writings, but the vast majority are not seen until the 13th century. The earliest Middle English literature shows hundreds of Norse words in use (20 skirt, 22 take away).
But the Latin and Norse elements in English are small compared with the huge impact of French in the Middle Ages — a consequence of the dominance of French power in England after 1066 and of French cultural pre- eminence in mainland Europe. Anglo-Saxon words could not cope with the unfamiliar domains of expression introduced by the Normans, such as law, architecture, music and literature. People had no alternative but to develop new varieties of expression, adopting continental models and adapting traditional genres to cope with the French way of doing things. The early Germanic vocabulary, reflecting an Anglo-Saxon way of life (4 loaf, 7 mead), gave way to a French view of the world which affected all areas of life, from food (17 pork) to law (18 chattels), and introducing new forms of address (19 dame). The new words usually replaced the old ones, but more often the old words survived, sometimes developing a different meaning (21 jail) or stylistic use (30 royal).
The international contacts made by British explorers, traders and travellers began as a trickle in the 14th century (33 taffeta) and by the 16th century had became a flood (39 potato). The renaissance of learning brought a renewal of contact with Latin and Greek, so much so that the number of classical words entering English actually generated huge controversy (41 ink- horn). Not all welcomed the change in the language’s lexical character. For some, the arrival of classical loanwords made the language elegant; for others, the effect was to make it alien. An argument in favour of keeping the Germanic character of English began in the 16th century and has been with us ever since (74 speech- craft). But nothing has ever stemmed the flow of loanwords into the language, and the range was greatly increased by the global spread of English.
American English was the first major variety of the language to emerge outside of the British Isles. It did not take long before the early explorers began to use words from American Indian languages (45 skunk), and these along with many others helped to develop an American identity (58 Americanism). From the 17th century on, the geographical horizons of the language steadily expanded as the British Empire grew and English began to be adapted to meet the communicative demands of new cultures. A language soon shows the effect in its vocabulary of being in a new location, especially when we are dealing with such dramatically different parts of the world as India (48 lakh) and Africa (62 trek). A regionally distinctive English vocabulary involving thousands of items can emerge within just a few years. In addition to loanwords, the local culture will adapt native English words, giving them different forms and meanings (68 dinkum, 69 mipela). The process of borrowing continues today, largely motivated by economic and cultural factors (70 schmooze, 78 robot, 96 sudoku).
The earliest records of English were inevitably formal in character, illustrating a ‘high style’ of literary expression, or reflecting such specialised domains as religion, law and politics. The linguistic creativity of the Anglo-Saxon age is seen in its riddles (9 riddle) and poetic forms (11 bone- house), and illustrates an imaginative strand of expression that continued through Middle English (16 swain, 35 gaggle) and Early Modern English, reaching a high point in the coinages of the Elizabethan era (43 bodgery, 44 undeaf). The playfulness is no less important today, as shown by invented words (82 doobry, 83 blurb, 90 bagonise), comic effects (84 strine) and the creations of modern fiction (97 muggle).
Doubtless Anglo-Saxon society demonstrated the same range of everyday colloquial expression that we have today — human nature hasn’t changed so much in a thousand years — but almost all the texts that survive from the Old English period are formal or oratorical in character, and there is hardly any sign of the rhythms and vocabulary of ordinary conversation. Things begin to change in the 11th century. An informal, earthier vocabulary begins to appear in writing, and we see the origins of many modern taboo expressions (15 arse, 24 cunt, 47 bloody), as well as words reflecting everyday sounds (23 cuckoo), playful coinages (35 gaggle) and a wealth of idioms (31 money). English society in all its diversity is vividly represented in the writing of Chaucer and the other Elizabethan dramatists, notably Shakespeare, and it is not long before enthusiasts start collecting the colloquial words of their age, especially those belonging to the criminal fraternity (64 dragsman), illustrating a fascination with slang that has continued to the present day (66 dude, 86 grand).
Regional vocabulary has also played its part in the increasing diversity of the language. Dialect variation can be seen from the outset (8 merry), and as English came to be established in new geographical locations we see the proliferation of local words and phrases (26 wee, 42 dialect, 73 y’all). During the Middle Ages, the need to facilitate communication between all parts of Britain led to the gradual emergence of an increasingly standardised form of written English. Several influential factors were involved, such as the arrival of printing (29 egg), the growth of a national civil service, the popularity of major authors (such as Chaucer) and the prestige of biblical translations (37 matrix, 46 shibboleth). The formation of a standard English, with an agreed spelling (32 music), grammar (34 information) and terminology (38 alphabet), took several centuries, and at times was highly controversial, especially when people argued the case for spelling reform (40 debt). Indeed, the controversies are with us still, as can be seen in words which still have variant spellings (51 yogurt), the varying reactions to non-standard spellings (88 gotcha) and debates over correctness in grammar (61 ain’t) and pronunciation (76 garage).
Vocabulary is different from other areas of language, such as grammar and spelling, in that it offers us a direct insight into the social milieu, ways of thinking and cultural innovations of a period of history. Some words inform us about the structure of society (55 polite, 65 lunch) or its social practices (49 fopdoodle, 53 tea, 95 jazz). We encounter emerging professions (52 gazette) and monitor progress in science (60 species, 75 DNA) and technology (63 hello, 99 unfriend, 100 Twittersphere). We are confronted with new attitudes and mindsets, as we see people looking critically at vocabulary (81 double speak, 89 PC, 93 cherry-picking). When we explore the history of words, we find a window into society. It is a major theme of this book.
But there is a second way of looking at vocabulary: to examine the techniques the language makes available to build the words that form this history, and this strand also needs to be prominent in a wordbook. One important method, as we have already seen, is to borrow the words from other languages. But there are many other techniques of word formation. A Germanic language element can be combined with an element from another language, such as French or Latin (36 doable). Words can be reduplicated (56 dilly- dally), shortened (57 rep, 59 edit, 92 app), conflated (67 brunch, 98 chillax), compounded (91 webzine) or abbreviated (79 UFO, 94 LOL). A suffix can turn into a word (72 ology), as can a prefix (87 mega). Names can become words — first names (28 valentine), surnames (85 Alzheimer’s), place-names (80 Watergate) and product names (77 escalator).
But perhaps the most interesting side to vocabulary is when the exploration of word origins (etymology) brings to light results that are unexpected or intriguing. We see people adapting the language in order to make sense of it (14 bridegroom). We see extraordinary reversals of meaning over long periods of time (25 wicked). We see confusions of meaning (50 billion) and disputes over usage (54 disinterested). And we see some totally unexpected links between words (27 grammar). Not all word origins are known, and there have been some longstanding arguments (71 OK). But every etymology at some point takes us by surprise. As I was researching each chapter of this book I learned something new about the history of English words — and you will too.
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