Latin | English from Latin | English from French |
uncia | inch | ounce |
moneta | mint | money |
camera | camera | chamber |
senior | senior | sir, sire |
basis | basis | base |
superus | superior | supreme |
quiētus | quiet | quite |
fragilis | fragile | frail |
corpus | corpus | corps, corpse |
captūra | capture | catch (Norm. Fr.), chase (Par. Fr.) |
tripaliāre | − | travel (Norm. Fr.), travail (Par. Fr.) |
liquēre | − | liquor, liqueur |
8. Are these words synonyms: donkey – burro (Spanish), beginning – début, bridegroom – fiancé, family – mafia (Italian)?
9.* Etymology Quiz
1) Match the word on the left to its definition on the right, using the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English on the CD-ROM or any etymological dictionary to help you.
WORD | DEFINITION | ORIGIN |
1. daiquiri | a) a way of hiding sth. (esp. soldiers, military equipment) to make it look like things around it | |
2. assassin | b) a long, high sea wave caused by an earthquake | |
3. broccoli | c) smoked beef that contains a lot of spices | |
4. camouflage | d) the system of communication that you use to have a conversation with someone in another place | |
5. kiosk | e) someone who murders an important person | |
6. lemming | f) a tube that allows someone who is swimming to breathe air under water | |
7. pastrami | g) a small animal that looks like a rat | |
8. polo | h) a green vegetable that has short branch-like stems | |
9. snorkel | i) a game played between 2 teams of players who ride on horses and hit a ball with long-handled wooden hammers | |
10. tsunami | j) a small building in the street where newspapers, sweets etc are sold | |
11. pavlova | k) a sweet alcoholic drink made with rum and fruit juice | |
12. telephone | l) a light cake made of meringue, cream and fruit |
2) From this list, guess which language or country the words above came from originally, then check with the Word Origins in the CD-ROM:
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Arabic, Balti, Chinese, Cuban, French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Russian, Yiddish.
10.* Match the translation borrowings with the original phrases.
1. that is 2. loan translation 3. flea market 4. lose face 5. paper tiger 6. crime of passion 7. by heart 8. marriage of convenience 9. masterpiece 10. rainforest 11. commonplace 12. gospel | a. crime passionel b. locus commūnis < koinos topos c. id est d. diū liǎn e. par cœur f. mariage de convenance g. Meisterstück h. Lehnübersetzung i. marché aux puces j. Regenwald k. evangelion l. zhǐ lǎohǔ |
11. Comment upon the table (from O’Grandy, W. Contemporary linguistics. An Introduction. – Boston; New York, 2001. – P. 318):
Origin of 5,000 most frequently used words in English
Degree of frequency | Source language (%) | |||
English | French | Latin | Other | |
First 1,000 | ||||
Second 1,000 | ||||
Third 1,000 | ||||
Fourth 1,000 | ||||
Fifth 1,000 |
(цит. по Бабич Г.Н. Lexicology … C. 30)