Skip to content
Skip to main content

About this free course

Download this course

Share this free course

Getting started on classical Latin
Getting started on classical Latin

Start this free course now. Just create an account and sign in. Enrol and complete the course for a free statement of participation or digital badge if available.

2.2 The influence of Norman French

In the sixth century, the Latin of the Christian church added such words as monastery and minster, pope and noon (from nona hora = ninth hour = 3pm) to the language, which was then essentially Anglo-Saxon. When William the Conqueror and his Normans came to Britain in the eleventh century, a vast number of words, derived both from Norman French and from written Latin, entered English. Among these are duke, general, soldier, army, palace, law, chivalry, merchant, mutton, beef and pork. In some instances, English was further enriched by having two versions of what was originally a single Latin word.

Table 1 English words derived from Latin and from Latin through French
Words from Latin through FrenchWords from Latin
treasontradition
ragerabies
rayradius
poorpauper
reasonration, ratio
firmsecure
abridgeabbreviate