Words for all Seasons

The following words are examples which you may use on a variety of occasions. Check to make sure you know their meaning and be sure you know how to use the words to support an argument. Add your own finds too - a word you have found in your own research has more value to you.

A Level English Language: Word Examples for All Occasions

Indo-European
oak, beech, bear, wolf, ox, sheep, bee, horse

Demonstrating Germanic Consonantal Shift
pater-father; duo-two; granum-corn; horn-cornet

Common Indo-European Words
month / mois / monat / mas (Skt); three / trois / drei / trayas (Skt)

Word Order v Inflection
canis hominem mordet : the dog bites the man

Celtic Remnants
London, Dover, Winchester, crag, coombe, Ouse, Pennines

Old English Words
back, bridge, chin, folk

Old English Mutated Plurals
feet, geese, teeth, men, women, lice, mice

Early Latin
bishop, candle, creed

Scandinavian
beck, -by, fell, thwaite, "Ullesthorpe", freckle, leg, skull, meek, rotten, clasp, crawl, dazzle, scream, sky, husband

Scandinavian Words from the same source but used with a different meaning
no-nay, ditch - dike, scatter - shatter, skirt - shirt, whole - hale, bathe - bask

French pairs
pig-pork; sheep-mutton; bullock-beef
motherhood - maternity; friendship - amity; brotherhood - fraternity; a hearty welcome - a cordial reception

Recent French loan words
faux pas, déja vu, cuisine

French loan words (justice)
justice, jury, traitor, petty, damage, prison, parliament

French loan words (aristocracy)
countess, duke, duchess, baron, viscount, prince (but not King or Queen)

Humble trades in Anglo Saxon, Skilled trades in French
baker, miller, shoemaker; mason, painter, tailor

Trade
silk, ketchup, ginger, shampoo, tomato, cinnamon, cocoa, banana

Since 1975
AIDS, e-mail, jazzercise, yuppy, modem, Internet, Intranet, yomping, FAX

Product names
Prozac, perspex, sellotape, linoleum (lino), thermos, hoover, aspirin, biro

Personal Names
teddy, hoover, volt, knickers, braille, leotard, wellington, decibel, ohm

Place Names
champagne, rugby, hamburger, Bren, cologne, denim, damask, gypsy, balaclava, alsatian, brussels

Blends
smog, guesstimate, vegeburger, brunch, fanzine, transistor, telethon, Thatcherite

Silent letters
lamb, pneumonia, wreck, psychology, psephology, through

Simplifiable spellings
color, flavor, medieval, encyclopedia

Modern Inventions with Classical Etymology
Helicopter, telephone, megaphone, microphone, television, omnibus

Americanisms
faucet, john, creek, comfort station

Children's Utterances
"A thingy what you put in your mouth when you're poorly"

Archaisms
gramophone, wireless, super, whom,

Old Word, new meaning
luxury (was lechery), wicked, cool, bread, ecstasy, green, gay

English used in Europe:
"ein image problem" "das cashflow" (German); il software (Italy); "le weekend break" (France); "telewizja" (Poland); "flirt" (Spain); "pikunikku" (Japan).

New words by compounds
airport, seashore, footwear, wristwatch, landmark, flowerpot, houseboat, boathouse, casebook, bookcase

Things we have no words for
the difference between knowledge from recognition (connaitre, kennen) and knowledge from understanding (savoir, wissen)
the difference between an interior and an exterior angle
leaking out and leaking in
the mark left on a table by a moist glass (Italian culacino)
the habit of dropping in at mealtimes (Scots giomlaireachd)

No distinction between singular and plural
sheep, deer, trout, Swiss, scissors

Invented by Shakespeare
barefaced, critical, leapfrog, monumental, majestic, obscene, dwindle, countless, submerged, excellent, gust, hint, hurry, lonely, summit (& 1690 others)

Changes in Meaning
"counterfeit" once meant a legitimate copy
"brave" once implied cowardice
"crafty" was a word of praise
enthusiasm" was a word of mild abuse
a "girl" in Chaucer's day was a young person of either sex
"manufacture" meant made by hand
"cousin" was very imprecisely a relative of any sort or of the same household

Grammatical Features

Obsolete
"whom" (the man whom we helped)
the rule on using no preposition at the end of a sentence (that's the sort of thing up with which I shall not put)

Features of Standard English as opposed to regional dialect
Possessive pronouns - Yorkshire "us" v SE "our" eg "I'll go get us books"
2nd person plural pronoun: Newcastle "yous" v SE "you" eg "Yous lot 'll get trouble"
2nd person singular pronoun: Yorkshire "tha" v SE "you" eg "He's right, tha knows"
1st person object pronoun as subject pronoun: Somerset "I" v SE "me" eg "That made I laugh"
3rd person singular present tense verbs: Norwich without "s" v SE with "s" eg "he swim well don't he"
Multiple negation: Cockney "I didn't do nothing" v SE "I didn't do anything"
Use of "ain't" v SE "isn't" or "hasn't" eg "he ain't coming cos 'e ain't got his ticket"
Negatives: Scots "nae" v SE "not" eg "I've nae got it so I cannae go"

See also "do us a favour"; "He did it hisself"; multiple superlatives and comparatives "He's the most roughest", "He's more better"; "Look at them animals"; "Look at yon farm"; "They done it very nice"; "Give it me"