ENGLISH LEXICOLOGY

3.2 Diachronic Approach: Etymological Survey of the English Word-Stock

 

3.2.1 Definition of Etymology

Etymology [L. etymologia, < Gr, etymologia, <etymon (etymon – an earlier form of a word in the same language or an ancestral language or a word in a foreign language that is the source of a particular loanword) and logia (doctrine, study)] of words is the study of the origins and history of the form and meaning of words. The Living Webster defines etymology as an “explanation of the origin and linguistic changes of a particular word and the derivation of a word” (1977, p.337). It is a historical evolution of lexical units.

The term etymology was actually created by the Stoics, a group of Greek philosophers and logicians, at the beginning of the fourth century (Jackson & Amvela, 2004, p.6). The Stoics noticed irregularities between the form and the content of certain words. “Since they were convinced that the language should be regularly related to its content, they undertook to discover the original forms called the ‘etyma’ (root) to establish the regular correspondence between language and reality” (Jackson & Amvela, 2004, p.6). The Stoics accurately perceived the disjunction between words and their forms, and from the etymological point of view, they saw the English vocabulary as anything but homogenous. The English word-stock is comprised of the native word-stock and the word-stock of borrowings from other languages, with a borrowed vocabulary much larger than the native stock of words.

 

 

3.2.2 English Lexemes of Native Origin

The term “native” typically denotes words of Anglo-Saxon origin brought to the British Isles from the continent in the 5th century by the Germanic tribes – the Angles, the Saxons, and the Jutes. Nevertheless, the term is often applied to words whose origin cannot be traced to any other languages. As mentioned above, numerically, the native word-stock is not large. The Anglo-Saxon stock of lexical items (lexemes) is estimated to make only “25% to 30% of the English vocabulary” (Eliseeva, 2003, p.40). A comprehensive dictionary of Anglo-Saxon falls short of “fifty thousand words” (Pei, 1967, p.91). If to consider that half of the spoken lexemes failed to find their way to the dictionary, it can be safely asserted that the native Anglo-Saxon language did not comprise more than one hundred thousand lexemes. Shakespeare’s vocabulary, which consisted mostly of native words, is believed to be the richest ever employed by any single man, and “it has been calculated to comprise 21,000 words” (Jespersen, 1938).

Robertson estimates that only “about twenty thousand words” are in circulation today, and if this estimate is correct, it brings us up to Shakespeare’s total. Of these words, “one-fifth, or about four thousand, are said to be of Anglo-Saxon origin, three-fifths, or about twelve thousand, of Latin, French, and Greek origin” (1954). However, this does not mean that foreign words predominate in the English language in daily discourse. In fact, the most frequently used words are native. These native words include most of the auxiliary and modal verbs (shall, will, must, can, may, and have), main verbs (live, die, come, go, do, make, give, take, eat, drink, work, play, walk, and run), nouns (home, house, room, window, door, floor, and roof), pronouns (I, you, he, my, his, and who), prepositions (to, in, of, out, on, and under), numerals (one, two, three, and four), and coordinating and subordinating conjunctions (and, but, till, and as). Words of Anglo-Saxon origin include the words, denoting the following: outward, visible parts of the body (head, hand, arm, back, finger, thumb, mouth, nose, ear, arm, leg, etc.), members of the family and closest relatives (father, mother, brother, son, wife, etc.), natural phenomena and planets (snow, rain, wind, sun, moon, star, etc.), animals (horse, cow, sheep, cat, etc.), qualities and properties (old, young, cold, hot, light, dark, and long), and common actions (do, make, go, come, see, hear, eat, etc.). Mario Pei (1967) states that if we go into literary usage, we find that “words of the Bible are ninety-four percent native, Shakespeare’s ninety percent, Tennyson’s eighty-eight percent, and Milton’s eighty-one percent” (p.93).

Most of the native lexemes have undergone great changes, for example, the process of combining roots with prefixes and suffixes or with other roots, the process of changes in the semantic structure of the words (polysemy), the process of spontaneous creation of words, and the process of analogy, where the words are coined in imitation of other words. The relative stability and semantic peculiarities of Anglo-Saxon words account for their great derivational potential. Most words of native origin make up large clusters of derived and compound words in the present-day language. As a case in point, the word ‘snow’ is the basis for the formation of the following words: snowball, snowbell, snowberry, snowbird, snowblink, snowblader, snowbound, snow-broth, snowbush, snow-cap, snowdrift, snowdrop, snowfall, snowfield, snowflake, snowman, snowmobile, snowpack, snowplough, snowshoe, snow shed, snow slide, snowy, and so on. Most Anglo-Saxon words are root-words; therefore, it is easy to coin new words.

New words have been created from Anglo-Saxon simple word-stems mainly by means of affixation, word-composition, and conversion. Such affixes of native origin as -er, -ness, -ing,
-dom, -hood, -ship, -ful, -less, -y, -ish, -ly, -ish, -en, un-, and mis- make part of the patterns widely used to build numerous new words: happiness, childhood, childish, chilly, friendship, friendly, freedom, untrue, and misunderstand. Conversion is a common way to convert one part of speech to another using a form that represents one part of speech in the position of another without changing the form of the word at all; for example, one may use “The lights gleam in the night,” ‘gleam’ being a verb, and “I can see the gleam in the night,” ‘gleam’ being a noun. Compounding of words is creating new words that consist of at least two stems which occur in the language as free forms, e.g., horse-fly, pot-pie, rifle-range, horsewhip, bagpipe, policeman, etc. Although not numerous in Modern English, words of Anglo-Saxon origin must be considered very important due to their stability, specific semantic characteristics, great word-forming power, wide spheres of application, and high frequency value. The native element comprises not only the ancient Anglo-Saxon core but also words which appeared later as a result of word-formation, split polysemy, and other processes operative in English.

 

3.2.3 Borrowed, or Loan, Lexemes

When one language takes lexical units from other languages, we speak of borrowings or loan lexemes. The English language is an insatiable borrower. “Over 350 languages are on record as sources of its present-day vocabulary, and the locations of contact are found all over the world” (Crystal, 2003, p.126). Loan lexemes can be classified according to the following characteristics, either according to the source of borrowing or according to the degree of assimilation. According to the sources of borrowing, loan words are classified as borrowings of Celtic origin, Latin loans, Scandinavian borrowings, loans from German and Dutch, borrowings from French, Slavic, Hungarian, Turkish, and so on.

 

Borrowings of Celtic Origin

Celtic influence on the English language is minor. This may be explained by the fact that Celtic communities were destroyed or pushed back to the areas of Cornwall, Wales, Cumbria, and the Scottish borders. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports that “at Andredesceaster or Pevensey a deadly struggle occurred between the native population and the newcomers and that not a single Briton was left alive” (Baugh & Cable, 1978, p.72). Apparently, large numbers of the defeated fled to the West. A whole cluster of Celtic place-names exist in the northeastern corner of Dorcetshire (p.73). It is also likely that Anglo-Saxons married Celtic women. At least there was some contact between these two peoples – Anglo-Saxons and the Celts. Some words survived into Modern English such as crag, cumb (deep valley), carr (rock), dunn (dun, grey), bald, down, glen, druid, bard, cradle, and others (The Living Webster, 1977). A few place-names are believed to be of Celtic origin. They include the river names such as Thames, Avon, Don, Exe, Usk, and Wye. Town names include Dover (water), Eccles (church), and Bray (hill) (Crystal, 2003, p. 8).

 

Borrowings from Latin

The first large influx of foreign borrowings into English came with the Latin of the missionaries, as well as through cultural and trade relations with the continent. Latin was the official language of the Christian church, and consequently the spread of Christianity was accompanied by a new period of Latin borrowings. These words were associated with church and religious rituals, e.g., priest (L. presbyter), monk (L. monachus), nun (L. nonna), and candle (L. candela). Scholarly terms were also borrowed, e.g., school (L. schola), scholar (L. scholar), and magister (L. magister). Some loans were associated with plants and animals, such as oak (L. quercus), pine (L.pinus), maple (L.acer), rose (L. rosa), lily (L. lilium), orchid (L. amerorchis rotundifolia), a white-tailed deer (L.odocoileus virginianus), raccoon (L.procyon lotor), and grey wolf (L.canis lupus). Others were associated with food, vessels, and household items, e.g., kitchen, cheese, kettle, cup, plum, wine, lettuce, chair, and knife (The Living Webster, 1977). Joseph Williams states that the proportion of Latin borrowings during this period would roughly be as follows: plants and animals, 30 percent; food, vessels, and household items, 20 percent; buildings and settlements, 12 percent; dress, 12 percent; military and legal, 9 percent; religious and scholarly, 3 percent; miscellaneous, 5 percent” (1975, p.57).

 

Scandinavian Borrowings

The next big linguistic invasion came as a result of the Viking raids on Britain, “which began in A.D. 787 and continued at intervals for some 200 years” (Crystal, 1995, p.25); however, the similarity between Old English and the language of Scandinavian invaders makes it sometimes very difficult to decide whether a given word in Modern English is native or borrowed. Many of the common words of the two languages are identical, and if there had been no Old English literature, it would be difficult to say whether a given word is of Scandinavian or native origin. As a result of the Scandinavian invasion, a large number of settlements with Danish names appeared in England, along with the personal names of Scandinavian origin. Sawyer (1962) counts 1,500 such place names, especially in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. Over 600 end in suffix -by, the Scandinavian word for ‘town’ or ‘farm,’ e.g., Derby, Grimsby, Rugby, etc. Many place names end in -thorp (‘village’), e.g., Atlthorp, Astonthorpe; thwaite (‘clearing’), as in Braithwaite, Applethwaite; and toft (‘homestead’), as in Lowestoft, Eastoft, and Sandtoft (as cited in Crystal, 2003, p. 25). The Viking invasions led to an increase in personal names of Scandinavian origin. They express kinship or relationship to a parent or ancestor, e.g. Johnson, Robertson, Davidson, and they end in -son. In certain cases, there are reliable criteria by which words of Scandinavian origin can be recognized. One of the simplest ways to recognize words of Scandinavian origin is by the sound [sk], e.g., sky, skill, skin, ski, skirt. In Old English, sk was palatalized to sh (written sc) and [∫] in Modern English, whereas Scandinavian countries still retained the [sk] sound. The borrowed words from Scandinavian did not undergo palatalization and are still pronounced [sk]: skill, scrape, scrub, and bask. The Old English scyrte has become shirt, while the corresponding Old Norse (O.N.) form skyrta gives us skirt. In the same way, the retention of the hard pronunciation [k] and [g] in such words as kid, get, give, gild, egg is an indication of Scandinavian origin.

 

Loans from French

Toward the close of the Old English period, an event occurred which had a great impact on the English language. This event was the Norman Conquest, in 1066. The conquerors brought French to England, and French became the language of the ruling class. The Norman Conquest reduced the linguistic penetration of Scandinavian into one major area where the Danes were superior to the native English: “national administration, in which equable division of governmental units, fair taxation, strong criminal law, regulated commerce, and a high sense of personal honor predominated” (Nist, 1966, p.100). The Norman Conquest made French the official language in England. The following French words penetrated English: government, attorney, chancellor, country, court, crime, estate, judge, jury, noble, and royal; in the religious sphere: abbot, clergy, preach, sacrament, vestment, and many others. Some words designating English titles are of French origin: prince, duke, marquess, viscount, and baron, and their feminine equivalents, princess, duchess, marquise, viscount, and baroness, are also of French origin. Some military terms are of French origin: army, captain, corporal, lieutenant, sergeant, and soldier. French names were given to various animals when served up as food at Norman tables – beef, pork, veal, and mutton. Culinary processes were also named in French, for instance, boil, broil, fry, stew, and roast.

Later French borrowings are not assimilated as much as older borrowings, such as police, picnic, soup, and others. Later borrowings include aide-de-camp, amateur, ballet, baton, beau, bouillon, boulevard, brochure, brunette, bureau, café, camouflage, champagne, chaperon, chemisette, chiffonier, chute, cliché, commandant, communiqué, crochet, detour, foyer, fuselage, genre, hors d’oeuvre, impasse, invalid, liaison, limousine, lingerie, massage, matinee, menu, morale, morgue, naïve, negligee, plateau, première, protégé, rapport, repartee, repertoire, reservoir, restaurant, risqué, roué, rouge, saloon, souvenir, suéde, surveillance, tête-a-tête, and vis-à-vis.

 

Spanish Loanwords

English has taken words from Spanish as well. “Spanish words or Spanish transmissions came from the New World” (Pyles & Algeo, 1993, p. 300); they include such words as alligator, anchovy, armada, armadillo, avocado, barbecue, bolero, cannibal, cargo, castanet, chocolate, cigar, cocoa, cockroach, cork, corral, domino, embargo, flotilla, galleon, guitar, junta, maize, mescal, mantilla, mosquito, mulatto, negro, palmetto, peccadillo, plaza, potato, sherry, sombrero, tango, tomato, tornado, tortilla, vanilla, and others.

 

Borrowings from Italian

From another Romance language, Italian, English has acquired musical terms, such as duo, fugue, madrigal, violin, viola, allegro, largo, opera, piano, presto, recitative, solo, sonata, adagio, aria, cantata, concerto, contralto, staccato, tempo, and trio. Other loan words from Italian include artichoke, balcony, balloon, bandit, bravo, broccoli, cameo, canto, carnival, casino, dilettante, firm, fresco, lasagna, lava, macaroni, malaria, pizza, replica, scope, spaghetti, stanza, studio, umbrella, vendetta, and volcano. These borrowings are usually concentrated on the areas of arts and food but may be related to other areas, too.

 

Loans from Dutch and German

Dutch and German also contributed some words to English. The following Dutch words penetrated English: buoy, cruise, deck, and yacht. Much of the vernacular of geology and mineralogy is of German origin, such as cobalt, gneiss, lawine, loess, nickel, quartz, and zinc. Other words taken from German include hamburger, frankfurter, noodle, wienerwurst, and schnitzel. The vernacular of drinking includes lager, bock, and schnapps. Seminar and semester are ultimately Latin, but they entered American English by way of German.

 

Borrowings from Slavic, Hungarian, and Turkish

Very minor sources of the English vocabulary are of Slavic, Hungarian, and Turkish origins. The Slavic sable penetrated English through French. Astrakhan and mammoth came directly from Russian. Later, English assimilated such Russian words as kopeck, muzhik, ruble, steppe, tundra, troika, vodka, and sputnik. Goulash and paprika came from Hungarian. Turkish borrowings include khan, horde, and tulip. Tulip received its name from turban(d). It is believed to have looked like Turkish headgear (Pyles, 1964, pp.339-351; The Living Webster, 1977). Sometimes, words come to the English language indirectly. This is the case with the word coffee. Probably, even the Turkish are not aware that coffee actually originated in the Turkish language: kahveh (Turkish) > kahva (Arabic) > koffie > (Dutch) > coffee (English).

 

3.2.4 Classification of Borrowings according to the Degree of Assimilation

Loan lexemes are also classified according to the degree of their adaptation. Irina Arnold uses the term assimilation for this process “to denote a partial or total conformation to the phonetical, graphical, and morphological standards of the receiving language and its semantic system” (1986, p.255). She identifies the following three groups of loan words: completely-assimilated loans, partly- assimilated loans, and non-assimilated loans, which she terms barbarisms. She believes that most of the borrowed words, which penetrated the English language in earlier times, underwent changes and became completely assimilated loans. A good example is the French word sport. Without consulting an etymological dictionary, one would assume it is of native origin. According to Albert Baugh and Thomas Cable (1993, p.219), the adaptation of some loan words occurred by the simple process of cutting off the Latin ending, e.g., conjectural (L. conjectural-is), exclusion (L. exclusion-em), and exotic (L. exotic-us). Thus, the Latin ending -us in adjectives was changed to -ous ((L. conspicus>conspicuous) or was replaced by -al as in external (L. externus>external). Latin nouns ending in -tas were changed in English to -ty (brevitas>brevity).

The second group containing the partly assimilated loan lexemes can be divided into several subgroups:

• Loan words partly assimilated semantically because they denote objects and notions peculiar to a particular country from which they come. They may denote foreign clothing: sari, sombrero; foreign titles and professions: shah, rajah, sheikh, and toreador; food and drinks: pilaf (Persian) and sherbet (Arabian).

• Loan words partly assimilated grammatically, e.g., nouns borrowed from Latin or Greek retain their original plural forms: bacillus – bacilli, crisis – crises, and formula – formulae.

• Loan words partly assimilated phonetically, e.g., machine, cartoon, police, bourgeois, confetti, incognito, macaroni, opera, sonata, tomato, and potato.

• Loan words partly assimilated graphically: e.g., in Greek borrowings y appears in the middle of the word (symbol, synonym); ph is pronounced as [f] (phoneme, morpheme); ch is pronounced as [k] (chemistry, chaos); and ps is pronounced as [s] (psychology).

The third group of borrowings comprises the so-called barbarisms, i.e. words used by English speaking people in conversation or in writing, but these words retained their original forms, e.g., adios, ad libitum, tête-a-tête, and vis-à-vis.

 

3.2.5 Etymological Doublets and Triplets

Etymological doublets are two words of the same language which were derived from the same basic word by different routes. Some doublets are formed from different dialects, e.g., whole and hale are dialectal doublets. Whole came from Midland dialect, whereas hale came from Northern dialect. They differ to a certain degree in form, meaning, and current usage. The Latin words episcopus and discus penetrated Old English as bishop and dish. Later these words were borrowed again to create the words Episcopal and disc. Phonetic differences indicate that some French words were borrowed from different dialects–the Norman spoken in England (Anglo-Norman) and Central French (Standard French). It is easy to identify the doublets which came from Central French. Latin c [k] before a developed into ch [t] in Central French but remained in Norman dialect. So, chapter came from Central French, which was originally adopted from Latin capitulum, a diminutive of caput; however, capital came from Norman dialect, which was also adopted from the same Latin word capitulum. The same explanation may be given to the doublets chattel and cattle. They both were borrowed by the French from Latin capitāle (possession, stock).