English words of Greek origin
How Greek has contributed to English / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Greek language has contributed to the English lexicon in five main ways:
- vernacular borrowings, transmitted orally through Vulgar Latin directly into Old English, e.g., 'butter' (butere, from Latin butyrum < βούτυρον), or through French, e.g., 'ochre';
- learned borrowings from classical Greek texts, often via Latin, e.g., 'physics' (< Latin physica < τὰ φυσικά);
- a few borrowings transmitted through other languages, notably Arabic scientific and philosophical writing, e.g., 'alchemy' (< χημεία);
- direct borrowings from Modern Greek, e.g., 'ouzo' (ούζο);
- neologisms (coinages) in post-classical Latin or modern languages using classical Greek roots, e.g., 'telephone' (< τῆλε + φωνή) or a mixture of Greek and other roots, e.g., 'television' (< Greek τῆλε + English vision < Latin visio); these are often shared among the modern European languages, including Modern Greek.
All etymologies in this article are sourced from the Oxford English Dictionary and can be found under the English word;[1] somewhat less complete etymologies may also be found in other online and offline dictionaries, such as the Online Etymological Dictionary,[2] the Merriam-Webster Dictionary,[3] and the American Heritage Dictionary.[4] |
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Of these, the neologisms are by far the most numerous.