English Words of Greek Origin

English Words Of Greek Origin

The Greek language has contributed to the English vocabulary in five main ways:

• vernacular borrowings, transmitted through Vulgar Latin directly into Old English e.g. 'butter' (Old English butere < Latin butyrum < βούτυρον), or through French, e.g. 'ochre'.
• learned borrowings from classical Greek, e.g. 'physics' (< Latin physica < Greek τα φυσικά);
• a few borrowings via Arabic scientific and philosophical writing, e.g. alchemy (< χημεία);
• coinages in post-classical Latin or modern languages using classical Greek roots, e.g. 'telephone' (< τήλε + φωνή) or a mixture of Greek and other roots, e.g. 'television' (< Greek τήλε + English vision < Latin visio); these are often shared among the modern European languages;
• direct borrowings from Modern Greek, e.g. bouzouki.

The post-classical coinages are by far the most numerous of these.