Yet _beef_
and _mutton_ are Norman; _broccoli_ and _soda_ are Italian; _cork_
and _sherry_ are Spanish; _brandy_ is Dutch; _tea_ is Chinese;
_coffee_ is Arabic; _sugar_ is of Sanskrit origin; and _sago_ is
Malay. It must be evident that many similar words, having reference
to very various useful things, have long ago drifted into the dialects
from the literary language. Hence the purity of the dialects from
contamination with foreign influences is merely comparative, not
absolute.
Our modern language abounds with words borrowed from many foreign
tongues; but a large number of them have come to us since 1500. Before
that date the chief languages from which it was possible for us to
borrow words were British or Gaelic, Irish, Latin, Greek (invariably
through the medium of Latin), Hebrew (in a small degree, through
the medium of Latin), Arabic (very slightly, and indirectly),
Scandinavian, and French. A few words as to most of these are
sufficient.
It is not long since a great parade was made of our borrowings from
"Celtic"; it was very easy to give a wild guess that an obscure word
was "Celtic"; and the hardihood of the guesser was often made to take
the place of evidence.
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