English and the French of the Norman conquerors continued to live side by side for about two centuries, neither materially affecting the other. About 1300 an extensive borrowing of literary (Parisian) French words began, and during the next two hundred years the majority of the thousands of French words we now use were taken over into English.
Latin words began to be used in England while yet there was no English language; many came in with the introduction of Christianity. This borrowing has gone on steadily ever since. As has just been said, English borrowed extensively from literary French. Now, as French is only Latin in a corrupt form, it is often impossible to determine whether a particular word was taken directly from Latin or French. It is estimated that one-fourth of the English vocabulary is derived from Latin.
The Latin stem or stems have been indicated, as, acr-, acrid; audīt-, auditor. The letters (Fr.) occurring after a word indicate that the Latin stem has been modified in passing through the French into the English language.
Ac-, sharp—āc-er (acr-) sharp; ăc-us, needle, ac-uo, I sharpen: acid, acerbity, acrid, acrimony, acute, acu-men, eager (Fr. aigre, sharp, sour), vin-egar (Fr. vin, wine, + aigre), acetic.
aed-es, a building; aedi-fic-āre (see [facio]), to build (up): edi-fice, edi-fy.
aes, money—aes-tim-are to value: estim-ate, in-estim-able, esteem, aim (Fr.).
ăger (agr-), field, country; per-agr-are, to travel through: agr-arian, per-egr-inate, pil-gr-im (Ital. pellegrino = peragr-), agri-culture (see [colo]).
ăg-o (ag-ito), I drive, perform; act-us, performed: ag-ent, co-g-ent, agitate, act-ion, actor, act-ive, ag-ile, ex-act, transact, amb-ig-uous.
ali-us, other; al-ter, the other: ali-en, alienate, inalienable, ali-as, ali-bi (= else-where); alter, alternate, altercation, sub-alter-n.
ăl-tus, high: alt-ar, altitude, ex-alt, ali-ment, ali-mony, alto (Ital.).