (Norman borrowing) – travail (Parisian borrowing); corpse (Norman borrowing) – corps (Parisian borrowing). Both doublets are native, but one originates from the other: history – story, phantasy – fancy, defence – fence, shadow – shade. Etymological doublets are typical of English.
7. False etymology Sometimes people connect meanings of words by mistake, they change the meaning of a word as a result of associating borrowed words with familiar native words which somewhat resemble them in sound but which are not related. The word standard got its modern meaning also due to false etymology (formerly it meant a flag, banner ). Then it was connected with the word to stand, and the meaning of the word was changed. Now it means norm, model.
8. Words which have been simultaneously and successively borrowed into different languages are called international words. They reflect the history of world culture and convey notions which are significant in communication. New inventions, political institutions, foodstuffs, leisure activities, science, technological advances have all generated new lexemes and continue to do so: sputnik, television, gene, coffee, grapefruit, etc. Words making up the fund of international terminology are mostly Latin or Greek by origin.
Fund of International Words Greek: democracy, poem, mathematics, analysis, strategy, stadium, drama, theatre and others Latin: • Medical terms: angina, tuberculosis; • Juridical words: advocate, appeal, justice; • Economic and political vocabulary: constitution, republic; • School terminology: dean, student, rector, discipline.
International words should not be confused with pseudo-international words (false cognates, “translator’s false friends”) which have the same origin but different semantic features. The divergence in meaning can be partial: The English adjective liberal corresponds not only to Ukrainian ліберальний, but also to щедрий, багатий, гуманітариний. Complete divergence in meaning: The English word aspirant does not mean аспірант but претендент, кандидат.
Do you want to know how new words are made? Today we will explore one way of forming new words — derivation.
We will explain the meaning of derivation in English grammar and how derivatives are formed. We will also look at some examples and the difference between derivation, zero derivation, and inflection.
Derivation in English grammar
In English grammar, derivation refers to the creation of a new word from an existing one by adding affixes to the root. Affixes can be broken down into prefixes and suffixes.
Prefixes = placed at the beginning of a word, e.g. the ‘un’ in ‘unhappy’ is a prefix.
Suffixes = placed at the end of a word, e.g. the ‘ly’ in ‘finally’ is a suffix.
Derivation is a type of neologism which refers to creating and using new words.
In case you forgot: The root of a word is the base part (without any affixes added), e.g. the root of the word ‘untrue’ is ‘true’.
Think of the root of a word as the trunk of a tree. The added affixes are the leaves that grow from the branches.
Fig. 1 — Think of the root of a word as the trunk of a tree.
Derivation word formation
Derivatives can be formed in two different ways:
- Adding a prefix to the root of an existing word.
- Adding a suffix to the root of an existing word.
Derivations follow different patterns depending on what is added. When a word is formed by adding a suffix, the word form changes and the word class (e.g. nouns, verbs, adjectives, etc.) is usually changed — though not always. Below are some examples of different suffixes and how they can change the word class:
Suffixes
Suffixes can be added to an adjective to form different word classes:
Weak (adjective) ⇨ Weakness (noun)
Short (adjective) ⇨ Shorten (verb)
Polite (adjective) ⇨ Politely (adverb)
Sometimes, suffixes can be added to an adjective without changing the word class. For example:
Pink (adjective) ⇨ Pinkish (adjective).
Suffixes can be added to a noun to form different word classes:
Tradition (noun) ⇨ Traditional (adjective)
Motive (noun) ⇨ Motivate (verb)
Sometimes, suffixes can be added to a noun without changing the word class — for example:
Friend (noun) ⇨ Friendship (noun)
They can also be added to a verb to form different word classes:
Prefixes
When a prefix is added to a word, the word form changes. However, the word class usually remains the same. For example:
Derivation example sentence
It is important to know how to use ‘derivation’ in a sentence. For example:
The process of creating a word by adding affixes is known as derivation.
The word that has been changed due to derivation is referred to as a derivative of the root word. For example:
Carefully is a derivative of the word careful.
The affixes added to words when derivation occurs are known as derivational affixes. For example:
- ‘dis’ is a derivational prefix
- ‘al’ is a derivational suffix
Derivation examples in English
Now let’s look at some more examples of derivation:
| Root word | Derivative | Affix type |
| Write | Rewrite | Prefix |
| Intense | Intensify | Suffix |
| Conscious | Subconscious | Prefix |
| Predict | Predictable | Suffix |
| Agree | Disagree | Prefix |
| Kind | Kindness | Suffix |
| Sure | Unsure | Prefix |
| Establish | Establishment | Suffix |
| Perfect | Imperfect | Prefix |
| Relation | Relationship | Suffix |
Derivation vs zero derivation
Let’s look at the meaning of zero derivation:
Zero derivation refers to when a new word is created, and there is no change in the word form, but the word class changes.
Call (verb) — e.g. ‘Call me tomorrow.’
VS
Call (noun) — e.g. ‘That call was long.’
In this case, the verb ‘call’ changes word class to a noun, but the word form stays the same.
In comparison, derivation does change the form of the word. It can also change the word class, but not always.
Derivation vs inflection
It is easy to get derivation and inflection mixed up, as they both use affixes.
Let’s look at the meaning of inflection:
Inflection refers to the change in the form of an existing word by adding affixes to show grammatical meaning (i.e. tense, voice, mood, person). The word class does not change.
Eat → Eating → Eaten
These are different forms of the verb ‘eat’ that show changes in tense — the suffixes ‘ing’ and ‘en’ are added.
Derivation — Key takeaways
- Derivation refers to the creation of a new word from an existing word by adding affixes (prefixes or suffixes) to the root of a word.
- Derivation is a form of neologism.
- When suffixes are added, the word form changes and usually the word class too (though not always). The word form changes when prefixes are added, but the word class rarely does.
- Zero derivation refers to when a new word is created, and there is no change in the word form, but the word class changes.
- Inflection refers to the change in the form of an existing word by adding affixes to show grammatical meaning. The word class does not change.