The history of our Modern English language is fairly interesting. When looking into the history of some of the words we use today, it is not surprising that many of them date back to Old English and evolved with time. Some words experienced change in both spelling and meaning while others maintained their meaning while their spelling changed with time. Students in the upper grades may be interested in learning about the origins of the words they use today. Understanding the origin of words can help students to obtain better understanding of word meanings and our present spelling system.
The word doom originates from Old High German. It is a very old word that dates back to Old English, cognate with Old Norse dōmr, Gothic dōms; compare Sanskrit dhā́man, Greek thémis law. The Old English pronunciation has the following consonants producing the same sound they do now, b, d, k, l, m, n, p, r, t, x.
The word doom has not only experienced a change in spelling but also a change in meaning as centuries changed as stated in the chart above. In the 1500s there was a major change in the way that many of the vowels were pronounced and spelled. This change was called the “Great Vowel Shift” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 104). The addition of the second o may be due to this shift.
Word & Modern English Meaning c. 1500 + | Old English c. 450 - 1100 | Middle English c. 1100 - 1500 |
Doom \ˈdüm\ - a: destiny; especially : unhappy destiny b: death, ruin | Dōm: a law or ordinance especially in Anglo-Saxon England | Dōm or dome: a:judgement, decision; especially : a judicial condemnation or sentence b: judgment at the apocalypse |
The word doom has not only experienced a change in spelling but also a change in meaning as centuries changed as stated in the chart above. In the 1500s there was a major change in the way that many of the vowels were pronounced and spelled. This change was called the “Great Vowel Shift” (Freeman & Freeman, 2004, p. 104). The addition of the second o may be due to this shift.
The word knight originates from the Old High German word kneht meaning youth or military follower but its cognates in Dutch and German, Knecht, mean farm hand, boy, slave, and servitude. In Middle English times, the meaning of the word changed implying that the servant became ennobled. The meaning of the word remained consistent from Middle English to Modern English. From c. 450 – 1100 both /k/ and /c/ were spelled using the letter C. It wasn’t until c. 1100+ that the letter K was introduced which explains the change in spelling from Old English to Middle English. The Old English pronunciation included all of the consonants, so for example the word cniht starts with a k sound, followed by an n sound.
The origin of the word kin is from Old English cynn; akin to Old High German chunni race, Latin genus birth, race, kind, Greek genos, Latin gignere to beget, Greek gignesthai to be born. There was a change from Old English to Modern English regarding the use of Y and I to represent to /i/ sound. In Old English the /i/ sound could be spelled using I or Y whereas in Modern English the use of Y for the /i/ sound is rare.
In looking at the Old English pronunciations, letter c is pronounced with a k sound if it comes before a back vowel (like o or a) or another consonant. If it comes before a front vowel (like i or e), or at the end of a word following a front vowel, it is usually pronounced like Modern English ch.
Word & Modern English Meaning c. 1500 + | Old English c. 450 - 1100 | Middle English c. 1100 – 1500 |
Cirice- church, religious community; church (building), temple; congregation | Chirche- noun church |
In looking at the Old English pronunciations, the letter c is pronounced with a k sound if it comes before a back vowel (like o or a) or another consonant. If it comes before a front vowel (like i or e), or at the end of a word following a front vowel, it is usually pronounced like Modern English ch.
Word & Modern English Meaning c. 1500 + | Old English c. 450 - 1100 | Middle English c. 1100 – 1500 |
Friend \ˈfrend\- one attached to another by affection or esteem | Fréond- friend, relative; lover | Frend- noun friend |
The Old English pronunciation has the f pronounced like Modern English f at the beginning of a word, at the end of a word, or if it is next to an unvoiced consonant within a word.
References
Merriam-Webster online dictionary
Middle-English Glossary
Old English Dictionary
Word Origins
Freeman, D. E., & Freeman, Y. S. (2004). Essential linguistics: What you need to know to teach.
Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
Carrie, this entry is very informative! I learned a lot from reading it. For instance, I found it very interesting that the word doom meant law or ordinance in Middle English, and judgement in Old English. I wonder if the word's meaning changed due to the outcome of the judgement being disastrous for the person being judged.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I liked your explanation of how 'c' represented the /ch/ sound in Old English, and how the spelling changed from 'cirice' to 'church'because of the Great Vowel Shift.
Hi Carrie,
ReplyDeleteYou gave such a thoughtful examination of your words! I agree that word origins would be the most interesting and beneficial to older students, but this was very useful in explaining why words are spelled differently than they are pronounced. I never realized that “doom” tied back to “dome” (as in cathedral architecture), but thinking of the historical context of the Middle Ages, it makes such good sense, especially since so much social control revolved around the Church’s exploiting peoples’ fear of being condemned to hell. The same historical context is helpful with “knight.” By realizing that our silent ‘k’ was pronounced back in the Middle Ages, the spelling doesn’t seem so arbitrary and confusing.