TEXT 104: Sir Thomas Elyot, The Gouernour, 1531 (i) (facsimile)

  • Sundry (line 2) – several/ various
  • Estates (line 2) – classes
  • Equity (line 4) – traditional values
  • Doth not only betoken that (line 7-8) – does not only mean that
  • Old vulgar (line 11) – old tongue
  • Weal (line 12) – wealth
  • Substance (line 15) – property
  • Of (line 16) – from
  • Abused (line 18) – mistaken
  • They which do suppose it is to be called for that (19-20) – those of you who think that
  • In common (line 21) – equally distributed
  • Sensuality (line 23) – basic instincts/ senses
  • Appear unto them (line 25) – be obvious to those
  • Them (line 32) – those
  • Have hitherto holden (line 32- 33) – have held up to now

CHAUCER'S CANTERBURY TALES (Portfolio of the Second Semester)

CHAUCER’SCANTERBURYTALES”

 

Original text

 

130         Wel koude she carie a morsel and wel kepe      

131         That no drope ne fille upon hire brest.

132         In curteisie was set ful muchel hir lest.

133         Hir over-lippe wyped she so clene

134         That in hir coppe ther was no ferthyng sene

135         Of grece, whan she dronken hadde hir draughte.

136         Ful semely after hir mete she raughte.

137         And sikerly she was of greet desport,

138         And ful plesaunt, and amyable of port,

139         And peyned hire to countrefete cheere

140         Of court, and to been estatlich of manere,

141         And to ben holden digne of reverence.

142         But for to speken of hire conscience,

143         She was so charitable and so pitous

144         She wolde wepe, if that she saugh a mous

145         Kaught in a trappe, if it were deed or bledde.

146         Of smale hundes hadde she that she fedde

147         With rosted flessh, or milk and wastel-breed.

148         But soore wepte she if oon of hem were deed,

149         Or if men smoot it with a yerde smerte;

150         And al was conscienceand tendre herte.

151         Ful semyly hir wympul pynched was,

152         Hir nose tretys, hir eyen greye as glas,

153         Hir mouth ful smal, and therto softe and reed.

154         But sikerly she haddea fair forheed;

155         It was almoost aspanne brood, I trowe;

156         for, hardily, she was nat undergrowe.

157         Ful fetys was hir cloke, as I was war.

158         Of smal coral aboute hire arm she bar

159         A peire of bedes,gauded al with grene,

160         And ther on heng abrooch of gold ful sheene,

161         On which ther was first write a crowned A,

162         And after Amor vincit omnia.

163         Another NONNE with hire hadde she,

164         That was hir chapeleyne, and preestes thre.

165         A MONK ther was, a fair for the maistrie,

166         An out ridere, that lovede venerie,

167         A manly man, to been an abbotable.

168         Ful many a deyntee hors hadde he in stable,

169         And whan he rood, men myghte his brydel heere

170         Gynglen in a whistlynge wynd als cleere

171         And eek as loude as dooth the chapel belle

172         Ther as this lord was kepere of the celle.

173         The reule of Seint Maure or of Seint Beneit --

174         By cause that it was old and somdel streit

175         This ilke Monk leet olde thynges pace,

176         And heeld after the newe world the space.

177         He yaf nat of that text a pulled hen,

178         That seith that hunters ben nat hooly men,

179         Ne that a monk, whan he is recchelees,

180         Is likned til a fissh that is waterlees.

 

Modern translation

 

130         She well knew how to carry a morseland take good care

131         That any drop would not fell upon herbreast.

132         In courtesy she had delight and zest.

133         Her upper lip was wiped so cleanly

134         That in her cup there wasseen no tiny bit

135         Of grease, when she had drunk herdrink.

136         She reached her meat in thesame way.

137         And surely she was of excellentdeportment,

138         And very pleasant, and amiable in demeanour,

139         And she took pains to imitate themanners,

140         Of court, and to be dignified inbehaviour,

141         And to be considered worthyof reverence.

142         But to speak of her moral sense,
143         She was so charitable and socompassionate

144         She would weep, if she saw a mouse

145         Caught in a trap, if it weredead or bled

146         She had some small houndsthat she fed

147         With roasted meat, or milkand fine white bread.

148         But sorely she wept if one of themwere dead,

149         Or if people smote it vigorously witha stick;

150         And all was thought and innocentheart.

151         Who was her confessor, and threepriests.

152         Her wimple was pleated in a verybeautiful manner,

153         Her nose well formed, her eyes grey asglass,

154         Her mouth very small, and furthermoresoft and red.

155         But certainly she had a fair forehead;

156          It was almost a long scout, Ithought;

157         Of course, she was not undergrown.

158          Her veil was very well made, as I wasobservant.

159         About her arm, she naked of smallcoral

160         A pair of beds, adorned with largegreen,

161         And upon this hung a brooch of verybrilliant gold,

162         On which there was first written an Awith a crown,

163         And after “Love defeats all”.

164         She had another Nun with her,

165         There was a monk, a very prestigiousone

166         An outrider who loved hunting

167         A virile man, qualified to be an abbot

168         He had plenty of very best horses inhis stable

169      And when he rode, everybody could hearhis bridle

170      Jingle in a whistling wind as clear

171      And also as loud as does the chapel bell

172      Where this lord was prior of thesubordinate monastic establishment

173      The religious order of Saint Maurus or ofSaint Benedict

174      Because it was old and somewhat strict

175      This very Monk let old things pass away

                                     176      And followed the newer customs of moderntimes

                                     177      He gave not a plucked hen for that text.

178     That says that hunters arenot holy men

179     Nor that a monk, when heis careless of rules

180     It’s like a part of a fishthat is out of water


 

 

 

 

Metrical analysis

 

130         Wel/ koude she/ carie/ a mor/sel and/wel kepe      

131         That/ no drop/ene fill/e upon/ hire brest.

132         In cur/teisie/was set/ful much/el hir lest.

133         Hir ov/er-lipp/e wyp/edshe/ so clene

134         That in/ hir copp/e ther was/ no ferth/yngsene

135         Of grec/e, whan/ she dronk/enhadde/ hir draughte.

136         Ful sem/ely/ after/hir met/e she raughte.

137         And sik/erly/ she was/of greet/ desport,

138         And ful/ plesaunt,/ and a/myable/of port,

139         And peyn/ed hire/ to countr/efet/e cheere

140         Of court,/ and to been/ esta/tlich of/manere,

141         And/ to ben hold/en dign/e of rev/erence.

142         But for/ to spek/enof hire/ conscience,

143         She was/so cha/ritabl/e and so/ pitous

144         She wold/e wepe/, if that/she saugh/ a mous

145         Kaught/ in atrapp/e, if it/were deed/ or bledde.

146         Of smal/e hund/es hadd/eshe that/ she fedde

147         With rost/ed flessh,/ or milk/ and wast/el-breed.

148         but SOORe/ wepte SHE/ if ONN/of HEM/were.DEED

149         or if MEN/smoot IT/with A/YERde/sMERte

150         and AL/was CONS/cience AND/TENdre/HERte

151         ful SE/myly/hir WYM/pulPYN/ched WAS

152         hir NOSe/TREtys/hir E/ yen GREyen/as GLAS

153         hir MOUTH/ful SMAL/ and THER/to SOF/te and RED

154         but SI/ kerLY/she HADde/a FAIR/ forHEED

155         it WAS/ALmoost/a sPAN/ne BROOD/i TROWe

156         for HAR/diLY/ she WAS/NAT un/derGROWe

157         FUL fe/ tys WAS/ hir CLOKe/ as I/ was WAR

158         of SMALL/ coRAL/ About/hire ARM/ sheBAR

159         a PEIRe/ of BED/es GAU/ ded AL/ with GRENe

160         and THE/ron HENG/ a BROOCH/ of GOLD/ ful SHEENe

161         on WHICH/ there WAS/first WRITe/ a CROW/ ned A

162         and AF/ ter A/mor VIN/cit OM/nia

163         aNO/ ther NON/ne WITH/ Hire/had SHE

164         that WAS/hir CHA/peLEYNe/ and PREES/ tes THRE

165         a MONK/therWAS/a FAIR/ for the/ MAISTRIe,

166         an OUTri/DERe, /that LOVede/VEne/riE,

167         a MAN/ly MAN /to BEEN/ an Abbot/ Able.

168         ful MA/ny a DEYntee/ hors HA/dde he/in STABLe,

169         and WHAN/he ROOD/,  MEN MYGH/te his BRY/ del HEERe

170         GYNGlen/in a WHISTL/ynge /WYND als / CLEERe

171         and EEK as /LOUDe/ as dooth /the CHApel/BELLe

172         THER as/ this LORD/ was KEPERe /of the /CELLe.

173         the REUL/e of /SEINT MAURe /or of / SEINT BeNEIT

174         by CAUS/e that IT was /OLD and /SOMDEL /STREIT

175         this IL/keMONK /LEET OL/de THYNGes /PACe,

176         and HEELD/ after the / NEW/e WORLD/ the SPACe.

177         HE yaf nat /of that TEXT/a pu/LLED /HEN,

178         that SEITH/thatHUNTERS /ben nat / HOOLY /MEN,

179         BEthat /a MONK, /WHAN /he is /reccheLEES,

180         is LIK/ned til a /FISSH/ that is WA/terLEES

 

Phonological transcription

130               we:l kʊd ʃe: kerɪ ə mɔrsel and we:l kε:pə

131               ðat nɔ dro:pə nə fɪlə ʊpɔn hiεr brε:st

132               ɪn kurtaisi: waz set fʊl mʊtʃəl hiεr lε:st

133               hiεr ɔvər-lɪpə wɪpəd ʃe: sɔ kle:nə

134               ðat ɪn hiεr kʊpə ðer waz nɔ fe:rðɪŋg sε:nə

135               ɔv grε:sə, wan ʃe: drʊnkən had hiεr drouxtə

136               ful sε:məlɪ aftəhiεr mε:tə ʃe rouxtə.

137               and sɪkerlɪ ʃe: waz ɔv grε:t despɔrt,

138               and fʊl plesaunt,and amia:blə ɔv pɔrt,

139               andpained hiεr tɔ kʊntrafε:tə tʃe:r

140               ɔv kʊrt, and tɔ ben esta:klitʃ ɔv manε:r

141               and tɔ be:n houldən di:gn ɔv reverentsə

142               but fɔr tɔ spe:kən ɔv hiεr kɔnsiε:nsə,

143               ʃe: waz sɔ tʃarita:blə and sɔ pɪtʊs

144               ʃe: wʊldə we:pə, ɪf ðat ʃe: sauh ə mʊs

145               kauxtɪn ə trapə, ɪf ɪt wεr dε:d ɔr bledə.

146               ɔv sma:lə hʊndəz ha:də ʃe: ðat ʃe: fedə

147               wɪð roustəd fleʃ, ɔr mɪlk and wastəl-brε:d.

148               butsɔʊr wept ʃe: ɪf on əv hem wer ded

149               or ɪf men zmoʊt it wið ə jɪerde zmerte

150               and al waz conzɪenz and tendre herte

151               fʊl zemɪlɪ hɪr wimpul pɪntſε:d waz

152               hɪr noze tretɪs hɪr ejen greje az glaz

153               hɪr moʊtſ fʊl zmal and derto zofte and red

154               but zɪkerlɪ ʃe: had ə fair fɔrhε:d

155                itwaz almɔst əzpane brɔd aɪ trowə

156               fəhardɪlɪ ʃe: waz nat undergrowə

157               fʊl fetɪs waz hɪr klok az aɪ waz war

158               əvzmal kɔral abaut hε:r arm ʃe: bar

159               ə peir əv bedez gaudɪd al wið grɪne

160               and ðerɔn heng ə brotʃ əv gold fʊl ʃen

161               onwɪtʃ ðer waz fɪrst wɪt ə croned a

162               and after amor vɪncɪt omnɪa

163               anoðer none wið hɪre had ʃe:

164                ðatwaz hɪr tʃapelein and preztez ðrε:

165        ə mɔnk ðer waz, ə fair fə ðe maistrie

166        an u:tride:r ðat lʊved veneriə,

167        ə manli man tu ben an abot able.

168        ful mani ə dainte: hɔrs had he: in sta:bl ə

169        and wan he: rɔ:d, men mixt his bri:del hε:re

170         ʤi:nglən in ə wistliŋg wind als klε:re

171         andε:kaz lu:de dɔ:θ ðe tʃapel bel

172        ðer as ðis lɔ:rd waz keper ɔv ðe selə.

173         ðe rεul ɔv saint maur ɔr ɔv saint benait

174         bi kausə ðat ɪt waz ɔ:ld and sumdel strait

175         ðis ilke mɔnk le:t ɔ:lde θɪŋges pase,

176         and hε:ld aftə ðe nεuə wɔrld ðe spase.

177         he: jaf nat ɔv ðat text ə puledhen,

178         ðat saið ðat hunters be:n nat hɔ:li men

179         nə ðat ə mɔnk, wan hε: is retʃele:s

180         is likned til ə fiʃ ðat is waterlε:s


Text 89: Margery Brews to John Paston, February 1477

Vn to my ryght welbelouyd voluntyn John Paston squyer be þis bill delyuered &c Ryght reuerent and wurschypfull and my ryght welebeloued voluntyne I recommaunde me vn to yowe full hertely desyring to here of yowr welefare whech I beseche almyghty god long for to preserve vn to hys plesure and ʒowr hertys desyre and yf it please ʒowe to here of my welefare I am not in good heele of body ner of herte nor schall be tyll I here from yowe.

For þer wottys no creature what peyn þat I endure and for to be deede I dare it not dyscure.

And my lady my moder hath labored þe mater to my fadure full delygently but sche can no more gete þen ʒe knowe of for þe whech god knowyth I am full sorry but yf that ʒe loffe me as I tryste verely that ʒe do ʒe will not leffe me þerfor. for yf þat ʒe hade not halfe þe lyvelode þat ʒe hafe, for to do þe grettyst labure þat any woman on lyve myght I wold not forsake ʒowe

 

To my right well beloved valentine John Paston esquire is this letter sent.

Right reverent and worshipful and my right well beloved valentine I entrust me to your very heartily desire to hear of your welfare which I beseech almighty God long to preserve unto his pleasure and your heart’s desire, and if it pleases you to hear of my welfare I am not in good health neither of body nor of heart nor shall I be until I hear from you.

There is no creature alive that knows what pain I endure

And for to be dead I don’t want to discover it

And my lady, my mother, has urged to talk my father about the matter very diligently, but she can’t do anything else than what you know of this, which God knows I am very sorry, but if you love me as much as I truly trust you do, you won’t leave me. If you had not half the money you have, to make the greatest effort that any woman alive might, I wouldn’t leave you.

 

Text 84: The Boke of Margery Kempe

Difficult words in this text are:

Sumdele: something

Worschepful: devout

Was with chylde: was pregnant

Sche was labowrd: in labour, that is in process of giving birth.

Chyldyng: childbirth

Sekenesse: sickness

Dyspered: despaired

Wenyng: thinking

Leuyn: live

 

Prepresentation's conclusion

It would be also interesting to write a conclusion in the power point, for example, our personal point of view, such as what part we liked most to analyse, or which one seems the easiest one, etc.

A following tribute to Chaucer after his death, a poem by Thomas Hoccleve:

Original text:

 

Alas my worthy mayster honorable

Thys landes verray tresouur and rychesse

Deth by thy deth hath harme irreparable

Vnto vs don; hir vengeable duresse

Desployled hath this land of the swtnesse

Of rethorik, for vnto Tullius

Was nere man so lyk amonges vs.

Also, whos was hier in philosophy

To Aristotle in our tonge but thou?

The steppes of Virgile in poesie

Thow fildwedist eek, men wot wel enow…

 

 

Modern text:

 

Oh my worthy honourable master,

This lands true treasure and wealth

Death by your death has done irreparable harm

To us: her vengeful harm

Got rid of sweetness of the land

Of speech, for there was never a man among us

So like Tullius.

Also, who was heir of philosophy to Aristotle

In our language,except for you?

You followed Virgil´s steps in poetry,

You fieled it´s well known…

 

Text 106: Sir Thomas Elyot, The Gouernour, 1531 (iii)

Text 106: Sir Thomas Elyot, The Gouernour, 1531 (iii)

 

Onely: only

Semblably: similarly

nouriʃes: nurses

foliʃʃ foolish

wantonneʃʃe: wantoness

Text 86: The Boke of Margery Kempe (iii) (facsimile)

Tretys: texts

A comfortably for: a comfortable one for

Wrecchys: wretch

Solas: comfort

Vnspecabyl: unspeakle

Souereyn: soberein

Worschepd: worthship

Ende: end

Ower: our

Deyneth to exercysen: deign to exercise

Werkys: works

Instruccyon: instruction

Hynderawnce: hindrance

 

Chaucer's "Canterbury Tales": Etimology

Chaucer’s “Canterbury Tales”: word etymology (lines 130-180)

 

 

  • Well (adv.): "in a satisfactory manner," O.E. wel, common Gmc. (cf. O.S. wela, O.N. vel, O.Fris. wel, Du. wel, O.H.G. wela, Ger. wohl, Goth. waila "well"), from PIE *wel-, *wol- (cf. Skt. prati varam "at will," O.C.S. vole "well," Welsh gwell "better," L. velle "to wish, will," O.E. willan "to wish."
  • Can (v.): O.E. 1st & 3rd pers. sing. pres. indic. of cunnan "know, have power to, be able," (also "to have carnal knowledge"), from P.Gmc. *kunnan "to be mentally able, to have learned" (cf. O.N. kenna "to know, make known," O.Fris. kanna "to recognize, admit," Ger. kennen "to know," Goth. kannjan "to make known").
  • She: c.1154, probably evolved from O.E. seo, sio (acc. sie), fem. of demonstrative pronoun se "the." The O.E. word for "she" was heo, hio, however by 13c. the pronunciation of this had converged by phonetic evolution with he "he," so the fem. demonstrative pronoun probably was used in its place. The original h- survives in her.
  • Carry: c.1320, from Anglo-Fr. carier "to transport in a vehicle," from Gallo-Romance *carrizare, from L.L. carricare, from L. carrum. Sense of "gain victory in an election" is from 1619. Carrier "person or animal that carries and disseminates infection without suffering obvious disease" is from 1899; genetic sense is 1933.
  • A: indefinite article, c.1150, a variation of O.E. an in which the -n- began to disappear before consonants, a process mostly complete by 1340.
  • Morsel: c.1290, from O.Fr. morsel (Fr. marceau) "small bite," dim. of mors "a bite," from L. morsus "biting, bite," neut. pp. of mordere "to bite.
  • And: O.E. and, ond, orig. meaning "thereupon, next," from P.Gmc. *unda (cf. O.S. endi, O.Fris. anda, M.Du. ende, O.H.G. enti, Ger. und, O.N. enn), cognate with L. ante, Gk. anti.
  • Keep: late O.E. cepan "to seize, hold," also "to observe," from P.Gmc. *kopijanan, but with no certain connection to other languages. It possibly is related to O.E. capian "to look," from P.Gmc. *kap- (cepan was used c.1000 to render L. observare), which would make the basic sense "to keep an eye on."
  • That: O.E. þæt, neuter sing. of the demonstrative pronoun and adj. (corresponding to masc. se, fem. seo), from P.Gmc. *that, from PIE *tod-, extended form of demonstrative pronomial base *to-.
  • No: "negative reply," c.1225, from O.E. na (adv.), from P.Gmc. *ne (cf. O.N., O.Fris., O.H.G. ne, Goth. ni "not"), from PIE base *ne- "no, not".
  • Drop: O.E. dropa, from P.Gmc. drupon, from PIE *dhreub-. The verb (O.E.) originally meant "fall in drops;" trans. sense "allow to fall" is c.1340. Meaning "lozenge, hard candy" is 1723. Dim. form droplet is from 1607. As an adj. meaning "stunning, excellent" it is first recorded 1970
  • Fall: O.E. feallan (class VII strong verb; past tense feoll, pp. feallen), from P.Gmc. *fallanan (cf. O.N. falla, O.H.G. fallan), from PIE base *phol- "to fall" (cf. Armenian p'ul "downfall," Lith. puola "to fall," O.Prus. aupallai "finds," lit. "falls upon").
  • Upon: 1121, from up + on, probably influenced by O.N. upp a. Distinct from O.E. uppan which merely meant "up."
  • Her: O.E. hire, third pers. sing. fem. gen. form of heo "she."
  • Breast: O.E. breost, from P.Gmc. *breustam "breast" (cf. O.S. briost, O.N. brjost, Ger. brust, Goth. brusts), perhaps lit. "swelling" and from PIE base *bhreus-/*bhrus- "to swell, sprout".
  • In: O.E. in "in," inne "within," from P.Gmc. *in (cf. O.Fris, Du., Ger., Goth. in, O.N. i), from PIE *en-/*n (cf. Gk. en, L. in, O.Ir. in, Welsh yn-, O.C.S. on-).
  • Courtesy: c.1225, from O.Fr. curtesie, from curteis "courteous," from curt "court".
  • Was:O.E. wesan, wæs, wæron 1st and 3rd person sing. of wesan "to remain," from P.Gmc. *wesanan (cf. O.S. wesan, O.N. vesa, O.Fris. wesa, M.Du. wesen, Du. wezen, O.H.G. wesen "being, existence," Goth. wisan "to be"), from PIE base *wes- "remain, abide, dwell". Wesan was a distinct verb in O.E., but it came to supply the past tense of am. This began to develop in P.Gmc., since it is also the case in Gothic and Old Norse.
  • Set: O.E. settan "cause to sit, put in some place, fix firmly," from P.Gmc. *satjanan (cf. O.N. setja, O.Fris. setta, Du. zetten, Ger. setzen), causative form of P.Gmc. root *set- (cf. O.E. sittan "to sit,").
  • Full (adj.): O.E. full "completely, full," from P.Gmc. *fullaz (cf. O.Fris. ful, O.N. fullr, O.H.G. fol, Ger. voll, Goth. fulls), from PIE *ple-. Adverbial sense was common in M.E. (full well, full many, etc.).
  • Much: c.1205, muchel, from O.E. micel "great in amount or extent," from P.Gmc. *mekilaz, from PIE *meg- "great."
  • Lest: c.1240, from O.E. phrase þy læs þe "whereby less that," from þy, instrumental case of demonstrative article þæt "that" + læs + þe "the." The þy was dropped and the other two words contracted into leste.
  • Over: O.E. ofer, from P.Gmc. *uberi (cf. O.S. obar, O.Fris. over, O.N. yfir, O.H.G. ubar, Ger. über, Goth. ufar "over, above"), from PIE *uper. Sense of "finished" is attested from 1399. Widely used as a prefix in O.E. and other Gmc. langs.
  • Lip: O.E. lippa, from P.Gmc. *lepjon (cf. O.Fris. lippa, M.Du. lippe, Ger. Lefze, Swed. läpp, Dan. læbe), from PIE *leb- (cf. L. labium).
  • Wipe (v.): O.E. wipan, from P.Gmc. *wipanan (cf. Dan. vippe, M.Du., Du. vippen, O.H.G. wifan "to swing"), from PIE *weip- "to turn, vacillate, tremble" (cf. L. vibrare "to shake;").
  • So: O.E. swa, swæ "in this way," from P.Gmc. *swa (cf. O.S., M.Du., O.H.G. so, O.N. sva, Dan. saa, Swed. sa, O.Fris. sa, Du. zo, Ger. so "so," Goth. swa "as"), from PIE reflexive pronomial stem *s(w)o- (cf. Gk. hos "as," O.Latin suad "so," L. se "himself").
  • Clean: O.E. clæne "clean, pure," from W.Gmc. *klainoz "clear, pure," from PIE base *gel- "to gleam" (cf. Gk. glene "eyeball," O.Ir. gel "bright"). Clean in the sense of "innocent" is from c.1300; that of "not lewd" is from 1867; that of "free of drug addiction" is 1950s.
  • Cup: O.E. cuppe, from L.L. cuppa, from L. cupa "tub," from PIE *keup- "a hollow." The Ger. cognate Kopf now means exclusively "head" (cf. Fr. tête, from L. testa "potsherd
  • Farthing: O.E. feorðung "quarter of a penny," a derivative of feorða "fourth" (from feower "four") + -ing "fractional part." Used in biblical translation of L. quadrans "quarter of a denarius;" the English coin (of silver until 17c., later of copper or bronze), was first minted under Edward I and abolished 1971.
  • See (v.): O.E. seon (contracted class V strong verb; past tense seah, pp. sewen), from P.Gmc. *sekhwanan (cf. O.S., O.H.G. sehan, M.H.G., Ger. sehen, O.Fris. sia, M.Du. sien, O.N. sja, Goth. saihwan), from PIE base *sekw- "to see”. Used in M.E. to mean "behold in the imagination or in a dream" (c.1200), "to recognize the force of (a demonstration)," also c.1200, "often with ref. to metaphorical light or eyes" [OED], and "to learn by reading" (1426). Past tense saw developed from O.E. pl. sawon.
  • Of: O.E. of, unstressed form of æf (prep., adv.) "away, away from," from P.Gmc. *af- (cf. O.N. af, O.Fris. af, of "of," Du. af "off, down," Ger. ab "off, from, down"), from PIE *apo- "off, away". Primary sense in O.E. was still "away," but shifted in M.E. with use of the word to translate L. de, ex, and especially O.Fr. de, which had come to be the substitute for the genitive case.
  • Grease: c.1290, from Anglo-Fr. grece, from O.Fr. graisse, from V.L. *crassia "(melted) animal fat, grease," from L. crassus "thick, solid, fat."
  • When. O.E. hwænne, hwenne, hwonne, from Gmc. pronomial stem *khwa- (cf. O.S. hwan, O.Fris. hwenne, M.Du. wan, O.H.G. hwanne, Ger. wann "when"), from PIE interrogative base *qwo-.
  • Drink (v.): O.E. drincan "to drink," also "to swallow up, engulf" (class III strong verb; past tense dranc, pp. druncen), from P.Gmc. *drengkan, of uncertain origin.
  • Have: O.E. habban "to own, possess," from P.Gmc. *khaf- (cf. O.N. hafa, O.S. hebbjan, O.Fris. habba, Ger. haben, Goth. haban "to have"), from PIE *kap- "to grasp". Not related to L. habere, despite similarity in form and sense; the L. cognate is capere "seize." O.E. second pers. sing. pres. hæfst, third pers. sing. pres. hæfð became M.E. hast, hath, while O.E. -bb- became -v- in have. The p.p. had developed from O.E. gehæfd. Sense of "possess, have at one's disposal" is a shift from older languages, where the thing possessed was made the subject and the possessor took the dative case. Used as an auxiliary in O.E., too (esp. to form present perfect tense).To have to for "must" (1579) is from sense of "possess as a duty or thing to be done" (O.E.). Have-not "poor person" first recorded 1836.
  • Draught: c.1205, from O.E. *dreaht, *dræht, related to dragan "to draw, drag". Oldest sense besides that of "pulling" is of "drinking;" meaning "current of air".
  • Seemly (adj.): "of pleasing or good appearance," c.1225, from O.N. soemiligr, from soemr.
  • After: O.E. æfter "after, next, following in time," from O.E. of "off" + -ter a comparative suffix; thus originally meaning "more away, farther off."
  • Meat: O.E. mete "food, item of food" (contrasted with drink), from P.Gmc. *matiz (cf. O.Fris. mete, O.N. matr, Goth. mats "food," M.Du., Du. metworst, Ger. Mettwurst "type of sausage"), from PIE *mat-/*met- "measure". Narrower sense of "flesh used as food" is first attested c.1300; similar sense evolution in Fr. viande "meat," originally "food." Figurative sense of "essential part" is from 1901.
  • Reach: O.E. ræcan "to extend, hold forth," also "to succeed in touching," from W.Gmc. *raikjan "stretch out the hand" (cf. O.Fris. reka, M.Du. reiken), from P.Gmc. *raikijanau, perhaps from PIE base *reig- "to stretch out".
  • Great: O.E. great "big, coarse, stout," from W.Gmc. *grautaz (cf. O.S. grot, O.Fris. grat, Du. groot, Ger. groß "great"). Originally "big in size, coarse," it took over much of the sense of M.E.
  • Pleasant: 1320, from O.Fr. plaisant, prp. of plaisir "to please". Pleasantry "sprightly humor in conversation" (1655) is from Fr. plaisanterie, from O.Fr. plesanterie (13c.), from plaisant. It has the word's modern Fr. sense of "funny, jocular."
  • Amiable: c.1350, from O.Fr. amiable, from L. amicabilis "friendly," from amicus "friend," related to amare "to love". The form confused with O.Fr. amable "lovable," from L. amare.
  • Peyned: to take pains
  • To: O.E. to "in the direction of, for the purpose of, furthermore," from W.Gmc. *to (cf. O.S., O.Fris. to, Du. too, O.H.G. zuo, Ger. zu "to"), from PIE pronomial base *do- "to, toward, upward" (cf. L. donec "as long as," O.C.S. do "as far as, to," Gk. suffix -de "to, toward," O.Ir. do, Lith. da-).
  • Counterfeit (v.): 1292, from O.Fr. contrefait "imitated," pp. of contrefaire "imitate," from contre- "against" + faire "to make, to do". M.L. contrafactio meant "setting in opposition or contrast." The verb is from c.1290.
  • Cheer: c.1225, from Anglo-Norm. chere "the face," from O.Fr. chiere, from L.L. cara "face," from Gk. kara "head," from PIE base *ker- "head." Already by M.E. meaning had extended metaphorically to "mood, demeanor, mental condition" as reflected in the face. Could be in a good or bad sense, but positive sense has predominated since c.1400. Meaning "shout of encouragement" first recorded 1720, perhaps nautical slang.
  • Court: 1175, from O.Fr. curt, from L. cortem, acc. of cors (earlier cohors) "enclosed yard," and by extension (and perhaps by association with curia "sovereign's assembly"), "those assembled in the yard; company, cohort," from com- "together" + stem hort- related to hortus "garden, plot of ground”.
  • Manner: c.1175, from Anglo-Fr. manere, from O.Fr. maniere (Fr. manière), from V.L. *manaria, from fem. of L. manuarius "belonging to the hand," from manus "hand". Most figurative meanings derive from the original sense of "method of handling;" which was extended when the word was used to translate L. modus "method." Manners "external behavior in social intercourse" is attested from c.1385.
  • Hold (v.): O.E. haldan (Anglian), healdan (W.Saxon), class VII strong verb (past tense heold, pp. healden), from P.Gmc. *khaldanan (cf. O.N. halda, Du. houden, Ger. halten "to hold," Goth. haldan "to tend"), originally "to keep, tend, watch over" (as cattle), later "to have." The original pp. holden was replaced by held beginning 16c., but survives in some legal jargon and in beholden.
  • Digne: ME. digne, a. F. digne (11th c. in Hatz.-Darm.), early ad. L. dignus worthy. The form deyn might represent an OF. *dein, inherited form of dignus
  • Port: Anglo-Norman port, poort, porte and Middle French port (French port) bearing, deportment, conduct, manners, demeanour (13th cent. in Old French; 12th cent. in sense ‘right of passage or revenues of a port’), action of carrying (14th cent. in Anglo-Norman). Compare Italian porto action of carrying or transporting (14th cent. or earlier), Spanish porte action of carrying (15th cent.), Portuguese porte action of carrying or transporting (16th cent.).] 
  • Reverence: c.1290, from O.Fr. reverence, from L. reverentia "awe, respect," from revereri "to revere," from re-, intensive prefix, + vereri "stand in awe of, fear," from PIE *wer- "to be or become aware of" (cf. O.E. wær "aware, cautious;").
  • But: O.E. butan, buton "unless, without, outside," from W.Gmc. *be- "by" + *utana "from without." Not used as a conjunction in O.E.
  • For: O.E. for "for, before, on account of," from P.Gmc. *fura (cf. O.S. furi, Du. voor "for, before;" Ger. für "for;" Dan. for "for," før "before;" Goth. faur "for," faura "before"). Is probably a shortening of common O.E. phrases such as for þon þy "therefore."
  • Speak: O.E. specan, variant of sprecan "to speak" (class V strong verb; past tense spræc, pp. sprecen), from P.Gmc. *sprekanan (cf. O.S. sprecan, O.Fris. spreka, M.Du. spreken, O.H.G. sprehhan, Ger. sprechen "to speak," O.N. spraki "rumor, report"), cognate with L. spargere "to strew" (speech as a "scattering" of words). The -r- began to drop out in Late West Saxon and was gone by mid-12c., perhaps from infl. of Dan. spage "crackle," in a slang sense of "speak”.
  • Conscience: c.1225, from O.Fr. conscience, from L. conscientia "knowledge within oneself, a moral sense," prp. of conscire "be mutually aware," from com- "with" + scire "to know."
  • Charitable: OF. charitable, cheritable (13th c. in Littré), f. charité, and cf. the later veritable, equitable.
  • Piteous: 1297, from Anglo-Fr. pitous, O.Fr. pitos (12c.), from M.L. pietosus "merciful, pitiful," in V.L. "dutiful," from L. pietas "dutiful conduct, compassion".
  • Would: O.E. wolde, past tense of willan "to will".
  • Weep (v.): O.E. wepan "shed tears, cry" (class VII strong verb; past tense weop, pp. wopen), from P.Gmc. *wopijanan (cf. O.N. op, O.H.G. wuof "shout, shouting, crying," O.S. wopian, Goth. wopjan "to shout, cry out, weep").
  • If: O.E. gif (initial g- in O.E. pronounced with a sound close to Mod.Eng. -y-), from P.Gmc. *ja-ba (cf. O.N. ef, O.Fris. gef, O.H.G. ibu, Ger. ob, Du. of), probably originally from an oblique case of a noun meaning "doubt" (cf. O.H.G. iba, O.N. if "doubt").
  • Mouse: O.E. mus "small rodent," also "muscle," from P.Gmc. *mus (cf. O.N., M.Du. mus, Ger. Maus "mouse"), from PIE *muHs- (cf. Skt. mus "mouse, rat," O.Pers. mush "mouse," O.C.S. mysu, L. mus, Lith. muse "mouse," Gk. mys "mouse, muscle").
  • Catch (v.): c.1205, from Anglo-Fr. cachier "catch, capture" (animals), from V.L. *captiare "try to seize, chase," freq. of L. capere "to take, hold". Sense shifted from original meaning of "chase, hunt."
  • Trap (n.): late O.E. træppe "snare, trap," from P.Gmc. *trap- (cf. M.Du. trappe "trap, snare"), related to Gmc. words for "stair, step, tread" (cf. M.Du., M.L.G. trappe, treppe, Ger. Treppe "step, stair"). Probably connected to O.Fr. trape, Sp. trampa "trap, pit, snare," but the exact relationship is uncertain. The connecting notion seems to be "that on which an animal steps." Sense of "deceitful practice, trickery" is first recorded 1681.
  • Dead: O.E. dead, from P.Gmc. *dauthaz, from PIE *dheu-. Meaning "insensible" is first attested c.1225. Of places, meaning "inactive, dull," it is recorded from 1581. Used from 16c. in adj. sense of "utter, absolute, quite."
  • Bleed: O.E. bledan, from P.Gmc. *blothjan "emit blood" (cf. O.N. blæða, Ger. bluten), from *blotham "blood".
  • Small: O.E. smæl "slender, narrow, small," from P.Gmc. *smalaz (cf. O.S., Dan., Swed., M.Du., Du., O.H.G. smal, O.Fris. smel, Ger. schmal "narrow," Goth. smalista "smallest," O.N. smali "small cattle, sheep"), perhaps from a PIE base *(s)melo- "smaller animal" (cf. Gk. melon, O.Ir. mil "a small animal;" O.C.S. malu "bad"). Original sense of "narrow" now almost obsolete, except in ref. to waistline and intestines.
  • Hound: O.E. hund "dog," from P.Gmc. *khundas (cf. Ger. Hund, O.N. hundr, Goth. hunds), from PIE *kuntos, dental enlargement of base *kwon- "dog". Meaning narrowed 12c. to "dog used for hunting."
  • Feed (v.): O.E. fedan "nourish, feed," from P.Gmc. *fothjanan (cf. O.S. fodjan, O.Fris. feda, Goth. fodjan "to feed"). The noun sense of "food for animals" is first attested 1588.
  • With: O.E. wið "against, opposite, toward," a shortened form related to wiðer, from P.Gmc. *withro- "against" (cf. O.S. withar "against," O.N. viðr "against, with, toward, at," M.Du., Du. weder, Du. weer "again," Goth. wiþra "against, opposite"), from PIE *wi-tero-, lit. "more apart," from base *wi- "separation" (cf. Skt. vi, Avestan vi- "asunder," Skt. vitaram "further, farther," O.C.S. vutoru "other, second"). In M.E., sense shifted to denote association, combination, and union, partly by influence of O.N. vidh, and also perhaps by L. cum "with". In this sense, it replaced O.E. mid "with," which survives only as a prefix. Original sense of "against, in opposition" is retained in compounds such as withhold, withdraw, withstand.
  • Roast (v.): 1297, from O.Fr. rostir, from Frank. *hraustjan (cf. O.H.G. rosten, M.Du. roosten "to roast.
  • Flesh: O.E. flæsc "flesh, meat," also "near kindred" (a sense now obsolete except in phrase flesh and blood), common W. and N.Gmc. (cf. O.Fris. flesk, M.L.G. vlees, Ger. Fleisch "flesh," O.N. flesk "pork, bacon"), of unknown origin, perhaps from P.Gmc. *flaiskoz-.
  • milk (n.): O.E. meoluc (W.Saxon), milc (Anglian), both related to melcan "to milk." The noun is from P.Gmc. *meluk- (cf. O.N. mjolk, Du. melk, Ger. Milch, Goth. miluks); the verb is from P.Gmc. *melkanan (cf. O.N. mjolka, Du., Ger. melken); both from PIE base *melg- "wiping, stroking," in ref. to the hand motion in milking an animal (cf. Gk. amelgein, L. mulgere, O.C.S. mlesti, Lith. melzu "to milk," O.Ir. melg "milk," Skt. marjati "wipes off"). O.C.S. noun meleko (Rus. moloko, Czech mleko) is considered to be adopted from Germanic.
  • Wastel: a. OF. wastel, north-eastern var. of guastel, gastel (mod.F. gâteau). In Anglo-L. records the word often occurs latinized as guastellum, wastellum.
  • Bread: O.E. bread "crumb, morsel," originally simply "piece of food" (cf. Slovenian kruh "bread," lit. "a piece"), from P.Gmc. *brautham (cf. O.N. brot, Dan. brød, Ger. Brot). The O.E. word derives from a P.Gmc. *braudsmon- "fragments, bits" (cf. O.H.G. brosma "crumb") and is related to the root of break. Replaced by 1200 the O.E. word for bread, which was hlaf.
  • Sorely: O.E. sar "painful, grievous, aching," infl. in meaning by O.N. sarr "sore, wounded," from P.Gmc. *sairaz (cf. O.Fris. sar "painful," M.Du. seer, Du. zeer "sore, ache," O.H.G. ser "painful"), from PIE base *sai- "suffering" (cf. O.Ir. saeth "pain, sickness").
  • Wept: O.E. wepan "shed tears, cry" (class VII strong verb; past tense weop, pp. wopen), from P.Gmc. *wopijanan (cf. O.N. op, O.H.G. wuof "shout, shouting, crying," O.S. wopian, Goth. wopjan "to shout, cry out, weep").
  • One: O.E. an, from P.Gmc. *ainaz (cf. O.N. einn, Dan. een, O.Fris. an, Du. een, Ger. ein, Goth. ains), from PIE *oinos (cf. Gk. oinos "ace (on dice)," L. unus "one," O.Pers. aivam, O.C.S. -inu, ino-, Lith. vienas, O.Ir. oin, Breton un "one").
  • Were: O.E. wæron (past plural indicative of wesan) and wære (second person singular past indicative).
  • People: O.E. man, mann "human being, person," from P.Gmc. *manwaz (cf. O.S., O.H.G. man, Ger. Mann, O.N. maðr, Goth. manna "man"), from PIE base *man- (cf. Skt. manuh, Avestan manu-, O.C.S. mozi, Rus. muzh "man, male").
  • Smote: O.E. smoð "free from roughness, not harsh," of unknown origin. Sense of "pleasant, polite, sincere" first recorded c.1390.
  • It: O.E. hit, neut. nom. & acc. of third pers. sing. pronoun, from P.Gmc. demonstrative base *khi- (cf. O.Fris. hit, Du. het, Goth. hita "it"), which is also the root of he. As gender faded in M.E., it took on the meaning "thing or animal spoken about before."
  • All: O.E. eall "all, every, entire," from P.Gmc. *alnaz (cf. O.Fris., O.H.G. al, O.N. allr, Goth. alls).
  • Thought: c.1225, from O.Fr. conscience, from L. conscientia "knowledge within oneself, a moral sense," prp. of conscire "be mutually aware," from com- "with" + scire "to know."
  • Innocent: "soft, easily injured," c.1225, from O.Fr. tendre "soft, delicate, tender" (11c.), from L. tenerem (nom. tener) "soft, delicate, of tender age," from PIE *ten- "stretch". Meaning "kind, affectionate, loving" first recorded c.1300.
  • Heart: O.E. heorte, from P.Gmc. *khertan- (cf. O.S. herta, O.N. hjarta, Du. hart, O.H.G. herza, Ger. Herz, Goth. hairto), from PIE *kerd- "heart" (cf. Gk. kardia, L. cor, O.Ir. cride, Welsh craidd, Hittite kir, Lith. širdis, Rus. serdce "heart," Breton kreiz "middle," O.C.S. sreda "middle").
  • Very: O.E. full "completely, full," from P.Gmc. *fullaz (cf. O.Fris. ful, O.N. fullr, O.H.G. fol, Ger. voll, Goth. fulls), from PIE *ple-. Adverbial sense was common in M.E. (full well, full many, etc.).
  • Wimple: "head covering for women," especially worn by nuns, O.E. wimpel, from P.Gmc. *wimpilaz (cf. O.S. wimpal, O.Fris. wimpel, M.Du., Du. wimpel, O.H.G. wimpal, Ger. wimpel, O.N. vimpill), of obscure origin.
  • Pleated: c.1230, from O.N.Fr. *pinchier, var. of O.Fr. pincier, possibly from V.L. *punctiare "to pierce" (from L. punctum "point"), and *piccare "to pierce."
  • Nose: O.E. nosu, from P.Gmc. *nusus (cf. O.N. nös, O.Fris. nose, Du. neus, O.H.G. nasa, Ger. nase), from PIE *nas- (cf. Skt. nasa, O.Pers. naham, O.C.S. nasu, Lith. nosis, L. nasus "nose").
  • Eyes: O.E. ege (Mercian), eage (W. Saxon), from P.Gmc. *augon, from PIE *oqw- "to see" (cf. Skt. akshi "the eye, the number two," Gk. opsis "a sight," Goth. augo, O.C.S. oko, Lith. akis, L. oculus, Armenian aku).

 

 

  • Grey: O.E. græg (Mercian grei), from P.Gmc. *græwyaz (cf. O.N. grar, O.Fris. gre, Du. graw, Ger. grau), from PIE *ghreghwos, but no certain cognates outside Gmc.
  • As: c.1175, worn-down form of O.E. alswa "quite so". Equivalent to so; any distinction in use is purely idiomatic. Related to Ger. als "as, than."
  • Glass: O.E. glæs, from W.Gmc. *glasam (cf. M.Du. glas, Ger. Glas), from P.Gmc. base *gla-/*gle-, from PIE *gel-/*ghel- "to shine, glitter, be green or yellow," a color word that is the root of words for grey, blue, green, and yellow (cf. O.E. glær "amber," L. glaesum "amber," O.Ir. glass "green, blue, gray," Welsh glas "blue").
  • Mouth: O.E. muþ, from P.Gmc. *munthaz (cf. O.Fris. muth, O.N. munnr, M.Du. mont, Ger. Mund, Goth. munþs "mouth"), with characteristic loss of nasal consonant in O.E. (cf. tooth, goose, etc.), from PIE *mnto-s (cf. L. mentum "chin").
  • Soft: O.E. softe "gentle, easy, comfortable," from W.Gmc. *samfti, from P.Gmc. *samftijaz "level, even, smooth, gentle, soft" (cf. O.S. safti, O.H.G. semfti, Ger. sanft, M.Du. sachte, Du. zacht), from base *som- "fitting, agreeable."
  • Red: O.E. hreod "reed," from P.Gmc. *khreudom (cf. O.S. hraid, O.Fris. hriad, M.Du. ried, O.H.G. hriot, Ger. riet), no known cognates beyond Gmc.
  • Fair: O.E. fæger "beautiful, pleasant," from P.Gmc. *fagraz (cf. O.N. fagr, O.H.G. fagar "beautiful," Goth. fagrs "fit"), from PIE *fag-.
  • Forehead: O.E. forheafod, from for(e)- + heafod. O.E. heafod "top of the body," also "upper end of a slope," also "chief person, leader, ruler," from P.Gmc. *khaubuthan (cf. O.S. hobid, O.N. hofuð, O.Fris. haved, Ger. Haupt, Goth. haubiþ "head"), from PIE *kauput- "head" (cf. Skt. kaput-, L. caput "head"), also "bowl" (as in skull). Modern spelling is c.1420, representing what was then a long vowel (as in heat).
  • Almost: O.E. eallmæst, compound of eal, al "all" + mæst "most."
  • Long: "distance between two objects," O.E. span "distance between the thumb and little finger of an extended hand," probably related to M.Du. spannen "to join, fasten". The Gmc. word was borrowed into M.L. as spannus, hence It. spanna, O.Fr. espanne, Fr. empan.
  • Scout: O.E. brod, from P.Gmc. *brod (cf. M.Du. broet, O.H.G. bruot), lit. "that which is hatched by heat," from *bro- "to warm, heat," from PIE *bhre- "burn, heat, incubate," from base *bhreue- "to boil, bubble, effervesce, burn".
  • I: 12c. shortening of O.E. ic, first person sing. nom. pronoun, from P.Gmc. *ekan (cf. O.Fris. ik, O.N. ek, Norw. eg, Dan. jeg, O.H.G. ih, Ger. ich, Goth. ik), from PIE *ego(m) (cf. Skt. aham, Hitt. uk, L. ego, Gk. ego, Rus. ja). Reduced to i by 1137 in northern England.
  • Thought: O.E. treowian "to trust, believe," from treow "faith, belief," from P.Gmc. *truwian Cognate with Ger. trauen
  • Course: c.1225, "bold, daring, fearless," from O.Fr. hardi, from pp. of hardir "to harden, be or make bold," from Frank. *hardjan (cf. Goth. gahardjan "make hard"), from W.Gmc. *kharthjan "to make hard."
  • Not: negative particle, c.1250, unstressed variant of noht, naht "in no way".
  • Undergrown: 1600, from under + growth. O.E. growan (of plants) "to flourish, develop, get bigger" (class VII strong verb; past tense greow, pp. growen), from P.Gmc. *gro- (cf. O.N. groa, O.Fris. groia, Du. groeien, O.H.G. gruoen).
  • Veil: O.E. clyccan "bring together, bend (the fingers), clench," infl. in meaning by M.E. cloke "a claw."
  • Observant: O.E. weard "a guarding, a watchman, a sentry," from W.Gmc. *wardo (cf. O.S. ward, O.N. vörðr, O.H.G. wart). Used for administrative districts (at first in the sense of guardianship) from 1378; of hospital divisions from 1749. Meaning "minor under control of a guardian" is from 1433. ç
  • Coral: c.1305, from L. corallium, from Gk. korallion, probably of Sem. origin (cf. Heb. goral "small pebble," Ar. garal "small stone").
  • About: O.E. onbutan "on the outside of," from on "on" + be "by" + utan "outside," from ut”. By 13c. it had forced out O.E. ymbe for meaning "in the neighborhood of." Abouts, with adverbial genitive, still found in hereabouts, etc., is probably a northern dialectal form.
  • Arm: "body part," O.E. earm "arm," from P.Gmc. *armaz (cf. O.S., M.Du., Ger. arm, O.N. armr, O.Fris. erm), from PIE base *ar- "fit, join" (cf. Skt. irmah "arm," Armenian armukn "elbow," O.Prus. irmo "arm," Gk. arthron "a joint," L. armus "shoulder").
  • Naked: c.1175, "stake or rod of iron used to fasten a door or gate," from O.Fr. barre, from V.L. *barra "bar, barrier," which some suggest is from Gaulish *barros "the bushy end.
  • Pair: c.1290, "two of a kind, coupled in use," from O.Fr. paire, from L. paria "equals," neut. pl. of par (gen. paris) "a pair, counterpart, equal," noun use of par (adj.) "equal," of unknown origin, perhaps connected with *per-, PIE root meaning "to sell, buy" (on notion of "give equal value for"), which would connect it with L. pretium "price," Lith. perku "I buy," Gk. porne "prostitute," lit. "bought, purchased." Or from PIE *pere- "to grant, allot" (which would connect it with part and portion).
  • Beds: O.E. bed "bed," from P.Gmc. *badjam "sleeping place dug in the ground" (cf. M.Du. bedde, O.H.G. betti, Ger. bett, Goth. badi), from PIE base *bhedh- "to dig, pierce," cf. Hittite beda- "to pierce, prick," Gk. bothyros "pit," L. fossa "ditch," Lith. bedre "to dig," Bret. bez "grave."
  • Adorned: 1529, from M.E. gaud "deception, trick," also "ornamental bead, rosary" (c.1300), possibly from Anglo-Fr. gaudir "be merry, scoff," from L. gaudere "rejoice." Alternate (less likely) etymology is from M.E. gaudy-green "yellowish-green," originally "green dye" obtained from a plant formerly known as weld, from a Gmc. source which became gaude in O.Fr. The Eng. term supposedly shifted sense from "weld-dye" to "bright."
  • Green: O.E. grene, earlier groeni, related to O.E. growan "to grow," from W.Gmc. *gronja- (cf. O.Fris. grene, O.N. grænn, Dan. grøn, Du. groen, Ger. grün), from PIE base *gro- "grow," through sense of "color of living plants."
  • Hung: a fusion of O.E. hon "suspend" (transitive, class VII strong verb; past tense heng, pp. hangen), and O.E. hangian (weak, intransitive, past tense hangode) "be suspended;" also probably influenced by O.N. hengja "suspend," and hanga "be suspended." All from P.Gmc. *khang-, from PIE *keng- "to waver, be in suspense" (cf. Goth. hahan, Hittite gang- "to hang," Skt. sankate "wavers," L. cunctari "to delay;". Hung emerged as pp. 16c. in northern England dial., and hanged endured only in legal language (which tends to be conservative) .
  • Brooch: "pointed instrument," c.1305, from O.Fr. broche "spit for roasting, awl," from V.L. *brocca "pointed tool," orig. fem. of L. adj. broccus "projecting, pointed" (used especially of teeth), perhaps of Gaulish origin (cf. Gaelic brog "awl").
  • Gold: O.E. gold, from P.Gmc. *gulth- (cf. O.S., O.Fris., O.H.G. gold, Ger. Gold, M.Du. gout, Du. goud, O.N. gull, Dan. guld, Goth. gulþ), from PIE base *ghel-/*ghol- "yellow, green," possibly ult. "bright" (cf. O.C.S. zlato, Rus. zoloto, Skt. hiranyam, O.Pers. daraniya-, Avestan zaranya- "gold"). In reference to the color of the metal, it is recorded from c.1400. Golden replaced M.E. gilden, from O.E. gyldan.
  • Brilliant: 1602, noun use of adj. sheene "beautiful, bright," from O.E. scene, from P.Gmc. *skauniz (cf. O.H.G. skoni, Ger. schön, O.Fris. skene, M.Du. scone, Du. schoon, Goth. skaunja "beautiful"), from PIE base *skeue- "to pay attention, perceive".
  • On: O.E. on, unstressed variant of an "in, on, into," from P.Gmc. (cf. Du. aan, Ger. an, Goth. ana "on, upon"), from PIE base *ano "on" (cf. Avestan ana "on," Gk. ana "on, upon," L. an-, O.C.S. na, Lith. nuo "down from").
  • Which: O.E. hwilc (W.Saxon) "which," short for hwi-lic "of what form," from P.Gmc. *khwilikaz (cf. O.S. hwilik, O.N. hvelikr, Swed. vilken, O.Fris. hwelik, M.Du. wilk, Du. welk, O.H.G. hwelich, Ger. welch, Goth. hvileiks "which"), from *khwi- "who"+ *likan "body, form" (cf. O.E. lic "body;".
  • There: O.E. þær "in or at that place," from P.Gmc. *thær (cf. O.S. thar, O.Fris. ther, M.L.G. dar, M.Du. daer, Du. daar, O.H.G. dar, Ger. da, Goth. þar, O.N. þar), from PIE *tar- "there" (cf. Skt. tar-hi "then"), from base *to+ adverbial suffix –r.
  • First: O.E. fyrst "foremost," superl. of fore, from P.Gmc. *furisto (cf. O.H.G. furist, O.N. fyrstr, Dan. første, O.Fris. fersta, M.Du. vorste "first," Ger. Fürst "prince"), superl. of *fur-/*for-, from PIE *pro- (cf. Skt. pura "before, formerly," Eng. Fore.
  • Writen: O.E. writan "to score, outline, draw the figure of," later "to set down in writing" (class I strong verb; past tense wrat, pp. writen), from P.Gmc. *writanan "tear, scratch" (cf. O.Fris. writa "to write," O.S. writan "to tear, scratch, write," O.N. rita "write, scratch, outline," O.H.G. rizan "to write, scratch, tear," Ger. reißen "to tear, pull, tug, sketch, draw, design
  • Crown: 1111, from Anglo-Fr. coroune, from O.Fr. corone, from L. corona "crown," originally "wreath, garland," related to Gk. korone "anything curved, kind of crown." (O.E. used corona, directly from L.) Extended to coins bearing the imprint of a crown (1430), especially the British silver 5-shilling piece. Also monetary units in Iceland, Sweden (krona), Norway, Denmark (krone), and formerly in Ger. Empire and Austria-Hungary (krone). Meaning "top of the skull" is from c.1300. The verb is from c.1175. Crown-prince is 1791, a translation of Ger. kronprinz.
  • Another: c.1225, merger of "an other;" O.E. simply had oþer. Originally "a second of two."
  • Nun: O.E. nunne, from L.L. nonna "nun, tutor," originally (along with masc. nonnus) a term of address to elderly persons, perhaps from children's speech, reminiscent of nana (cf. Skt. nona, Pers. nana "mother," Gk. nanna "aunt," Serbo-Cr. nena "mother," It. nonna, Welsh nain "grandmother;".
  • Priests: O.E. preost, shortened from the older Gmc. form represented by O.S., O.H.G. prestar, O.Fris. prestere, from V.L. *prester "priest," from L.L. presbyter "presbyter, elder," from Gk. presbyteros .
  • Three: O.E. þreo, fem. and neut. (masc. þri, þrie), from P.Gmc. *thrijiz (cf. O.Fris. thre, M.Du., Du. drie, O.H.G. dri, Ger. drei, O.N. þrir, Dan. tre), from PIE *trejes (cf. Skt. trayas, Avestan thri, Gk. treis, L. tres, Lith. trys, O.C.S. trye, Ir., Welsh tri "three").
  • Monk: O.E. munuc, from P.Gmc. *muniko- (cf. O.Fris. munek, M.Du. monic, O.H.G. munih, Ger. Mönch), an early borrowing from V.L. *monicus (cf. Fr. moine, Sp. monje, It. monaco), from L.L. monachus "monk," originally "religious hermit," from Late Gk. monakhos "monk," noun use of a classical Gk. adj. meaning "solitary," from monos "alone"
  • Very: c.1250, verray "true, real, genuine," later "actual, sheer" (c.1390), from Anglo-Fr. verrai, O.Fr. verai "true," from V.L. *veracus, from L. verax (gen. veracis) "truthful," from verus "true," from PIE *weros- (cf. O.E. wær "a compact," O.Du., O.H.G. war, Du. waar, Ger. wahr "true;" Welsh gwyr, O.Ir. fir "true;" O.C.S. vera "faith").
  • Prestigious: 1546, "practicing illusion or magic, deceptive," from L. præstigious "full of tricks," from præstigiæ "juggler's tricks," probably altered by dissimilation from præstringere "to blind, blindfold, dazzle," from præ- "before" + stringere "to tie or bind"
  • One: O.E. an, from P.Gmc. *ainaz (cf. O.N. einn, Dan. een, O.Fris. an, Du. een, Ger. ein, Goth. ains), from PIE *oinos (cf. Gk. oinos "ace (on dice)," L. unus "one," O.Pers. aivam, O.C.S. -inu, ino-, Lith. vienas, O.Ir. oin, Breton un "one").
  • An: indefinite article, 12c., from O.E. an (with a long vowel) "one, lone," also used as a prefix an- "single, lone;
  • Outrider: Middle Low German trider mounted officer, Old Swedish utridhare, early modern Danish udrider.
  • Who: O.E. hwa, from P.Gmc. *khwas, *khwes, *khwo (cf. O.S. hwe, Dan. hvo, Swed. vem, O.Fris. hwa, Du. wie, O.H.G. hwer, Ger. wer, Goth. hvo (fem.) "who"), from PIE *qwos/*qwes (cf. Skt. kah "who, which," Avestan ko, Hittite kuish "who," L. qui, quae, quod "who, which, what," Lith. kas "who," O.C.S. kuto, Rus. kto "who," O.Ir. ce, Welsh pwy "who").
  • Love(v): O.E. lufian, from P.Gmc. *lubojanan, from root of love (n.).
  • Hunt: O.E. huntian "chase game," related to hentan "to seize," from P.Gmc. *khuntojan (cf. Goth. hinþan "to seize, capture," O.H.G. hunda "booty"), from PIE *kend-.
  • Virile: 1490, from O.Fr. viril, from L. virilis "of a man, manly," from vir "a man, a hero," from PIE *uiHro "freeman" (cf. Skt. virah, Avestan vira-, Lith. vyras, O.Ir. fer, Welsh gwr, Goth. wair, O.E. wer "man").
  • Man: O.E. man, mann "human being, person," from P.Gmc. *manwaz (cf. O.S., O.H.G. man, Ger. Mann, O.N. maðr, Goth. manna "man"), from PIE base *man- (cf. Skt. manuh, Avestan manu-, O.C.S. mozi, Rus. muzh "man, male").
  • Qualify: 1465, "to invest with a quality," from M.L. qualificare "attribute a quality to," from L. qualis "of what sort" + facere "to make".
  • To: O.E. to "in the direction of, for the purpose of, furthermore," from W.Gmc. *to (cf. O.S., O.Fris. to, Du. too, O.H.G. zuo, Ger. zu "to"), from PIE pronomial base *do- "to, toward, upward" (cf. L. donec "as long as," O.C.S. do "as far as, to," Gk. suffix -de "to, toward," O.Ir. do, Lith. da-).

 

  • Be: O.E. beon, beom, bion "be, exist, come to be, become," from P.Gmc. *beo-, *beu-.
  • Abbot: O.E. abbud, from L. abbatem (nom. abbas), from Gk. abbas, from Aramaic abba, title of honor, lit. "the father, my father," emphatic state of abh "father."
  • He: O.E. he from P.Gmc. *hiz, from P.Gmc. base *khi-, from PIE *ki-, the "this, here" (as opposed to "that, there") root (cf. Hittite ki "this," Gk. ekeinos "that person," O.C.S. si, Lith. sis "this"), and thus the source of the third person pronouns in O.E.
  • Have: O.E. habban "to own, possess," from P.Gmc. *khaf- (cf. O.N. hafa, O.S. hebbjan, O.Fris. habba, Ger. haben, Goth. haban "to have"), from PIE *kap- "to grasp"
  • Plenty: c.1225, from O.Fr. plentet (12c., Mod.Fr. dial. plenté), from L. plenitatem (nom. plenitas) "fullness," from plenus "complete, full"
  • Of: O.E. of, unstressed form of æf (prep., adv.) "away, away from," from P.Gmc. *af- (cf. O.N. af, O.Fris. af, of "of," Du. af "off, down," Ger. ab "off, from, down"), from PIE *apo- "off, away". Primary sense in O.E. was still "away," but shifted in M.E. with use of the word to translate L. de, ex, and especially O.Fr. de, which had come to be the substitute for the genitive case.
  • Best: O.E., reduced by assimilation of -t- from earlier O.E. betst, originally superlative of bot "remedy, reparation," the root word now only surviving in to boot, from P.Gmc. root *bat-, with comp. *batizon and superl. *batistaz.
  • Horse: O.E. hors, from P.Gmc. *khursa- (cf. O.N. hross, O.Fris. hors, M.Du. ors, Du. ros, O.H.G. hros, Ger. Roß "horse"), of unknown origin, connected by some with PIE base *kurs-, source of L. currere "to run"
  • His: O.E. his (gen. of he), from P.Gmc. *khisa
  • Stable: "building where horses or cows are kept," c.1250, "building for domestic animals," from O.Fr. estable "a stable, stall" (also applied to cowsheds and pigsties), from L. stabulum "a stall, fold, aviary, etc." lit. "a standing place," from stem of stare "to stand"
  • And: O.E. and, ond, orig. meaning "thereupon, next," from P.Gmc. *unda (cf. O.S. endi, O.Fris. anda, M.Du. ende, O.H.G. enti, Ger. und, O.N. enn), cognate with L. ante, Gk. anti.
  • When: O.E. hwænne, hwenne, hwonne, from Gmc. pronomial stem *khwa- (cf. O.S. hwan, O.Fris. hwenne, M.Du. wan, O.H.G. hwanne, Ger. wann "when"), from PIE interrogative base *qwo-
  • Ride: O.E. ridan "ride" from P.Gmc. *ridanan from PIE *reidh- "to ride"
  • Everybody: Combination of every + body
  • Hear: O.E. heran (Anglian), (ge)hieran, hyran (W.Saxon), from P.Gmc. *khauzjianan (cf. O.N. hegra, O.Fris. hora, Du. horen, Ger. hören, Goth. hausjan), perhaps from PIE base *(s)keu- "to notice, observe."
  • Bridle: O.E. bridel, related to bregdan "move quickly," from P.Gmc. *bregdilaz
  • Jingle: c.1386, gingeln, of imitative origin (cf. Du. jengelen, Ger. klingeln).
  • Whistle: O.E. hwistlian, from P.Gmc. *khwis-, of imitative origin. Used also in M.E. of the hissing of serpents.
  • Wind: "air in motion," O.E. wind, from P.Gmc. *wendas (cf. O.S., O.Fris., Du. wind, O.N. vindr, O.H.G. wind, Ger. Wind, Goth. winds), from PIE *we-nt-o- "blowing," from base *we- "to blow" (cf. Skt. va-, Gk. aemi-, Goth. waian, O.E. wawan, O.H.G. wajan, Ger. wehen, O.C.S. vejati "to blow;" Skt. vatah, Avestan vata-, Hittite huwantis, L. ventus, O.C.S. vetru, Lith. vejas "wind;" Lith. vetra "tempest, storm;" O.Ir. feth "air;" Welsh gwynt, Bret. gwent "wind").
  • Clear: c.1280, from O.Fr. cler, from L. clarus "clear, bright, distinct," related to clamare "call out" (see claim), hence with an original sense of "clear-sounding." An O.E. word for this was sweotol.
  • Also: O.E. eallswa "exactly so," compound of all + so. The demonstrative sense of "similarly" weakened to "in addition to" in 12c., replacing eke. The compound has parallel forms in Ger. also, Du. alzoo.
  • Loud: O.E. hlud "making noise, sonorous," from W.Gmc. *khluthaz "heard" (cf. O.Fris. hlud, M.Du. luut, Du. luid, O.H.G. hlut, Ger. laut "loud"), from PIE pp. *klutos- (cf. Skt. srutah, Gk. klytos "heard of, celebrated," Arm. lu "known," Welsh clod "praise"), from base *kleu- "to hear"
  • Do: M.E. do, first person singular of O.E. don "make, act, perform, cause," from W.Gmc. *don, from PIE base *dhe- "to put, place, do, make"
  • Chapel: c.1225, from O.Fr. chapele, from M.L. cappella "chapel, sanctuary for relics,"
  • Bell: O.E. belle, common North Sea Gmc. (cf. M.Du. belle, M.L.G. belle) but not found elsewhere in Gmc. (except as a borrowing), from PIE base *bhel- "to sound, roar."
  • Where: O.E. hwær, hwar, from P.Gmc. *khwar (cf. O.S. hwar, O.N. hvar, O.Fris. hwer, M.Du. waer, O.H.G. hwar, Ger. wo, Goth. hvar "where"), from PIE interrogative base *qwo-
  • This: O.E. þis, neuter demonstrative pronoun and adj. (masc. þes, fem. þeos), probably from a North Sea Gmc. pronoun formed by combining the base *þa- (see that) with -s, which is probably identical with O.E. se "the" (representing here "a specific thing"), but it may be O.E. seo, imperative of see (v.) "to behold." Cf. O.S. these, O.N. þessi, Du. deze, O.Fris. this, O.H.G. deser, Ger. dieser.
  • Lord: M.E. laverd, loverd (13c.), from O.E. hlaford "master of a household, ruler, superior," also "God" (translating L. Dominus, though O.E. drihten was used more often), earlier hlafweard, lit. "one who guards the loaves," from hlaf "bread, loaf" + weard "keeper, guardian, ward."
  • Prior: classical Latin prior subsequently reinforced by Anglo-Norman priour, Anglo-Norman and Old French priur, prior, Old French priu. Classical Latin prior ancestor, predecessor, in post-classical Latin also great man.
  • Subordinate: 1456, from M.L. subordinatus "placed in a lower order, made subject," pp. of subordinare "place in a lower order," from L. sub "under" + ordinare "arrange"
  • Monastic: c.1449, from M.Fr. monastique, from L.L. monasticus, from Late Gk. monastikos "solitary, pertaining to a monk," from Gk. monazein "to live alone."
  • Religious: From L. religiosus
  • Order: c.1225, "body of persons living under a religious discipline," from O.Fr. ordre (11c.), from earlier ordene, from L. ordinem (nom. ordo) "row, rank, series, arrangement," originally "a row of threads in a loom," from Italic root *ored(h)- "to arrange, arrangement" (cf. ordiri "to begin to weave," e.g. in primordial), of unknown origin.
  • Saint: c.1125, from O.Fr. seinte, altering O.E. sanct, both from L. sanctus "holy, consecrated" (used as a noun in L.L.), prop. pp. of sancire "consecrate"
  • Because: c.1305, bi cause "by cause," modeled on Fr. par cause.
  • Old: O.E. ald (Anglian), eald (W.Saxon), from W.Gmc. *althas "grown up, adult" (cf. O.Fris. ald, Goth. alþeis, Du. oud, Ger. alt), originally a pp. stem of a verb meaning "grow, nourish" (cf. Goth. alan "to grow up," O.N. ala "to nourish"), from PIE base *al- "to grow, nourish" (cf. Gk. aldaino "make grow, strengthen," althein, althainein "to get well;" L. alere "to feed, nourish, bring up, increase," altus "high," lit. “grown tall,” almus "nurturing, nourishing," alumnus "fosterling, step-child;" O.Ir. alim "I nourish"). The usual PIE root is *sen-
  • Somewhat: c.1200, "a certain amount, to a certain degree," from some + what. Replaced O.E. sumdæl, sume dæle "somewhat, some portion," lit. "some deal."
  • Strict: 1592, "narrow, drawn in, small," from L. strictus "drawn together, tight, rigid," pp. of stringere "draw or bind tight"
  • Let: O.E. lætan "to allow, let go, bequeath, leave," also "to rent" (class VII strong verb; past tense let, pp. læten), from P.Gmc. *lætan (cf. O.S. latan, O.Fris. leta, Du. laten, Ger. lassen, Goth. letan "to leave, let"), from PIE *le(i)d- "to leave behind, leave, yield" (cf. L. lassus "faint, weary," Lith. leisti "to let, to let loose").
  • Thing: O.E. þing "meeting, assembly," later "entity, being, matter" (subject of deliberation in an assembly), also "act, deed, event, material object, body, being," from P.Gmc. *thengan "appointed time" (cf. O.Fris. thing "assembly, council, suit, matter, thing," M.Du. dinc "court-day, suit, plea, concern, affair, thing," Du. ding "thing," O.H.G. ding "public assembly for judgment and business, lawsuit," Ger. ding "affair, matter, thing," O.N. þing "public assembly"). Some suggest an ultimate connection to PIE root *ten- "stretch," perhaps on notion of "stretch of time for a meeting or assembly."
  • Pass: c.1275 (trans.) "to go by (something)," also "to cross over," from O.Fr. passer, from V.L. *passare "to step, walk, pass," from L. passus "step, pace"
  • Away: O.E. aweg, earlier on weg "on from this (that) place."
  • Follow: O.E. folgian, fylgan "follow, pursue," also "obey, apply oneself to a practice or calling," from W.Gmc. *fulg- (cf. O.Fris. folgia, M.Du. volghen, Ger. folgen "to follow").
  • New: O.E. neowe, niowe, earlier niwe, from P.Gmc. *newjaz (cf. O.Fris. nie, Du. nieuw, Ger. neu, Dan., Swed. ny, Goth. niujis "new"), from PIE *newos (cf. Skt. navah, Pers. nau, Hittite newash, Gk. neos, Lith. naujas, O.C.S. novu, Rus. novyi, L. novus, O.Ir. nue, Welsh newydd "new").
  • Custom: c.1200, "habitual practice," from O.Fr. costume, from V.L. *consuetumen, from L. consuetudinem, acc. of consuetudo "habit or usage," from consuetus, pp. of consuescere "accustom," from com- intens. prefix + suescere "become used to, accustom oneself," related to sui, gen. of suus "oneself," from PIE *swe- "oneself"
  • Modern: "of or pertaining to present or recent times," 1500, from M.Fr. moderne, from L.L. modernus "modern," from L. modo "just now, in a (certain) manner," from modo "to the measure," abl. of modus "manner, measure"
  • Time: O.E. tima "limited space of time," from P.Gmc. *timon "time" (cf. O.N. timi "time, proper time," Swed. timme "an hour"), from PIE *di-mon-, from base *da- "cut up, divide"
  • Give: O.E. giefan (W. Saxon), class V strong verb (past tense geaf, pp. giefen), from P.Gmc. *gebanan (cf. O.Fris. jeva, M.Du. gheven, Ger. geben, Goth. giban), from PIE *ghab(h)- "to take, hold, have, give" It became yiven in M.E., but changed to guttural "g" by infl. of O.N. gefa "to give," O.Dan. givæ.
  • Hen: O.E. hen, from W.Gmc. *khannjo (cf. M.Du. henne, O.H.G. henna), fem. of *khan(e)ni "male fowl, cock" (cf. O.E. hana "cock"), lit. "bird who sings for sunrise," from PIE base *kan- "to sing"
  • For: O.E. for "for, before, on account of," from P.Gmc. *fura (cf. O.S. furi, Du. voor "for, before;" Ger. für "for;" Dan. for "for," før "before;" Goth. faur "for," faura "before"). Is probably a shortening of common O.E. phrases such as for þon þy "therefore."

 

  • Text: 1369, "wording of anything written," from O.Fr. texte, O.N.Fr. tixte (12c.), from M.L. textus "the Scriptures, text, treatise," in L.L. "written account, content, characters used in a document," from L. textus "style or texture of a work," lit. "thing woven," from pp. stem of texere "to weave," from PIE base *tek- "make"
  • Say: O.E. secgan "to utter, say," from P.Gmc. *sagjanan (cf. O.S. seggian, O.N. segja, O.Fris. sedsa, M.Du. segghen, Du. zeggen, O.H.G. sagen, Ger. sagen "to say"), from PIE *sokei-, probably from base *seq- "point out" (cf. Hitt. shakiya- "to declare," Lith. sakyti "to say," O.C.S. sociti "to vindicate, show," O.Ir. insce "speech," O.Latin inseque "to tell say"). Past tense said developed from O.E. segde.
  • Hunter: O.E. huntian "chase game," related to hentan "to seize," from P.Gmc. *khuntojan (cf. Goth. hinþan "to seize, capture," O.H.G. hunda "booty"), from PIE *kend-.
  • Holy: O.E. halig "holy," from P.Gmc. *khailagas (cf. O.N. heilagr, Ger. heilig, Goth. hailags "holy"), adopted at conversion for L. sanctus. Primary (pre-Christian) meaning is not impossible to determine, but it was probably "that must be preserved whole or intact, that cannot be transgressed or violated," and connected with O.E. hal and O.H.G. heil "health, happiness, good luck" (source of the Ger. salutation heil).
  • Nor: c.1300, contraction of M.E. nauther
  • Careless/care: Compound of care+less
  • Rule: c.1225, "principle or maxim governing conduct," from O.Fr. riule, from V.L. *regula, from L. regula "straight stick, bar, ruler, pattern," related to regere "to rule, straighten, guide" Replaced O.E. wealdan.
  • Like: "having the same characteristics or qualities" (as another), M.E. shortening of O.E. gelic "like, similar," from P.Gmc. *galikaz "having the same form," lit. "with a corresponding body" (cf. O.S. gilik, O.N. glikr, Du. gelijk, Ger. gleich, Goth. galeiks "equally, like"), a compound of *ga- "with, together" + *likan "body" (cf. O.E. lic "body," Ger. Leiche "corpse," Dan. lig, Swed. lik, Du. lijk "body, corpse").
  • Part: c.1000, "part of speech," from O.Fr. part, from L. partem (nom. pars, gen. partis) "part, piece, side, share," related to L. portio "share, portion," from PIE base *per- "to assign, allot" (cf. Gk. peprotai "it has been granted,"
  • Fish: O.E. fisc, from P.Gmc. *fiskaz (cf. O.H.G. fisc, O.N. fiskr, Du. vis, Ger. Fisch, Goth. fisks), from PIE *piskos (cf. L. piscis).
  • Out: O.E. ut, common Gmc. (cf. O.N., O.Fris., Goth. ut, Du. uit, Ger. aus), from PIE base *ud- "up, up away" (cf. Skt. ut "up, out," uttarah "higher, upper, later, northern;" Avestan uz- "up, out," O.Ir. ud- "out," L. usque "all the way to, without interruption," Gk. hysteros "the latter," Rus. vy- "out").
  • Water: O.E. wæter, from P.Gmc. *watar (cf. O.S. watar, O.Fris. wetir, Du. water, O.H.G. wazzar, Ger. Wasser, O.N. vatn, Goth. wato "water"), from PIE *wodor/*wedor/*uder-, from root *wed- (cf. Hittite watar, Skt. udnah, Gk. hydor, O.C.S., Rus. voda, Lith. vanduo, O.Prus. wundan, Gael. uisge "water;" L. unda "wave").

 

 

 

Commentary

 

Reading this text we can see that Middle English was very similar to the nowadays’ English, reading from the original text it is very easy to understand what it is dealing about and to translate it, only few words are unrecognizable, for example, semely, peyned, estatlich, outridere, etc.

 

What regards the origin, the majority of the words are originated from Old English, but there are words that have other sources, as for example, from OFr., because of the Norman Conquest, for example, pleasant, amiable, morsel, courtesy, counterfeit, court, reverence, etc. as we can see almost all of them are related to the pleasure, behavior, to the words related to the higher classes. There are also words from Anglo-Norman, for example, port; and from Latin.    

 

There are many curiosities, for example, the verb “was” which is now the past form of “be”, it previously was an independent verb “wesan”. An also the nous “farthing”, now means small but it comes from “ferthing”, which meant a quarter of a penny, it is to say a very small part.

 

 

Text 73: The Travels of Sir John Mandeville

Original Text

 

Now schallI seye ʒou sewyngly of contrees and yles þat ben beʒonde the contrees þat I haue spoken of. Wherfore I seye ʒou, in passynge be the lond of Cathaye toward the high Ynde,and toward Bacharye, men passen be a kingdom þat men clepen Cald ilhe, þat is a full fair contre. And þere groweth a maner of fruyt, as þough it weren gowrdes; and whan þei ben rype, men kutten hem ato, and men fynden withinne a lytyll best, in flesch, in bon, and blode as þough it were a lytill lomb,withouten wolle. And men eten bothe the frut and the best: and þat is a gret mervueylle. Of þat frute I haue eten, allþough it were wondirfull: but þat I knowe wel, þat god is merueyllous in his werkes. 

 

Modern Translation

 

Now shall I tell you followingly of countries and isles that are beyond the countries I have spoken of. Wherefore I say you, in passing the land of Cathaye toward the high Ynde, and toward Bacharye, men passed by a kingdom that men called Caldilhe, that is a very pleasant country. And there grows a variety of fruit, as if it were pumpkins; and when they are ripe, men cut them in two, and men find within a little creature in flesh, bones and blood as if it were a little lamb without wool. And men eat both the fruit and the creature, and that is a great marvel. Of that fruit I have eaten, although it was wonderful, but that I know well that God is marvellous in his works.

Comments on the portfolio's pre-presentation

First of all we think that it would be more appropriate to explain and focus on the most remarkable parts of the portfolio instead of talking about any irrelevant thing that could be repeated again and again in any other portfolio.

We have thought that it would be interesting too to make a comment on every single part, for example, which parts have been the most difficult for us to translate, make the phonological transcription or even the metrical analysis.

We have also thought that it would be very interesting to discuss the etymology of the words, the most frequent source, the least one, how they have changed throughout the time and if the words of the same semantic field share the same origin. It was interesting to see that many words of French origin, depending on the historical period, they are all related to a specific semantic field like beauty, leisure, art etc. On the other hand many words coming from Latin have to do with the religious field.

Text 85: The Boke of Margery Kempe (ii)

These are the difficult words of the modern translation:

  • Had been (line 2) – was
  • Started (line 3) – frightened
  • Passed (line 4)  - overcame
  • Mirth (line 6) – fun
  • Full plenteous (line 6) – very plenteous, very merry
  • Sobbings (line 7) – cry your eyes out
  • After the bliss (line 7) – for the bliss
  • Spites (line 8) – nasty things
  • Wretched (line 8) - awful

Text 74: The Boke of Mawndevile

Original Text

…That bereth applis grete plente

And who þat cleueth an appul atwyn

A litille beest he fyndith thereyn.

To a litille beest lombe liche it ys

Of bloode and bone and eke of flessh

And welle shapen ate folle

In al thinge saufe it hath noo wolle

And men and women þere meest and leest

Eten of þat frute so with þat beest.


Modern Translation


...That carried great plenty of apples
And he who cut an apple in two
A little beast he finds therein
To a little lamb like it is
Of blood and bones and flesh
And well shaped throughout
In all things save it has no wool
And men and women there from the highest to the lowest
Eat of that fruit so with that beast

Pre-presentation's structure

We werethinking about the structure of the presentation, so it would be like:

  1. In the first slide it would be good to write our names and the name of the fragment on which we are going to make a comment, and also explain briefly the text, for example, the author and the date.
  2. In the second one, we were thinking in explaining what the fragment is dealing about.
  3. In the third one, we will explain our translation, for example, if it was more literal or free. And also we were thinking in pointing out interesting phrase or word translations.
  4. This slide would be dedicated to the metrical analysis, if it was difficult to do or easy, and also if it has interesting features.
  5. The fifth one would deal about phonetic transcription, the words that have changed in spelling or in pronunciation, for example, the vowels if they are now short, long or if it changed completely.
  6. And finally, the etymology, we are going to explain the most interesting changes, for example the past form of the verb “be” that is “was”, since previously it was an independant verb “wesan”. And also it would be intersting to make a comment on the origin of the verbs, which words share the origin and to what semantic field they are related to.

 

Pre-presentation´s structure

It would be interesting for the presentation to ask people and that they ask us about the text.It would be good that if people have any doubt that they ask us.They would be more integrated and the presentation would be more interactive.

Text 75: The Travels of Sir John Mandeville

ORGINAL TEXT


Egipt is a strongcontre 7 manye plious hauenys ben therin for there lith in eche hauene toū gretryches in the entre of the hauene / Towarð the est is the reðe se that renythright to the cete of costantyn the noble / The contre of egipt is in lenthe vjornes / but not bt iij in breðe for desert that aryn there / Betwy egipt andthe lond that is callyd / Nuðynea arn xii iouneis in ðesertis the folk thatwonyðe in that contre arn cristene men but thy ary blake of colo for the ougret hete that is there and brennynge of the sonne.

 

MODERN TRANSLATION

 

Egypt is a harsh country where many perilious harbours are found and in the entrance of the harbours lie great rocks. Towards the east is the Red Sea which runs right to the city of Constantinoble. The country of Egypt is of five days of journey in length but it is three days journey in wynth because of the deserts  that are there. Between Egypt and the land that is called Nuðynea, which is of twelve days of journey in the desert, the people that live in that country are Christian men but they are black in colour because of the excessive heat and the burning of the sun.

Text 79: Chaucer's “The Parson's Tale” (facsimile)

ORIGINAL TEXT

 

Aftere auarice comyth Glotenye Which is expres a gayne the comaundmet of god What Gloteny is Glotenye is vnmesurable appetit to ete or to drinke or ellys to don ynogh to the vnmesurable apetit and desordeynee coueitise to ete or to drinke this synne corrumped all this world. as is wel shewd in the synne of adam and of Eue

 he þt is vsaunt to this synne of Glotenye he ne may noo synne wtstonde he mote ben in servage of all vices ffor it is the deuell hoord there he hideth hym and resteth him this synne hath manye spices Of duirse speces of Gloe þe first is drokenesse The firste is dronkynnesse that is the horryble sepulture of mannes reson and þefor whan a man is dronken . he hathe lost is resoun and this is dedly synne But sothely whan that a man is not wont to stronge drinke and peruenture ne knoweth not the strenght of the drinke or hathe ffeblesse in his hedd or hathe trauayled þorow the whiche he drinketh the more al be he sodenly caught wt drinke, it is no dedly synne but venyall

The seconde spece of Glotenye is þt the spirit of a man wexeth all trouble for dronkeneʃʃe bireueth hym the diʃcrecyou of his wytte The iijde  spece of Gloe  The therde spece of Glotenye is whanne a man deuoureth his mete and hathe no ryghtfull mane of etynge. The iiijte spice of Gloe The iiijte spece of Glotenye is whanne thourgh the grete habundaunce of his mete the humos of his body ben deʃtemperyd The v spece of Gloe The fyfte is foryetylneʃʃe by to muchell drinkeynge ffor which som tyme a man fogeteth er the mowe what he ded at evyn or on the nyght before…

Theʃe ben the v fyngers of the deueles hand by Whiche he draweth folk to synne.

 

 

MODERN TEXT

 

After avarice comes gluttony, which is against God’s commandment. Gluttony is an immeasurable appetite to eat and to drink or else, the sin of immeasurable appetite and craziness of desire to eat or to drink corrupts the entire world as it is clear in the sin of Adam and Eve.

He who is used to this sin of gluttony he may not withstand the sin, he must be in service of all the vices for it is the devil’s treasure house, there he hides himself and rests himself. This sin is of diverse species of gluttony, the first one is drunkenness that is the grave of men’s reason, therefore when he is drunken he has lost his reason and this is a deadly sin. But certainly when a man is not accustomed to strong drinks and perhaps does not know the strength of the drinks or feeble in the head or has worked too much so he drinks more. Although he is caught with drink it is not a deadly sin but venial.

The second species of Gluttony is that the spirit of a man becomes all troubled because of drunkenness bereaves him of the discretion of his wit.

The third species of Gluttony is when a man devours his food and has no rightful mannerof eating.

The fourth species of Gluttony is when through the great abundance of his food the parts of his body are distempered.

The fifth is forgetfulness because of too much drinking for which some time on the next day a man forgets what he did even on the night before.

These are the five fingers of the devil’s hand by which he brings you to sin.

TEXT 94: Caxton’s “The Historye of Reynart the Foxe”, 1989 version (facsimile)

  • Beſtys (line 1) – beasts/ animals
  • Maûdementys (line1-2) – mandements
  • Feeſt (line 2) – feast
  • Wodes (line 5) – woods
  • Comynly be (line 5) – commonly are
  • Leuis (line 6) – leaves
  • Fowles and byr (line 7) – birds
  • Thenne (line 8) – then/ after
  • ſtaden (line 10) – place
  • Dyde (line 10) – did
  • ſtrayte commyſſyons (lines 11-12) – straight/direct commissions
  • ſhold (line 12) – should
  • Wyſe (line 13) – ways
  • Grete (line 13) – big
  • Cam (line 13) – came
  • ſauf (line 14) – except for
  • For he knewe hym ſelf fawty and gylty (lines 14-15) – because he knew himself faulty and guilty
  • Durſte (line 16) – dare
  • Auenture (line 16) – adventure (verb)
  • Whan (line 17) – when
  • Aſſemblyd (17) – assembled
  • None of them alle (line 18) – no one
  • ſore (line 19) – bitterly
  • Iʒegrim (line 20) - character 

Text 76: From Thomas Usk´s Appeal, 1384 (i)

Text 76: From Thomas Usk´s Appeal, 1384 (i)

 

Original text:

 

I Thomas Vsk… knowleched thes wordes & wrote hem with myn owne honde.

… Also, that day that Sir Nichol Brembre was chose mair, a non after mete kom John

Northampton to John Mores hows, & thides kom Richard Norbury & William Essex,

& ther it was accorded that the mair, John Northampton, sholde sende after the

persones that thilk tyme wer in the comun conseil of craftes, and after the wardeyns of

craftes, so that thei sholde kome to the goldsmitches halle on the morwe after, & ther

the mair sholde speke with hem, to loke & ordeigne howm thilk eleccion of Sir Nichol

brembre might be letted; &, nad it be for drede of our lord the kyng, I wot wel eueri

man sholde haue be in others top. And than sente he Richard Norbury, Robert Rysby,

& me, Thomas Vsk, to the Neyte, to the duk of lancastre, to enforme hym in thys

wyse: “Sir, to day, ther we wolden haue go to the eleccion of the mair in goddess peas & the kynges, ther kom jn an orrible companye of criers, no man not whiche, & ther, with oute any vsage but be strength, chosen Sir Nichol Brembre mair, a yein our maner of eleccion to forn thys vsed; wher fore we preye yow yf we might haue the kynges writ

to go to a Newe Eleccion.”. And the duk seide: “Nay, certes, writ shul ye non haue, auise yow amonges yowr selue”. & her of I appele John Northampton, John More, Richard Norbury, & William Essex.

 

 

Modern translation:

I am Thomas Vsk… acknowledge these words and wrote them with my own hands.

…Also, that day that Sir Nichol Brembre was chosen mayor, a soon after John

Northampton to John Mores, and Richard Norbury & William Essex,

& there, it was accorded that the mayor, John Northampton, should send for the person that that time they were in the common council of crafts, and for the guardians of crafts, so they should come to the goldsmiths hall on the following day, and there, the mayor would speak with them, to see and arrange how that election of Sir Nichol Brembre might be overturned; and had it not been for fear of our lord the king, that everyone would have. And then he sent Richard Norbury, Robert Rysby, and me, Thomas Vsk, to the Neyte, to the duke of Lancaster, to inform him in this way: “Sir, today, we wish to participate in the election of the mayor in Gods and the peace King, they come in horrible groups of hecklers, whom no one knew, and they, without any other right other than that of force, chosen by the mayor Sir Nichol Brembre, against the way we hold the election previously used; consequently asked you to issue for us a rite for the king to go to a new election”. And the duke said: “No, indeed, you should have not wit, sort out the matter among yourselves” and for this appealed John Northampton, John More, Richard Norbury, and William Essex.

TEXT 57; TEXT 90 and TEXT 91

 

Here is a comparison between these 2 texts focused on the words used in both of them.

  • Line 23: gentil men; line 13: gentil men; line 14: gentilmens – gentlemen’s
  • Line 23: buþ ytauʒt; line 13: beeþ i-tauʒt; line 14: ben lerned and taught – are learned and taught
  • Line 25: cradel and conneþ; line 14: cradel and kunneþ – cradle and can/know
  • Line 26: child hys brouch; line 14: childes broche – child’s broche
  • Line 26: oplondysch; line 15: vplondisshe; line 15: vplondyssh - northern
  • Line 27: wol lykne hamsylf; line 15: wil likne hym self; line 15: will likene hem self – will liken themselves
  • Line 30: moche; line 17: moche; line 17: moche – much
  • Line 30: tofore; line 17: to for; line17: tofore – before
  • Line 31: moreyn; line 17: firste deth; line 17: grete deth – great death
  • Line 31: seþthe somdel; line 17: siþþe sumdel; line 17: syth it is somdele – since it is somehow
  • Line 32: ʒer; line 20: ʒere; line 20: yere – year
  • Line 34: leueþ; line 22: leueþ; line 21: leve – stopped
  • Line 38: yleft for to teche here; line 23: i-left for to teche here; line 23: lefte to teche theyr – stopped teaching their
  • Line 38-39: hyt semeþ a gret wondur houʒ; line 24: hit semeþ a greet wonder houʒ; line 23-24: hit semeth a grete wonder – it seemed a great wonder how
  • Line 40: burþ; line 24: burþe; line 24: owne – native/birth
  • Line 41: dyvers of soun; line 25: dyuerse of sown; line 24-25: so grete dyversyte…in sowne – diversity on sound
  • Line 43: comlyng; line 26: comlynge; line 26: comen oute – newcomer
  • Line 43: aryʒt; line 27: ariʒt – right/correct
  •  

    Forsaide saxon tonge – forsayd tong: foreign saxon tongueſſ

    i-deled – departed: departed

    a þre – in thre: in three

    acordeþ more in sownynge of speche – acorde better in sownyng of their speche: accord better in sowying of  their speech

    it is þat mercii – it is that men of mercij: it is that men´s merci

    specialliche at ʒork -  specially at Cork: specially at York

    I trowe – I suppose: I think

    Þat þat is bycause – the cause be: because

    To the aliens: to the allies

Comments on Presentations

Presentations (22.05.2009)

 

 

  • Group 27

This presentation was started with metrical features. They made a commentary abour Chaucer’s manuscript, his iambic pentameter which had verses not only of 10 syllables but also of 11, but both of them with five iambs. To conclude they said an interesting statement which says that this irregularity is good because it makes his verses more interesting to read and analyse.

About the phonological aspects they said that the final “e” is not pronounced before other words but it doesn’t occur at the end of the verses. They pointed out that the rhyme can be used to know an appropriate word pronunciation.

Finally, one of the etymological features was that we can see the beginning of modalisation with the use of “koude”. The words “good” and ”God” were spelt alike but it seems that there are no relation between them. The last interesting feature was that there was a strong presence of the French words.

 

  • Group 25

 This presentation was based on these features:

-         In the Chaucer’s Prologue we can observe a remains of OE genitive and past participle prefix “y”.

-         There are 45% of function words and 55% of lexical words, from OE, OF and ON origin.

-         There are inconsistences of spelling.

-         We can already observe the evaluation of the GVS, in the presentation there could be observed visible changes in Chaucer’s text.

-         They repeated and idea of the verse form and which gives us an evidence of stress and ponunciation change.

-         We could also see that many words are used metaphorically, for example, “propre”, ”ram”, and, ”stout”.

-         Conclusion: Choucer shows us that the language and society are changing constantly.  

 

 

  • Group 24

This presentation began with a slide showing a map with the well-known golden triangle, explaining that Chaucer used the London dialect to write the Canterbury tales. Next they showed us another slide with approximate percentages of etymology what made us realise that the vast majority of words come from OE. After that this group talked about function words, adding a summary that explains those words that have changed across time and those which have remained the same.

In this part they mainly focused on the pronoun ‘’they’’ of ON origin and its evolution.

Following this they gave us a short explanation on the semantic fields affected by French loanwords and which ones they were, such as: Science, clothing and ornamentation, nautics, art, magic, religion, geography, emotional states…)

They also made some comments on word formation, naming the three most common processes, by suffixation, shortening and compounds.

To finish with their presentation they also talked about the phonetic changes from ME to ModE, the rhotic accent and the stress.

Our opinion about this presentation is pretty positive. We think it was a very complete one, they mentioned every important and relevant detail. They simply talked and explained what was only related to their text instead of talking about irrelevant things or even worse about other things that hardly had anything to do with their topic. We also saw that the coordination of the group members was right, what proves that they have spent some time to make it work in the best possible way.

 

  • Group 22

In this presentation our class mates gave us in first place a little information and general features about Geoffrey Chaucer for us to understand in a better way what they were going to explain next. Then they explained that he used the London dialect (educated class) influenced by East-Midland dialects.

After this they gave us a brief explanation on the infinitive suffix –en that disappeared and also showed us 3 portraits of the characters that appear in their fragment of the Canterbury Tales.

Another important point they took into account was the metrics used by Chaucer, followed again by an explanation of the iambic pentameter, rhyming couplets, the regular feet and the metrical inversion to emphasise.

The penultimate point focused on etymology and the last one on vocabulary and the semantic fields.

 

 

PRESENTATIONS (21.05.2009)

  •  Group 21

This presentation began with semantic features. Our mates explained us that there were three descriptions of different characters: Friar’s, merchant’s, clerk’s. They said that there were also semantic fields such as, money, clothes, religion, education… and also gradations such as, money and clothes.

Following this, they made a comparison between ME vs MnE. They told us that some words of ME have disappear in ModE (cleped, cope) and also they talk about metathesis (better, upsed). They applied these phenomenon to their text. They talked about: phonetics: [x] didn´t exist in MnE and also about “schwa”;  grammar: double negation and about the auxiliary verb “gan”; pronunciation: “e” suffix was pronounced depending of the rhyme of the verse and about consonants which were very close to MnE consonants.

Finally, our mates also talked about etymology. They explained us the most frequent words, the dictionaries that they have used, and the percentages of the different origins of the words. 

 

  • Group 18:

 

This group has pointed out these features:

-         In their fragment they made a comment on some of the interesting characteristics of some of the words of their text. For example, the words manere and prioresse.

-         It was also interesting to see some of the semantic fields they dealt with, for example religion: none, prioresse (most of them are of French origin because it was a sign of education), hunting: arwes, swerd; body parts: hand, heed, usage, arm, etc.

-         They observed that in their excerpt there it was already possible to recognise some of innovations, for example, addition of suffix –ly (from OE -lice) and the superlative gretteste.

-         This group finally put a video which was good idea because it was possible to hear ME pronunciation.

  • Group 17

 This presentation started with a brief introduction about Geoffrey Chaucer, considered the father of the English literature. Our mates told that with Chaucer, standard language began.

They also talk about “Canterbury Tales, which was considered a masterpiece of Middle English. In the book’s prologue three states were found:1.clergy; 2.nobility; 3. commoners. In their text appeared three characters: Parson, Plowman, Miller.

Following this, they gave us a short explanation of pronunciation. They talked about: I long; ending in schwa; initial R; open [E:].

They continued with a brief scansion, where they explained the rhyming couplets and the iambic pentameter.

Finally, they analysed the vocabulary found in their text. They divided it in two groups: function words (97 %) and lexical words (3%).

 

 

 

PRESENTATIONS (29.05.09)

 

  • Group 16

-         According to this group, Caucer created a particular language for every character in his Canterbury Tales, his collection is full of different speeches.

-         They have chosen one of the characters to talk about him in more detailed way, this personage was the host.

-         They have also explained some of the grammatical aspects such as inversion and double negative.

-         Thsi team has also pointed out the most salient semantic fields, which are: family, drinking and religion.

 

  • Group 14

-         First of all this group has explained the most  important vowels and consonants in their excerpt, the ones that have changed and that haven’t.

-         As is usual the most used words are function words and not the lexical ones.

-         The words of French origin show that Chaucer was very cultivated man. The most frequent origin is Germanic, then goes French and finally Latin, Celtic and Greek.

-         They also have talked about the words that had disappeared, such as astored and restored, and aslo about words that have changed their meaning.

-         Finally, they are the first group that have spoken about metathesis (the alteration of vowels) in words such as bettre-better and propre-proper.

 

  •  Group 13

 

First of all our class mates made an introduction. They explained us general features about Chaucer and the Canterbury Tales which were written in the London dialect. Next they introduced us 2 characters that appear in their text; the Somonour and the Pardoner. Afterwards they red their fragment in the Middle English pronunciation.

Metrics

Regardin the iambic pentameter it was said that it is made of relative regularity and a succession of rhyming couplets.

To complement this information we were shown a slide showing percentage. There were used more function words than lexical words.

 

Etymology

 

The OE origin predominates in this text followed by OFr, ON and at the end of this slide we can see some curiosities about words of unknown origin such as girl.

 

Lexis and spelling

 

There are many semantic fields (food, religion, judicial jargon) and regarding the spelling we have shortenings, variety in spelling, hybridisation…

 

Phonology

 

Regarding the phonology we were said that the most important feature was the final –e to help metrics, loss of phonemes and syllables. Next they showed us some examples that perfectly explain those differences between ME and PDE.

 

Grammar

 

A summary of all the grammatical categories and their examples. For instance the relative ‘’who’’ didn’t exist at that time and instead of it they used ‘’that’’.

 

Syntax

 

Coordinant sentences are predominant in their text. There are also some cases of inversion of subject  and verb and the indirect speech is predominant.

 

Conclusion

 

Inflections were much simplified, the word order becomes much more important, the spelling was largely phonetic. After this deep analysis we have noticed that the English language has a very rich vocabulary and a Germanic and Romance heritage.

 

  • Group 12

 

This presentation began with a brief explanation about Chaucer’s life. He was a multifaceted man.

 

Metrical analysis

 

Chaucer employs an AABB rhyme and a ten-syllable iambic pentameter although the lines in verse are not always regular.

 

Phonology

 

It was affected by the GVS so there were many changes in the phonology. Loss in final –e. The addition of a final –e was the result of using it as a diacritic letter. Some words of non-English origin adapted their form to the English phonology.

 

Etymology: the word’s origin

 

The man sources are:

OE

OFr

AngloFrench

Latin

OFrisian

Anglo-Norman

 

Function and lexical words

 

Function words remain virtually untouched in PDE maybe because they are the most used. However lexical words change their form in spelling and pronunciation most of the time.

 

Archaic words

 

Some words that they found in their text that today are obsolete words:

Wight

Janglere

  • Group 11:

This presentation began with a brief introduction about Geoffrey Chaucer. He wrote in London dialect. He is considered the father of the English literature.

After this, they talked about etymological and lexical features. There were semantic fields of religion & animals; adjectives & adverbs; words adapted into English; words which had the same spelling than nowadays; words which had French origin…

They continued with the phonology.  They explained that there were rhyming couplets and also iambic pentameter. Our mates analysed aspects, such as: final –e before words beginning with a vowel or an “h”; GVS; spelling <ee> & <oo>

Following this, they explained us the most important grammatical features. They were: suffix –e (indicating the past tense); prefix “y”; irregular infinitives; use of double negative…

 Finally our mates analysed the spelling. They found different spelling for hym/him; also words with “k” are now with “c”; and metathesis.

 

  •  Group 10:

This presentation was started with the presentation of two characters: the physician, who was the best of his profession; and the wife of bath, who wasn’t beautiful and wore ostentious clothes.

Following this they talked about the vocabulary and the etymology. The words in their verse come from:

- OE: which were divided in two: function words (of, for) and verbs (clad).

- French origin: preserve their conventions (final –ee; diphthong “au”, ing…).

- Classical words: preposition “in” and proper names.

- Old Norse origin: minority.

There were also semantic fields: proper names, place names, clothing.

After this, they continued explaining the metrics. There was iambic pentameter with some trochees and couplets.

Regarding to phonology, our mates explained us that the GVS affected English long vowels that raised or become diphthongs.

As conclusion, all these historical reasons influenced in the evolution of the English language.

 

 

PRESENTATIONS (03.06.2009)

 

  • Group 9

-         This team has begun with the vocabulary, for example, they have spoken about words that disappeared or changed their meaning, such as tempest, earlier ir refered period of time and later to the weather.

-         Regarding pronunciation, the most important aspect is that Chaucer uses iambic pentameter.

-         The origins are: Latin (pacient, cause), Old Norse (they, this), French (hour, apothecaries), and of course, Old English.

 

  • Group 8

-         They introduced saying that Chaucer’s writing was considered to be modern fir his time. And his book is considered to be the best example of vernacular Englsh language.

-         His language was based on a speech of educated class and it became a standard.

-         Regarding semantics, the majority of words are related to food, and the other are related to tools, professions, etc.

-         Chaucer’s masterpiece is used as a study reference about Middle English.

 

 

PRESENTATIONS (05.06.2009)

 

Group 5:

 

Our mates made a very original presentation. They simulated a pilgrimage for doing the structure of the presentation, as the “Canterbury Tales”.

Regarding etymology they explained us that their fragment had: 228 content word & 179 function words. They had Romanic origin (cloyste, oyster); proto-Germanic (greet, fair); Celtic languages (balled); Greek (now).

They continued talking about semantic fields. They had found semantics fields of: animals (fish, best); religion; and body parts (eyen, face). They had found some interesting words which has revolutionized in their meaning. For example:

-“fowel” meant bird and now it means a domestic hen.

-“prikasour”: meant a rider and it is formed by: prik (Germanic) + -asour (OF).

They also found semantic relations: synonyms such as “countree-land”, and derivation such as “pryking-prikasour”.

Focusing on metrics, our mates talked about the iambic pentameter. Chaucer used it, but there were also some irregularities as the trochee. Chaucer used it for emphasising the verse. Moreover, it was difficult to maintain the iambic pentameter, so he used the final –e.

Finally, they talked about rhyme. The text was divided in heroic couplets, in which the rhyme is always masculine. There were two kinds of rhyme: perfect rhyme & assonance.

 

 

 

 

Group 1:

 

Firstly, there was a brief introduction in which they could divide the text into 2 parts.

After that, they focus on etymology. 58% of the words were function words, and the 42& were lexical words. These words had different origin: 73% from OE, 17% OF (batailles, chivalrie, compagnye), and 10% other origins.

Regarding spelling, they explained us that there were variations on spelling. For example “all” was written into two different ways: al and alle; and also “at”, it was written at and ate.

Focusing phonology, our mates told us that some consonant phonemes had disappeared as for example: knight- ME /knixt/- PDE /knaIt/. They also told us the influence of the GVS.

They continued talking about scansion. They explained us that the text was divided in rhyming couplets. They also show us the metrics and they told us why some words finished with –e.

Finally they talked about grammar and syntax. They had found semantic fields and alteration of the word order.

 

 

 

Text 77: From Thomas Usk's Appeal, 1384

ORIGINAL TEXT

 

Also, atte Goldsmithes halle, when al the people was assembled, the mair, John Northampton , reherced as euel as he koude of the eleccion on the day to forn, & seyde that truly: “Sirs thus be ye shape for to be ouer ronne, & that, quod he, I nel noght soeffre, lat us rather al be ded atones than soeffre such a vylenye.” & that the comunes, ypon these wordes, were stered, & seiden truly they wolde go to a nother eleccion, & noght soeffre thys wrong, to be ded al ther for attones in on tyme; and than be the mair, John Northampton, was euery man boden gon hom, & kome fast a yein strong in to Chepe with al her craftes, & I wene ther wer a boute a xxx craftes, & in Chepe they sholden haue sembled to go to a newe eleccion, &, truly, had noght the aldermen kome to trete, & maked that John Northampton bad the people gon hoom, they wolde haue go to a Newe eleccion, & in that hete haue slayn him that wolde haue letted it, yf they had myght; and ther of I appele John Northampton.

 

MODERN TEXT

 

 

Also, at a Goldsmith’s hall, when all the people assembled, the mayor, John Northampton, criticised the election as much as he could on the previous day and said: “Sirs, this sets the scene for us to be trampled under foot and that”, said he, “I will not tolerate, let us rather die here and now than suffer such a mischief.” Then the common people were stirred on listening these words and said that they wanted to hold another election and not suffer such a wrong, or else they would not put up with such an injustice. After that everyone was told to go home by the mayor, John Northampton, but they came back quickly in strength with all their fellow craftsmen to Cheapside. I reckon there were about thirty crafts. They were meant to assemble and to hold a new election in Cheapside. If the aldermen had not come to negotiate and persuade John Northampton to tell the people to go home, they would had held a new election, and in the heat of the moment would have killed anyone who tried to stop them, if they had strength, and I appealed this John Northampton.  

 

Text 81: Chaucer´s The Friar´s Tale (ii) (facsimile)

Original text:

 

This worthy lymytour / this noble frere

He made al wey / a manere louring cheere

Vp on the Somnour / but for honeftee

No vileyns word / as yet to hym spak he

But ate lafte / he seyde vn to the wyf

Dame quod he / god yeue yow right good lyf

Ye han heer touched / al fo mote I thee

In scole matere / gpret difficultee

 

Ye han seyd muche thing / right wel I seye

But dame / here as we ryden by the weye

Vs nedeth nat / to speken / but of game

And lete auctoritees / on goddess name

To prechyng / and to scole of clergye

But if it like / to this compaignye

I wol yow / of a Somnour telle a game

 

 

Modern text:

 

This worthy limiter / this noble friar

He always made / a manner of lowering face

Upon the Somnouer / but for honesty

No rude words / as yet he spoke to him

But at the last / he said to the wife

“Lady” he said / “God gives you a good life”

You have pronounced here / also

Upon school matters / great difficulties

 

I have said many things / you are right

But Lady /as we ride by the way

We don´t need / to speak / about the game

And leave authorities / on God´s name

To pray / and to teach clergymen

But if it likes / to this company

I will tell you / a Somnour story

 

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