Latin Loan Words in English language

The language formation is a continued process of growth and decay. The phenomenon of borrowing words and word-formation is the way of enriching one language. In the history of 1500 years English language has various foreign borrowing that is instrumental in the development of the English vocabulary. Contact with other cultures through conquest, and collaborations the sociopolitical circumstances, the need to explain new ideas have been the main reasons for borrowing words from various resources. Alike Celtic, Greek, French and Scandinavian borrowing, Latin loans are very important in the enrichment of English language.

English is profusely influenced over a considerable period of time. This Latin influence on English language is heralded by England’s contact with the Latin civilization. In the old English we find much of the Latin words associated with agriculture and war. Words like camp (battle), segn (banner), pil (pointed stick), mil (mile) etc are early borrowing. Besides, words associated with trade enter into the domain. Because of the enormity of wine trade we find words like win (wine), must (new vine), flase (bottle), eced (vinegar) etc. in the domestic field hardly we have any cycene (kitchen) to cook food or cuppe (cup) to drink coffe or disc (disk) to have any dinner.

With the Christianization of Britain in 597 A.D begins another phase of Latin borrowing to define the new conceptions, new religion, new ideas, and new faith. In the massive inflow of Latin words are both learned and popular during this time. We have had ‘Church’, ‘bishop’, ‘alms’, ‘alter’, ‘angel’, ‘anthem’, ‘canon’, ‘hymn’, ‘pope’, ‘psalm’, relic etc. during this period. Later, by the tremendous influence of Church in domestic life we find Latin ‘silk’, ‘radish’, ‘pine’, ‘plant’, ‘school’, ‘master’. The Latin gradually reaches the literary, medical, botanical and intellectual fields. We have no ‘history’ without Latin. The disease of ‘cancer’, ‘paralyses might get their names otherwise. Whom do we call a ‘ceader’ tree? How can be a jungle without ‘tiger’ and a desert without “camel’?

In the Middle English period, i.e. 1150 A.D. – 1500 A.D, comes via French and through translation works. The translation of the Vulgate Bible gives the English people words like generation, ‘persecution’, and ‘transmigration’. The other borrowed words during this time include words from law, medicine, allegory, theology, science, literature etc such as ‘conspiracy’, ‘custody’, ‘frustrate’, ‘genius’, ‘infinite’, ‘intellect’, ‘limbo’, ‘pulpit’, ‘secular’, ‘scripture’, ‘testify’ and many more.

In the Renaissance the Latin words flood into English texts in overwhelming proportion. Firstly, they are twain influenced by French and Latin. Secondly, native words and French words are remodeled into closer resemblance with their Latin origins. The old English ‘descrive’, ‘perfect’ gets the new form ‘describe’, ‘perfect’ by Latin influence. Yet there are the great mass of borrowing in the early modern English comes directly from Latin. Numerous examples can be cited: ‘affidavit’, ‘agenda’, ‘alibi’, ‘animal’, ‘bonus’, deficit ‘exit’, ‘extra’, ‘fact’. ‘Maximum’, ‘memorandum’, omnibus, ‘propaganda’, ‘veto’ etc.

 In the present-day scenario of the technical and scientific English, Latin shares with Greek the honour of being the source of rich host of new coinages. Words like ‘coaxial’, ‘fission’, ‘interstellar’, ‘neutron’, ‘mutant’, ‘penicillin’, ‘radium’, ‘spectrum’, ‘sulfa’ etc have become an integral part of the English technical vocabulary. Hybrid forms i.e. partly Latin and partly Greek, such as ‘egomaniac’, ‘speleologist’, ‘terramycin’ etc. have also entered the English lexicon in a major way. What is conspicuous about the introduction of Latin words during the modern period is that they have entered the language mainly through the medium of writing. The Latin elements in English, except the earliest ones, have been the work of Churchmen, and scholars.

The Latin loan words add enormous addition to the English vocabulary. It fills up the gaps in the native stock of words. The Latin epithets and synonyms give the masculinity in English. The Latin dignifies and intellectualizes the English. Yet one can not deny that excessive Latinization of English has stunned the growth of native vocabulary. Sometimes, theirs superfluous and purposeless coinage has encouraged an inflated style full of learned and bombastic words and phrases. In spite of these, the very Englishness of English is still there and it is the power of English language that it assimilates Latinization into its natural growth. 

     Key Points

  Some Common Groups of Latin Loanwords in English:

Law: Many legal terms in English come from Latin, such as habeas corpus, pro bono, and de facto.

Science: Latin has had a major influence on scientific terminology in English, with words like biology, chemistry, and physics all having Latin roots.

Religion: Many words associated with religion in English have Latin origins, such as sacrament, baptism, and confessional.

Medicine: Latin loanwords are also commonly found in medical terminology, with words like diagnosis, prognosis, and prescription all coming from Latin.

Government and Politics: Many political terms in English also have Latin roots, including democracy, referendum, and veto.

Education: Latin words have also made their way into educational terminology, such as curriculum, syllabus, and magna cum laude.

Art and Music: Latin loanwords are commonly found in the worlds of art and music, with words like opera, symphony, and ballet all having Latin origins.

Everyday Language: Finally, many everyday English words have Latin roots, including alias, agenda, and ad nauseam.       

Ardhendu De 

  References

History of the English language : Lounsbury, Thomas R., 1838-1915 : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive. (n.d.). Internet Archive. https://archive.org/details/historyofenglish00loun_0

Curzan, A., & Emmons, K. (2004, January 1). Studies in the History of the English Language II. Walter de Gruyter.