124 Mother was right--four letter words may mean you lack language skills

To write well in English, a knowledge of Latin is most useful--maybe essential. I had two years of high school Latin and have never regretted it (at least not after I was an adult). Apparently our shorter, earthy, and scatological words developed from the language of the Anglo-Saxon invaders, and Latin and French was the language of the upper class after the Norman invasion. Mixed together in all their diversity, they created the marvelously flexible and creative English language which no longer belongs just to the people of England, but to the whole world.

However, once in awhile I come across an English sentence that is so Latinized, I can hardly read it. Such is the sentence on p. 36 in "Wide as the Waters, the story of the English Bible and the Revolution it inspired" for which I needed my Second Ed. New International Merriam-Webster to read:

"At the time, the deaneries of Lichfield, Salisbury, and York, and archdeaconry of Canterbury (the wealthiest benefice in England), together with a host of other prebends and preferments, were held in absentia by foreign born cardinals and priests, who collected through their London agent twenty thousand marks a year for the papal treasury."

English words that pre-date the Norman invasion of 1066 have an asterisk. All others on this list are based in Latin or Greek or both.

*time--Middle English from Old English, tima, akin to Old Norse, timi, means a measurable period.

dean--comes from Middle English from the French from the Latin meaning chief of 10

archdeaconry--Middle English archedeken from Old English from Latin archidiaconus from Late Latin from Late Greek meaning a district or residence of an archdeacon, a clergyman who assists a bishop

benefice--comes from Middle English from Middle French from Middle Latin, beneficial from the Latin word beneficus, meaning favor.

host--Middle English from Old French from Late Latin from Latin hostis, stranger, an army, large number or multitude.

*wealthy--may come from the obsolete, weal, Middle English from the Old English, wela, or wel, meaning well, or prosperous (before the 12th century)

prebend--Old French from the Latin praebenda, from praebere, meaning to hold forth. The word means a daily allowance or meals. Stipend.

preferment--Old French from Latin, preferred, an act of bringing forward, a state of being preferred. Prefer can mean to point to a benefice.

in absentia--from the Latin meaning absent

foreign--Middle English, forein, from Old French from Late Latin from Latin, forus, meaning outside. Situated outside one's own country.

cardinal--Middle English from Middle Latin, cardinalis, from Late Latin meaning a hinge. In the 14th century meaning of basic importance or main.

priest--Middle English, preist from Old English, possibly modified from Late Latin presbyter (from the Greek), one authorized to perform sacred rites of religion

collect--from Latin, meaning to bring together into one body or place

agent--Middle English from Middle Latin from Latin word, agere meaning to drive, act or do.

*twenty--Middle English from old English Twen + tig meaning a group of 20.

*thousand--Middle English from Old English word, thusend, from a prehistoric Germanic language

*mark--Middle English from Old English, marc, probably of Scandinavian origin, similar to Old Norse--a unit of weight in silver or gold

*year--Middle English from Old English gear, akin to Old High German, jar, a period of 365 days.

papal--Middle English from Middle French from Middle Latin from Late Latin, papa. Means of,or relating to a pope.

treasury--Middle English from Old French word tresor, a place where wealth is kept.

So the Anglo-Saxon, the language of the Germanic barbarians (with the asterisk) who invaded the British Isles, was useful for swearing, cursing, naming common things like animals, counting money and time, but for just about everything else, Latin and French words needed to be imported by the Normans (originally were Vikings) when they invaded Britain in the 11th century (which is also the origin of both my maiden and married names).