Interesting stuff. I usually list etymology as one of my interests. I wish the article had included more words... Could read stuff like this for hours.
On a side note. JRR Tolkien apparently was very conscientious about using words that weren’t French loan words. He would always use a proper English word when at all possible. He was really upset about the ‘frenchification’ of the English language. He would have approved, I think, of the Nordic influence on the language though.
“Interesting stuff. I usually list etymology as one of my interests. I wish the article had included more words... Could read stuff like this for hours.”
I agree, I think the English language is so interesting. It is such a rich language and it’s a history lesson just studying the words.
>>He was really upset about the ‘frenchification’ of the English language.
Isn’t “frenchification” an example of frenchification? :) He might not like the use, but sometimes ‘true’ English just doesn’t convey the meaning. Not sure what single word could convey the same meaning in this case.
One of my pet peeves: when Frenchified words are used when an English word works just as well. One example that gnaws at my brain stem each time I hear or read it is ‘utilized’. Reporters seem to love this—”the police utilized tear gas canisters to quell the increasingly violent peace protesters.”
‘Used’ says the same thing, costs you less ink to print, and is a proper English word. So why not utilize ... uh use it?