Today is another meeting of my Saxlish group; we consider Anglo-Saxon, and other similar languages which have made the English language as we know it today. We talk about lots of different things, of course, the history, the poetry, the people, but we do mostly consider the language.
It really is amazing how many words we use today, everyday words, are originally from the language that was brought to these islands a millennia and a half ago. here are some examples:
A ale, alive, apple, awake, axe
B back, bath, bed, bird, blood, body, brother
C carve, chicken, child, clean, cold, cup
D daft, daughter, dead, deer, door, drink, dusk
E each, ear, elbow, end, evening, evil, eye
F fair, fall, feather, find, fish, fox, friend
G game, gate, god, gold, good, ground, green
H hammer, harbour, hand, high, honey, house, husband
I I, ice, if, in, island, it, itch
K keen, keep, kind, king, kiss, knife, knot
L land, laugh, lip, listen, long, love
M make, man, marsh, meadow, milk, moon, mouth
N nail, name, needle, nest, night, now, nut
O oak, of, on, old, open, orchard, owl
P path, pin, pipe, plant, plough, poppy, pretty
Q queen, quick
R rag, rain, rat, read, ride, right, rock
S say, see, send, shadow, sheep, sister, sword
T take, thank, thimble, thirst, thumb, today, tomorrow
U udder, under, up, us
V vat
W wag, wake, walk, west, winter, woman, wrong
Y yard, yawn, year, yes, yolk, you, young
I’m sure I read of a professor who only speaks and writes in modern English using words of Saxon origin, eschewing Latin and French derivatives! I must try and find him!
Lois Elsden 