Growth of English Vocabulary from Foreign Languages & Change in Meaning

The English vocabulary is one of the richest in the world. This richness is the result of extensive borrowing from different languages over its long history. Along with new words, English has also undergone semantic changes—changes in the meaning of existing words.

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1. Growth of English Vocabulary

English has grown by absorbing words from Latin, French, Greek, Scandinavian, Celtic and many other languages, including Indian, Arabic, Chinese and African languages. Borrowing occurred due to:

• Invasions
• Trade and travel
• Religion
• Science and technology
• Colonial expansion
• Cultural contact and globalization

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2. Major Sources of English Vocabulary

(A) Latin Influence

Latin influenced English in three major waves:

• Latin through Christianity (church, candle, priest, angel)
• Latin through French (justice, religion, parliament)
• Latin through Renaissance (radius, formula, index, annual)

Examples:

• animal (Latin: animalis)
• superior (Lat: superior)
• manual (Lat: manus = hand)

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(B) French Influence (Norman Conquest, 1066)

French contributed over 10,000 words to English, especially in areas of law, administration, fashion, food and art.

Examples:

• court, judge, jury, justice
• beauty, colour, fashion
• beef, pork, mutton
• cuisine, restaurant

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(C) Greek Influence

Greek words entered mostly during the Renaissance for science and philosophy.

Examples:

• democracy (demos = people)
• biology (bios = life)
• telephone (tele = far + phone = sound)

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(D) Scandinavian (Norse) Influence

Due to Viking invasions, English adopted many everyday words.

Examples:

• sky, skin, window, call, take, give
• Pronouns like they, them, their
• Verbs ending in -sk (bask, whisk)

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(E) Celtic Influence

Limited influence, mostly place names.

Examples:

• Avon (river)
• London (possibly Celtic origin)
• crag, clan

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(F) Indian Languages

During British colonial rule, many Indian words entered English.

Examples:

• bungalow (Hindi: bangla)
• pajamas (Urdu: paejama)
• curry (Tamil: kari)
• catamaran (Tamil: kattumaram)
• loot (Hindi/Urdu: lut)

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(G) Arabic Influence

• algebra (al-jabr)
• zero (sifr)
• sugar (sukkar)
• cotton (qutn)

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(H) Other Global Borrowings

Chinese:

• tea (teh / cha)
• ketchup (ke-tsiap)

African:

• banana
• zebra

Japanese:

• sushi, kimono, tsunami

Spanish:

• mosquito, tomato, canyon

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3. How English Creates New Words

• Borrowing (restaurant, bungalow)
• Compounding (blackboard, railway)
• Blending (brunch = breakfast + lunch)
• Clipping (advert → ad)
• Acronyms (NASA, UNESCO)
• Derivation (happy → happiness)

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4. Change in Meaning (Semantic Change)

Words in English often change meaning over time due to culture, technology, usage and social change. This process is called semantic change.

Types of Semantic Change

1. Broadening (Widening)

A word expands its meaning.

• Holiday – once “holy day”, now any vacation
• Dog – once a specific breed, now all breeds

2. Narrowing (Specialization)

Meaning becomes more specific.

• Meat – once “food”, now only animal flesh
• Girl – once “child”, now female child/woman

3. Amelioration (Meaning becomes positive)

• Knight – once servant, now noble warrior
• Minister – from servant to high official

4. Pejoration (Meaning becomes negative)

• Villain – once farm worker, now evil person
• Gossip – once godparent, now rumor-spreader

5. Shift (Change to completely new meaning)

• Mouse – from animal to computer device
• Surf – from sea waves to internet browsing

6. Metaphorical Extension

• Head – body part → leader (head of department)
• Foot – body part → bottom of mountain

7. Euphemism

Softening harsh meanings.

• Pass away for die
• Senior citizen for old person

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5. Why English Vocabulary Keeps Growing

• Contact with new cultures
• Science & technology
• Social & political change
• Internet slang and global communication
• Flexible grammar structure

English continues to absorb new words every year, making it a living, evolving global language.

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