List of English words with dual French and Old English variations
Following the Norman Conquest of 1066, England came under the rule of Norman-speaking peoples. While Old French became the language of high culture and government, the vast majority of the population continued to use Old English. Over time, the English language was increasingly influenced by French, particularly in its vocabulary and to a much lesser extent in its grammar. While in some cases Old English words have been displaced by words from French (as for instance "ġeolurēad" displaced by "orange"), in many cases the two (or more) words have coexisted, each with a different meaning, or as near-synonyms, or else as true synomyms but with a nuance.
Words of French origin often refer to more abstract or generalized concepts than their Old English equivalents; compare for instance "liberty" and "freedom". Because they were words used by the elite, words coming from French often retain a higher register than words of Old English origin. There are exceptions though; as for instance "weep", "broom" and "stone" (from Old English) which occupy a slightly higher register than "cry", "brush" and "rock" (from French).
Because they are often more elaborate or abstract than words from Old English, words from French tend to be less frequently used in everyday language, but there are exceptions too; as for instance "people" (from Old French) which is of much more frequent use than "folk" (from Old English).
Foods
[edit]Walter Scott popularized the idea of the Anglo-Norman nobility eating the meats of the animals that Anglo-Saxon peasants had raised: beef/cow, mutton/sheep, veal/calf and pork/pig. In each case the word of French origin was only used in the kitchen. In fact this occurred centuries after the Norman conquest (a modern example being escargot/snail) and might owe more to the enduring prestige of French cuisine than to a hypothetical specialization of tasks.[1]
| Old English origin words | Old French origin words | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| cow (OE cū) ox (OE oxa) |
beef (AN beof; OF boef) | [2] |
| calf (OE ċealf) | veal (AN vel; OF veel, veal) | [2] |
| swine (OE swīn) pig (OE picga) |
pork (OF porc) | [2] |
| sheep (OE sċēap) | mutton (OF moton) | [2] |
| hen (OE hen, henn) chicken (OE ċicen) |
poultry (OF pouletrie) pullet (OF poulet) |
[2] |
| deer (OE dēor) hart (OE heorot) |
venison (AN venesoun) | [2] |
| dove (OE dūfe) | pigeon (OF pijən) | |
Other words
[edit]Most words of French origin are from Latin, but some are from Gaulish (a Celtic language), Old Frankish (a Germanic language) or other sources. Conversely, Old English borrowed some words from Latin. This list is therefore distinct from the list of Germanic and Latinate equivalents.
Some words were borrowed directly from Old French, others were borrowed later, from Middle French or Modern French.
Some of the words in the list below might now be obsolete, archaic or dialectal.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ Hejná, Míša; Walkden, George (2022). A history of English (PDF). Language Science Press. pp. 205–206. doi:10.5281/zenodo.6560337. ISBN 978-3-96110-346-1.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Transactions and proceedings of the New Zealand Institute, Volume 34, (New Zealand Institute., 1902) pp. 135–145
- 1 2 3 4 Anglo-Saxon and Latinate Words by M. Birch http://www.translationdirectory.com/article991.htm