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English Lesson - 8 Latin words or expressions used every day in English you need to know !

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(I have uploaded my own transcript for this video - it can be turned on/off in 'Captions') "per" - "via" - "etcetera" - "vice-versa" - "nota bene" - "exempli gratia" - "id est" - "post scriptum" What are these Latin terms and where do you frequently see them in English, and how are some of them abbreviated?

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In this updated version of our Latin and Greek roots podcast, we again talk about how both Latin and Greek have strong influences on English, but we also talk about what affixes, prefixes, and suffixes (and infixes) actually are while also breaking down a strong process for determining words' meaning through roots.

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As well as education, wine, roads, under-floor heating, and the fresh water system, the Romans gave us words and phrases. Far from being a dead language, Latin is alive and well, and may be found in a sentence near you.

English is full of words of Latin origin that came into the language by way of the French-speaking Norman invaders of 1066. But we also use many phrases that came into English later, typically in the 17 th and 18 th centuries, and remain in their original Latin form.

In Latin index referred to the 'forefinger' or 'index finger', with which you point. From this we got our term for a list of topics in a book which 'point' to the right page. When we decide to leave by a door marked exit, we may not know that in Latin this means 'he or she goes out'. The phrase in flagrante delicto, literally 'in blazing crime', means in English 'in the act of wrongdoing', and particularly refers to sexual misconduct. If some is caught in flagrante delicto they are generally found in bed with someone else's partner.

Let a person beware

If we want to say that someone really knows about something we might say that they are bona fide, Latin words meaning 'with good faith'. A remark that has no logical connection with a previous statement is a non sequitur - literally, 'it does not follow'. A particular stipulation or condition is a caveat, a word which means literally 'let a person beware'. If a person is preparing to buy something, you might say caveat emptor, 'let the buyer beware', to remind them that it is the buyer alone who is responsible for checking the quality of the goods before the purchase is made.

Someone who dislikes sailing might be very glad to find themselves back on terra firma or 'firm land'. If they had heard too much of the delights of the sea, they might say that they had been lectured ad nauseam, or 'to sickness'. They might be wary of decisions taken on an ad hoc basis, Latin for 'to this', used in English to mean 'created or done for a particular purpose'. Sometimes you have no chance to influence what happens, as things may be done in your absence, or in absentia.

In 1992, following the marital troubles of her children and a disastrous fire at Windsor Castle, the Queen said in a speech that it had turned out to be an annus horribilis. The term for a year of disaster or misfortune is an alteration of an established Latin phrase annus mirabilis 'wonderful year'.

From Status Quo to Procol Harum

Changes are often received with apprehension, especially by people who would prefer to preserve the existing state of affairs or status quo - literally 'the state in which'. The band Status Quo had their first hit, 'Pictures of Matchstick Men', in 1968 and are still going strong. Another band with a Latin name are Procol Harum, who released the enigmatic 'A Whiter Shade of Pale' in 1967. The band's name is a misspelled version of a Latin phrase meaning 'far from these things' - it should really be procul his.

The legal world is full of Latin. If someone is not of sounds mind they are said to be non compos mentis, literally 'not having control of the mind'. Journalists may sometimes feel frustrated at not being able to report freely on a case because it is sub judice 'under a judge' - under judicial consideration and so prohibited from public discussion.

Latin supplies a number of well-known mottoes. E pluribus unum, or 'one out of many' is the motto of the United States. In 1913 King George V approved per ardua ad astra, 'through struggle to the stars', as the motto of the Royal Air Force.

The long and short of it

Some Latin phrases lie behind our most familiar abbreviations. If we want to emphasize the importance of something, we may say or write NB - short for nota bene, or 'note well'. QED, pointing out that a fact or situation demonstrates the truth of what you are saying, stands for quod erat demonstrandum, 'which was to be demonstrated'. A long list of items may finish with etc., standing for et cetera 'and the rest'. Advancing age may be referred jokingly as Anno Domini, Latin for 'in the year of the Lord', which also gives us the abbreviation AD. The passage of time inevitably leads to RIP, short for requiescat in pace, 'rest in peace', although the same cannot be said to apply to Latin itself.
Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins is also available on Oxford Reference.

The opinions and other information contained in OxfordWords blog posts and comments do not necessarily reflect the opinions or positions of Oxford University Press.

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English words of Latin origin - OxfordWords blog

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As well as education, wine, roads, under-floor heating, and the fresh water system, the Romans gave us words and phrases. Far from being a dead language, Latin is alive and well, and may be found in a sentence near you.

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of Latin words with derivatives in English (and other modern languages).

Ancient orthography did not distinguish between i and j or between u and v. Many modern works distinguish u from v but not i from j. In this article, both distinctions are shown as they are helpful when tracing the origin of English words. See also Latin spelling and pronunciation.

The citation form for nouns (the form normally shown in Latin dictionaries) is the Latin nominative singular, but that typically does not exhibit the root form from which English nouns are generally derived.

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List of Latin words with English derivatives - Wikipedia

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From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia This is a list of Latin words with derivatives in English (and other modern languages). Ancient orthography did not distinguish between i and j or between u and v. Many modern works distinguish u from v but not i from j.

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English is a Germanic language, with a grammar and a core vocabulary inherited from Proto-Germanic. However, a significant portion of the English vocabulary comes from Romance and Latinate sources.

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Interested in increasing your vocabulary? Here are some English words from Latin directly or from Latin via French or Spanish. These words are thought to have come from newspaper articles from around 1923. One of the words on the list, mattoid, does not appear to be used any longer, so it is not included.
Next Page
The Meaning of Confusing Pairs of Greek and Latin Roots

Also see these articles on words and word derivations:

On Translating Latin Into English
Whether you want to translate a short English phrase into Latin or a Latin phrase into English, you can not just plug the words into a dictionary and expect an accurate result. You can't with most modern languages, but the lack of a one-to-one correspondence is even greater for Latin and English.

Latin Religious Words in English
If you want to say that the prospects are bleak, you could say "it doesn't augur well." Augur is used as a verb in this English sentence, with no particular religious connotation. In ancient Rome, an augur was a religious figure who observed natural phenomena, like the presence and location to left or right of birds, to determine whether the prospects were good or bad for a proposed venture. Find out about more such words.

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Interested in increasing your vocabulary? Here are some English words from Latin directly or from Latin via French or Spanish. These words are thought to have come from newspaper articles from around 1923. One of the words on the list, mattoid, does not appear to be used any longer, so it is not included.

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The Celts & Romans in Britain - the British Celts & their struggle against the Romans. Celts for kids

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For five centuries the Roman and Celtic armies and cultures clashed, pitting the most highly organized state of the ancient world against fierce individualists.
W ar horns brayed eerily, swords thudded against shields with a dull menace, and a jeering, terrifying howl went up from the roughly 12,000 Celtic warriors arrayed along the Allia River less than a dozen miles north of Rome. Their oblong shields were painted in reds, greens and other bright colors and decorated with boars, dragons and various designs. Facing them were approximately 24,000 Roman troops, the sun glinting off their bronze helmets and spear tips as they locked shields and braced for an attack. A lone Celt stepped from the line, sword held high. He yelled for a Roman champion to duel with him and sneered when none accepted. He then let out a piercing war cry, and the Celts surged forward, hurling their javelins before crashing into the Roman line. It was July 18, 390 BC, and the Celts and Romans were rushing headlong into a confrontation that would span several centuries.

The seasoned Roman army, most likely in a tightly packed phalanx formation, was unprepared for the might and fury of the Celtic charge. Physically bigger than the Romans, the Celts wielded long double-edged iron swords for slashing and sheltered behind body-length shields fitted with pointed metal bosses, which they punched into the enemy. Many wore chain mail. Led by the warrior chieftain Brennus, the Celts hacked through their opponents, driving them toward the river, decimating the Roman center and sending the survivors fleeing for Rome. Within days the victorious Celts entered, burned and pillaged the capital. The Celtic army occupied Rome for seven months until paid 1,000 pounds in gold to leave. According to legend, when a Roman tribune complained that the Celts' scales were rigged, Brennus threw his sword and belt atop the counterweights, thus increasing the Roman ransom, and thundered, " Vae victis!" ("Woe to the vanquished!"). Brennus' taunt, wrote the classical historian Livy, was "intolerable to Roman ears," and thereafter the Romans harbored a bitter hatred of the Celts, whom they called Gauls. The Romans ultimately enclosed their capital within a massive wall to protect it from future "barbarian" raids.

The dramatic encounter along the Allia was among the first between two great European peoples who over the next five centuries or so would clash and interact in a complex intercultural weave of warfare, alliances and trade. Their interaction marked a collision of differing political systems-that of free-ranging tribes versus a highly regimented state bent on territorial and economic aggrandizement-and proved a mighty contest between the Celtic and Mediterranean ways of life. Ultimately, both civilizations would contribute significantly to the formation of the modern European identity.

The Celtic people comprised hundreds of tribes, some as small as 20,000 members and others boasting more than a quarter-million men, women and children. There wasn't a uniform Celtic nation or state; what linked them was their Indo-European language, ethnicity and certain shared cultural characteristics and artistic styles. The Greeks called these diverse people the Keltoi, which is perhaps how the Celts referred to themselves. Probably due to population pressures and a desire for independence, the Celts were great migrators; the areas they inhabited stretched from Ireland and Scotland into Spain and France and farther east into parts of Germany, northern Italy, Greece, Eastern Europe and Turkey.

Celtic social structure radiated outward from the family to the extended family, clan, tribe and tribal alliances. "In Gaul," Julius Caesar wrote in his Commentaries on the Gallic War, "there are factions, not only in every state and every village and district but practically in each individual household as well." The Celts were talented farmers, skilled craftsmen and superb artisans, especially in metalwork and gold. Although Roman chroniclers often characterized them as brutish and primitive, the Celts constructed towns, roads and powerful hill forts. They mined salt and controlled the lucrative trade that resulted. They were masters at ironwork when the Romans were still using bronze. Celtic women enjoyed broad rights and status, some becoming military commanders, others queens. The Celts did not own slaves in any great numbers but readily sold captured enemies to the slaveholding Romans.

The Celts' greatest shortcoming was that they left virtually no written records. Thus we are forced to rely on accounts from such Roman writers as Strabo, Caesar, Polybius and others who were predictably biased and oftentimes misinterpreted Celtic ways. Thanks to these Roman chroniclers, though, we have a somewhat accurate contemporary picture of the Celts.

Caesar, who fought the Celts for eight years in Gaul, noted there were "two types of men of distinction...the first is made up of the druids, and the other of the knights." The druids were the intellectual and spiritual elite of Celtic society and served an apprenticeship of up to 20 years, becoming experts in philosophy and history and passing down knowledge and wisdom through oral traditions. Intimately in tune with the rhythms of nature, the druids held their ceremonies in oak groves. "Young men flock to them in large numbers to gain instruction," Caesar wrote, "and they hold the druids in great esteem. For they decide almost all disputes, both public and private." The druids also presided over animal and human sacrifices.

By "knights" Caesar was referring to the fighting class in what was an honor-based warrior society. "The whole race," Strabo noted, "is madly fond of war, high-spirited and quick to battle but otherwise straightforward and not of evil character." They excelled in raiding other tribes for revenge and rustling horses and cattle. Warfare was low intensity and conducted more for ritualized displays of individual prowess, skill and courage than to destroy or subjugate an enemy. Indeed, a specialized warrior society, the Gaesatae, fought naked except for arms and a shield. These elite troops had, Polybius wrote, "proud confidence in themselves" and seemingly fought in a state of divine power and purity. Sometimes warring tribes would square off only for the contest to be decided by two opposing champions who fought to the death, with the losing side retreating from the field. Celts were fond of boasting about their deeds and, according to Strabo, had a "love of decoration. They wear ornaments of gold, torques on their necks and bracelets on their arms and wrists, while people of high rank wear dyed garments besprinkled with gold." After battle they held a grand feast of roasted boar with much drinking of beer and wine while highly respected bards sang of heroic deeds.

The Celtic warrior was armed with a long, straight sword, a large shield, two spears- one for thrusting, one for throwing-and a dagger. Some used slings, clubs and bows. The wealthy rode on horseback and cloaked themselves in chain mail of their own invention. In Britain they fought from two-horse chariots. They wore well-crafted and practical bronze or iron helmets, often fitted with a neck guard, and they usually dressed in colorful clothing fastened by intricate brooches of gold or silver. In Britain they painted their bodies with woad, a flowering plant that yields a dark blue dye.

The Celts were fierce, clever and brave in combat. During the 225 BC Battle of Telamon, Polybius' history records, the Gaesatae occupied the leading rank, while other Celts formed according to family, tribe and clan. "[The Romans] were terrified by the fine order of the Celtic host and the dreadful din, for there were numerous trumpeters and horn blowers, and the whole army was shouting its war cries at the same time....No less terrifying were the appearance and gestures of the naked warriors in front, all of whom were finely built men in the prime of life, and all in the leading companies richly adorned with gold torques and armlets." The Celts placed chariots and war wagons on the flanks, while infantrymen gathered around their standards of sacred animals and deities.

Drawn up in a colorful line, the Celts would noisily approach the enemy, convinced of their superiority, bolstered by belief in an afterlife, eager to display their courage, and pleased to be fighting alongside family members and clansmen. Greek historian Diodorus Siculus recorded that often a lone warrior would "advance before the battle line to challenge the bravest of their opponents to single combat."After this opening bout the Celts closed on their foe, throwing javelins and other missiles while parrying those hurled at them with their shields and swords. Finally, they rushed the enemy, using swords to shear faces and limbs, spears to thrust and shields to repulse opponents. This first fierce onslaught was intended to break a foe's line and instill panic in his ranks.

In the wake of battle the Celts often beheaded enemy corpses and displayed their grisly trophies, for they believed the captured soul resided in the head. After looting the enemy dead, collecting their own wounded and burying their fallen, the Celts would throw their feast of roasted meat, wine and beer and boast of their martial prowess. The warriors would then return home or perhaps sack the enemy's town. There was little thought of occupying land or establishing formal borders.

Conversely, city building was something at which the Romans excelled. By the time of the Battle of the Allia, Rome had grown from an insignificant village on the Tiber River into a regional power, its citizens having defeating the Etruscans and other Latin peoples in a long series of wars. In stark contrast to Celtic hill forts and villages, Rome was a magnificent metropolis of marble temples, paved avenues and arcaded marketplaces. An elected senate and two councils ruled, and it had a vigorous entrepreneurial class and a high standard of living. Thousands of slaves served Roman needs; yet Roman women lived more housebound and constricted lives than their Celtic counterparts. The Romans were proud of their achievements and gazed outward, seeking riches and glory beyond their borders. Thus the Celtic sack of Rome deeply shocked the young republic, leaving a lasting scar on the national psyche. Forever after July 18 was a day of ill omen.

The Romans had a professional army, manned by citizens who served up to 16 years and were rewarded with land and honors upon retirement. It was highly structured, with an officer corps, engineers, medics, auxiliaries, artillery and other specialized troops. The army's basic unit was the legion, which in the early republic comprised some 3,000 men, increasing to about 4,200 in the imperial era. During the reign of Emperor Augustus (27 BC-AD 14) the army boasted 30 legions and roughly 165,000 men. Additionally, the Romans had an estimated pool of 6 to 7 million men from which to fill their ranks.

The army was among the most powerful and influential sectors of the Roman state. Ambitious men seeking political office and wealth were eager to serve in order to conquer foreign lands and capture booty-which they shared among their men to ensure loyalty-and to amass their own fortunes and prestige. But while generals held tactical command, the politicians in the capital kept them in check.

The Roman army was well trained and in a constant state of reform. After their humiliating encounter with Brennus, the Romans adopted Celtic chain mail, fashioned body-length rectangular shields, modeled their helmets after Celtic designs and, researchers have argued, abandoned the rigid phalanx in favor of the more flexible manipular legion, in which troops subdivided into blocks, or "centuries," of men arrayed in a widely spaced checkerboard pattern. This provided the units both protection and greater freedom of movement.

The Romans marched into battle in disciplined ranks and files. Backing and flanking the centuries were archers and artillery, while slingers and skirmishers sallied forward to harass the enemy. Cavalry was employed to strike at a foe's flanks and rear, while other troops were held in reserve. A commander could observe and control troop movements from behind the lines, dispatching orders to his officers. This was not an army of individual heroes hungry for glory but one of cohesion, precision and massive striking power. It was an offensive army taught to fight with great brutality, to destroy enemy forces and remove them as a threat, and to subjugate and ultimately assimilate their foes to expand the frontiers of Rome. It was the motive force behind the establishment of colonies from Britain to North Africa to Turkey.

Over time a legionary's gear evolved from pre-hoplite to hoplite to manipular. Shield and helmet shape varied, as did body armor, but the two key weapons remained essentially the same. The primary weapon was the gladius, a short, heavy double-edged stabbing sword-"a descendant of the weapon of the Spanish Celts," according to one weapons expert. The other was the pilum, a javelin with a needle-sharp point and thin iron shaft for maximum penetration. On his back the legionary carried a rucksack full of provisions, personal items and entrenching tools. The legions embarked on long campaigns of conquest not just raids for honor and vengeance.

When confronting the Celts, the Roman army approached in three ranks. Archers and artillery, slingers and skirmishers would strike the foe with a variety of projectiles, then the first ranks would throw their pila, aiming to kill, or at least to impale Celtic shields, making them unwieldy. With their swords drawn and shields locked in a solid wall, the Romans advanced or met the Celtic charge. While the Celts raised their long swords to strike downward, the Roman soldiers ducked behind their shields and stabbed at the enemy's exposed abdomen, groin or legs. If a Celt went down, the Romans ruthlessly and quickly dispatched him. Meanwhile, the Roman cavalry attacked the enemy's vulnerable flanks and slaughtered those attempting to flee.

Because of the freewheeling Celtic tendency to migrate to new lands, and the relentless surge of Roman expansion beyond the Italian peninsula, driven by economic and political factors, the civilizations' were fated to encounter each other repeatedly-both on the battlefield and in the marketplace. Roman and Celtic businessmen engaged in a lively exchange of goods that included wine, tin, lead, silver, gold, salt and fine Mediterranean pottery. "All Gaul," Roman philosopher and politician Cicero observed, "is filled with traders-is full of Roman citizens." Some Celtic tribes formed alliances with Rome and fought in her armies; still others joined forces with Rome's enemies. Other tribes became enamored of the Roman way of life-the prosperous cities and farms, the well-developed infrastructure and stable government-and became Romanized. Roman writers and artists idealized the Celts as "noble savages," while many of the Celtic elite adopted the manners and style of the Roman aristocracy. Both cultures worshiped a pantheon of essentially similar gods, although Romans abhorred the Celtic practice of human sacrifice.

For ambitious Romans the prospect of the Celts' fertile lands and rich gold and salt mines proved irresistible. They manipulated public dread of the "Gallic terror" to gain victories and territory for Rome while furthering their own careers. And thus the wars continued, especially those conceived by Caesar.

By the time of the great general's decade-long conquest of Gaul (present-day France), culminating in the 52 BC Battle of Alesia, the Celts faced pressure from two other expansionist powers-the Germanic tribes to the north and Dacians to the east. As the Celtic tribes contracted westward, Caesar seized the opportunity to enhance his prestige and fortify his power base in Rome, while protecting and extending Roman economic interests in Gaul and allaying deep-seated Roman fears of "primitive" Celts bent upon destroying their civilization.

Caesar opened his conquest with an attack on the dominant Helvetii tribal confederation. In a series of brilliant campaigns he soon subdued the Gallic Celts and even briefly invaded Britain in 55 and 54 BC. Caesar came away boasting spectacular military successes to the people of Rome and portraying himself as their protector, even as most Celts simply wanted to be left alone, likely fearing the Germans more than the Romans.

But the fiery Celts complicated Caesar's ambitious plans by continually revolting against Roman rule. Ultimately, a charismatic Celtic warlord named Vercingetorix, of the Arverni, united the Gallic tribes in resistance to the Romans. After a series of marches and engagements against Caesar, Vercingetorix's forces retreated to a hill camp at Alesia (present-day central France), where they awaited the arrival of 8,000 cavalry and 240,000 infantry from allied tribes. Caesar's forces comprised some 60,000 troops.

Undaunted, Caesar constructed two fortified walls- an inner one encircling Alesia, and an outer wall protecting his army from the Celtic relief force. This circumvallation enabled Caesar to seal off the hill camp and subdue the arriving Celts in detail. Witnessing the defeat of his relief force, Vercingetorix surrendered his forces to Caesar and was carted off to Rome for later ritual execution.

Caesar had won his war, but at a terrible price. "Of an estimated population of 6 to 7 million," Celtic scholar Barry Cunliffe calculates, "about 1 million had been killed and another million sold into slavery. Among the remainder hardly a family would have been left unscarred. The resentment must have been deep and bitter."

"What the [Romans] call 'empire,'" contemporary Celtic chieftain Calgacus observed, "is theft and butchery; and what they call 'peace' is the silence of death."

The last Celtic stronghold lay in the British Isles. The Celts there had been on good terms with the Romans since Caesar's invasion, importing wine and exporting corn, hides and slaves to Rome. But in AD 43 Emperor Claudius, for a variety of economic, political and self-aggrandizing reasons, invaded Britain. He faced bitter resistance from the Celtic tribes. In 60 Celtic Queen Boudicca, of the Iceni, led a revolt against Roman rule, in part spurred by a Roman attack on an important Druid sanctuary on Anglesey. Boudicca's forces wiped out several Roman settlements and troops before being crushed, with an estimated 80,000 killed. Imperial Roman power now extended to the Scottish border, where the 73-mile-long Hadrian's Wall, begun in 122, partitioned the Roman and Celtic worlds, ending centuries of cross-cultural conflict.

Fierce and proud warriors, the Celts gradually succumbed to the Romans' superior organizational skills and single-minded will to expand their empire. Ultimately, however, it was the Germanic tribes and a mystery religion from the east -Christianity-that transformed the Roman and Celtic ways forever. The Celts had made valuable contributions to Roman culture in warfare, technology and language, while the Romans had shared their material gifts, operational talents and political-urban lifestyle with the Celts. Both civilizations form the core of modern Europe. Yet the grandeur that was Rome survives only in crumbling marble ruins and a few magnificent texts. The Celtic way, however, thrives in the strongholds of Brittany, Galicia, Scotland, Cornwall, Wales and Ireland, as well as in a vigorous Celtic revival throughout Europe and North America. In the end it seems tribe has triumphed over empire.

O'Brien Browne is a contributing editor of Military History Quarterly. For further reading he suggests The Ancient Celts, by Barry Cunliffe; Roman Warfare, by Adrian Goldsworthy; and Romans and Barbarians, by Derek Williams.

Originally published in the January 2015 issue of Military History. To subscribe, click here.

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Empire Vs. Tribe: The Roman Empire and the Celts

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For five centuries the Roman and Celtic armies and cultures clashed, pitting the most highly organized state of the ancient world against fierce individualists. War horns brayed eerily, swords thudded against shields with a dull menace, and a jeering, terrifying howl went up from the roughly 12,000 Celtic warriors arrayed along the Allia River less [...]

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The English Language. - What would you name as
the best inheritance America receives from all the
processes and combinations, time out of mind, of the
art of man? One bequest there is that subordinates any
perfection of politics, erudition, science, metaphysics,
inventions, poems, the judiciary, printing, steam-power,
mails architecture, or what not. This is the English
language - so long in growing, so sturdy and fluent, so
appropriate to our America and the genius of its
inhabitants.

The English language is by far the noblest now
spoken - probably ever spoken - upon this earth. It is
the speech for orators and poets, the speech for the
household, for business, for liberty, and for common
sense. It is a language for great individuals as well as
great nations. It is, indeed, as characterized by Grimm,
the German scholar, "a universal language, with whose

51
richness, sound sense, and flexibility, those of none
other can for a moment be compared".

52
Stock and Grafts of English Speech. - The Angles,
one of the Saxon tribes that passed from Germany to
Britannia in the year 1326 before American
Independence (or A.D. 450), have, from some
preference, not now to be clearly traced, given name to
this mighty dialect, by naming the wonderful nation of
whom it took shape. Saxon speech is the trunk or
stock; on it Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian have been
plentifully ingrafted. The Norman conquest of England
brought in profuse buds and branches of the French,
which tongue seems always to have supplied a class of
words most lacking, and continues its supply to this
day. Latin and Greek have been steadily adopted as
their aid has been found convenient or necessary. The
intercourse of trade with other countries annually
brings back, and has long brought, words as well as
wares; the best of these, in time, become familiar, and
have a home look.

Our language is, therefore, a composite one,
differing from all others. Still, it is simple, compact,
and united. None other has the elasticity it has, with
such perfect precision. Whatever we want, wherever
we want any addition, we seize upon the terms that fit
the want, and appropriate them to our use. Objects,
acts, sentiments, art, wit, religion, freedom, physiology,
the house, the field, the tastes of the common people,

53
joy, dislike, amativeness, despair, resistance, self-
esteem, war, land-life, sea-life, machinery, the sights of
cities, ceremonies, reform, new doctrines, discoveries,
disputes - all these, as their occasions have arisen,
have been furnished with additional words from far
and near, where they could be found, as a workman is
furnished with tools, or a soldier with arms. The same
process must continue as long as our blood is a
growing one.

54
imperious muscle of the last comers, or submitted to
be absorbed; many Celts retreated to Britain, supposed
to have been then either uninhabited, or but sparsely
inhabited; Europe become Gothic. About 1200 years
before our era, the Slavic race (from slava, glory)
descended from north-western Asia, and spared over
what is now Russia, Poland, and Hungary. To these
three enormous movements the English language
recurs as one recurs to the events of forefathers; it,
too, is of Asiatic transmission.

You see how the history of language is the most
curious and instructive of any history, and
embraces the whole of the rest. It is the history of
the movements and developments of men and women
over the entire earth. In its doings every thing appears
to move from east to west as the light does.

Contributions and Parts. - The Anglo-Saxon stock of
our language, the most important part, the root and
strong speech of the native English for many centuries,
mainly serves for sensible objects, specific thoughts
and actions, home, and domestic life; it has the best
words for manliness, friendship, and the education of
childhood. The Celtic contribution consists much of
proper nouns, given by the earlier inhabitants of
Britain to towns, lands, woods, and mountains. The
French contribution is large; the words refer to taste

55
and the arts, poetry, manners, finesse, and law. Latin
and Greek contributions refer to religion, science, the
judiciary, medicine, and all learned nomenclature.

Diffuse and Showy Use of Language. - Words,
however, are arranged much for mere show, especially
by American writers and speakers; illiterate people are
not one quarter as guilty. To use language properly is a

56
rare art; the passionate and honest heart, perfect
knowledge, and native idioms underlie this art.
Writers, without exception, lack the self-denial to reject
showy words and images, and employ terms in their
beautiful exact meaning, using only what is applicable;
they prefer using what appears elegant and effective.
Every newspaper in America, the best as well the
worst, is full of diffuse and artificial writing - writing
that has no precision, no ease, no blood, no vibration of
the living voice in the living ear. Because language
tells the interior, and has a higher service than to
be pretty. While American writers bow, defer, say what
they know is a lie, leave unsaid what they know to be
true - are cowardly, fractional, dyspeptic, subdued to
other men's or nations' models - their compositions,
fitted to the narrowness of sects, and castes, adopting
stale phrases and stereotyped avoidances, will fall
dead on the American soul. So far, we wait for writers
that favor the mass of the people, body and brain.

A Perfect English Dictionary has yet to be Written. -
Largeness of mind is more indispensable in
lexicography than in any other science. To make a
noble dictionary of the English speech is a work yet to
be performed. Dr. Johnson did well; Sheridan, Walker,
Perry, Ash, Bailey, Kenrick, Smart, and the rest, all
assisted; Webster and Worcester have done well; and

57
yet the dictionary, rising stately and complete, out of a
full appreciation of the philosophy of language, and the
unspeakable grandeur of the English dialect, has still
to be made - and to be made by some coming
American worthy the sublime work. The English
language seems curiously to have flowed through the
ages, especially toward America, for present use, and
for centuries and centuries of future use; it is so
composed of all the varieties that preceded it, and so
absorbs what is needed by it.

58
Fables, creeds, miracles, disappear as bubbles.
Romulus and Remus, Hengist and Horsa, sink
helplessly into the land of myths.

APPENDANT FOR WORKING-PEOPLE, YOUNG MEN AND

WOMEN, AND FOR BOYS AND GIRLS

59
and nose. A cultivated or naturally fine ear is also, of
course, a part of a good pronunciation.

In pronouncing French, or any other foreign words,
in the way of adopting them into their usual speech,
not a few accomplished American and English people
prefer boldly to bend them at once as nigh as possible
to the English tongue. This only anticipates what must
happen al last. When a word loses its learnedness and
novelty, and gets to be generally used and understood,
it will surely be deprived of more or less of its original
sound, and made to conform or common ears and lips.
Might this better be done at once? Or should foreign
words be held as long as possible to their native
pronunciations, that those may tinge, if nothing more,
their eventual pronunciation?

Few Americans or English do well to attempt the
Frenchman's or the Frenchwoman's accent of French
words - or to copy the German's or Spaniard's accent
of theirs. Learn the words, if convenient, from the
mouth of some educated native; otherwise from a
pronouncing dictionary; then give them out of your
own uncramped mouth. It is enough if you make no bad
slip or violation. Understand the meaning of the word
exactly before use it. Do not use it at all if there be an
English word that fully expresses your meaning. Also,

60
do not use any new word when the person or persons
you address will probably not understand it.

In the pronunciation of the following words the
orthoepy is as near to the original as it is ever likely to
be uttered by our national organ. These lately arrived
contributions, nearly all French, are merely given as
fragments, by way of example or illustration. Fresh
words will always be introduced amid an expanding
people. If any thing is to bend, they must bend to the
people; the attempt to bend the people to them is
always distressing and laughable.

A few Foreign Words, mostly French, put down
Suggestively. - Some of these are tip-top words, much
needed in English - all have been more or less used in
affected writing, but not more than one or two, if any,
have yet been admitted to the homes of the common
people.

(ä as in star; â as in law)

Accouchement (ak-koosh'-ment, or ak-koosh-
män') - Act of giving birth to offspring.

Accoucheur (ak-koo-shur') - Man-midwife.

Accoucheuse (ak-koo-shuse') - Midwife.

Atelier (at'-al-ya', or at-e-leer) - Workshop; studio of
an artist.

61
Attache (at'-tash-a') - Subordinate of a newspaper, or
of an ambassador,
or some official department.
Attrister (at-trist-a', or at-trist'-er) - To sadden; to
make sorrowful and heavy-
hearted.
Auditoire (aw'-de-toar') - Place of the audience in a
public building.

(The last two terms are needed in English)

Allons (al-lon, or al-lons) - "Let us go".

Albrege (ä-bra-ja') - Abridgement or epitome of a book
or books.

(This word, applying exclusively to books, would
come in well in our literary era and land.)

Aplomb (ä-plom') - Perpendicularity, self-command.

Appui (ap-pu-i) - Support. Point d'appui - point of
support; fulcrum.

Abattoir (ä'-bät-toar') - Slaughter-house.

Ambulance (am'-bu-länz') - A military carriage for the
sick and wounded.

Ami (ah'-me, masculine) - Amie (ah-me, feminine) -
Dear friend.

Bon (o as in song) - Good, friendly.

62
Bienseance (bene-se- änz') - Propriety, elegant
manners.

Bijou (be-zhu') - A jewel. Bijouterie (be-zhu'-t-re).

Blanc (blän or blänk) - White or whitish.

Bon jour (bon zhure') - "Goo-day".

Bon soir (bon soar') - "Good-night".

Bon mot (bon mo') - A witty word.

Brochure (bro-shoor') - A pamphlet.

Bourgeois (boorzh-wâ, or boor-jois) - A citizen.

Bourgeoisie (boorzh-wâ-ze, or boor-joi'-see) - Citizens.

Boudoir (boo-dwä, or boo-doir') - Private apartment.

Boulevard (boo'-le-värd') - A promenade.

Blanc mange (blä mänj) - A jelly.

Brusque - Abrupt in manner, no soft politeness.

63
Bourse (boorse) - A purse.

Cafe (kaf-fā') - Coffee.

Charge d'affaires (shär-ja- d'affare').

Cache (kash) - Hiding-place.

(Used toward the Pacific regions in burying provisions
for after use.)

Canaille (ka-nale') - Dirty low people.

Caira [Ça ira] (sä'-e-rä') - "It shall go on".

Coup de grâce (koo de grass') - Mercy stroke to one
executed.

Carte blanche (kart blänsh) - A card blank or
unsigned; free permission.

Comme il faut (kom' eel fo) - As it should be.

Ci devant (se' de-vän') - Formerly, heretofore.

Cicerone (sis-e-ro'-ne, or ch-che-ro'-ne) - A guide or
over-looker.

Cuisine (kwe-zene') - Cookery, kitchen.

Cabaret (kab-a-ret', or kab-a-ra') - A tavern.

Chiaro'scuro (ki-ah'-ro'-sku'-ro) - Mingling of light and
shade.

64
Cure (ku'-ra) - A priest.

Debutant (deb'-oo-tän') - One who makes a first public
appearance.

Dieu et mon droit (du a mo dwâ) - "God and my
right".

Douceur (doo-soor') - Sweetness; a bribe.

Dishabille (dis'-a-beel) - Loose dress, or undress.

Enciente [Enceinte] (än-saint') - Female condition
with young.

En famille (än'-fa-meel') - Like one of the family,
without ceremony.

En passant (än'-pas-sän') - Same as our colloquial
phrase "by the way".

En route (än-roo-t') - On the route or passage.

Ennui (än'-we) - Dejection, low spirits, "the horrors".

65
(This expressive and long-needed word is now almost
at home in English.)

Entresol (än'-tr-sol') - A little floor, between two
larger floors.

Entremets (än'-tr-ma') - Dainties, side dishes.

Entrepot (än'-tr-po') - Warehouse or receptacle.

Embonpoint (em-bon-point, or än'-bon-pwang') - Fat,
"pursy".

Embouchure (än-boo-shure) - Mouth of a river -
aperture of a musical instrument.

Entree (än-tra) - Appearance, first coming in public.

Elite (a-lete') - Rich and accomplished persons, high
society.

Escritoire (es-kre-tore') - Writing-desk or private case
for papers or cash.

Equivoque (a'-key-voke') - Ambiguous word or phrase.

Expose (ex-po-za') - An exposure.

Encore (än-kore) - "Once more".

Facade (fa-säd) - Front elevation of a building.

Faubourg (fo-boorg') - Ward or portion of a city.

Fete champetre (fate' sham-pa'-tr) - A merry-making
outdoors.

66
Figurant (fig-u-rant') - Opera dancer.

(This word is getting to be used to describe any one
who attracts public attention.)

Feulliton [Feuilleton] (ful-ye-ton') - Little leaf.

Garcon (gar-son') - Boy, waiter.

Genre (jahn-r) -Sort, species, one style in painting.

Jeu d'esprit (zhu' des-pre') - Play of wit.

Insouciance (een-soo-se-änz') - Careless, free from
preparation, just as any thing transpires in nature.

Livraison (liv-ra-zon') - Delivery; a part or number of a
book.

Melange (me-lanzh') - A mixture.

Melee (me-lee', or ma-la') - Scuffle; rough fight.

Morceaux (mor-so') - A bit; a portion.

Morgue (morg) - Dead-house.

Neglige (neg-le-zha', or je) - Not dressed up.

Nonchalant (non'-sha-lant') - Easy, without
bashfulness or formality.

Penchant (pen-shant', or pän-shän') - Declivity
[proclivity], bias.

Prestige (pres'-teezh) - Happy idea, luck, illusion.

Patois (pat-wâ') - Mongrel dialect.

67
Portfuille [Portefeuille] (port-ful'-ye) - Portfolio;
department of an officer of city or state.

Protege (prot'-e-zha') - One under protection.

Persiflage (pare-se-fläzh') - Light, heedless talk.

Personnel (pare'-son-nel') - Specialty of persons
belonging in the army, navy, or anywhere.

Peccavi (pek-ka'-ve) - Latin - "I have sinned".

Rapport (rap-port', or rap-pore') - Subtle, moral and
mental sympathy.

Repertoire (ra'-per-toar') - Alphabetical list.

Restaurant (res'-to-rant', or res'-to-rän') - Eating-
house, restorative.

Rationale (rash-e-o-na-le) - Latin - Inner reasons or
theory.

Resume (rez'-u-ma') - Last brief recapitulation.

Regime (ra-zheem') - Diet; also government or rule.

Role (role) - A person's part, to be performed.

Roue (roo-a') - A seducer of women, a bad liver.

Soi disant (pronounced either just as spelled, or swa'-
de-zang') - Pretended, would-be.

Säns - Without.

68
Säns culotte (sans ku-lot') - One without decent
trowsers - one of the rabble.

Suite (swete) - Companions following a distinguished
person; also used for apartments connected.

Trottoir (trot-toar') - Walk for foot passengers.

Vaudevil (vode-veel') -A light, gay composition, or
ballad.

Vis-a-vis (viz-a-ve') - Face to face.

Voltigeur (vol-te-zhur') - A vaulter, a soldier of the
light cavalry.

69

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The English Language. - What would you name as the best inheritance America receives from all theprocesses and combinations, time out of mind, of theart of man? One bequest there is that subordinates anyperfection of politics, erudition, science, metaphysics,inventions, poems, the judiciary, printing, steam-power,mails architecture, or what not.

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English Romanticism and the Celtic World

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English Romanticism and the Celtic World explores the way in which British Romantic writers responded to the national and cultural identities of the 'four nations' England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The essays collected here, by specialists in the field, interrogate the cultural centres as well as the peripheries of Romanticism, and the interactions between these.

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List of English words of Gaulish origin - Wikipedia

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A list of English Language words derived from the Celtic Gaulish language , entering English via Old Frankish or Vulgar Latin and Old French

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Lists of English words of Celtic origin - Wikipedia

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Lists of English words of Celtic origin refer to the English words which are derived from the Celtic origins. These are, for example, Common Brittonic, Gaulish, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, or other languages.