The Fascinating Origins of 16 Common English Words Greek. Meaning: A phone is a device that’s used to communicate with people from a distance (you might be using a phone... Latin. Meaning: Something dense is packed tightly or very thick. For example, a fog …

Hundreds of these pairs of synonyms from two word origins are recognized by almost all English-speakers, with both words used frequently. Even though the Romans ruled much of England for 400 years, most of the Latin that has influenced English came later, either through French (which is a Romance language based on Latin) or from the language of the church during the Middle …

Mar 01, 1984 · In The Origins of English Words, Shipley catalogues these proposed roots and follows the often devious, always fascinating, process by which some of their offshoots have grown. Anecdotal, eclectic, and always enthusiastic, The Origins of English Words is a diverting expedition beyond linguistics into literature, history, folklore, anthropology, philosophy, and …