Etymology is the study of word origins, or where the word has originated from. Many English words derive from a single earlier language. Words also change or evolve over time. I am taking a look at five English words to see what I can find out about their origin, how they have evolved, and how we can help explain the spellings of these words today to our students.
Old English (450-1100)
Middle English (1100-1500)
Modern English (1500-present)
Father
Definition: The Webster dictionary states that father is a man who has begotten a child. It is used to describe a male parent, and it can also be used to describe God.
Origin: Looking on Wikipedia, I found that the word father comes from the High German word “Vater.” It is known to be used before the year 900. The word father in Old English was spelled fæder. In Middle English the spelling was changed to fader. In Modern English it is now spelled father, with the th replacing the d.
Spelling and Pronunciation: The Online Etymology Dictionary explains, “Spelling with -th- (15c.) reflects a widespread phonetic shift in Modern English that turned -der to -ther in many words; spelling caught up to pronunciation in 1500s” (Harper, 2001).“Most words are spelled the way they sound” (Freeman and Freeman, P.108, 2004). This type of word is phonetic. “The spelling system also allows writers to show connections between words that share meanings.” (Freeman and Freeman, P. 109, 2004). An example of this would be crumb and crumble. This type of word is semantic. Lastly, “Some spellings reflect earlier stages of English” (Freeman and Freeman, P. 109, 2004). This type of word is etymological. The spelling of father is etymological. The spelling is reflected by its origin. If the word was phonetic we would pronounce it with a short a sound.
Love
Definition: The Webster dictionary states that love is a strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties <maternal love for a child> (affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests <love for his old schoolmates.
Origin: The word love was once luba, in High German and in Old Frisian it was luve. It is known to be used before 900. One of the earliest uses of love, and its biggest influence, was religion. Love was used to describe the benevolence and affection of God, as well as the affectionate devotion due to God, “God is loue, and he that dwelleth in loue, dwelleth in God” (John 4:16). From this widely recognized meaning, love began to be used to positively describe instances of affection or acts of kindness. In Old English and Middle English love was pronounced as lufu, it had turned into both a noun to describe, “deep affection” and its offspring verb, “to be very fond of”.
Spelling and Pronunciation: Love is an etymology word because its spelling reflects its earlier stage in English. Love in early Modern English was spelled luve…and to mark the way it was pronounced people put a line over the u. Soon the u became closed into an o to make love. Love is not a phonetic word because the o is making the short u sound. Love also doesn’t fit the silent e rule of making the vowel the long sound. Love is practiced as a sight word because it doesn’t really fit any spelling rule.
Friend
Definition:The Webster Dictionary states that a friend is one attached to another by affection or esteem, an acquaintance, or one that is not hostile.
Origin: The Online Etymology Dictionary explains, the origin of the word friend is from Old High German from the word friund. In Old English friend was frēond. In Middle English it was frend, with a pronunciation similar to the way we say it today. The word friend is also related to Old English word, "free", meaning "a Quaker" (a member of the Society of Friends).
Spelling and Pronunciation: Friend is another word that reflects its Old English spelling. When teaching how to spell the word friend, the two vowels can be difficult for children. I always teach that you are a friend to the end…to remember that it ends in end.
Definition: The Webster Dictionary defines water as the liquid that descends from the clouds as rain, forms streams, lakes, and seas, and is a major constituent of all living matter.
Origin: The Online Etymology Dictionary explains, in Old English water was spelled wæter. Water is wet, even etymologically. The Indo-European root of water is *wed-, "wet." This root could appear in several guises-with the vowel e, as here, or as *wod-, or with no vowel between the w and d, yielding *ud-. All three forms of the root appear in English either in native or in borrowed words. From a form with a long e, *wēd-, which by Grimm's Law became *wēt- in Germanic, we have Old English wǣt, "wet," which became modern English wet. The form *wod-, in a suffixed form *wod-ōr, became *watar in Germanic and eventually water in modern English. From the form *ud- the Greeks got their word for water, hud-ōr, the source of our prefix hydro- and related words like hydrant. The suffixes *-rā and *-ros added to the form *ud- yielded the Greek word hudrā, "water snake" (borrowed into English as hydra), and the Germanic word *otraz, the source of our word otter, the water animal.
Spelling and Pronunciation: Water is a fairly easy word for children to learn to read and spell. I would teach water in syllables. The “wat” is a closed syllablre, however it does not say the typical short a sound. This part of the word doesn’t follow the rule. The “er” is an easy syllable for children to spell.
Book
Definition: Webster Dictionary defines the word book as a set of written sheets of skin or paper or tablets of wood or ivory, a set of written, printed, or blank sheets bound together into a volume, or a long written or printed literary composition.
Origin: The word book is from the High German word “buch.” In Old Enlish it was spelled boc which meant a book, a writing, or a written document. The Old English originally meant any written document. Latin and Sanskrit also have words for "writing" that are based on tree names ("birch" and "ash," respectively).
Spelling and Pronunciation: To teach the spelling of book, I would focus on the oo. I would teach it in word groups with look, took, nook.
Information above came from:
The Webster Dictionary online at: http://www.merriam-webster.com/
The Online Etymology Dictionary at: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=Love&searchmode=none
No comments:
Post a Comment