By Anglo-French is meant the highly important form of French which is
largely peculiar to England, and is of the highest value to the
philologist. The earliest forms of it were Norman, but it was
afterwards supplemented by words borrowed from other French dialects,
such as those of Anjou and Poitou, as well as from the Central French
of Paris. It was thus developed in a way of its own, and must always
be considered, in preference to Old Continental French, when English
etymologies are in question. It is true that it came to an end about
1400, when it ceased to be spoken; but at an earlier date it was alive
and vigorous, and coined its own peculiar forms. A very simple example
is our word _duty_, which certainly was not borrowed from the Old
French _devoir_, but from the Anglo-French _duetee_, a word familiar
in Old London, but absolutely unknown to every form of continental
French.
The point which I have here to insist upon is that not only does our
literary language abound with Anglo-French words, but that they are
also common enough in our dialects; a point which, as far as I know,
is almost invariably overlooked.
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