Do some English words come from french, or is it that some french words come from English?

Answer 1

I found a great quote on wikipedia:

"We don't just borrow words. On occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary". (James D. Nicoll)

Answer 2

English has had a long tradition of borrowing words from other languages. This tradition began with the conquest of Britain by the Norman-French in 1066.Because of these conquerors estabilished themselves as rulers, their dialect of French became the language of the aristocracy, of government, and of education. During this period, many French words came into the English language. Another influx of Vocabulary came from Latin, which was the language of the church. Today, those words derived from French and Latin, though still identifiable as such, are an inseparable part of the English vocabulary and are not thought of as foreign by English speakers. In fact, the first two sentences of mine contain three words that come to us from this tradition: Tradition, Languages, and Conquest.

Answer 3

Most languages borrow from others with whom they have common interaction. We have loads of French words in English that we have borrowed recently, and in the past. Bureau for example. As we have no Academy of English like the French do to protect the purity of the French language, then they just jump right into English. The French have an official French language, which no one really uses. In common use loads of technical words move from English to French, like software and hardware.

Answer 4

Both, but English soaks up words from other languages is spongish fashion. France officially tries to not do this.

Bonfire: the "bon" is French for good, a bonfire is a good fire rather than a wild fire.

"May Day!" as a distress call, is actually French "M'aidez" which means "Help me!".

Answer 5

Some English words such as 'Jolly' come from French.
As England was invaded by the Normans, the English people adopted some of their invaders language