Topic > Evolution and Influence in the English Lexicon - 764

Because the language has a later beginning than many other languages, the origin of many different English words has been borrowed from different countries. Some examples of the constant borrowing of words from different languages ​​are words like giraffe, harem, and algebra, which all originate from Arabic, but are extremely common in the English language. A second example of the way words travel from each continent are the words they and theirs. These third-person plural pronouns are taught to English-speaking children even before they enter school, but the two words do not originate from Old English. They were actually introduced to the English language by the Scandinavians around the decade 1200-1209. Then there are words like nebulous and plethora which have a European origin from the French and Latin languages ​​but were not recorded as being used in the English language until the early 20th century.