How well do you know the origins of English words?

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Because of its peculiar history, English often has two words that mean the same thing: an earthier one from Anglo Saxon (e.g. brotherly) and a more elevated one from French (e.g. fraternal). Can you tell them apart?

#language #knowledge

What are your thoughts on this subject?

485 Comments

Alain Fougerit

automne in french

mikeyparry

15 / 20. Not bad. Surprised that autumn is not Anglo Saxon!

Judith Chandler

I used my knowledge of French and had a hunch that Anglo Saxon consisted mostly of short, basic words. Great quiz.

Virginia Tringham

Tried to exclude what I thought were Latin derivations and scored 19!

Ilias Tsiabardas

17/20 I take it because you have Answers 👏👏

Kay Robinson

Great having the answers. I have quit taking the quizzes without answers. It is a waste of time..

james parrillo

Donna Gregory, That is a lovely picture. Christine, James' wife

MRogers

carole winslow, I agree. In addition to Latin in high school, I took German in College. As a result, I’m seldom stumped by a new word in English.

MRogers

Patty K, that language is Norman French. After the Conquest of 1066, England had three languages in use. French for the Court and Nobility, Latin for the Church and AngloSaxon (English) for the peasantry. That is the reason in modern times there are similar words linked together in law, e.g. aide and abet and in marital services e.g. to have and to hold. Both the French and the English were used so that everyone knew what was going on.