The Roman Occupation

For some reason the Romans neglected to overrun the country with fire and sword, though they had both of these; in fact after the Conquest they did not mingle with the Britons at all but lived a semi-detached life in villas. They occupied their time for two or three hundred years in building Roman roads and having Roman Baths, this was called the Roman Occupation, and gave rise to the memorable Roman law, 'He who baths first baths fast', which was a good thing and still is. The Roman roads ran absolutely straight in all the directions and all led to Rome. The Romans also built towns wherever they were wanted, and, in addition, a wall between England and Scotland to keep out the savage Picts and Scots.

(From 1066 and All That by C. W. Sellar, R. J. Yeatman)

14. Explain the etymology of the following words. Write them out in three columns: a) fully assimilated words; b) partially assimilated words; c) unassimilated words. Explain the reasons for your choice in each case.

Pen, hors d'oeuvre, ballet, beet, butter, skin, take, cup, police, distance, monk, garage, phenomenon, wine, large, justice, lesson, criterion, nice, coup d'etat, sequence, gay, port, river, loose, autumn, low, uncle, law, convenient, lunar, experiment, skirt, bishop, regime, eau-de-Cologne.

15. In the following sentences find one of a pair of etymological doublets and name the missing member of the pair.

1.I led Mars (a dog) into the shadow of the building and looked around me. 2. "Unreliable", he said, "those fancy locks. Always getting jammed, aren't they?" 3. The children hung on to her skirts and asked to play with them. 4. Nurse Lawson had been sent to the hostel to clean aprons for all of us. 5. When the four o'clock race at Nottingham was won by Hal Adair, cool channels of sweat ran down my back and sides. 6. The lunch was late because Steven had had an extra big clinic at his London hospital. 7. He was attached to the ward which specialized in head injuries and was called 'Corelli'. 8. A story was sometimes told about a tear-down crew which, as a practical joke, worked in spare time to disassemble a car, belonging to one of their members. 9. Why, isn't he in jail? 10. Canvas sacks containing cash were being delivered from a truck outside, the money accompanied by two armed guards.

16. Describe the etymology of the following words. Comment upon their stylistic characteristics. If necessary use an etymological dictionary.

To rise — to mount — to ascend, to ask — to question — to interrogate, fire — flame — conflagra­tion, fear — terror — trepidation, holy — sacred — consecrated, time — age — era, goodness — virtue — probity.

17. Read the following extract. State the etymology of the italicized words. Comment upon their stylistic characteristics.

The Oxford accent exists, but it defies definition. It is not, as the French think, the kind of English which is spoken within a twenty mile radius of the city. Indeed, it is not an accent at all, but a manner of speaking. In particular it is a manner of pausing in your speech, of pausing not at the end of sentences, where you might be interrupted, but in the middle of sentences. Nobody, it is to be hoped, will be so rude as to interrupt you when you are in the middle of a sentence. So pause there, to decide what your next sentence is going to be. Then, having decided, move quickly forward to it without a moment's pause at the full stop. Yes, jumping your full stops –that is the Oxford accent. Do it well, and you will be able to talk forever. Nobody will have the chance of breaking in and stealing the conversation from you.

(From Oxford Life by D. Balsden)

18. Subdivide all the following words of native origin into: a) Indo-European, b) Germanic, c) English proper.

Daughter, woman, room, land, cow, moon, sea, red, spring, three, I, lady, always, goose, bear, fox, lord, tree, nose, birch, grey, old, glad, daisy, heart, hand, night, to eat, to see, to make.

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