Borrowed Words
Middle English Grammar 1
Chapter 9 · Borrowed Words
📜 Borrowed Words
Two languages pressed on Middle English: Norse in the north and east, and French (Norman, then Anglo-Norman) from 1066. This chapter lists what the sources say they added, which words are grammar words and which are everyday vocabulary, and where the sources say the effect on the grammar is only proposed. For the history behind this, see The History of the English Language, Chapters 2 and 3.
Norse
| What the sources say | Detail |
|---|---|
| When | Main contact between the 9th and 11th centuries, in the settlement of eastern and northern England. Norse words entered speech in the 10th and 11th centuries and appear in writing from the early 13th century, which the Middle English article puts down to the West Saxon bias of surviving Old English writing. |
| Where | Strongest in the Danelaw (Yorkshire, the central and eastern Midlands, East Anglia). Northern texts show the most borrowings. |
| Grammar words | They from þeir, their from þeirra, both from baðir, same from same / samr. Though is partly from þó, and are blends Old English and Old Norse forms. |
| Where it shows | The Middle English article says Viking influence is most visible in pronouns, modals, comparatives, pronominal adverbs (hence, together), conjunctions and prepositions. |
Chapter 5 gave the Norse third-person plural line of the pronoun table (þei, þem, þeir).
| Word | Old Norse source (as listed) | Gloss given |
|---|---|---|
| egg | egg | egg |
| take | taka | |
| cake | kaka | cake |
| leg | leggr | |
| ill | illr | bad |
| husband | husbondi | master of the house |
| window | vindauga | wind-eye |
| sky | ský | cloud |
| skin | skinn | animal hide |
| skirt | skyrta | shirt |
| skull | skulle | head (the page's own gloss) |
The Wikipedia list marks some words as northern, such as bloom and harsh, and says the northern form of gable probably comes straight from Norse. That is the list's own note; it does not give Middle English spellings, so I give none.
French
| What the sources say | Detail |
|---|---|
| When | After the Norman Conquest of 1066. Borrowing was gradual; the peak was 1250–1400, when about 40% of the French words in English first appear (Influence of French on English). Anglo-Norman stayed the dominant language of literature and law until the 14th century. |
| Law and government | court, judge, jury, appeal, parliament, justice, heir |
| Food | beef (from buef, c. 1300), mutton (moton, sheep), veal (vel, calf) |
| Home and daily life | chair (chaiere), curtain (cortine, a bed curtain), pantry (paneterie, bread storage) |
| Pairs with an English word | pig / pork, calf / veal, wood / forest, freedom / liberty; and kingly (English), royal (French), regal (Latin via French) |
| Double borrowings | catch (Norman) and chase (Parisian); warranty and guarantee |
| Affixes | The page lists pre-, -ous, -ity, -tion, -ture, -ment, -ive, -able as adopted from French, next to native ones like -ness and -ful. |
Effects on the grammar: proposed, not proven
- Loss of endings. The Middle English article says Norse and English speakers' endings became confused, leading to their gradual loss. This claim is marked "citation needed" in the article, as is the idea that Norse speakers' difficulty with English endings helped cause the loss. It also says French influence alone cannot explain the move to fixed word order, which also happened in other Germanic languages.
- The -s plural. Influence of French on English says its spread has been attributed to French, but that -as was already a plural for some strong masculine nouns before 1066, and French may only have strengthened -s over -en. The Middle English article does not credit Norse for the -s plural or the Northern verb -es.
- Noun then adjective. Phrases like attorney general are described as French in origin, though fairly rare.
- Doubted links. Other proposals (the impersonal one, "the guitar of David") are doubted because other Germanic languages have similar forms.
- Gerund. A late Middle English gerund use has been linked to French, as a proposed connection.
- Thou and you. The decline of thou in favour of ye and then you has been linked to French vous. This is a proposal on that page; Chapter 5 found no statement about it in the Middle English article.
- Syntax from Norse. The Middle English article says there is no certain evidence of syntactic influence from Norse in the sources (marked "citation needed").
What this chapter could not give
- Middle English spellings of most of the borrowed words, and the date each one first appears (only beef, c. 1300, was given).
- A statement of how a borrowed word was fitted into the endings (which plural or verb pattern a French noun or verb took). The sources I read do not say.
- A dedicated Norse-influence article: the page named Old Norse influence on the English language returned a 404, so I used the list of Norse-origin words and the Middle English article instead.
Words to know
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Loanword | A word taken into one language from another |
| Anglo-Norman | The French of the Norman rulers in England |
| Danelaw | The part of England under Norse influence, mostly north and east |
| Doublet | Two words from the same source that entered by different routes |
| Affix | A prefix or suffix added to a word |
✏️ Try It Yourself
Think of the answer first, then click to check.
1. Name three English grammar words that come from Norse.
Show answer
Any three of they, their, both, same; though is partly Norse, and are blends English and Norse forms.
2. Why did Norse words appear in writing later than in speech?
Show answer
The Middle English article puts it down to the West Saxon bias of surviving Old English writing.
3. Where was Norse influence strongest?
Show answer
In the Danelaw: Yorkshire, the central and eastern Midlands and East Anglia; Northern texts show the most borrowings.
4. Which sk- words from Norse are in the chapter's table?
Show answer
sky, skin, skirt, skull.
5. When was the peak of French borrowing?
Show answer
1250–1400, when about 40% of the French words in English first appear.
6. Give two English/French pairs from the chapter.
Show answer
Any two of pig / pork, calf / veal, wood / forest, freedom / liberty.
7. Name four French-derived affixes the page lists.
Show answer
Any four of pre-, -ous, -ity, -tion, -ture, -ment, -ive, -able.
8. What does Influence of French on English say about the -s plural?
Show answer
Its spread has been attributed to French, but -as was already a plural before 1066; French may have strengthened -s over -en, presented as a possibility.
9. Why is the claim that Norse caused the loss of endings treated cautiously?
Show answer
The article marks it "citation needed", and says French alone cannot explain the move to fixed word order.
10. Which dialect of verbs uses -es, and does the article say Norse caused it?
Show answer
Northern (Chapter 6). The article does not attribute it to Norse.