Despite belonging to the same Indo-European family of languages, it is often hard to see similarities between basic words in Romance and Germanic languages. Here are a few exception of words that were already close in classical ancient times and have changed little since then in modern languages.
- axe : Latin ascia, Old English æces, Proto-Germanic akusjo
- beak : Latin beccus, Old English becca, Gaulish Celtic beccus
- car, cart, chariot : Latin carrum/carrus, Old English cræt, Old Norse kartr, Gaulish Celtic karros
- cat : Latin cattus, Old English catt, Proto-Germanic kattuz
- day : Latin dies, Old English dæg, Proto-Germanic dagaz
- eye : Latin oculus, Old English ege, Proto-Germanic augon
- father : Latin pater, Old English fæder, Proto-Germanic fader
- fish : Latin pisces, Old English fisc, Proto-Germanic fiskaz
- horn : Latin cornu, Old English horn, Proto-Germanic khurnaz
- long : Latin longus, Old English lang, Proto-Germanic langgaz
- middle : Latin medius, Old English middel, Proto-Germanic medjaz
- month : Latin mensis, Old English monað,, Proto-Germanic mænoth
- mouse : Latin mus, Old English mus, Proto-Germanic mus
- new : Latin novus/neo, Old English neowe/niowe,, Proto-Germanic newjaz
- nose : Latin nasus, Old English nosu, Proto-Germanic nusus
- spit (verb/noun) : Latin sputare/sputum, Old English spittan/spitu, Proto-Germanic spittan/spituz
- star : Latin stella, Old English steorra, Proto-Germanic sterron
- swine : Latin sus, Old English swin, Proto-Germanic swinan
- time : Latin tempus, Old English tima, Proto-Germanic timon
- waste : Latin vastus, Old English westen, Frankish wostjan
- way : Latin via, Old English weg, Proto-Germanic wegaz
- wind : Latin ventus, Old English wind, Proto-Germanic wendas
Not to be confused with early Germanic borrowing from Latin, such as :
- belt : Latin balteus, Old English belt
- cherry : Latin ceresia, Old English ciris
- inch : Latin uncia, Old English ynce
- pear : Latin pira, Old English pere/peru
- scuttle : Latin scutella, Old English scutel
- street : Latin strata, Old English stret
- tower : Latin turris, Old English torr
Or conversely, Romance languages borrowing from Germanic idioms :
- white (blanc in French, bianco in Italian, blanco in Spanish) from Proto-Germanic blangkaz via Frankish blank
- fresh (frais in French, fresco in Italian and Spanish) from Proto-Germanic friskaz
- boat (bateau in French, also battello in Italian) from Proto-Germanic bait via Old English/Norse bat.
- axe : Latin ascia, Old English æces, Proto-Germanic akusjo
- beak : Latin beccus, Old English becca, Gaulish Celtic beccus
- car, cart, chariot : Latin carrum/carrus, Old English cræt, Old Norse kartr, Gaulish Celtic karros
- cat : Latin cattus, Old English catt, Proto-Germanic kattuz
- day : Latin dies, Old English dæg, Proto-Germanic dagaz
- eye : Latin oculus, Old English ege, Proto-Germanic augon
- father : Latin pater, Old English fæder, Proto-Germanic fader
- fish : Latin pisces, Old English fisc, Proto-Germanic fiskaz
- horn : Latin cornu, Old English horn, Proto-Germanic khurnaz
- long : Latin longus, Old English lang, Proto-Germanic langgaz
- middle : Latin medius, Old English middel, Proto-Germanic medjaz
- month : Latin mensis, Old English monað,, Proto-Germanic mænoth
- mouse : Latin mus, Old English mus, Proto-Germanic mus
- new : Latin novus/neo, Old English neowe/niowe,, Proto-Germanic newjaz
- nose : Latin nasus, Old English nosu, Proto-Germanic nusus
- spit (verb/noun) : Latin sputare/sputum, Old English spittan/spitu, Proto-Germanic spittan/spituz
- star : Latin stella, Old English steorra, Proto-Germanic sterron
- swine : Latin sus, Old English swin, Proto-Germanic swinan
- time : Latin tempus, Old English tima, Proto-Germanic timon
- waste : Latin vastus, Old English westen, Frankish wostjan
- way : Latin via, Old English weg, Proto-Germanic wegaz
- wind : Latin ventus, Old English wind, Proto-Germanic wendas
Not to be confused with early Germanic borrowing from Latin, such as :
- belt : Latin balteus, Old English belt
- cherry : Latin ceresia, Old English ciris
- inch : Latin uncia, Old English ynce
- pear : Latin pira, Old English pere/peru
- scuttle : Latin scutella, Old English scutel
- street : Latin strata, Old English stret
- tower : Latin turris, Old English torr
Or conversely, Romance languages borrowing from Germanic idioms :
- white (blanc in French, bianco in Italian, blanco in Spanish) from Proto-Germanic blangkaz via Frankish blank
- fresh (frais in French, fresco in Italian and Spanish) from Proto-Germanic friskaz
- boat (bateau in French, also battello in Italian) from Proto-Germanic bait via Old English/Norse bat.
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