HippoCampus
LanguagesGuidedBeginner15 chapters

Where English words come from

HippoCampus
· starter course
Where do English words come from? Trace the layers left by Old English, Norse invaders, Norman French, Latin and Greek scholarship, and today's internet slang, with lots of surprising examples.

What you'll learn

15 chapters
  1. 1

    English as a Layered Language

    • Understand that English vocabulary comes from many historical sources.
    • Recognize the difference between inherited words and borrowed words.
    • Build a simple timeline of the main periods that shaped English word origins.
  2. 2

    Before English: Indo-European, Germanic, and the First English Speakers

    • Place English within the larger Indo-European and Germanic language families.
    • Understand that the earliest English came from Germanic-speaking settlers.
    • Learn that some of the oldest English words go back very far in family history.
  3. 3

    Old English: The Earliest Core Vocabulary

    • Identify Old English as the foundation of many everyday English words.
    • Recognize common semantic areas where Old English words remain strongest.
    • See how basic grammar words often survive from the oldest layer.
  4. 4

    Christianity and Early Latin Influence

    • Understand how contact with the Christian church brought early Latin words into English.
    • Recognize that some borrowed words entered because new institutions and ideas arrived.
    • Distinguish early religious and learned Latin borrowings from later scholarly ones.
  5. 5

    Vikings and Old Norse: New Everyday Words

    • Explain how Viking contact brought Old Norse words into English.
    • Recognize that Norse influence reached deep into everyday vocabulary.
    • Notice that closely related languages can exchange very common words.
  6. 6

    When Similar Languages Mix: Norse Effects on Everyday English

    • Learn that contact with Norse may have affected not only vocabulary but also some very common word choices.
    • Recognize famous Norse examples among pronouns and common words.
    • Understand that similar languages can blend in ways that feel unusually deep.
  7. 7

    1066 and the Norman Conquest: French Arrives

    • Understand why the Norman Conquest changed English vocabulary so strongly.
    • Identify French as the language of power, law, and elite society after 1066.
    • Recognize that political change can reshape a language's word stock.
  8. 8

    French Layers in English: Law, Food, Fashion, and Power

    • Identify major semantic fields where French contributed many English words.
    • Notice differences between everyday Germanic words and more formal French words.
    • Learn famous example sets that show social history through vocabulary.
  9. 9

    Middle English Mixing: Synonyms, Doublets, and Register

    • Understand how English kept older words while adding French and Latin alternatives.
    • Recognize that different origins can create shades of style and meaning.
    • Practice spotting common synonym sets from different historical layers.
  10. 10

    Renaissance Learning: More Latin and Greek Enter English

    • Explain why the Renaissance brought many learned words into English.
    • Recognize Latin and Greek as major sources for education, philosophy, and scholarship.
    • Distinguish learned borrowing from everyday inherited vocabulary.
  11. 11

    Science and Word Parts: Greek and Latin in Modern Terms

    • Recognize common Greek and Latin building blocks in modern English vocabulary.
    • Understand how new technical words are often created from older classical parts.
    • Practice identifying meaning from familiar prefixes, roots, and suffixes.
  12. 12

    English Meets the World: Trade, Travel, Empire, and Borrowing

    • Understand that English kept borrowing words as its speakers traveled and traded.
    • Recognize that global contact brought words for foods, objects, places, and ideas.
    • Learn memorable examples from several source languages without trying to cover every case.
  13. 13

    American English, Mass Media, and New Everyday Words

    • See how new centers of English use helped spread fresh vocabulary.
    • Understand that media, advertising, technology, and popular culture speed up word change.
    • Recognize that English is still growing through daily use.
  14. 14

    Internet Slang and the Latest Layer of English

    • Identify the internet as a major modern source of new vocabulary and new meanings.
    • Recognize common processes in online word creation such as clipping, acronym, meme spread, and semantic shift.
    • Understand that some internet slang fades while some becomes standard.
  15. 15

    Putting It Together: How to Guess Where an English Word Comes From

    • Review the main historical layers of English vocabulary in chronological order.
    • Practice using clues such as meaning, style, and word parts to make simple origin guesses.
    • Understand the limits of guessing and the value of checking a dictionary or etymology source.

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