New Word-Analysis | Page 2

complete study of any language comprises two distinct inquiries,--the study of the grammar of the language, and the study of its vocabulary. Word-analysis has to do exclusively with the vocabulary.
II. The term "etymology" as used in grammar must be carefully distinguished from "etymology" in the sense of word-analysis. Grammatical etymology treats solely of the grammatical changes in words, and does not concern itself with their derivation; historical etymology treats of the structure, composition, and history of words. Thus the relation of loves, loving, loved to the verb love is a matter of grammatical etymology; but the relation of lover, lovely, or loveliness to love is a matter of historical etymology.
III. The English vocabulary is very extensive, as is shown by the fact that in Webster's Unabridged Dictionary there are nearly 100,000 words. But it should be observed that 3,000 or 4,000 serve all the ordinary purposes of oral and written communication. The Old Testament contains 5,642 words; Milton uses about 8,000; and Shakespeare, whose vocabulary is more extensive than that of any other English writer, employs no more than 15,000 words.
4. The PRINCIPAL ELEMENTS of the English vocabulary are words of Anglo-Saxon and of Latin or French-Latin origin.
5. ANGLO-SAXON is the earliest form of English. The whole of the grammar of our language, and the most largely used part of its vocabulary, are Anglo-Saxon.
I. Anglo-Saxon belongs to the Low German[4] division of the Teutonic stock of languages. Its relations to the other languages of Europe--all of which are classed together as the Aryan, or Indo-European family of languages--may be seen from the following table:--
/ CELTIC STOCK..........................as Welsh, Gaelic. | SLAVONIC STOCK........................as Russian. INDO- | / Greek / Italian. EUROPEAN < CLASSIC STOCK \ Latin < Spanish. FAMILY. | \ French, etc. | / Scandinavian:.......as Swedish. | TEUTONIC STOCK< / High Ger:.as Modern German. \ \ German < \ Low Ger....as Anglo-Saxon.
II. The term "Anglo-Saxon" is derived from the names Angles and Saxons, two North German tribes who, in the fifth century A.D., invaded Britain, conquered the native Britons, and possessed themselves of the land, which they called England, that is, Angle-land. The Britons spoke a Celtic language, best represented by modern Welsh. Some British words were adopted into Anglo-Saxon, and still continue in our language.
6. The LATIN element in the English vocabulary consists of a large number of words of Latin origin, adopted directly into English at various periods.
The principal periods, during which Latin words were brought directly into English are:--
1. At the introduction of Christianity into England by the Latin Catholic missionaries, A.D. 596.
2. At the revival of classical learning in the sixteenth century.
3. By modern writers.
7. The FRENCH-LATIN element in the English language consists of French words, first largely introduced into English by the Norman-French who conquered England in the eleventh century, A.D.
I. French, like Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese, is substantially Latin, but Latin considerably altered by loss of grammatical forms and by other changes. This language the Norman-French invaders brought with them into England, and they continued to use it for more than two centuries after the Conquest. Yet, as they were not so numerous as the native population, the old Anglo-Saxon finally prevailed, though with an immense infusion of French words.
II. French-Latin words--that is, Latin words introduced through the French--can often be readily distinguished by their being more changed in form than the Latin terms directly introduced into our language. Thus--
LATIN. FRENCH. ENGLISH.
inimi'cus ennemi enemy pop'ulus peuple people se'nior sire sir
8. OTHER ELEMENTS.--In addition to its primary constituents--namely, the Anglo-Saxon, Latin, and French-Latin--the English vocabulary contains a large number of Greek derivatives and a considerable number of Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese words, besides various terms derived from miscellaneous sources.
The following are examples of words taken from miscellaneous sources; that is, from sources other than Anglo-Saxon, Latin, French-Latin, and Greek:--
Hebrew: amen, cherub, jubilee, leviathan, manna, sabbath, seraph.
Arabic: admiral, alcohol, algebra, assassin, camphor, caravan, chemistry, cipher, coffee, elixir, gazelle, lemon, magazine, nabob, sultan.
Turkish: bey, chibouk, chouse, janissary, kiosk, tulip.
Persian: azure, bazaar, checkmate, chess, cimeter, demijohn, dervise, orange, paradise, pasha, turban.
Hindustani: calico, jungle, pariah, punch, rupee, shampoo, toddy.
Malay: a-muck, bamboo, bantam, gamboge, gong, gutta-percha, mango.
Chinese: nankeen, tea.
Polynesian: kangaroo, taboo, tattoo.
American Indian: maize, moccasin, pemmican, potato, tobacco, tomahawk, tomato, wigwam.
Celtic: bard, bran, brat, cradle, clan, druid, pony, whiskey.
Scandinavian: by-law, clown, dregs, fellow, glade, hustings, kidnap, plough.
Dutch, or Hollandish: block, boom, bowsprit, reef, skates, sloop, yacht.
Italian: canto, cupola, gondola, grotto, lava, opera, piano, regatta, soprano, stucco, vista.
Spanish: armada, cargo, cigar, desperado, flotilla, grandee, mosquito, mulatto, punctilio, sherry, sierra.
Portuguese: caste, commodore, fetish, mandarin, palaver.
9. PROPORTIONS.--On an examination of passages selected from modern English authors, it is found that of every hundred words sixty are of Anglo-Saxon origin, thirty of Latin, five of Greek, and all the other sources combined furnish the remaining five.
By actual count, there are more words of classical than