2007-01-23 10:27:45 · 5 answers · asked by candy 1 in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
Fifteen per cent of the English words are Greek Philosophy,Mathematics,Democracy,Astronomy,Cosmology ,Theater All the science and Medical terms, like ophthalmology,Orthopedics etc That is why we Greeks learn English easily,because we already know the difficult words
2007-01-24 11:24:29 · answer #1 · answered by qwine2000 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They say that English is the greatest linguistic thief ever, because it has stolen a multitude of words from other languages in order to increase itself
Some words include
costume, ballet, soiree, toilette- French
mascara, pasta, opera, villa- Italian
kitchen, halt, hausfrau-German
sombrero, plaza, fiesta- Spanish
bazaar- North African/ Arabian
teepee, wigwam, powwow- Native American
kimono, tempura, sushi, haiku- Japanese
Words such as "plastic" are derived from Greek As in "plasticos" "To mold or shape"
2007-01-23 10:48:06 · answer #2 · answered by peskylisa 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There are a few Australian words in English as well from different Australian languages For example
From Dharug (Sydney basin language)
Corroboree, dingo, kookaburra, warrigal
From Guugu Yimidhirr (Cooktown, north Queensland)
Kangaroo
There are many other words such as boomerang, didgeridoo, budgerigah etc which come from Australian languages but I am not sure which of the 250 or so languages they come from.
The emu is a very Australian bird but its name is not Australian but Portuguese in which languge it means "ostrich".
2007-01-23 11:06:01 · answer #3 · answered by tentofield 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Here are some words which originated in France:
blond, brunette, chic, critique, cuisine, deja vu, encore, fiance, finale, genre, petite, rouge, souvenir,
2007-01-23 10:47:47 · answer #4 · answered by senlin 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
all of them...
that is unless you speak proto-indo-european... (which no one does)
2007-01-23 10:47:59 · answer #5 · answered by bensbabe 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋