Etymology is the study of the history of words. English has a rich history filled with vocabulary borrowed from many other languages. In ancient times, the foundations for English included German, Latin, Greek, French, and the Scandinavian languages. In modern times, English has borrowed from nearly every other language.
Here are some unusual adopted words and their origins:
| Modern English Word assassin ballot berserk chocolate czar orange slogan tomato Yankee zero | Language of Origin Arabic Italian Old Norse Nahuatl (Aztec) Russian Sanskrit Gaelic Nahuatl (Aztec) Dutch Arabic | |
http://www.etymonline.com/
http://www.wordorigins.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etymology
