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English

Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 3:49 pm
by eberntson
English
adj
Definition of ENGLISH
: of, relating to, or characteristic of England, the English people, or the English language

Origin of ENGLISH
Middle English, from Old English englisc, from Engle (plural) Angles
First Known Use: before 12th century

What is the root of this word? It holds so many meanings.

Posted: Thu May 17, 2012 9:32 pm
by Slava
Excellent catch, this one. How can it be that our own language has not yet crossed our bows?

Does this mean we're all bent?

Posted: Fri May 18, 2012 12:12 am
by Philip Hudson
The root is simple. Anglia and England both mean Land of the Angles, a Germanic people originating in the north German peninsula of Angeln. Farther back than that is not known. A Roman Pope, whose name I can't remember, mistook the name for Angel and declared it a fitting description for people so handsome and fair. Of course, the British were handsome and fair before the Angles and Saxons came to Britton. We Celts lost our language but I think we got the better deal on that count. Have you ever heard anyone speak Welsh? Except for place names, The only Celtic word we have in English is whiskey. While the Celts were conquered, they did not die out. Celtic blood runs deep through most English people.

Celt that I am, I am certainly a linguistic Anglophile.

Posted: Sat May 19, 2012 11:20 am
by LukeJavan8
I actually heard three boys speak Welsh in the village of
LlanfairPG, the town with the 58 letters. I had one of
them write the name of the town on a piece of slate
for which Wales is famous ("How Green was My Valley",
Morgan Llewelyn) using a nail. The three went on and
on. However the Wales News OnLine reports the
spoken Welsh is losing daily.