English word list by origin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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]

External links[edit]

• Ancient Egyptian Loan-Words in English
• List of etymologies of English words

This is a list of etymological lists.

Linguistic purism in English involves opposition to foreign influence in the English language. English has evolved with a great deal of borrowing from other languages, especially Old French, since the Norman conquest of England, and some of its native vocabulary and grammar have been supplanted by features of Latinate and Greek origin. Efforts to remove or consider the removal of foreign terms in English are often known as Anglish, a term coined by author and humorist Paul Jennings in 1966.

Although English is a Germanic language, it has Latin influences. Its grammar and core vocabulary are inherited from Proto-Germanic, but a significant portion of the English vocabulary comes from Romance and Latinate sources. A portion of these borrowings come directly from Latin, or through one of the Romance languages, particularly Anglo-Norman and French, but some also from Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish; or from other languages into Latin and then into English. The influence of Latin in English, therefore, is primarily lexical in nature, being confined mainly to words derived from Latin and Greek roots.

In etymology, two or more words in the same language are called doublets or etymological twins or twinlings when they have different phonological forms but the same etymological root. Often, but not always, the words entered the language through different routes. Given that the kinship between words that have the same root and the same meaning is fairly obvious, the term is mostly used to characterize pairs of words that have diverged at least somewhat in meaning. For example, English pyre and fire are doublets with merely associated meanings despite both descending ultimately from the same Proto-Indo-European (PIE) word *péh₂ur.

«Uncleftish Beholding» (1989) is a short text by Poul Anderson, included in his anthology «All One Universe». It is designed to illustrate what English might look like without its large number of loanwords from languages such as French, Greek, and Latin, especially with regard to the proportion of scientific words with origins in those languages.

Many words that existed in Old English did not survive into Modern English. There are also many words in Modern English that bear little or no resemblance in meaning to their Old English etymons. Some linguists estimate that as much as 80 percent of the lexicon of Old English was lost by the end of the Middle English period, including many compound words, e.g. bōchūs, yet the components ‘book’ and ‘house’ were kept. Certain categories of words seem to have been more susceptible. Nearly all words relating to sexual intercourse and sexual organs as well as «impolite» words for bodily functions were ignored in favor of words borrowed from Latin or Ancient Greek. The Old English synonyms are now mostly either extinct or considered crude or vulgar, such as arse/ass.

Arabic has had a great influence on other languages, especially in vocabulary. The influence of Arabic has been most profound in those countries visited by Islam or Islamic power.

In English grammar, a root is a word or portion of a word from which other words grow, usually through the addition of prefixes and suffixes. By learning root words, you can decipher unfamiliar words, expand your vocabulary, and become a better English speaker. 

The Roots of Words

Most words in the English language are based on words from ancient Greek and Latin. The root of the word «vocabulary,» for example, is ​voc, a Latin root meaning «word» or «name.» This root also appears in such words as «advocacy,» «convocation,» «evocative,» «vocal,» and «vowel.» By dissecting words such as these, etymologists can study how a word has evolved over time and tell us about the cultures they came from.

In some cases, root words might be slightly transformed en route to becoming part of words that we’re familiar with. In the above example, «vowel» is a word that’s clearly related to the voc root and its family of derivative words, and yet the «c» in «voc» is not present. There are several reasons for this sort of pattern, and the changes often depend on what language each individual word comes from, but it serves as a reminder that not every word with the same root will look exactly the same.

Root words are also useful for creating new words, especially in technology and medicine, where new innovations occur frequently. Think of the Greek root word tele, which means «far,» and inventions that traverse long distances, such as the telegraph, telephone, and television. The word «technology» itself is a combination of two other Greek root words, techne, meaning «skill» or «art,» and logos, or «study.»

Because several modern languages share some of the same ancestor languages, it’s not entirely uncommon for several related languages to share root words. For instance, the Latin root voc, described above, is shared by several Romance languages. Connections between languages can be found in the shared roots between them, although one always has to be wary of false cognates — that is, words that sound like they have the same roots (and thus related meanings) but actually don’t.

Greek Root Words

The table below defines and illustrates 25 of the most common Greek roots.

Latin Root Words

The table below defines and illustrates 25 of the most common Latin roots.

​Understanding the meanings of the common word roots can help us deduce the meanings of new words that we encounter. But be careful: root words can have more than one meaning as well as various shades of meaning. In addition, words that look similar may derive from different roots.

In addition, a handful of root words can stand on their own as whole words in and of themselves. This list includes words such as photo, kinesis, chrome, port, and script. Words like this tend to have related meanings on their own, then can also act as roots for longer, more complex words.

Sources

• Bryant, Alice, and Robbins, Jill. «Grow Your Vocabulary by Learning Root Words.» VOANews.com, 28 November 2017.
• Grammarly staff. «Why You Should Learn Roots.» Grammarly.com, 6 February 2016.
• McCammon, Ellen. «50 GRE Words You Should Know.» PrepScholar.com, 8 February 2017.

Page 1: ch, ness, sixty, Christmas, over, up, fifty, out, Monday, Friday, ers, away, work, ox, ell, cup, rose, wish, women, tin, ale, mine, bell, evil, bow, ken, ark, web, pear, ram, gate, hundred, strength, by, talent, under, fly, sick, may, awesome, lily, that, Tate, tie, Washington, never, dish, ax, penny, and shot

If you know of a word that belongs in the Old English origin word list, please let me know by

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7. Wanderlust (German)

Defined as a passionate desire to travel or, quite literally, wander away, the term ‘wanderlust’ derives from the German language and was borrowed by the English language in 1902.

8. Cookie (Dutch)

Did you know this rolled, sliced and baked sweet dough is originated from the Dutch language? It’s true though, it really does.

The English language derived the word ‘cookie’ from the Dutch term ‘Koekie’, defined as akin to cake, to describe this loved sweet snack.

9. Karaoke (Japanese)

A Japanese form of entertainment that took over the Western world 20-30 years ago, Karaoke was borrowed by the English language and has continued to become an international phenomenon for entertainment.

The Japanese term stands for ‘an empty orchestra’ and is the act of amateur singing with recorded music, commonly performed in clubs or bars.

10. Metropolis (Greek)

Derived from Late Latin to Greek initially, the word ‘metropolis’ refers to the mother city of a colony.

The English derivation of the word describes the term as a big city of high importance.

11. Lemon (Arabic)

The Arabic word from which ‘lemon’ originates is called ‘Laimun’, defined simply as a yellow citrus fruit. The term became a part of the English language family post-1400 and was also influenced by another Middle Eastern language, Persian.

12. Avatar (Sanskrit)

Known as a representation of oneself in the virtual world, the word gained a whole new level of popularity after James Cameron’s 2009 science fiction film called Avatar.

13. Ketchup (Chinese)

Honestly, who would’ve guessed this!

Originating from its Chinese equal ‘Ke-stiap’, the word referred to as a concoction of pickled fish and spices in 1692.

Fast forward 100 years in the Western world, tomatoes were added to the sauce to create a very famous condiment called ‘ketchup’.

14. Entrepreneur (French)

In the 13^th century, the term ‘entrepreneur’ is derived from the French verb ‘entreprendre’ which meant to undertake or do something. History suggests that by the 16^th century, the verb had transformed to form the noun ‘entrepreneur’ which referred to someone who undertook a business venture.

15. Utensil (French) (Latin)

The Latin word ‘utensilia’ refers to things or resources for use and was adopted by the French to form the word ‘ustensile’ which describes cooking tools. By combining the Latin and French versions, the English term ‘utensil’ was then created and has been commonly used in kitchens across the English-speaking world.

16. Sushi (Japanese)

Sushi originally comes from a Japanese word for sour (Sushimeshi), and with time it turned into a term used to describe naturally fermented seafood and rice pickled with salt condoning a sour flavor. With time Sushimeshi was a recognized dish all over the world and for short they call it Sushi. 

17. Catalogue (French)

The word catalogue is a word we use frequently when we want to talk about a list of items or publication. Yet, the word has taken a long way to reach “catalogue.” The word catalogue firstly started in Greece with the word katalegien which means pick out or enroll. Later on, to Katalogos in Greek and then to Catalogos in Latin and then to late  French. 

18. Justice (French)

The word justice emerged from the old French justice or jostise, which means administration of law. The French word justice is from the form of Latin justitia. Yet the word justice when firstly used in old English it was used as justice and combined with the word just in English, the word justice was formed. 

19. Penguin (Welsh)

The origin of the word penguin is still debatable to this day, yet it is said that it comes from the Welsh “pen gwyn” which means white head. However, some say that the word penguin was used for the great auk of the seas which is now an extinct animal which used to stay around Newfoundland in Canada. 

20. Massage (Portuguese)

The word massage went through a few different meanings across its timeline, it first started as “massa” which means dough, and then changed into amassar which means to knead, then in French to masser which means to knead or to treat with massage. Now it is used in English as massage which means the rubbing and kneading of muscles and joints.

Of course, it doesn’t stop here. Asian languages have also influenced English quite a bit. We put together a list of some of the most popular words borrowed words from Japanese.