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Many words that existed in Old English did not survive into Modern English. There are also many words in Modern English that bear little or no resemblance in meaning to their Old English etymons. Some linguists estimate that as much as 80 percent of the lexicon of Old English was lost by the end of the Middle English period, including a large number of words formed by compounding, e.g. ''bōchūs'' ('bookhouse', 'library'), yet we still retain the component parts 'book' and 'house'. Certain categories of words seem to have been especially vulnerable. Nearly all words relating to sexual intercourse and sexual organs were supplanted by words of Latin or Ancient Greek origin. Many, if not most, of the words in Modern English that are used in polite conversation to describe body parts and bodily functions are of Latin or Greek origin. The words which were used in Old English for these same purposes are now mostly either extinct or considered crude or vulgar, such as arse/ass. Some words became extinct while other near-synonyms of Old English origin replaced them ('limb' survives, yet ''lið'' is gone or survives dialectally as lith). Many of these linguistic changes were brought on by the introduction of Old Norse and Norman French words, while others fell away due to the natural processes of language evolution. == Animals == Modern English has no Germanic words left that mean 'animal' in its most generic sense of 'non-human creature'. Old English ''dēor'', ''gesceaft'', ''gesceap'', ''nēat'' and ''iht'' were all eclipsed by 'animal', 'beast', 'creature' and 'critter', all of which are of Latin origin. *''acwehorna'': squirrel. Displaced by Anglo-Norman esquirel and Old French escurel (whence French écureuil), from Vulgar Latin scuriolus, diminutive of scurius, variant of Latin sciurus, from Ancient Greek σκίουρος (skíouros).Compare German ''Eichhorn''. *''āðexe'': 'lizard'. ''Lizard'' appeared in Middle English and is from Old French ''lesarde'', from Latin ''lacertus''.〔''American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language''.〕 The earliest occurrence of the word (spelled ''lusarde'') is in the poem ''Piers Plowman'' (written about 1360–1399). Old English ''āðexe'' does survive as ''ask'' ('newt', 'eft', 'lizard'): cf. German ''Eidechse'', Dutch ''hagedis''. *''ælepūte'': 'burbot'. The Old French word ''borbote'' had replaced ''ælepūte'' by the Middle English period.〔''AHD Online'', ('Burbot' ), accessed October 2007.〕 'Burbot' first occurred in English around 1475. The word's modern descendant, 'eelpout', is occasionally used for the burbot, although that term has come to define a different animal. *''cawelwyrm'': 'caterpillar' (see ''lēafwyrm''). *''culfre'': 'dove', 'pigeon' has survived as the rare/dialectal 'culver', a word the AHD believes comes from Vulgar Latin ''colombula''.〔 The OED acknowledges this possibility, but asserts that it is more likely native. 'Culver' is first attested in English in around 825 and 'dove' in around 1200. The Middle English ''dove'' is thought to come from Old English, but the assumed form ( *''dūfe'') is unattested, cf. ''dūfedoppa'' below. It is most likely to have been common Germanic.〔''AHD Online'', ('Dove' ), accessed October 2007.〕 *''dēor'': 'animal', 'beast'. ''Dēor'' is the etymon of English 'deer', although ''dēor'' as 'deer' as early as around 893 by Alfred the Great. At some point in the Middle English period the more specific meaning of 'deer' became common, with the original meaning becoming lost by the end of the period. Compare German ''Tier'', Dutch ''dier'', Swedish ''djur'', Danish and Norwegian ''dyr'', Icelandic ''dýr''. *''dūfedoppa'': 'pelican'. The term ''pelican'' appeared in Middle English and is ultimately from Ancient Greek.〔 *''ened'': 'duck', 'drake'. 'Drake' first appeared in around 1300 and ''ened'' then disappeared. The AHD says the origin is unknown.〔 Old High German ''antrahho'' seems to be a combination of ''ant'' (cognate of Old English ''ened'') and ''trahho'' (cognate of ''drake''), but the OED holds that the conjectured cognate in Old English (unattested *''andrake'') "has no basis of fact". The word ''ened'' likely has a PIE origin, compare Latin ''anas'', Lithuanian ''antis'' and Old Greek ''nēssa'' ('duck'). 'Duck' is from an anattested Old English word *''duce'', presumably from the verb ''ducan'' ('duck', 'dive'). Compare with the German ''Ente'', Dutch ''eend'', Common Scandinavian ''and''. *''fifalde'': 'butterfly'. Old English had the word ''butorflēoge'' as early as 1000 and this term (of dubious origin, although the ultimately Greek word "butter" is certainly the first element)〔 eventually pushed out the entirely Germanic ''fifalde''. Compare with Old High German ''fîfaltarâ'', German ''Falter'', Old Saxon ''vivoldara'', Southern Dutch ''vijfwouter'', Old Norse ''fifrildi'', Icelandic ''fiðrildi'', Swedish ''fjäril'', as well as Latin ''papilio''. *''firgenbucca'': 'ibex'. 'Ibex' is from Latin ''ibex''〔 which first appeared as ''ibecks'' in Edward Topsell's "''The historie of foure-footed beastes''" (1607). The word comes from ''firgen'' ('wooded height', 'mountain'), compare with Gothic ''fairguni'' ('mountain'), Old High German ''Fergunna'' ('Ore Mountains') and ''bucca'', 'buck'). Compare with modern German ''Steinbock'', Dutch ''(alpen) steenbok'' ('ibex'), rare English word ''stonebuck''. *''gesceaft'', ''gesceap'': 'creature'. ''Gesceap'', the etymon of English 'shape', is documented as far back as around 1050. It had many meanings in Old English: 'creature', 'creation', 'structure', 'form', 'figure', 'configuration', 'pudendum', 'decree' and 'destiny'. 'Creature', ultimately from Latin, first entered English in around 1300 and actually pre-dates the modern word 'create'.〔 ''Gesceaft'' ('creation', 'origin', 'constitution', 'nature', 'species') has the same etymological root as ''gesceap''. It is documented as early as 888 and occurs with this meaning in various forms as late as around 1579, as ''schaft''. Compare to Dutch past participle ''geschapen'' for the verb ''scheppen'' ('to create') German ''schaffen'' ('to create'), ''Geschöpf'' ('creature'). *''hacod'': 'mullet'. The OED lists ''hacod/haked'' as a dialectal name for a large pike and has a citation as late as 1847, but this word is not listed in any modern dictionary. 'Mullet' appeared in Middle English and it ultimately comes from Ancient Greek.〔 The term is probably related to ''haca'' ('hook'). Compare with modern English ''hake'', Dutch ''heek'' ('hake'), German ''Hechte'' ('esox'). *''hæferblæte'': 'bittern'. 'Bittern' entered Middle English as ''botor'' and comes from the Old French ''butor''. It is attested in English in around 1000. *''higera'': 'jay'. The word ''jai'' appeared in Middle English in around 1310 and is from Old French. The AHD states that it is possibly from the Latin praenomen Gaius, but gives no possible reason for the semantic change.〔 The OED does not address the Gaius theory, only stating that it cannot be identified with Old French ''gai'' ('gay').〔 It instead acknowledges, but does not comment on the possibility, that it is from Old High German ''gâhi'' ('swift', 'quick', 'lively'). Compare with German ''Häher''. *''hwilpe'': 'curlew'. The Middle English form ''curleu'' comes from Old French ''courlieu'', which is possibly of onomatopoeic origin.〔 The OED also believes that it is probably onomatopoeic, but notes that its became assimilated to that of ''courlieu, curleu'' ('courier'), which is ultimately from Latin ''currere'' ('to run'). *''iht'': 'creature'. (See ''gesceap''.) *''lēafwyrm'': 'caterpillar', literally 'leaf-worm', 'leaf insect'. Webster's Dictionary (1897) lists 'leaf-worm' as "a caterpillar that devours leaves", but no modern dictionaries list this word. The ''cawel'' in ''cawelwyrm'' was a loan from Latin ''caulis'' ('cabbage') and the last recorded use of it was around 1000, as ''cawelwurm''. ''Mælsceafa'' ('caterpillar') is attested as far back as Old English (around 1000 in the writings of Ælfric) and as late as 1398, as ''malshaue''. ''Mæl'' (meaning roughly 'meal' as in 'mealworm') is attested only in the compound ''mælsceafa'', but it has many well-documented cognates in other Germanic languages, such as Old Icelandic and Swedish. The second component shares its root with 'shave'. The ultimately Latin-derived ''caterpillar'' first appeared in English around 1440 as ''catyrpel''.〔 *''mælsceafa'': 'caterpillar'. (See ''lēafwyrm''). Compare with Dutch ''meelworm'' (meel = flour, which it likes to eat and can be found in). *''mereswīn'': 'dolphin', 'porpoise', literally 'sea-swine'. It is attested in Bald's Leechbook from the 10th century. The OED does not list 'mereswine' as archaic or obsolete, but the last citation given is by Frank Charles Bowen in his ''Sea Slang: a Dictionary of the Old-timers' Expressions and Epithets'' (1929). The OED lists ''sea-swine'' ('porpoise') (the last citation being for 1884) as "obsolete except dialectic". ''Dolphin'' entered English in the 12th century: it is ultimately from Ancient Greek.〔 Compare with Dutch ''meerzwijn'' ('harbour porpoise', lit. sea-swine) and German ''Schweinswal'' ('porpoise', literally 'pig's whale'). *''mūshāfoc'': 'buzzard', literally 'mouse hawk'. It is not clear which bird of prey this word referred to. The OED lists multiple meanings for 'mouse hawk', (short-eared owl, hen harrier and rough-legged buzzard), but 'mouse hawk' is an alternate name, not the prevailing name. The Middle English word ''busard'' first entered the language in around 1300 and it comes ultimately from Latin ''būtēo''.〔 *''scræb'': 'cormorant'. ''Cormorant'' first entered English in around 1320 as ''cormerant'', ultimately from the Latin words for raven and sea.〔 Probably related to (or a variant of) ''scræf'' ('cormorant'). Compare with German ''Scharbe'', Common Scandinavian ''skarv''. *''ryðða'': 'mastiff'. The word ''mastiff'' appeared in around 1387 and it is ultimately of Latin origin.〔 *''sisemūs'': 'dormouse'. ''Dormouse'' (first attested in English in around 1425) is not a combination of door and mouse. Some lexicographers, including the editorial staff of the AHD, believe that it came from Anglo-Norman ''dormeus'' ('inclined to sleep', 'hiberating'), which is ultimately from Latin ''dormire'' ('to sleep').〔 The OED, citing the Dutch words ''slaep-ratte'' ('sleep rat') and ''slaep-muys'' ('sleep mouse'), acknowledges the possibility of this derivation, but also suggests that the first element is related to Old Norse ''dár'' ('benumbed'). *''wōrhana'', ''wildhænn'': 'pheasant'. ''Pheasant'' appeared in English in 1299 (as ''fesaund'') and is ultimately from Ancient Greek.〔 *''wyrm'': 'serpent', 'snake', 'dragon', 'insect'. The OED lists all entries of ''wyrm''/''worm'' with this meaning as archaic. The latest citation that it gives with this meaning is from William Morris's book ''The Life and Death of Jason'' (1867). The modern sense of ''worm'' as goes back as far as 1000. Compare with Swedish ''orm'', Nynorsk ''orm'' ('snake', 'serpent'). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Changes to Old English vocabulary」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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