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What Words Are Of Anglo Saxon Origin?

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    It's often said that the four letter (swear) words in Britain are Anglo Saxon.  But only "shit" may deserve the description , the others all have other origins, usually first used in Middle English, long after the Anglo Saxon language became subordinate to Anglo French following the Norman invasion.

    As for some real Anglo Saxon words -- meaning words that were recognisably used in Britain before 1066, with minor changes since - try

    All the days of the week, the word "day", and times of day.
    Names for family members, like Father, Son
    Daughter,
    Names of parts of the body.
    Holidays, including Easter (from Saxon Goddess Eostre) and Yule (pagan midwinter festival).

    Some animals (bird, cow, wolf)
    Colours, numbers
    Common foods: Cheese, bread.
    Heavily used words: where, what, the, that, many words that start with "th".

    Lancscape features, and place names and suffixes, like:

    -ford (a river crossing)
    -den (hill)
    -ham (suffix on many a place name, meaning village or settlement)
    -ton (village or farm)
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    Scavenger 

    answered 3 years ago

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