![]() The majority of the population of England continued to use their Anglo-Saxon language, but it was influenced by the language of the ruling elite, resulting in doublets. ![]() As a result, Old French became the language of culture and the administration, evolving into Anglo-Norman French. William the Conqueror invaded the British Isles, distributing lands and property to Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French soldiers. Most of the French vocabulary now appearing in English was imported over the centuries following the Norman Conquest of 1066, when England came under the administration of Norman-speaking peoples. Conversely, as Latin gave many derivatives to both the English and the French languages, ascertaining that a given Latinate derivative did not come to the English language via French can be difficult in a few cases. Since English is of Germanic origin, words that have entered English from the Germanic elements in French might not strike the eye as distinctively from French. This list also excludes words that come from French but were introduced into the English language via a language other than French, which include commodore, domineer, filibuster, ketone, loggia, lotto, mariachi, monsignor, oboe, paella, panzer, picayune, ranch, vendue, and veneer.Įnglish words of French origin can also be distinguished from French words and expressions used by English speakers.Īlthough French is derived mainly from Latin (which accounts for about 60% of English vocabulary either directly or via a Romance language), it also includes words from Gaulish and Germanic languages (especially Old Frankish). It also excludes both combinations of words of French origin with words whose origin is a language other than French - e.g., ice cream, sunray, jellyfish, killjoy, lifeguard, and passageway- and English-made combinations of words of French origin - e.g., grapefruit ( grape + fruit), layperson ( lay + person), mailorder, magpie, marketplace, surrender, petticoat, and straitjacket. ![]() This suggests that 80,000 words should appear in this list this list, however, only includes words imported directly from French, such as both joy and joyous, and does not include derivatives formed in English of words borrowed from French, including joyful, joyfulness, partisanship, and parenthood. 45% of all English words have a French origin. Latin (including words used only in scientific, medical or legal contexts): ~29%Ī great number of words of French origin have entered the English language to the extent that many Latin words have come to the English language. The percentage of modern English words derived from each language group are as follows: ![]()
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