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A Complete Etymology of the English Language

William W. Smith 









As words were formed to convey, not only the thoughts of the mind, but the feelings of the heart, they would in the first production of a language, naturally take that shape which would best represent their mental and physical powers. Those sounds would be selected which were adapted to the frame of the organs, and the feeling expressed. A robust conformation of the bodily frame, and great energy of mind, would, therefore, naturally express itself in words of corresponding strength and tone. These are the features which distinguish the languages of Gothic origin, especially the anglo-saxon, with its immediate descendant, the modern English; which has the strength of iron, with the gleam and sparkling of burnished steel. The English Language is eminently a composite language, made up of contributions from other languages: anglo-saxon,* Danish, Dutch, Celtic, German, French, Latin, Greek, and some others. The anglo-saxon is a branch of the Low German dialects, and resembles the old Etisie, the parent of the modern Dutch, and once spoken extensively between the Rhine and the Elbe. It is a very ancient language, its origin being completely lost in antiquity; the Latin in comparison, is a mere modern language.