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Rachel Pappas

Professor Vickie Larsen

English 310

18 January 2011

Word History

While attempting to figure out what word to use for the word history assignment I

attempted to follow one of the suggestions to pick a word out of our text book The Riverside

Chaucer of picking a word by going to the back of the book where the glossary is located and

see if one sparked my imagination there. Well to tell the truth I attempted to start in the

beginning of the alphabet and then at the end of the alphabet. I was unsuccessful in that way

instead I decided to take a creative way to picking a word and that method was flipping through

the book until one of the words popped out at me. While a handful did only a few had a real story

to tell and with some him and hawing I finally settled on the word romaunce.

To begin the story of the word romaunce according to the Oxford English Dictionary

(OED) we find ourselves stumbling upon the etymology. The etymology of the word Romaunce

Required Elements:

You must include the following to receive a grade that is higher than a D:\

 The word’s etymology and first known usage in English, quoted. (You may have to
handwrite obsolete characters). If you'd like a translation of an Old English passage
into modern English so you can discuss the word's function in it, e-mail it to me by
January 15th.
 The range of meanings this word has had now and throughout its past.
 An indication of whether the word’s meaning has remained consistent or changed over
time, and how.
 Whether the word is obsolete (for how long?) or still in use (in what form?).
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