1

WORDS INTRODUCED INTO THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

THE LANGUAGES IN ENGLAND BEFORE ENGLISH

Stone Age (Paleolithic period)
New Stone (Neolithic period)
Celtic
The Romans

WORDS INTRODUCED BY THE CELTIC INTO ENGLISH

Place names:
London Trent
York Avon
Thames Ouse
Devon Kent
Leeds Canterbury

LATIN INFLUENCE INTO THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

a) Zero Period: (Continental borrowings)
Words connected with war
camp (= battle)
pil (= javelin)
weall (= wall)
strt (= street)
mil (= mile)
Words connected with trade
pund (= pound)
ynce (= inch)
mongun (= commerce)
mangian (= to trade)
mangun hus (= shop)
Words connected with wine-trade
win (= wine)
flasce (= bottle)
 2

sester (= jar)
Words connected with domestic life/ cooking
mese (= table)
pyle (= pillow)
disc (= dish)
ciese (= cheese)
coc (= cook)
cycene (= kitchen)
butere (= butter)
Other words
mul (= mule)
biscop (= bishop)
stanesd (= Saturday)
ancor (= anchor)
b) First Period: (through Celtic transmission)
ceaster (= camp)
port (= harbour)
munt (= mountain)
torr (= tower)
vic (= village)
c) Second Period: (Christianity in Britain)
candel (= candle)
cest (= chest)
mynster (= monastery)
earc (= ark)
alter (= altar)
martie (= martyr)
temp (= temple)
(a) postol (= apostle)
demon (= demon)
commeta (= comet)
circul (= circle)
sealm (= psalm)
 3

angel
abbot
hymn
tunic
nun
pope
manna
Names of plants and trees:
balsam cucumber
lily cypress
pine fig
verbena
Names related to medicine:
paralysis
shingles

DANISH INFLUENCE (SCANDINAVIAN)

a) Place names:
By (town)
Whitby Appleby
Grimby Derby
Soulby
Toft (a piece of ground)
Lowestoft Eastoft
Brimtoft Nortoft
Laugtoft
Thwaite (a clearing or isolated piece of land)
Linthwaite Cowperthwaite
Gunthwaite Langthwaite
Applethwaite
Thorpe (a village)
Goldthorpe Northorpe
Bishopthorpe Gawthorpe
Marblethorpe
 4

Gate (road-way)
Reigate Belsaygate
Sandgate
Names ending in son
Stevenson Collinson
Thompson Robertson
Davidson Ericson
b) Loan words:
law
outlaw
Verbs:
get die raise
call give want
take left scream
crawl nag
Nouns:
band fellow (partner) seat laughter
birth race skin snare
dress scales skirt window
egg cake sky neck
husband sister leg fell (hill)
Adjectives:
ill loose their ugly
irksome scant tight weak
Prepositions:
till fro
Conjunctions:
though
Pronouns:
they them their
Verb:
are

MIDDLE ENGLISH: FRENCH INFLUENCE

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a) Early Period:
baron messenger
noble feast
servant juggles
(words associated with the nobility and the church)
b) Late Period:
Governmental and administrative vocabulary:
crown sovereign authority tax
state majesty parliament exile
empire oppress statute rebel
reign court treaty traitor
royal council alliance public
country liberty people government
throne nation
Titles of offices:
chancellor viscount count sir
treasurer peer countess madam
marshall prince marquis mistress
governor duke baron
minister duchess page
Ecclesiastical words:
religion communion pray miracle
theology confession sacrifice preach
sermon prayer prophet
sacrament passion savior
baptism ouson service
Indications of rank or office:
prayer dean friar
clergy pastor
clerk vicar
prelate abbess
cardinal novice
Objects associated with the religious life:
crucifice convent
 6

encerise sanctuary
image
chapter
abbey
Words expressing fundamental religious concepts:
trinity faith redemption charity
virgin reverence salvation mercy
saint devotion immortality pity
miracle sacrilege piety obedience
mystery penitence sanctity creator
New ideas of chivalry:
honour duty
glory polite
courteous conscience
noble cruel
fine
Warfare:
war armour march
peace officer soldier
navy company
captain enemy
battle danger
Law-giving:
justice traitor cause
property assize crime
judge prison money
jury tax rent
court injury
Relationship:
aunt nephew
cousin niece
spouse relations
parent ancestors
uncle descendants
 7

Jobs:
tailor
barber
painter
carpenter
Furniture:
chair
table
furniture
Fashion:
fashion cape petticoat taffita
dress coat lace fur
gown cloak button
robe collar boots
garment chemise satin
Colours:
blue
brown
vermillion
scarlet
Precious stones:
topaz diamond
ruby crystal
emerald coral
sapphire
pearl
Meals:
dinner salmon pork toast
salad lettuce mustard vinegar
supper sardine bacon biscuit
feast oyster sausage cream
appetite beef gray sugar
taste mutton pottage olives
supper boil fry roast
 8

Fruits:
fig fruit
grape flower
orange
peach
lemon
Art and architecture:
art figure mansion column
painting image cellar pillar
sculpture tone chimney
music cathedral tower
palace beauty porch
Literature:
literature story title
poet chronicle volume
rime tragedy paper
prose prologue pen
romance preface
Medicine:
medicine gout pestilence arsenic
physician leper contagion poison
surgeon paralytic anatomy
pain debility stomach
pleurisy plague remedy
Surnames:
Derived from personal characteristics:
Goodman
Longfellow
Goldman
Whitehead
Derived from occupation:
Tyler
Bowman
 9

Baker
Fletcher
Place names:
Fieldsend
Attwood
Attwater
Genealogical in origin:
Jackson
Wilson
Robinson
Johnson
Robertson
Differentiation in meaning: (between Anglo-Norman and Central French)
English word French word
house mansion
might power
ask demand
wish desire
home domicile
cow ox beef
sheep mutton
swine pork
calf veal
foe enemy
friendship amity
freedom liberty
unlikely improbable
homely domesticated
happiness felicity
fatherly paternal
shun avoid
wretched miserable
begin commence
 10

sin crime
motherhood maternity
bold courageous
love charity

LATIN INFLUENCE OF THE THIRD PERIOD

allegory history individual
conspiracy rational infancy
adjacent homicide inferior
genius include
frustrate incredible
Synonyms at three levels:
English French Latin
rise mount ascend
ask question interrogate
goodness virtue probity
fast firm secure
fire flame conflagration
fear terror trepidation
holy sacred consecrated
time age epoch

MODERN ENGLISH PERIOD: VOCABULARY

Italian influence:
Renaissance: words in connection with music and the arts
Reformation: words expressing hate or disapproval. Terms applied to Catholics:
pepist self-denial
pepistical puritan
saintly selfish
The problem of enrichment: classical words:
Geology Psychology
Geography psicometry
Philosophy eugenics
 11

LATIN INFLUENCE OF THE FOURTH PERIOD

genious focus area
species lens series
specimen antenna calculos
milicia pollen album
apparatus equilibrium circus
Permanent additions:
Nouns:
Some were Latin:
allusion excursion
capsule expectation
denunciation halo
disability indemency
emanation jurisprudence
Some were acquired by Latin from Greek:
anachronism chaos dogma skeleton
atmosphere chronology emphasis system
autograph climax parenthesis
antithesis crisis pneumonia
caustic critic scheme
Adjectives:
agile impersonal
appropriate insane
conspicuous hereditary
expensive jocular
external malignant
Verbs:
adapt erradicate
assassinate exist
benefit extinguish
consolidate meditate
emancipate
 12

Greek words:
acme idiosyncrasy
anonymous lexicon
catastrophe polemic
criterion thermometer
ephemeral tonic

WORDS FROM THE ROMANCE LANGUAGES

French words:
guitar volunteer
intrigue barricade
grotesque caprice
confidant machine
refugee incommode
Italian words:
Direct from Italy:
balcony duel piccolo finale
bandit monkey palette cameo
canto gust (taste) fresco miniatura
contraband isolate studio model
ditto prtico vista corridor
parapet stucco alarm brigand
muslin pilgrim umbrella duel
florin influenza milliner
Musical terms:
concerto piano
sonata quartet
contralto solo
opera soprano
trio
Poetry:
canto octava
sonnet rima
 13

stanza
Through French: (of Italian origin)
cascade canteen
arcade cartoon
bust
Spanish words:
armada banana potato tobacco
canoe toboggan ranch canyon
buffalo cocoa 2 stampede mustang
canoe cannibal cigarette cork
cargo negro renegade ambuscade
cigar mosquito desperado dispatch
armadillo mulatto grandee alligator
cork potato sherry 3 hammock 1
tobacco maize 1 hurricane 1 chocolate
tomato
1
From Mexico

2
Mistake for cacao

3
From the Spanish port of Jerez

Portuguese words:
albatross firm verandah
albino marmalade firm (a business company)
apricot tank buffalo
parasol caste port (wine from Oporto)
banana and negro (from Portuguese exploration in Africa)

WORDS FROM OTHER LANGUAGES

From Russia:
czar vampire
slave steppe
polka
From Dutch:
yatch dock easel
buoy skipper
 14

freight smuggle
cruise landscape
hull sketch
From Dutch colonists in New York:
boss
cookie
stoop
scow
From German:
pretzel
hamburger
delicatessen
From Chinese:
tea
typhoon
catsup
From Japanese:
tycoon
kimono
From Malayan:
bamboo
bantam
gong
sago
From Polynesia and Australasia:
taboo
boomerang
cockatoo
kangaroo
From islands of the Pacific:
tattoo
taboo
hule
 15

From American Indian languages:

caucus
maccoon
hickory
skunk
From the French in America (early French exploration):
Prairie
Levee
Bayon
Picayune
butte
From Persian:
bazaar cheque pajamas
caravan chess tiger
divan jasmine jackal
orange lemon checkmate
check lilac
From Syriac:
albess abbey
abbot muslim
From Arabic:
admiral assassin alcohol
alcove caliph alkali
algebra coffee lemon
arsenal zenith coffee
cotton syrup crimson

Synonyms: (Period of the Renaissance)

English Latin French
kingly regal royal
friendly amicable amiable
manly masculine
youthful juvenile
 16

share portion
wretched miserable
same identical
knowledge science
hidden occult

Adjectives of classical derivation corresponding to a noun:

Noun Adjective
mouth oral
nose nasal
eye ocular
mind mental
son filial
ox bovine
house domestic
The Middle Ages medieval
moon lunar
sun solar
town urban
man human

18TH AND 19TH CENTURY: FRENCH WORDS ADMITTED IN THE LANGUAGE

FROM 1650 TO 1880
ballet dentist cretonne
boulevard coquette suede
canteen routine rouge
cartoon champagne menu
coiffure restaurant barrage
chassis parquet baton
rosette profile prestige
chauffeur rissole brunette
picnic police bureau
dbcle reprimand burlesque
nave quart group
 17

depot fiance soup

migr guillotine corps
espionage
20TH CENTURY: FRENCH WORDS ADMITTED INTO THE LANGUAGE
garage
camouflage
hangar
revue

ENGLISH EXPANSION
America:
Moccasin
Toboggan
Totem
Spanish in America:
Chocolate
Coyote
Tomato (Mexico)
Cuba and the West Indies:
barbecue hurricane
cannibal maize
canoe potato
tobacco
Peru:
alpaca condor
llama pampas
puma
Brazil and other South American region:
jaguar
petunia
poncho
India:
bungalow polo thug
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calico mango dungaree

china pyjama bangle
punch (drink) dinghy khaki
jungle loot ginger
shampoo chutney teak
curry chintz
frica:
banana
chimpanzee
gorilla
guinea
selva
Australia:
kangaroo
boomerang

THE EXPANSION OF THE GENERAL VOCABULARY

Commerce:
capital
discount
insurance
finance
Political vocabulary:
legislator
cabinet
prime minister
democrat
socialism
Arts:
romantic
aesthetic
expressionist
Pastimes:
 19

jazz
foxtrot
New fashion:
jeans
bikini
mini

ENGLISH IN THE SCIENTIFIC AGE

Names of the branches and sub-branches of science:
zoology
chemistry
genetics
Newly discovered or invented substances:
oxygen
uranium
benzene
acid
nylon
Parts of an organism:
femur
vertebra
pericarp
flagellum
Scientific instruments:
barometer
electroscope
Units of measurement:
metre
micron
States and processes:
anesthesia
photosynthesis
symbiosis
 20

Familiar scientific words:

cell
atom
nucleus
molecule
formula
Zoology and botany:
albino
anther
fauna
pistil
Chemical theory:
hydrogen
nitrogen

THE 19TH CENTURY AND AFTER

The growth of science:
Medicine:
bacteriology
biochemistry
All that has to do with the diagnosis treatment prevention and cure of diseases. The
majority of the words were technical words.
In the field of medicine:
anemia
appendicitis
arteriosclerosis
diphtheria
bronchitis
In the field of electricity:
dynamo
commutator
alternating current
In the field of physics:
 21

caloric atomic energy

electron radioactive
ionization hydrogen bomb
ultraviolet rays relativity
In the field of chemistry:
benzene
nitroglycerine
radium
In the field of psychology:
extravert inferiority complex
introvert psychoanalysis
behaviourism egocentric
inhibition
Automobile moving picture radio:
Telegraph telephone
Automobile Moving picture Radio
motor-car cinema radiogram
sedan screen radio
coup reel radio-frequency
coach newsreel transformer
carburetor film kilocycle
spark plug scenario aerial
choke projector antenna
gear animated cartoon frequency modulation
piston broadcast
differential announcer
glasses microphone
steering-wheel tone control
radiator
garage
safety-glass
service-station
highway
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gas
petrol

THE WORLD WARS

First World War:
air-raid gas
tank mask
battle liaison officer
place camouflage
pet (small tank) hand grenade
doughboy (Amer. Soldier)
Second World War:
alert evacuate
dive road-lock commando
bombing jeep iron curtain
air-raid parachutist cold war
shelter radar front organization
police state
Other words:
railway typewriter aviation
locomotion telephone air-plane
photograph apartment house aircraft
photography oilfield airman
camera motorcycle monoplane
Kodak (trade mark) feminist biplane
film marathon hydroplane
focus television dirigible
cable raincoat futurist
refrigerator thermo bottle post impressionist
cellophane rayon nudist
air-conditioned plastic transistor
tape-recorder prefabricated baby-sitter
coffee-break
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THE GROWTH OF VOCABULARY: SOURCES

1- From Greek:
vitamin (vita: life) autonomy (auto: self)
monologue (mono: single) morphology (morph: shape form)
biology (bio: life) hydroelectric (hydro: water)
photocopy (photo: light) thermometer (therm: heat)
phonology (phono: speech sound) microchip (micro: small)
graphology/ telegram (graph/ gram: write) homonym (homo: same)
hyperactive (hyper: above) hypodermic (hypo: below)
polygon (poly: many) telephone (tele: distant)
hemisphere (hemi: half) antisocial (anti: against)
geogaphy (geo: earth) megastar (mega: very big)
eugenics (eu: well gen: to be born) chlorophyll (two Greek
elements: chloros and phyllon)

2- From Latin:
aqueduct (aqua: water) intermediate (inter:between)
inaudible (aud: hear) manufacture (manu: hand)
century (cent: hundred) multitude (multi: many)
contradict (contra: against) pedestrian (ped: foot)
transform (form:shape) portable (port: carry)
semifinal (semi: half) subconscious (sub: under)
bilingual (bi: two) estraordinary (extra: beyond)
popular (pop: people)

Reformers wanted to replace classical coinages by English ones:

electricity: fire ghost
horizon: sky-sill

3- Loan words or borrowings: (taking over words from other languages)

From French:
croissant government lechery
jury chapel court
fondue ensemble nation
 24

religion saint parliament

canap bouillon feast
attorney crown virgin
sue crpe consomm
croquette coupe miracle
estate pray society
caviar coq au vin escargot
pte prince valve
crime money aspic
mousse couton ragout
brioche judge royal
charity mercy brisque
brie quiche rouge
corduroy critique etiquette
elite garage hangar
fuselage
From Dutch:
dope buoy
leak brandy
freight sketch
yatch schooner
pump traffail
From Persian:
lilac
From Italian:
piano influenza
virtuoso studio
opera replica
balcony fiasco
mezzanine
From German:
pretzel
sauerkraut
 25

quartz
cobalt
paraffin
From Arabic:
sofa
cipher
alcohol
zero
algebra (through Spanish)
From Tahitian:
tattoo
From Japanese:
tycoon
From Bantu:
zebra
From Spanish:
algebra (from Arabic) tomato
California maize
babecue
cockroach
ranch
From Greek:
drama atomic
scene tragedy
zoology physics
comedy
botany
From Latin:
bonus describe
alumnus
scientific
quorum
exit
 26

From Welsh, Scots Gaelic or Irish: (of Celtic origin)

bin
flannel
whisky
From Native American languages:
hickory
squash
chipmunk
opossum
From Yiddish:
schmuck schmaltz
chutzpah schmo
kibitz yenta (gossipy woman)
schlep bagel (a doughnut dipped in cement)
schlemiel lox (smoked salmon)
From India:
pyjamas
From Malaya:
bamboo
From Turkey:
coffee
From China:
tea

4- Derivations: (accomplished by means of affixes prefixes and suffixes)

a) Suffixes:
-dom:
kingdom
freedom
-ship:
worship
fellowship
-th:
 27

length
strength
-less:
careless
moneyless
-ish:
childish
English
yellowish
boyish
-y:
sticky
healthy
nappy
stuffy (badly ventilated)
-ing:
darling
duckling (young)
-ness:
bigness
richness
sadness
-ate:
doctorate
episcopate
-ous:
glorious
furious
-ment:
government
basement
-ist:
economist
pacifist
 28

capitalist
-ism:
pacifism
socialism
terrorism
-ette:
cigarette
usherette
-ee:
employee
nominee
refugee
examinee
internee
referee
-er:
walker
gangster
writer
-vert:
convert
pervert
introvert
revert
divert
-ful:
joyful
forgetful
resentful
b) Prefixes:
un-:
unlucky
unconditional
unhappy
 29

de-:
denationalize
decontrol
defrost
decode (message)
devaluate
trans-:
transoceanic
transcontinental
trans-Siberian
transformer
post-:
postclassical
postimpressionist
post graduate
post war
pre-:
prenatal
preschool age
pre-historic
prejudge
inter-:
international
interracial
intercommunication
mis-:
misrepresent
mispronounce
misconception

5- Compounding: (the making of a new word by joining two existing ones)

Nouns:
bookcase waterbed railway
textbook doorknob waterproof
 30

wallpaper sunburn pigtail

fingerprint weekday graveyard
wastebasket blackbird woman (wife man)
sheriff (shire reeve) holiday (holy day)
Adjectives:
good-looking
low-paid
Adjectives + nouns:
fast food
full time

6- Coinages: (inventions of new terms)

victrola (phonograph)
Kodak (camera)
Frigidaire (electric refrigerator)
aspirin (invented trade name for a commercial product that became a general term)
zipper (invented trade name for a commercial product that became a general term)
teflon (invented trade name for a commercial product that became a general term)
brontosaurus (created to describe the objects or processes arising from scientific
investigation)
sudoku (certain kind of puzzle)
Irangate (the suffix gate meaning scandal, derived from the Watergate scandal)
shopzilla (-zilla as a bound suffix with the meaning huge or extreme, the source being
the wold-famous Japanese movie monster Godzilla)
dacron (from the advertising industry)
brillo (brand name)
genome (created to describe the objects or processes arising from scientific
investigation)
bling (gaudy jewellery)
e-trade (the prefix e- meaning electronic)
dogzilla (-zilla as a bound suffix with the meaning huge or extreme, the source being
the wold-famous Japanese movie monster Godzilla)
nylon (from the advertising industry)
 31

granola (invented trade name for a commercial product that became a general term)
xerox (invented trade name for a commercial product that became a general term)
dot.com (a company whose primary business centers on the Internet)
e-commerce (the prefix e- meaning electronic)
threepeat (peat to mean win a championship so many years in succession)
fourpeat (peat to mean win a championship so many years in succession)
bridezilla (-zilla as a bound suffix with the meaning huge or extreme, the source
being the wold-famous Japanese movie monster Godzilla)
band-aid (brand name)
asteroid (created to describe the objects or processes arising from scientific
investigation)
krypton (created to describe the objects or processes arising from scientific
investigation)
thermometer (thermos = hot plus metron = measure)
s-mail
uber-cool (the bound prefix uber- of German origin meaning the best or the most
and allows new words to be formed by supersizing old ones)
vaseline (invented trade name for a commercial product that became a general term)
kleenex (brand name, cames from clean)
Google (the company name is put to work to serve a related purpose, meaning to
search on the Internet, originally a misspelling for the word googol = the number 1
followed by 100 zeros)
Bollywood (the film industry of India)
e-mail (the prefix e- meaning electronic)
orlon (from the advertising industry)
jell-O (brand name, comes from gel)
neutron (created to describe the objects or processes arising from scientific
investigation)
vaccine (created to describe the objects or processes arising from scientific
investigation)
acrophobia (dread of heights derived from akros = topmost plus phobia = fear)
Dianagate (the suffix gate meaning scandal, derived from the Watergate scandal)

7- Eponyms: (common names derived from proper names)

 32

sandwich (Lord Sandwich)

umbrella (Mrs. Gamp Dickens character)
plinsol (Samuel Plinsol = soldiers friend) line on ships and rubber soled shoes
pullman (American engineer) coach on a railway
teddy bear (Theodore Roosevelt)
to Lynch (Judge Lynch)
Lynch law (Judge Lynch)
sadist, sadism (Marquis of Sade)
limousine (Province of France)
charleston (sauce)
brougham (Lord Brougham) one-horse closed carriage
biro-pen (Lazlo Biro = a Hungarian refugee living in Argentina 1943)
Jew (mean person = traditional characteristics
vandal (ruthlessly, destructive)
calico (from Calicut)
millinery (Milan)
danasta (Damascus)
Muslin (Mosul or Muslim)
muscatel (Muscat, port wine from Oporto)
bikini (Pacific stoll used for atomic bomb test)
ohm (scientific G. S. ohm)
bobby (policeman from Sir Robert Peel)
jeans (from the Italian city of Genoa where this type of cloth was first made)
fahrenheit (from the German, Gabriel Fahrenheit)
volt (from the Italian, Alessandro Volta)
watt (from the Scottish inventor, James Watt)
gargantuan (named for Gargantua, the creature with a huge apetite created by
Rabelais)
Jumbo (after an elephant brought to the United States by P. T. Barnum)
denim (the material used for overalls and carpeting, originally imported from Nmes in
France)
argyle (from the kind of socks worn by the chiefs of Argyll of the Campbell clan in
Scotland)
 33

paparazzo (from a freelance photographer who doggedly pursues celebrities, this

eponym comes from the news photographer character Signor Paparazzo in the motion
picture La Dolce Vita)
hoover (from a local businessman called William H. Hoover, whose Hoover Suction
Sweeper Company produced the first machine called a Hoover)
chuck wagon
lazy Susan
Charlotte russe
brown Betty

8- Old words with new meanings:

record (originally a phonograph disc)
cabaret (originally a booth or shed and later a small drinking place)
kick off (in football)
carry on (in war)
call up (on the telephone)
to manufacture (originally to make by hand, now opposite meaning)
propaganda
militia
black out (darkening on the stage)
to evacuate (previously a town, now the people themselves)

9- Conversions: (a word that is a part of speech is used as another)

Nouns becoming verbs:
to bottle to feature to lip (talk)
to garage to pocket
to mouth (abuse) to service
vacation to film
to chair to butter
Nouns becoming adjectives:
Key (e.g. a key man)
Verbs becoming nouns:
a guess wannabe (from want to be)
 34

a printout a hand out

a must a walk out
a takeover a setup
a spy a buildup
Verbs becoming adjectives:
see-through
a stand-up
Adjectives becoming verbs:
to dirty
to empty
Adjectives becoming nouns:
a crazy
the nasty
Compound nouns assuming adjectival or verbal function:
A ball-park (e.g. a figure)
To ball-park (e.g. an estimate of the cost)
Nouns regularly used as verbs:
carpool
quarterback
mastermind
microwave
Can also become verbs:
Up (e.g. going to up)
Down (e.g. We downed a few)

10-Clippings: (shortening, a word of more than one syllable is reduced to a shorter

form)
cab (cabriolet) photo (photograph) pub (public house)
exam (examination) lab (laboratory) fan (fanatic)
maths (mathematics) curio (curiosity) bra (brassiere)
fax (faxsimile) permed (permanent) vacs (vacuum)
certif (certificate) mag bus (omnibus)
wig (periwig) van (caravan) plane (aeroplane)
 35

versity (university) prof (professor) vac (vacation)

pro (professional) ref (referee) soccer (football)
rugger (rugby) prep (preparatory chemmy (chemistry)
geog (geography) dip (diphtheria) flu (influenza)
cinema (cinematograph) pref (prefabricated house) bike (bicycle)
zoo (zoological garden) prof (professor) rad (radiation)
dis (disrespect) phone (telephone) chem (chemistry)
piano (pianoforte) gas (gasoline) gym (gymnasium)
condo (condominium) ad (advertisement) poly-sei
perm (permanent wave) typo phys-ed
A variation of clippings is Hypocorism (a longer word is reduced to a single syllable,
then y or ie is added to the end)
movie (moving picture) Aussie (Australian)
barbie (barbecue) brekky (breakfast)
hankie (handkerchief)
telly (television)
bookie (bookmarker)

11- Syncopation: (a vowel is elided and the consonant runs together so as a syllable is
lost)
perambulator (pram) ones (once) elles (else)
bornen (born) woren (wore)

12-Metanalysis: (re-analysis)
at home becomes atom
flashing eye becomes flashing guy
science and arts becomes science and darts
ickname becomes nickname
napron becomes apron
norange becomes an orange

13-Acronyms: (new words formed from the initial letters of a set of other words)
Alphabetic abbreviations: saying each separate letters
BA (Bachelor of Arts)
 36

CD (compact disc)
VCR (video cassette recorder)
NFL (National Football League)
UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles)
MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)
PDA (Personal Digital Assistant)
PDF (Portable Document Format)
MP3 (MPEG layer 3)
MPEG (Moving Picture Expert Group)
Jpeg (Joint photographics expert group)
TB (tuberculosis)
MA (Master of Arts)
QC (Queens Council)
GPO (General Post Office)
BBC (British Broadcasting Company)
UN (United Nations)
New single words: pronounced as spelling indicates
UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization)
ONU (United Nations Organization)
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration)
laser (light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation)
radar (radio detecting and ranging)
scuba (self-contained underwater breathing apparatus)
zip (zone improvement plan)
CEO (Chief Executive Officer)
snafu (situation normal, all fouled up)
MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving)
WAR (Women Against Rape)
ATM (Automatic Teller Machine)
PIN (Personal Identification Number)
UNICEF (United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund)
RAM (Random Access Memory)
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)
 37

SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

blog (web log)
gui (graphical user interface)

14-Back formation: (a word of one type usually a noun is reduced to form a word of
another type usually a verb
groveling (on the ground, to grovel)
to beg (from beggar)
to edit (from editor)
to resurrect (from resurrection)
to televise (from television)
to burgle (from burglar)
greed (from greedy)
to enthuse (from enthusiasm)
to reminisce (from reminiscence)
to baby-sit (from baby sitter)
to mass-produce (from mass-production)
backform (from backformation)
sculpt (from sculptor)
swindle (from swindler)
donate (from donation)
liaise (from liaison)
opt (from option)
emote (from emotion)
peddle (from peddler)

15-Corruption and misunderstanding:

whitsun (a corruption: whit Sunday) was transformed into whitsun Day and then to
whitsun
goodbye (God be with ye)
drat it (God rot it)
blimy (May God blind me)
bloody (by our lady)
 38

16-False etymology:
Island (from insular, isle, inland)
Posthumous (death or coming after in order of time, after death)
Help-meet (meet: fitting, suitable help: companion to a man) now its helpmate

17-Blending: also Portmanteau words (a combination of two separate forms to produce

a single new terms)
tragy-comedy (tragedy and comedy)
melodrama (melody and drama)
brunch (breakfast and lunch)
Bakerloo line (Baker St. and Waterloo = London underground railway)
radiogram (radio set and gramophone)
electrocute (electric and execute)
smog (smoke and fog)
motel (motor and hotel)
gasohol (gasoline and alcohol)
smaze (smoke and haze)
smurk (smoke and murk)
vog (volcano and fog esp. in Hawaii)
bit (binary and digit)
telecast (television and broadcast)
telethon (fund-raising TV programme like a marathon)
infotaintment (information and entertaintment)
simulcast (simultaneous and broadcast)
Franglais (French and Anglais)
Spanglish (Spanish and English)
telex (teleprinter and exchange)
modem (modulator and demodulator)
infomercial (info and commercial)
urinalysis (urine and analysis)
podcast (iPod and broadcast internet audio broadcast)
twitterific (twitter and terrific)

New words added into the language (war 1939)

 39

anorak (Eskimo word)

beatnik (beat = young generation of the 1950s who disclaimed social responsibilities
and lived unconventional lives)
nick (added by analogy to sputnik = the first Russian earth satellite)
bingo (gambling game)
jeep
nylon
prefab (prefabricated house)
radar
teddy boy (from a dress which is rather exaggerated)

18-Popular misunderstandings:
emergency (emerge and urgency)
Slang:
what on earth? (no longer considered slang)
joke (no longer considered slang)
to dismiss (no longer considered slang)
to give one the air
stand sb up
flapper
hot air
patter
pussy foo
cut it out
chiseler
blow in (fly from one city to another)

DIALECTS:
Australian:
swagman rabin kangaroo
boomerang paddock forsick
South African English:
baas bilton erf
trek dorp sluit
 40

mason camp boy

dispense lands bioscope
canteen store clothes
American English:
Words introduced:
a) From the Indians:
sweet potato moccasin canoe
tapioca totem locust
hickory tomahawk paleface
pipe of peace scalp big chief
war paint medicine man Mississippi
Chicago
b) Spanish influence:
hacienda culture alfalfa
armadillo bronco burro
pinto bonanza buckaroo
chaparral corral peon
sierra ranch stampede
rodeo wrangler poncho
Food and drink:
frijol tortilla barbeche
tequila
Building:
patio plaza pueblo
cafeteria
Place names:
San Diego Santa Barbara Santa Monica
San Francisco Santa Cruz
Hybrids:
Colorado River San Fernando Valley Guadalupe Park
Santa Barbara Islands San francisco Bay Nevada Fall
Others:
Florida Orlando Sierra Nevada
Las Vegas Los Angeles Las Cruces
 41

El Dorado Raton Rio Grande

El Paso
c) Dutch influence:
cookie cooky waffle
boss Yankee pit
Santa Claus coleslaw
d) French influence:
rapids gopher depot
prairie voyageur ville
Priggsville Migginsville Jacksonville

American infiltration in the English word stock:

top secret teenager cafeteria
filling station radio crash
electrocute fan disc jockey
allergy cocktail O.K
maybe angle

DIFFERENCES:
British English American English
The British words are also used in American English
car automobile
postman mailman
railway railroad
luggage baggage
angry mad
ill sick
staircase stairway
The British words are not used in American English
pram baby carriage
lorry truck
coach bus
trunk call long distance call
 42

chemists drugstore
jug pitch
caravan trailer
petrol gasoline

Other differences:
cinema movie
tram streetcar
lift elevator
taxi cab
biscuit cookie
flat apartment
pavement side walk

American and British spelling:

American: British:
honor honour
flavor flavour
behavior behaviour
neighbor neighbour
color colour
Traveler traveller
wagon waggon
theater theatre
scepter sceptre
meter metre
liter litre
center centre
defense defence
offense offence
recompense recompence
examin examine
medicin medicine
doctrin medicine
 43

check cheque
mask masque
risk risque
jail gaol
pajamas pyjamas
tire tyre
tsar czar
do you have? Have you got?
gotten (as past participle)
proven (as past participle)