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Zerox Posted 20 years ago
Vocabulary
Scandinavian words
English was invaded by vikings during the old English era, right? I just wonder are there any words that have stayed in the usage that have derived from Scandinavia?
Top answer
Hi Zerox There are thousands of such words in English. The words the Vikings brought to the language are usually everyday words that common people used, as opposed to the words derived from French during the Norman period. I am not familiar with Danish but the following words, for example, have a Scandinavian origin: winter (Swedish vinter), summer (sommar), give (giva, ge), take (taga, ta), they (de), bread (bröd), window (vind öga = eye of wind), father, mother, tree, life, folk, dale (dal), come, hear, full, wise, grey/gray, green, north, west, over, under etc.
- Hi Zerox There are thousands of such words in English.
- The words the Vikings brought to the language are usually everyday words that common people used, as opposed to the words derived from French during the Norman period.
- I am not familiar with Danish but the following words, for example, have a Scandinavian origin: winter (Swedish vinter), summer (sommar), give (giva, ge), take (taga, ta), they (de), bread (bröd), window (vind öga = eye of wind), father, mother, tree, life, folk, dale (dal), come, hear, full, wise, grey/gray, green, north, west, over, under etc.
- It is very surprising that even the Old English pronoun for they was replaced by a Scandinavian loan word.
- Personal pronouns are in frequent use and therefore for one to be replaced is exceptional.
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4 Answers
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Hi Zerox
There are thousands of such words in English. The words the Vikings brought to the language are usually everyday words that common people used, as opposed to the words derived from French during the Norman period. I am not familiar with Danish but the following words, for example, have a Scandinavian origin:
winter (Swedish vinter), summer (sommar), give (giva, ge), tak
There are thousands of such words in English. The words the Vikings brought to the language are usually everyday words that common people used, as opposed to the words derived from French during the Norman period. I am not familiar with Danish but the following words, for example, have a Scandinavian origin:
winter (Swedish vinter), summer (sommar), give (giva, ge), tak
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A lot of the words that CB quotes have a common root with Saxon words. I haven't studied Anglo-Saxon, but looking at modern German we have Winter, Sommer, geben (give), Brot (bread) etc., which are similar to the Scandinavian. Certainly the German Baum doesn't resemble tree and there really are a lot of specifically Scandinavian words, so in prin
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Hi Lewis
The words I mentioned entered the English language during the Viking period from Scandinavia, even though many of them resemble German words and probably Dutch words as well.
With regard to Celtic words in English, there aren't very many. The invading tribes regarded Celtic languages as inferior to their own and few Celtic words were adopted into English. Many of the w
The words I mentioned entered the English language during the Viking period from Scandinavia, even though many of them resemble German words and probably Dutch words as well.
With regard to Celtic words in English, there aren't very many. The invading tribes regarded Celtic languages as inferior to their own and few Celtic words were adopted into English. Many of the w
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There are lots of "common" words in the English language, such as dirt, bag andfellow that derive from Scandinavian Old Norse. Also placenames such as Kirkby and Langtoft have their roots in Old Norse.
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