Question:
Do you know any borrowed words that english uses?
anonymous
1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Do you know any borrowed words that english uses?
Twelve answers:
Doethineb
2007-03-01 05:51:12 UTC
English is a hotch potch of languages and therefore it would be hard to know where to begin or end. But some borrowings are obvious:



From Indian languages:

Juggernaut - Something, such as a belief or an institution, that elicits blind and destructive devotion or to which people are ruthlessly sacrificed.

From the name of the Hindu deity Krishna - Juggernath/Jaganath



Pariah - A social outcast. An untouchable

From the Tamil caste name, "Pariah" which means 'hereditary drummer'



Khaki

From the Urdu word khaki - dusty or dust colored and/or from the Persian word khak - dust



Pyjama

From Persian (Pai- leg + jamah - garment)



Shampoo

Hindi campoo - press



Ginger

Tamil - inji (ginger) + ver (root)



Catamaran

Tamil kattumaram: kattu- to tie + maram- wooden log - Tied wood



Loot

From Sanskrit loptrum/lotrum - plunder



From Spanish:





adobe (originally Coptic tobe, "brick")



aficionado



albino



alcove (from Spanish alcoba, originally Arabic al-qubba)



alfalfa (originally Arabic al-fasfasah. Many other English words beginning with "al" were originally Arabic, and many may have had a Spanish-language connection in becoming English.)



alligator (from el lagarto, "the lizard")



alpaca (animal similar to a llama, from Aymara allpaca)



armadillo (literally, "the little armed one")



armada



arroyo (English regionalism for "stream")



avocado (originally a Nahuatl word, ahuacatl)



banana (word, originally of African origin, entered English via either Spanish or Portuguese)



bandoleer (type of belt, from bandolera)



barracuda



barbecue (from barbacoa, a word of Caribbean origin)



bizarre (some sources, not all, say this word came from the Spanish bizarro)



bonanza (although the Spanish bonanza can be used synonymously with the English cognate, it more often means "calm seas" or "fair weather")



booby (from bobo, meaning "silly" or "selfish")



bravo (from either Italian or Old Spanish)



bronco (means "wild" or "rough" in Spanish)



buckaroo (possibly from vaquero, "cowboy")



bunco (probably from banco, "bank")



From Welsh:



clutter Crowded untidy state.

corgi dwarf dog Short legged dog.

crowd A large number of persons.

crumpet A soft cake. UK slang for a sexually desirable woman.

cwm valley

flannel wool A piece of woolen cloth.

flimsy Fragile.

javelin A light spear.

maggot Insect larva.



Adder

originally "Nadder" derived from Welsh "Neidr" meaning a snake

Bard

from Welsh "bardd", or possibly Goidelic origin

Booth

from Welsh "bwthyn" meaning a small cottage or house

Bow

from Welsh "bwa" meaning a bow or an arch

Brock

in dialect meaning a badger from Welsh "broch" meaning a badger

Coney

obsolete and dialect for a rabbit from Welsh "cwningen" meaning a rabbbit

Coracle

from corwgl

Corgi

From cor, "dwarf" + gi (soft mutation of ci), "dog".

Druid

'derwydd', possibly derived from 'derw' meaning 'oak'.

Flannel

The Oxford English Dictionary states that the etymology of this word is "uncertain", but that it is likely to have come from the Welsh gwlanen, "flannel". Another suggested source is Old French flaine, "blanket".

Flummery

llymru [1]

Penguin

From pen gwyn, "white head", and originally applied to the Great Auk. A derivation from "pin-wing", in reference to the bird's atrophied wings, is sometimes suggested, but according to the OED this is unsupported. It may also be derived from Breton, which is closely related.

Pout from Welsh "pwdu" to pout or sulk

Roach

from Welsh "gwrachen" meaning a roach

Whelk

from Welsh "gwalc" meaning a whelk

Yew

yew tree, from Welsh "ywen" meaning a yew tree and providing an example of metathesis



cromlech

cwm



From modern French, as opposed to Norman French, with which the language is imbued, a huge list which can be viewed on this link: http://french.about.com/library/bl-frenchinenglish-list.htm



From Italian:

a cappella Singing without music. One of many musical terms from Italian.

alarm call to arms One of many military terms from Italian.

allegro lively, gay Musical term: in brisk time.

America Continent named after an Italian map maker.

aria Musical term: a long accompanied song for one voice.

attack

balcony One of many architectural terms from Italian.

ballot From the balls used for voting.

bandit

bank money lenders' table

bankrupt broken money lenders' table The table would be broken if the money lender was unable to trade.

bravo Cry of approval.

broccoli A vegetable. One of many food terms from Italian.

buffoon

canon large tube

canteen

cartoon

casino

colonel Military rank.

concerto Musical term: music for a single instrument accompanied by orchestra.

confetti little sweets Thrown at a newly married couple.

corridor

crescendo grow Musical term: gradual increase in loudness.

desk table

ditto said

dome

escort

fascist bundle From the symbol of Roman imperial power.

fiasco

fresco Method of painting.

gazette Venetian small coin From the cost of a news sheet.

ghetto From the name of a Jewish area in 15th century Venice.

gondola Originally a cabin on an airship.

graffiti

gusto

incognito

inferno

influenza An illness.

lava

libretto little book Musical term: the text of an opera.

lido A bathing place near Venice now a generic term for swimming pools in the UK.

macaroni A type of pasta.

madrigal Musical term: short song for several voices.

maestro

Mafia

malaria bad air It used to be thought that malaria was caused by stale air.

manager

mandolin A stringed musical instrument.

mezzanine middle Middle level floor in a building.

Morocco from Marrakesh North African country.

motto saying

moustache

nepotism nephew Giving jobs to relatives.

opera works Plural of "opus" (work).

parasol for the sun

partisan

pasta paste From the dried flour paste used in cooking.

piano from "pianoforte" - soft loud Musical instrument.

pizza

porcelain

portfolio

prima donna first lady

propaganda Originally a religious term.

quartet Musical term: for four voices or instruments.

regatta boat race

risk run into danger

semolina little bran Grains left after the milling of flour.

solo Single performer.

sonata Composition for a single instrument.

soprano The highest female voice.

staccato detach Musical term: play in an abrupt manner.

stiletto little dagger Originally a dagger, then the heel of a female's shoe.

stucco

studio

spaghetti little strings A type of pasta.

tarantula Named after area where found in Italy.

tempo Musical term: time.

torso trunk

trio Musical term: for three voices or instruments.

umbrella little shadow

vendetta

vermicelli little worms A type of pasta.

viola Musical term; a stringed instrument.

violin Musical term; a stringed instrument.

virtuoso

volcano

zany Venetian version of "John".



From Portuguese:



albino white

Bossa Nova new tendency Brazilian samba-like dance.

breeze light wind

caste pure Hindu hereditary class.

cobra hood A poisonous hooded snake. One of many animal / bird words from Portuguese.

Creole home-born slave A mixed race or language.

dodo fool From the silly appearance of the now extinct flightless bird.

embarrass

emu Large flightless, running Australian bird.

fetish charm Worshipped object.

flamingo flaming Tall scarlet wading bird.

Lambada Brazilian dance.

marmalade quince Preserve made from citrus fruit.

molasses Used in USA. In UK the word "treacle" is used.

palaver word A "palaver" is UK slang for an argument.

port A drink named after its town of origin.



I could go on all day. But I expect that you have had enough!
anonymous
2016-12-25 19:48:43 UTC
1
Svartalf
2007-03-01 06:42:35 UTC
Opera (and a lot of other musical terms like andante, allegro and aria) from Italian



Budget and Tennis are deformation of French words, as are beef, mutton, pork, and a number of military terms.



Jerky (yep, beef jerky), comes from Quechua, an native American language. Similarly Tomato and Avocado are from the Nahuatl (the language of Mexico's Aztecs), and Maize and Tobacco also are from native American languages, like potlatch.



Divan (a sort of couch) is from the Persian, as is mummy (for the Egyptian variety)... Chemistry is derived from alchemy, which is from the arab "al khamiyyah"...



Actually, perhaps less than half of the words in English are of Anglo-Saxon origin, and I'd count those borrowed from the Norse into the set.
Zoe
2007-03-01 05:41:15 UTC
There are thousands of greek words in english, far more then the french or the italian words. A serious percentage of all terms in medicine, biology, botanology and other sciences but also everyday words like apology, music, melody, economy, politics, pause, period, system, angel, physical, grammar, bible, phobia, phone, acoustic, planet, cosmic, theatre, micro, dilemma, history, ironic, cynical bla bla bla are borrowed greek words. There is also a huge host of latin words in english, but they are not exactly borrowed, english is in a way a german-romance language. The french words i can think of quickly are engagement, bracelet, garderobe, there are many more ofcourse but i think besides the greek and latin words the borrowed words from other languages are as many as in any language.
anonymous
2007-03-01 05:32:39 UTC
English is considered a romance language and many words have a Latin base. The problem comes with the slang and bad grammar that has worked it's way into American... a lot of English is still spoken unspoiled.



There is a lot of Spanish that has worked it's way into the American lecicon.



Amarillo (yellow), Canyon, Cabo, Coyote etc, there are probably several thousand Spanish words used unchanged in 'American'
Yazan
2007-03-01 05:31:21 UTC
actually every English world that ends with tion, sion is French. there are words borrowed from Italian like piano spaghetti, pizza and a lot more. the list cannot end but this is not only English all languages borrow words from each other
anonymous
2007-03-01 05:25:28 UTC
many greek. ie. harmony history, homeopathy and a whole dictionary of medical words.
xapao
2007-03-01 05:25:25 UTC
coup de etat

lingerie

rendevouz
shakensunshine86
2007-03-01 05:25:12 UTC
"pizza" from Italian.
Chali
2007-03-01 05:33:33 UTC
There are so many words (as in most of them) that are borrowed from other languages that are considered or treated as English words that it would be hard to list them. Here is a list of words that have been borrowed. The list is just a sample of how many different words are borrowed into English. It also identifies their location and the language it originally comes from. I rather liked this one.



Europe



Anglo-French: elope

Basque: chapparal

Breton: dolmen

Catalan: barracks

Cornish: wrasse

Crimean Tartar: shashlik

Czech: pistol

Danish: skoal

Dutch: coleslaw

Etruscan: mantissa

Faeroese: skua

Finnish: sauna

Flemish: hunk

French: vehicle

French (Lorraine): quiche

French (Marseilles): pastis

French (Picardy): gavage

French (Savoy): moraine

French (Swiss): névé

French (Walloon): rabbit

Galician: frijole

Gascon: cadet

Gaulish: beak

German: dirndl

German (Swabia): hoodlum

German (Swiss): muesli

Gothic: czar

Greek: zeugma

Hungarian: goulash

Icelandic: eider

Irish: smithereens

Italian: soprano

Italian (Lombardy): mascarpone

Italian (Neapolitan): fumerole

Italian (Sicily): caponata

Italian (Trieste): bora

Italian (Venetian): ghetto

Italian (Veneto): gnocchi

Lappish: tundra

Latin: quota

Lingua Franca: gam

Lithuanian: eland

Norwegian: lemming

Old Norse: get

Polish: kielbasa

Portuguese: emu

Provencal: troubadour

Romanian: pastrami

Romany: pal

Russian: mammoth

Scottish Gaelic: ptarmigan

SerboCroatian: vampire

Shelta: moniker

Spanish: bananza

Swedish: ombudsman

Ukranian: hetman

Welsh: cwm

Yiddish: bagel

Africa



Afrikaans: aardvark

Amharic: teff

Arabic (Sudan): hegari

Bambara: shea tree

Berber: Zouave

Coptic: adobe

Egyptian: ibis

Ewe: voodoo

Ga: kwashiorkor

Ge'ez: negus

Ibo: opah

Kele: bongo [antelope]

Khoikhoi: gnu

Kongo: chimpanzee

Lingala: basenji

Malagasy: raffia

Malinke: kola nut

Mvu'ba: okapi

Sesotho: lechwe

Shona: mbira

Somali: gerenuk

Swahili: bwana

Tswana: tsetse

Twi: harmattan

Wolof: galago

Yoruba: dashiki

Zulu: impala

Asia



Akkadian: ziggurat

Ambonese: ailanthus

Arabic: xebec

Aramaic: abbot

Avestan: satem

Balti: polo

Bazaar Malay: orangutan

Bengali: dinghy

Bisayan: cogon

Chinese (Beijing): ginseng

Chinese (Fujian): bohea

Chinese (Guangdong): kumquat

Chinese (Xiamen): tea

Chinese Pidgin English: chowchow

Deccan Hindi: ragi

Divehi: atoll

Evenki: shaman

Georgian: zelkova

Gujarati: banyan

Hebrew: behemoth

Hindi: bungalow

Indonesian Malay: upas

Japanese: haiku

Japanese (Okinawa): nunchaku

Javanese: lahar

Kannada: dhole

Kazakh: barchan

Khmer: kouprey

Konkani: vindaloo

Korean: kimchi

Lepcha: serow

Malay: bamboo

Malay (Java): gourami

Malayalam: teak

Marathi: mongoose

Mishmi: takin

Mongolian: argali

Nenets: parka

Nepali: tahr

Pali: ginger

Panjabi: urial

Persian: bazaar

Philippine Spanish: bolo

Sanskrit: avatar

Sinhalese: beriberi

Sundanese: muntjac

Syriac: arsenic

Tagalog: boondocks

Tamil: betel

Telugu: bandicoot

Thai: bong [waterpipe]

Tibetan: yak

Turkish: yogurt

Urdu: nabob

Vietnamese: Tet

Oceania



Adnyamadhanha: euro [wallaroo]

Dharuk: wombat

Fore: kuru

Guugu Yimidhirr: kangaroo

Hawaiian: luau

Jagara: dilly bag

Maori: kiwi

Marquesan: tiki

Nyungar: jarrah

Samoan: lavalava

Tahitian: tattoo

Tongan: taboo

Wik Munkan: taipan [venomous snake]

Wiradhuri: kookaburra

Wuywurung: yabber

Yolngu: didgeridoo (see note below)

Yuwaalaraay: budgerigar

Americas



American Yiddish: boychick

Araucanian: poncho

Arawak: iguana

Arawak of the Lesser Antilles: anole

Aymara: alpaca

Brazilian Portuguese: maxixe

Cahuilla: chuckwalla

Canadian French: lacrosse

Carib: caiman

Catawba: yaupon

Chinook Jargon: camas

Choctaw: bayou

Cree: pemmican

Creek: tupelo

Creek (Florida): coontie

Cumanagoto: divi-divi

Cuna: guan

Dakota: tepee

Delaware (Munsee): punkie

Delaware (Unami): shoepac

Eastern Abenaki: wigwam

Fox: wickiup

Guarani: jaguarundi

Gullah: tabby [cement made of shells]

Haitian Creole: merengue

Halkomelem: coho

Hopi: piki

Inuit: igloo

Inuit (Greenland): anorak

Louisiana French: etouffee

Lower Chehalis: chinook [salmon]

Lower Chinook: salal

Lushootseed: geoduck

Massachuset: wampum

Mexican Spanish: saguaro

Micmac: caribou

Miskito: dory

Nahuatl: atlatl

Narraganset: quahog

Navajo: hogan

Nootka: potlatch

North Carolina Algonquian: pocosin

Northern Straits: sockeye

Ojibwa: totem

Pennsylvania German: dunk

Quechua: puma

Rumsen: abalone

Shawnee: wapiti

Shoshone: pogonip

Shuswap: kokanee

Southern Paiute: sego liliy

Taino: hammock

Tarascan: huarache

Tupi: tapioca

Unquachog: sea puss

Virginia Algonquian: raccoon

Western Abenaki: hackmatack

Yucatec: cenote

Yupic: mukluk
Nedra
2016-03-16 06:34:56 UTC
this site is run by English people there is a base in England you have noticed it is world wide what do they do about Chinese or Japanese that would have a few in America scratching their heads
chapman
2017-02-19 18:05:39 UTC
2


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