Chapter IV

Words adopted from Foreign Languages.

1. FROM AFRICAN DIALECTS.—Chimpanzee, gnu, gorilla, karoo, kraal, zebra.

2. FROM AMERICAN TONGUES.—Buccaneer, cacique, cannibal, canoe, caoutchouc, cayman, chocolate, condor, guano, hammock, jaguar, jalap, jerked (beef), llama, mahogany, maize, manioc, moccasin, mustang, opossum, pampas, pemmican, potato, skunk, squaw, tapioca, tobacco, tomahawk, tomato, wigwam, yam.

3. FROM THE ARABIC LANGUAGE. (The word al means the. Thus alcohol = the spirit. A few of the following words, however, though they have come to us through Arabic, belong originally to other tongues. Thus alchemy and talisman are from the Greek; apricot is Latin.)—Admiral, alchemy, alcohol, alcove, alembic, algebra, alkali, amber, apricot, arrack, arsenal, artichoke, assassin, assegai, attar, azimuth, azure, caliph, carat, chemistry, cipher, civet, coffee, cotton, crimson, dragoman, elixir, emir, fakir, felucca, gazelle, giraffe, harem, hookah, koran (or alcoran), lute, magazine, mattress, minaret, mohair, monsoon, mosque, mufti, nabob, nadir, naphtha, salaam, senna, sherbet, shrub (the drink), simoom, sirocco, sofa, sultan, syrup, talisman, tamarind, tariff, vizier, zenith, zero.

4. FROM CHINESE.—Bohea, congou, hyson, joss, junk, nankeen, pekoe, souchong, tea.

5. FROM DUTCH (words relating chiefly to naval affairs).—Boom, boor, hoy, luff, reef, schiedam (gin), skates, skipper, sloop, smack, smuggle, stiver, taffrail, wear (of a ship), yacht.

6. FROM FRENCH.—Aide-de-camp, belle, bivouac, blonde, bouquet, brunette, brusque, carte-de-visite, coup-d’état, débris, début, déjeûner (breakfast), depot, éclat, ennui, etiquette, naive, naïveté, nonchalance, personnel, précis, programme, protégé, recherché, soirée.

7. FROM GERMAN (mostly mining terms).—Cobalt, felspar, horn-blend, landgrave, loafer, margrave, meerschaum, nickel, plunder, poodle, quartz, zinc.

8. FROM HEBREW (words relating chiefly to religion).—Abbey, abbot, amen, behemoth, cabal, cherub, gehenna, hallelujah, hosannah, Jehovah, jubilee, leviathan, manna, paschal, pharisee, pharisaical, rabbi, sabbath, Sadducees, Satan, seraph, shibboleth, Talmud.

9. FROM HINDU.—Avatar, banyan, bungalow, calico, chintz, coolie, cowrie, durbar, jungle, lac (of rupees), loot, mulligatawny, pagoda, palanquin, pariah, punch, pundit, rajah, rupee, ryot, sepoy, shampoo, sugar, suttee, thug, toddy.

10. FROM HUNGARIAN.—Hussar.

11. FROM ITALIAN.—Alarm, alert, alto, bagatelle, balcony, balustrade, bandit, bankrupt, bravo, brigade, brigand, broccoli, burlesque, bust, cameo, canteen, canto, caprice, caricature, carnival, cartoon, cascade, cavalcade, charlatan, citadel, colonnade, concert, contralto, conversazione, cornice, corridor, cupola, curvet, dilettante, ditto, doge, domino, extravaganza, fiasco, folio, fresco, gazette, gondola, granite, grotto, guitar, incognito, influenza, lagoon, lava, lazaretto, macaroni, madonna, madrigal, malaria, manifesto, motto, moustache, niche, opera, oratorio, palette, pantaloon, parapet, pedant, pianoforte, piazza, pistol, portico, proviso, quarto, regatta, ruffian, serenade, sonnet, soprano, stanza, stiletto, stucco, studio, tenor, terra-cotta, tirade, torso, trombone, umbrella, vermilion, vertu, virtuoso, vista, volcano, zany.

12. FROM MALAY.—Amuck, bamboo, bantam, caddy, cockatoo, dugong, gamboge, gong, guttapercha, mandarin (through the Portuguese), mango, ourangoutang, rattan, sago, upas.

13. FROM PERSIAN.—Bazaar, bashaw, caravan, check, checkmate, chess, dervish, divan, firman, hazard, horde, houri, jar, jackal, jasmine, lac (a gum), lemon, lilac, lime (the fruit), musk, orange, paradise, pasha, rook, saraband, sash, scimitar, shawl, taffeta, turban.

14. FROM POLYNESIAN DIALECTS.—Boomerang, kangaroo, taboo, tattoo (to paint the skin).

15. FROM PORTUGUESE.—Albatross, caste, cobra, cocoa-nut, commodore, fetish, lasso, marmalade, moidore, palaver, port (Oporto).

16. FROM RUSSIAN.—Czar, drosky, knout, morse (walrus), steppe, ukase.

17. FROM SPANISH.—Alligator, armada, barricade, battledore, bravado, buffalo, caracole, cargo, cigar, cochineal, cork, creole, desperado, don, duenna, El dorado, embargo, filibuster (from English flyboat), filigree, flotilla, galleon (a ship), grandee, grenade, guerilla, indigo, jennet, matadore, merino, mosquito, mulatto, negro, octoroon, quadroon, renegade, savannah, sherry (Xeres), tornado, vanilla.

18. FROM TARTAR.—Caviare (the roe of the sturgeon).

19. FROM TURKISH.—Bey, caftan, chibouk, chouse, janissary, kiosk, odalisque, ottoman, tulip, yashmak, yataghan.

CHIEF DATES IN THE HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

A.D.

1.Cædmon wrote a Paraphrase of the Scriptures in First English prose670

2.Bede, or Bæda, wrote a translation into English of part of the Gospel of St John735

3.King Alfred translated many Latin works into English, among others, the Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation. King Alfred died901

4.Ælfric translates parts of the Bible1000

5.Anglo-Saxon Chronicle brought to a stop about1154

6.Normandy taken from England under King John. Normans now obliged to regard themselves as Englishmen, and more ready to use the English tongue1204

7.Layamon’s Brut—a poem—the first English book written after the stoppage of the Chronicle (written in the Southern English dialect)1205

8.First Proclamation ever written in English, issued by Henry III.1258

9.Sir John Mandeville, the first writer of formed English prose, ‘publishes’ his Travels (Publishes in this century means: Allows copies in manuscript to be made of his book.)1356

10.Edward III. authorises the use of English instead of French in courts of law and in schools1362

11.John Wicliffe translates most of the Bible1380

12.Geoffrey Chaucer, the ‘Father of English Poetry,’ wrote his Canterbury Tales about1388

13.William Caxton prints the first English book ever printed, The History of Troyes, in Flanders1471

14.Caxton erects the first printing-press in the Broad Sanctuary, in Westminster, and publishes the first book ever printed in England, the Game and Playe of the Chesse1474

15.The Book of Common Prayer compiled by Cranmer1549

16.The English Bible, based upon William Tyndall’s and other translations, published1611