English words from Latin

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mariek
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English words from Latin

Post by mariek »


Does anyone know what percentage of English words come from Latin?

mingshey
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Re: English words from Latin

Post by mingshey »

I once heard it's at least 70 %. (Both directly from Latin or through other Romance Languages)

And between 10 and 15 % from Greek.

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klewlis
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Post by klewlis »

There doesn't seem to be a concensus, but I've been told 80% for greek and latin combined....

Emma_85
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Post by Emma_85 »

I suppose it depends if you count word that came to English directly from Latin or if you count ones of french origin, too.
I'd like to know what it's like for everyday English, not just for what's in the complete Oxford dictionary, because a lot of words come from Latin, that probably aren't used often, but do exist in the Oxford dictionary, if you know what I mean. What you really want to know is how much words of Latin origin you use, isn't it? At least that's what I think is more interesting... :wink:

Episcopus
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Post by Episcopus »

I was told "over 50%" by my English teacher, from Latin. 70% is that going a bit too high?

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