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Modern English is Not 100% English 2

Modern English is not 100% English as the title goes. Modern English has over the centuries assimilated words from many different languages.

Finnish

Sauna: a bath that uses dry heat to induce perspiration, and in which steam is produced by pouring water on heated stones

Hebrew

Kosher: adhering to the laws governing such fitness; fit or allowed to be eaten or used, according to the dietary or ceremonial laws

Messiah: For the Christians, this is Jesus Christ, regarded as fulfilling this promise and expectation. John 4:25, 26; In Judaism, the Mashiach (Hebrew translit) is the promised and expected deliverer of the Jewish people

Gauze: any thin and often transparent fabric made from any fiber in a plain or leno weave; a surgical dressing of loosely woven cotton

Amen: it is so; so be it (used after a prayer, creed, or other formal statement to express solemn ratification or agreement)

Czech

Polka: a lively dance originating in Bohemia and performed by couples

Pistol: a short firearm intended to be held and fired with one hand

Robot: a machine that resembles a human and does mechanical, routine tasks on command

Egyptian

Ivory: the hard white substance, a variety of dentin, composing the main part of the tusks of the elephant, walrus, etc

Paper: a substance made from wood pulp, rags, straw, or other fibrous material, usually in thin sheets, used to bear writing or printing, for wrapping things, etc.

Ammonia: a colorless, pungent, suffocating, highly water-soluble, gaseous compound, NH3, usually produced by the direct combination of nitrogen and hydrogen gases: used chiefly for refrigeration and in the manufacture of commercial chemicals and laboratory reagents

Ebony: tropical tree of southern Asia having hard dark-colored heartwood used in cabinetwork; a deep, lustrous black

Catalan

Paella: a Spanish dish prepared by simmering together chicken, seafood, rice, vegetables, and saffron and other seasonings

Capsize: to turn bottom up; overturn

Croatian

Cravat: a cloth, often made of or trimmed with lace, worn about the neck by men esp. in the 17th century

Arabic

Alcohol: whiskey, gin, vodka, or any other intoxicating liquor containing this liquid

Monsoon: the seasonal wind of the Indian Ocean and southern Asia, blowing from the southwest in summer and from the northeast in winter

Zero: the figure or symbol 0, which in the Arabic notation for numbers stands for the absence of quantity; cipher

Hungarian

Paprika: a red, powdery condiment derived from dried, ripe sweet peppers

Coach: a large, horse-drawn, four-wheeled carriage, usually enclosed

Goulash: a stew of beef or veal and vegetables, seasoned mainly with paprika

Hindi

Shampoo: any of various liquid or cream preparations of soap or detergent used to wash the hair and scalp

Bangle: a rigid bracelet or anklet, especially one with no clasp

Jungle: a wild land overgrown with dense vegetation, often nearly impenetrable, esp. tropical vegetation or a tropical rain forest

Russian

Vodka: a colorless, distilled spirit, originally made in Russia

Mammoth: any large, elephant-like mammal of the extinct genus Mammuthus, from the Pleistocene Epoch, having hairy skin and ridged molar teeth

Portuguese

Flamingo: any of several aquatic birds of the family Phoenicopteridae, having very long legs and neck, webbed feet, and a bill bent downward at the tip, and pinkish to scarlet plumage

Molasses: thick syrup produced during the refining of sugar or from sorghum, varying from light to dark brown in color

Breeze: a wind or current of air, esp. a light or moderate one

Marmalade: a jellylike preserve in which small pieces of fruit and fruit rind, as of oranges or lemons, are suspended

Welsh

Maggot: a soft-bodied, legless larva of certain flies

Penguin: any of several flightless, aquatic birds of the family Spheniscidae, of the Southern Hemisphere, having webbed feet and wings reduced to flippers

Italian

Fortissimo: a musical direction meaning “to be performed very loudly”

Opera: a drama set to music; consists of singing with orchestral accompaniment and an orchestral overture and interludes

Bankrupt: a person who upon his or her own petition or that of his or her creditors is adjudged insolvent by a court and whose property is administered for and divided among his or her creditors under a bankruptcy law

Umbrella: a device for protection from the weather consisting of a collapsible, usually circular canopy mounted on a central rod

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User Comments
  1. Judy Sheldon

    On June 1, 2008 at 8:19 pm


    Fascinating! I knew that English had many derivatives, much like America.

  2. Lucy Lockett

    On June 1, 2008 at 10:20 pm


    Languages are changing for many cultures, to be understood is to be adaptable.

  3. B10S

    On June 2, 2008 at 12:14 am


    Adaptation at its finest.

  4. Dee Huff

    On June 2, 2008 at 7:07 am


    And I thought I was speaking English!

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