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How many "step-sibling" word pairs can you think of?
A question today about "transparent" and "clear" suggested this game. The first word comes directly from Latin while the other comes from Latin via French. How many other pairs of synonyms can we come up with that came to English by different routes? Identify each word's language of origin (guesses are OK). Kudos if the ultimate source is the same word but it followed two routes to English, like flamingo (via 16th-century Spanish) and Flamenco (from modern Spanish), both from the Spanish word for "Flemish."
This is just for fun; I won't pick a winner, so eventually the voters will.
The great answer by freond1 suggests other pairs: castle/chateau via Old French and modern French, chair/chaise by the same routes (interesting history at http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=chaise), car from Old French and cart from Anglo-Saxon, perhaps changed from -ra- through the influence of "car."
1 Answer
- Anonymous1 decade agoFavorite Answer
Middle English is on of my hobbies, so I like pairs that come from ME and French, like the legal terms used so that both natives and the invading Normans could understand them:
null and void
cease and desist
let or hindrance are both OE derivatives, equivalent to interfere
There are dozens of other word pairs similar to that. The ME word is usually considered to be in a lower register, or "low class" while the French/Latin word is of a higher, more sophisticated register.
house/home vs mansion/domain
cow vs cattle
bodily fluids and functions are obvious but I will refrain from listing them. Strangely, the use of the Old English or Middle English terms are often followed by "pardon my French," which is odd, since the term derived from French would likely be seen as more polite. I guess the French had a bad reputation for earthiness.
cattle and chattel might be the kind of pair you are looking for.
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=chattel...
chattel
early 13c., chatel "property, goods," from O.Fr. chatel "chattels, goods, wealth, possessions, property; profit; cattle," from L.L. capitale "property" (see cattle, which is the O.N.Fr. form of the same word).
For a lot of information on how words came to English, I highly recommend
http://www.amazon.com/History-English-Language-Alb...
I'd recommend looking for a used paperback for around $30, rather than the much higher prices for a new or hardcover version. I LOVED this book, a recognized classic work on the subject of the History of English.