OLD ENGLISH VOCABULARY

LATIN LOANWORDS

1. Latin Loans: into Germanic

vowel mutation, umlaut
I-mutation occurred before the earliest extant records
of OE in 6th cent.
words that underwent this change must have
arrived in English before that date.

i-mutation in Old English, before 6th cent.

VOWEL HARMONY

>e
a>e
o>e
u>y
ea > ie > y
eo > ie > y
io > ie > y

>
>
>
a > e >
o > e >
o > e >

Evidence of I-mutation in Modern English

Abstract nouns formed from adjectives by adding ith, -eth, -th:

foul-filth hale-health long-length slow-sloth

deep-depth

strong-strength wide-width

Verbs formed from noun or adjective roots

doom-deem

food-feed

tale-tell full-fill blood-bleed hale-heal.

Causative verbs formed from preterites of strong verbs

drank-drench lie-lay rose-raise sat-set drove-drive

Noun plurals

man-men, foot-feet, tooth-teeth, goose-geese, louse-lice, mouse-mice. Along with

woman-women (derived from wif-man), louse-lice
Old English also included such words as the ancestors of modern
Book (boc-bec), goat (gat- gt), and friend (freond, frend, friend, frynd).
Comparatives: old-elder, late-latter.

Latin Loans: into Germanic

Latin

balteus 'girdle'
puteus 'pit'
crdo 'i believe'
uncia 'twelfth part'
diaconus 'deacon'
Sagna 'Seine'
pulvinus 'cushion'
sabbatum 'sabbath'
cucina 'kitchen'
catillus 'small dish'

OE

belt
pytt
crda 'creed'
ynce 'inch'
diacon
Segne
pyle 'pillow'
sabat
cycene 'kitchen'
cetel 'kettle'

*
*
*
*
*
*
*

Latin Loans: into Germanic

BREAKING
a ea / ___ r+C, l+C, h

A becomes EA before
r+consonant, l+consonant, and h
half > healf
early in the OE period (before records)

Latin Loans: into Germanic

Latin

vallum 'wall'
arca 'chest'
calcem 'lime'

OE

weall
earc
cealc 'chalk

Before or during the OE period?

LATIN

OE

moneta 'money'

mynet 'mint'

cometa 'comet'

cometa

coquina 'kitchen'

cycene

coquus 'cook'

cc

abbadem 'abbot'

abbad

camlus

camel

sanctus

sanct 'saint'

Strata street

Strt

Biber a drink, bibere, to drink

Beor (beer)

Vinum wine

Win (wine)

Flasco bottle, compare Sp. frasco

Flaxe (flask)

Cucumerem (acc. /cucumis, nom.)

cucumis---cucumber (replaced OE eorppla)

Unio (vulg. Latin Onion)

Ynne-leac (Onion)