For Nature, which to them gave goût,[15]
To us gave only gout.
The following is a list of French words which have been imported in comparatively recent times:—
|
Aide-de-camp. Belle. Bivouac. Blonde. Bouquet. Brochure. Brunette. Brusque. |
Carte-de-visite. Coup-d’état. Débris. Début. Déjeûner. Depot. Éclat. Ennui. |
Etiquette. Façade. Goût. Naïve. Naïveté. Nonchalance. Outré. Penchant. |
Personnel. Précis. Programme. Protégé. Recherché. Séance. Soirée. Trousseau. |
The Scotch have always had a closer connection with the French nation than England; and hence we find in the Scottish dialect of English a number of French words that are not used in South Britain at all. A leg of mutton is called in Scotland a gigot; the dish on which it is laid is an ashet (from assiette); a cup for tea or for wine is a tassie (from tasse); the gate of a town is
called the port; and a stubborn person is dour (Fr. dur, from Lat. durus); while a gentle and amiable person is douce (Fr. douce, Lat. dulcis).
[7.] German Words.—It must not be forgotten that English is a Low-German dialect, while the German of books is New High-German. We have never borrowed directly from High-German, because we have never needed to borrow. Those modern German words that have come into our language in recent times are chiefly the names of minerals, with a few striking exceptions, such as loafer, which came to us from the German immigrants to the United States, and plunder, which seems to have been brought from Germany by English soldiers who had served under Gustavus Adolphus. The following are the German words which we have received in recent times:—
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Cobalt. Felspar. Hornblende. |
Landgrave. Loafer. Margrave. |
Meerschaum. Nickel. Plunder. |
Poodle. Quartz. Zinc. |
[8.] Hebrew Words.—These, with very few exceptions, have come to us from the translation of the Bible, which is now in use in our homes and churches. Abbot and abbey come from the Hebrew word abba, father; and such words as cabal and Talmud, though not found in the Old Testament, have been contributed by Jewish literature. The following is a tolerably complete list:—
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Abbey. Abbot. Amen. Behemoth. Cabal. Cherub. |
Cinnamon. Hallelujah. Hosannah. Jehovah. Jubilee. Gehenna. |
Leviathan. Manna. Paschal. Pharisee. Pharisaical. Rabbi. |
Sabbath. Sadducees. Satan. Seraph. Shibboleth. Talmud. |