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Latin Loanwords in English

Latin Loanwords in English

The English language has borrowed extensively from the Latin language beginning during the Germanic period before English was English through the Old English period and up to the early Modern English period. The earliest Latin loanwords date from the period before the Germanic tribes invaded England under invite from the Britons. Latin borrowings continued throughout the Old English period. English again borrowed heavily from Latin during the Early Modern period during which many scholars imported many Latin loanwords. Although English is a Germanic language, many common and everyday words are of Latin origin.

List of Latin Loanwords

With all the loanwords borrowed from Latin into English, an exhaustive list would be too lengthy to be possible. The following are some of the commonly used Latin loanwords in English:

A

  • agile
  • abdomen
  • album
  • alien
  • anatomy
  • animate
  • animosity
  • anchor
  • annual
  • apostle
  • area
  • audio

B

  • bacteria
  • bonus
  • bovine
  • butter

C

  • Caesar
  • cancer
  • canine
  • capsule
  • cervix
  • chalk
  • cheese
  • circle
  • circus
  • city
  • civil
  • chest
  • church
  • comet
  • compensate
  • color
  • colossus
  • complex
  • consider
  • contemplate

D

  • data
  • decide
  • dexterity
  • deity
  • discus
  • disc
  • disciple
  • dish
  • disk
  • domestic

E

  • ego
  • emperor
  • equilibrium
  • erupt
  • et cetera
  • excavate
  • expensive

F

  • fauna
  • feline
  • feminine
  • fictitious
  • flora
  • floral
  • formula
  • fungus

G

  • general
  • genius
  • genus
  • gradual

H

  • habitual
  • habitat
  • honor

I

  • id
  • ignite
  • immoral
  • immortality
  • inertia
  • infinite
  • ingenious
  • insane
  • interim

J

  • janitor
  • judge

K

  • kettle
  • kitchen

L

  • lachrymose
  • latex
  • legal
  • libido
  • lingua franca
  • literature
  • lunar

M

  • manual
  • master
  • martyr
  • media
  • meditate
  • memento
  • memorandum
  • memory
  • mile
  • minus
  • moment
  • momentum
  • moral

N

  • noble
  • nocturnal
  • notorious

O

  • opera
  • orbit
  • ovum

P

  • paper
  • patron
  • pauper
  • pavement
  • pendulum
  • peninsula
  • pepper
  • percent
  • persona
  • physician
  • plus
  • pound
  • propaganda

Q

R

  • referendum
  • regal
  • revise
  • rural
  • S
  • sack
  • series
  • sex
  • sickle
  • similar
  • simile
  • status
  • stimulus
  • street
  • subpoena
  • superego
  • superintendent
  • T
  • tabula rasa
  • temple
  • title

U

  • ultimate

V

  • vehicle
  • verbatim
  • vertigo
  • vice versa
  • video
  • vindicate

W

  • wall
  • wine

X

Y

Z

References

Loanwords: Major Periods of Borrowing in the History of English: http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~kemmer/Words/loanwords.html
List of Latin Words with English Derivatives: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Latin_words_with_English_derivatives
Word List: Latin Loan Words: http://www.english-for-students.com/Latin-Loan-Words.html

Borrow or Develop?: Enriching the English Vocabulary

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