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This is a list of English words inherited and derived directly from the Old English stage of the language. This list also includes neologisms formed from Old English roots and/or particles in later forms of English, and words borrowed into other languages (e.g. French, Anglo-French, etc.) then borrowed back into English (e.g. bateau, chiffon, gourmet, nordic, etc.).
Generally, words coming from French often retain a higher register than words of Old English origin, and they are considered by some to be more posh, elaborate, sophisticated, or pretentious. However, there are exceptions: weep , groom and stone (from Old English) occupy a slightly higher register than cry , brush and rock (from French).
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 ...
This language, or closely related group of dialects, spoken by the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, and pre-dating documented Old English or Anglo-Saxon, has also been called Primitive Old English. [ 11 ] Early Old English ( c. 650–900 ), the period of the oldest manuscript traditions, with authors such as Cædmon , Bede , Cynewulf and Aldhelm .
In modern times, the term "Anglo-Saxons" is used by scholars to refer collectively to the Old English speaking groups in Britain. As a compound term, it has the advantage of covering the various English-speaking groups on the one hand, and to avoid possible misunderstandings from using the terms "Saxons" or "Angles" (English), both of which terms could be used either as collectives referring ...
English provenance = c 1205 AD (as aȝe, an early form of the word resulting from the influence of Old Norse on an existing Anglo-Saxon form, eȝe) awesome From the same Norse root as "awe". [7] awful From the same Norse root as "awe". [8] awkward the first element is from Old Norse ǫfugr ("=turned-backward"), the '-ward' part is from Old ...
Words of French origin often refer to more abstract or elaborate notions than their Anglo-Saxon equivalents (e.g. liberty/freedom, justice/fairness, source/spring, vision/sight), and are therefore of less frequent use in everyday language. This may not be the case for all English words of French origin.
Old English was first written using Anglo-Saxon runes in the 5th century. In 597, the arrival of the Gregorian mission in Kent marked the beginning of the Christianisation of Anglo-Saxon England, and with it the reintroduction of the Latin alphabet to Britain, where it was used to write English for the first time.