All languages have their particularities. Each language evolves along with its culture and environment. That's why some cultural expressions are untranslatable in languages of very different cultures (e.g. the Japanese politeness system has no equivalent in English).
What I don't understand is how everyday words which once existed in a language could simply disappear after a few centuries. This seems to have occured a lot in French. Indeed, many words with Latin roots found in English and Italian can't be found in French. Here is a short list of those springing to mind.
For example, French did not inherit the Latin words cancel (<i>cancellare</i> in Italian) and rescind (<i>rescindere</i> in Italian). The words nullify and void are derived from (medieval) French but don't exist in modern French.
English and Italian words with Latin roots that don't exist in French
English / Italian / French
- cancel / cancellare / --- (from Latin cancellare ; English via Old French canceler, which disappeared in modern French)
- casual / casuale / --- (note that the meaning of the English, the Italian and the original Latin word casualis are all different. However, the word casuel just doesn't exist in French, whatever its meaning).
- causal / causale / --- (the French word "causal" doesn't exist, although causalité does).
- collapse / collasso / --- (from Latin collapsus)
- conspicuous / cospicuo / --- (from Latin conspicuus)
- convenient / conveniente / --- (strangely missing in French, although the negative "inconvenient" does exist)
- involve / coinvolgere / --- (from Latin involvere)
- lemon / limone / --- (French only has the word citron, although the English comes from old French limon - itself derived from the Persian limun)
- mere / mero / --- (the only translation is "simple", which also exist in English and Italian)
- occur / occorere / --- (likewise, two different meanings, but derived from the common Latin root occurrere)
- obvious / ovvio / --- (from Latin obvius)
- picture / pittura / --- (meaning no identical in English and Italian)
- placate / placare / --- (the French "plaquer" has a different meaning and etymology)
- portentous / portentoso / --- (granted, not a very common word)
- pungent / pungente / --- (from Latin pungentem)
- rescind / rescindere / ---
English words with Latin roots that don't exist in French or Italian
- apology/apologize/apologetic (from Latin and Greek apologia)
- captious (from Latin captiosus via Middle French captieux)
- compel (from Latin compellere via Old French compellir)
- coruscate/coruscation (from Latin coruscare)
- deciduous (from Latin deciduus)
- decorous (from Latin decorus)
- demeanour (from Old French demener)
- endeavour (from Old French dever)
- flavour (from Latin flator via Old French flaour)
- fractious (derived from "fraction")
- fusty (from Latin fustis via Old French fusté)
- impel (from Latin impellere)
- nullify
- parlour (from Old French parleor)
- perfunctory
- perspiration
- predicament (from Latin prædicamentum)
- pregnant (from prægnantem, "with child")
- previous
- prior
- privacy (the French translation is "vie privée" but the meaning is narrower and it doesn't work in many cases)
- protrude (from Latin protrudere)
- rapture (from Latin raptus via Middle Latin raptura)
- ravenous (from Old French ravinos)
- revolve
- significance
- tremendous (from Latin tremendus)
- tremulous (from Latin tremulus)
- ubiquitous (from Latin ubiquitarius)
- venison (from Old French venesoun)
- void
In some cases, English has taken two variants of Latin spellings, while French and Italian have only kept one.
- obedience, obeisance
- regime, regimen
- signification, significance
What I don't understand is how everyday words which once existed in a language could simply disappear after a few centuries. This seems to have occured a lot in French. Indeed, many words with Latin roots found in English and Italian can't be found in French. Here is a short list of those springing to mind.
For example, French did not inherit the Latin words cancel (<i>cancellare</i> in Italian) and rescind (<i>rescindere</i> in Italian). The words nullify and void are derived from (medieval) French but don't exist in modern French.
English and Italian words with Latin roots that don't exist in French
English / Italian / French
- cancel / cancellare / --- (from Latin cancellare ; English via Old French canceler, which disappeared in modern French)
- casual / casuale / --- (note that the meaning of the English, the Italian and the original Latin word casualis are all different. However, the word casuel just doesn't exist in French, whatever its meaning).
- causal / causale / --- (the French word "causal" doesn't exist, although causalité does).
- collapse / collasso / --- (from Latin collapsus)
- conspicuous / cospicuo / --- (from Latin conspicuus)
- convenient / conveniente / --- (strangely missing in French, although the negative "inconvenient" does exist)
- involve / coinvolgere / --- (from Latin involvere)
- lemon / limone / --- (French only has the word citron, although the English comes from old French limon - itself derived from the Persian limun)
- mere / mero / --- (the only translation is "simple", which also exist in English and Italian)
- occur / occorere / --- (likewise, two different meanings, but derived from the common Latin root occurrere)
- obvious / ovvio / --- (from Latin obvius)
- picture / pittura / --- (meaning no identical in English and Italian)
- placate / placare / --- (the French "plaquer" has a different meaning and etymology)
- portentous / portentoso / --- (granted, not a very common word)
- pungent / pungente / --- (from Latin pungentem)
- rescind / rescindere / ---
English words with Latin roots that don't exist in French or Italian
- apology/apologize/apologetic (from Latin and Greek apologia)
- captious (from Latin captiosus via Middle French captieux)
- compel (from Latin compellere via Old French compellir)
- coruscate/coruscation (from Latin coruscare)
- deciduous (from Latin deciduus)
- decorous (from Latin decorus)
- demeanour (from Old French demener)
- endeavour (from Old French dever)
- flavour (from Latin flator via Old French flaour)
- fractious (derived from "fraction")
- fusty (from Latin fustis via Old French fusté)
- impel (from Latin impellere)
- nullify
- parlour (from Old French parleor)
- perfunctory
- perspiration
- predicament (from Latin prædicamentum)
- pregnant (from prægnantem, "with child")
- previous
- prior
- privacy (the French translation is "vie privée" but the meaning is narrower and it doesn't work in many cases)
- protrude (from Latin protrudere)
- rapture (from Latin raptus via Middle Latin raptura)
- ravenous (from Old French ravinos)
- revolve
- significance
- tremendous (from Latin tremendus)
- tremulous (from Latin tremulus)
- ubiquitous (from Latin ubiquitarius)
- venison (from Old French venesoun)
- void
In some cases, English has taken two variants of Latin spellings, while French and Italian have only kept one.
- obedience, obeisance
- regime, regimen
- signification, significance
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