2.5 Etymological Doublets

Etymological doublets are two words of the same language which were derived from the same basic word by different routes. Some doublets are formed from different dialects, e.g., whole and hale are dialectal doublets. Whole came from Midland dialect, whereas hale came from Northern dialect. They differ to a certain degree in form, meaning, and current usage. The Latin words episcopus and discus penetrate Old English as bishop and dish. Later these words were borrowed again to create the words Episcopal and disc. Phonetic differences indicate that some French words were borrowed from different dialects—the Norman spoken in England (Anglo-Norman) and Central French (Standard French). It is easy to identify the doublets which came from Central French. Latin c [k] before a developed into ch [t?] in Central French but remained in Norman dialect. So, chapter came from Central French, which adopted it from Latin capitulum, a diminutive of caput; however, capital came from Norman dialect, which came from the same Latin word capitulum. The same explanation may be given to the doublets chattel and cattle. They both were borrowed by French from Latin capit?le (possession, stock).

Scandinavian-English Doublets

Old NorseEnglish from ScandinavianEnglish from Old Englishskyrtaskirtshirtskipskiffshiplanloanlend

Latin-French Doublets

LatinEnglish from LatinEnglish from Frenchabbreviareabbreviateabridgeaggravatusaggravateaggrieveamicabilisamicableamiableappretiareappreciateappraise

The word appreciate was borrowed from Latin appretiare ("to set a price to") in the1650s. The word appraise was borrowed from the stem of Old French aprisier in 1400. French borrowed this word from the Latin appretiare ("to set a price to"). The words gentle, genteel, and jaunty are borrowed from the French word gentil. Genteel and jaunty penetrated English in the seventeenth century. It is similar with chief, first occurring in English in the fourteenth century, and chef, in the nineteenth century (Pyles, 1964, p.336).

Etymological triplets are three words of the same language which were derived from the same basic word by different routes. Some examples are hospital (Latin) — hostel (Anglo-Norman) — hotel (Central French). All three words originated from the Latin word hospit?le. The following verbs to capture (Latin) — to catch (Anglo-Norman) — to chase (Central French) have derived from Latin word capt?re.

Although the English language borrowed words from different languages and continues to do so, English remains English. What it has borrowed from other languages has given greater wealth to the English word-stock, not reducing the Englishness of the English language, but rather enriching it.

2.6 Folk Etymology

Etymological analysis requires a systematic research of the origin and development of lexemes or expressions that is done by scholars; however, not only researchers are concerned with the etymology of the language items, but laypersons are also curious about the make-up of words. People try to associate strange words with the ones they already know; therefore, every speaker is an etymologist himself or herself. This trivial and amusing phenomenon is called folk etymology or popular etymology. “In its simplest operations, folk etymology merely associates together words which resemble each other in sound and show a real or fancied similarity of meaning, but which are not at all related in their origin” (Greenough & Kittredge, 1967, p.145). Some examples of folk etymology are Welsh rarebit (the original Welsh rabbit, ‘cheese on toast’) and sirloin (original surloin). Folk etymology not only affects the spelling of words and their associations, bit “it [also] transforms the word, in whole or in part, so to bring it nearer to the word or words with which it is ignorantly thought to be connected.” Id. at 147. Often, folk etymology affects borrowed words, e.g. sparrowgrass (L. asparagus); however, it may affect native words as well, as in the example of sand-blind (original samblind). These examples show that folk etymology is based on people’s misunderstanding of certain words and their attempt to domesticate these words so that they sound and spelled like the words in their own language. “Folk etymology is the naive misunderstanding of a more or less esoteric word that makes it into something more familiar and hence seems to give it a new etymology, false though it be—is a minor kind of blending” (Algeo, 2010, p. 241).