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Old Frankish
Spoken in:formerly the Netherlands, Belgium, Northern France, Western Germany
Language extinction:Evolved into Old Low Franconian by the 6th century
Language family:Indo-European
 Germanic
  West Germanic
   Old Frankish
Language codes
ISO 639-1:none
ISO 639-2:gem
ISO 639-3:frk

Old Frankish was the language of the Franks and it is classified as a West Germanic language. The Franks or Frankish people (Franci or gens Francorum) were West Germanic tribes first identified in the 3rd century as an Ethnic group The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three traditional branches of the Germanic family of Languages and include languages such as English Once it was spoken in areas covering modern Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg and adjacent parts of France and Germany. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Luxembourg (Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg Grand-Duché de Luxembourg Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small Landlocked country in Western Europe, bordered by This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe.

The Franks are descended from Germanic tribes from the Nordic countries that settled parts of the Netherlands and western Germany during the early Iron Age. From the 4th century they are attested as moving into the Roman Empire into what is now the southern Netherlands and northern Belgium. In the 5th and 6th century they expanded their realm and dominated Roman Gaul completely as well as client states such as Bavaria and Thuringen. The main difference between Frankish and neighbouring Germanic languages is that it is thought to be more 'celticised', probably by Belgic peoples, like for example the Menapii, whose language persisted in the realm of the Franks. The Menapii were a Belgic tribe of northern Gaul in pre-Roman and Roman times

The language of the Franks managed to survive as Old Low Franconian in the north but it was superseded by French in the south. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people It had some impact on Old French. Old French was the Romance Dialect continuum spoken in territories which span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium Old Frankish is not directly attested and is reconstructed from loanwords in Old French, and from Old Dutch.

Old Frankish has introduced the modern French word for the nation, France, to mean "land of the Franks", but except from loanwords, French is not closely related to Frankish. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. By the year 900 Frankish had evolved into Old Low Franconian (including Old Dutch) in the area that was originally held by Franks of the 4th century, while in Valois and Île-de-France (Paris) it was replaced by Old French as the dominating language. Old Dutch (aka Old West Low Franconian) is a branch of Old Low Franconian spoken and written during the early Middle Ages (c Île-de-France is one of the ancient Provinces of France, and the one that has been the centre of power during most of French history.

Old Frankish has also left many etymons in the Walloon language, even more than in French, and not always the same ones. Etymology is the study of the History of Words &mdash when they entered a language from what source and how their form and meaning have changed over time  [1]

The impact of Old Frankish on modern French

Most French words of Germanic origin came from Frankish (most of the others are English loanwords, see Franglais), often replacing the Latin word which would have been used. The Germanic languages are a group of related languages that constitute a branch of the Indo-European (IE Language family. Franglais, or Frenglish, a Portmanteau combining the French words " français " (" French " and " anglais " Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. This can be shown with the examples in the table below.

FrenchOld Low FranconianDutch or Other Germanic CognatesLatin/Romance
alène "awl" (Sp alesna, It lesina)*alisnaMDu elsene, else, Du elsL sūbula
alise "whitebeam berry" (OFr alis, alie "whitebeam")*alísō "alder"[2]MDu else, Du els, elzeboom "alder", OHG elira, erila, G Erle "alder"non-native to the Mediterranean
baron*baro "freeman"Du bar "serious", OHG baro "freeman", OE beorn "noble", ON berja, berjask "to strike, kill", baratta "combat", bardagi "blow"Germanic cultural import
bâtard "bastard" (FrProv bâsco)*bāst "marriage"[3]OFris bost "marriage", WFris boaste, boask "marriage"L nothus
bâtir "to build" (OFr bastir "to baste, tie together")*bastian "to bind with bast string"OHG bestan "to mend, patch"L construere (It costruire)
bleu "blue" (OFr blou, bleve)*blaoMDu blā, blau, blaeuw, Du blauwL caeruleus "light blue", lividus "dark blue"
bois "wood; woods"*busk "bush; underbrush"MDu bosch, busch, Du bos "bush"L silva "forest" (OFr selve), L lignum "wood" (OFr lein)
broder "to embroider" (OFr brosder, broisder)*brosdōn, blend of *brost "bristle" and *brordōn "to embroider"G Borste "bristle"; OHG brortōn "to embroider, decorate", brort "needle"L pingere "to paint; embroider" (Fr peindre "to paint")
broyer "to grind, crush" (OFr brier)*brekan "to break"Du breken "to break"LL tritāre (Occ trissar "to grind", but Fr trier "to sort"), LL pistāre (It pestare "to pound, crush", OFr pester), L machīnare (Dalm maknur "to grind", Rom măcina, It macinare)
choisir "to choose"*kiosan "to taste, feel"Du kiezen "to choose", OS/OHG kiosanL eligēre (Fr élire "to elect"), VL exeligēre (cf. Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects (whose ancestor was Old Dutch) which were spoken and written between 1150 Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Old French was the Romance Dialect continuum spoken in territories which span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Franco-Provençal ( Francoprovençal) or Arpitan ( Vernacular: frp francoprovençâl arpitan patouès; francoprovenzale arpitano dialetto Old Frisian was the West Germanic language spoken between the 8th and 16th centuries by the people who had settled in the area between the Rhine West Frisian ( Frysk) is a Language spoken mostly in the province of Friesland ( Fryslân) in the north of the Netherlands. Vulgar Latin (in Latin sermo vulgaris, "folk speech" is a Blanket term covering the popular Dialects and Sociolects of the Latin Occitan ( IPA BrE: /ˈɒksɪtn/ AmE: /ˈɑksəˌtɑn/ known also as Lenga d'òc or Langue d'oc (native name occitan Dalmatian is an extinct Romance language formerly spoken in the Dalmatia region of Croatia, and as far south as Kotor in Montenegro Romanian or Daco-Romanian ( dated: Rumanian or Roumanian; self designation limba română, ˈlimba roˈmɨnə is a Romance Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German ( ISO 639 -3 code osx) is the earliest recorded form of Low German, documented from the 9th century Vulgar Latin (in Latin sermo vulgaris, "folk speech" is a Blanket term covering the popular Dialects and Sociolects of the Latin It scegliere), excolligere (Cat escollir, Sp escoger, Pg escolher)
chouette "barn owl" (OFr çuete, dim. Catalan ˈkætəˌlæn ( català kətəˈla or) is a Romance language, the national and official language of Andorra, and a co-official Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal. of choë, choue "jackdaw")*kōwa, kāwa "chough, jackdaw"MDu couwe "rook", Du kauw, kaauw "chough"not distinguished in Latin: L būbō "horned owl", ōtus "id", ulula "screech owl", ulucus (cf. Sp loco "crazy"), noctua
cresson "watercress"*kressoMDu kersse, korsse, Du kers, dial. korsL nasturtium, LL berula (but Fr berle "water parsnip")
danser "to dance" (OFr dancier)*dansōn[4]OHG dansōn "to drag along, trail"; further to MDu densen, deinsen "to shrink back", Du deinzen "to stir; move away, back up", OHG dinsan "to pull, stretch"LL ballare (OFr baller, It ballare, Pg bailar)
déchirer "to rip, tear" (OFr escirer)*skerian "to cut, shear"MDu scēren, Du scheurenVL extracticāre (Prov estraçar, It stracciare), VL exquartiare "to rip into fours" (It squarciare, but Fr écarter "to move apart, distance"), exquintiare "to rip into five" (Cat/Occ esquinçar)
dérober "to steal, reave" (OFr rober)*rōbon "to steal"MDu rōven, Du roven "to steal"L subtrahere "to remove" (It sottrarre "to steal")
écang "scutcher, swingle"*swank "bat, rod"MDu swanc "wand, rod", Du (dial. Holland) zwang "rod"; further to MDu swinghel, swenghel "swingle", Du zwengel, zwingelL pistillum (Fr dial. pesselle "scutcher, swingle')
écran "screen" (OFr escran)*skrank[5]OHG scrank "barrier", G Schrank "cupboard", Schranke "fence"L obex
écrevisse "shrimp, crayfish" (OFr crevice)*krebitDu kreeft "crab", G Krebs "crab"L cammārus "crayfish" (cf. Occ chambre, It gambero, Pg camarão)
éperon "spur" (OFr esporon)*sporoMDu spōre, Du spoorL calcar
étrier "stirrup" (OFr estrieu, estrief)*stīgarēpMDu steegereep, Du (dial. West Flemish) steegreepLL stapia (later ML stapēs), ML saltatorium (cf. MFr saultoir)
flèche "arrow"*fliukkaMDu vliecke, OS fliuca, MLG fliecke "long arrow"L sagitta (OFr saete, Pg seta)
franc "free, exempt; straightforward, without hassle" (LL francus "freeborn, freedman")*frank "freeborn; unsubjugated, answering to no one", nasalized variant of *frāki "rash, untamed, impudent"Du (dial. Middle Low German ( ISO 639 -3 code gml) is a Language that is the descendant of Old Saxon and is the ancestor of modern Low German. Flemish) vrank "carefree, brazen", OHG franko "free man"; MDu vrec, Du vrek "insolent"L ingenuus "freeborn"
frapper "to hit, strike"*hrappan "to jerk, snatch"[6]MDu reppen "to move", Du reppen "to hurry", OHG hraffōn "to snatch", G raffen "to grab"L ferire (OFr ferir)
frelon "hornet" (OFr furlone, ML fursleone)*hursloMDu horsel, Du horzelL crābrō (cf. It calabrone)
freux "rook" (OFr frox, fru)*hrōkMDu roek, Du roecnon-native to the Mediterranean
garder "guard" (OFr. guarder)*wardōnMDu waerden, OS wardōnL cavere, servare
givre "frost (substance)"*gibara "slobber"LG Geiber, G Geifer "drool, slobber"L gelū (cf. Low German or Low Saxon (in Germany: Plattdüütsch or Nedderdüütsch; in Netherlands: Nedersaksisch or Nederduuts Fr gel "frost (event); freezing")
grappe "bunch (of grapes)" (OFr crape, grape "hook, grape stalk")*krāppa "hook"MDu crappe "hook", Du (dial. Holland) krap "krank", G Krapfe "hook", (dial. Franconian) Krape "torture clamp, vice"L racemus (Fr raisin "grape", Prov rasim "bunch", Cat raïm, Sp racimo)
guérir "to heal, cure" (OFr garir "to defend")*warian "to protect, defend"MDu weren, Du weerenL sānāre (Sard sanare, Sp/Pg sanar), medicāre (Dalm medcuar "to heal")
guigne "sweet cherry" (OFr guisne)*wīksina[7]G Weichsel "sour cherry", (dial. West Central German ( Westmitteldeutsch) belongs to the Central, High German dialect family in the German language. Rhine Franconian) Waingsl, (dial. Rhine Franconian (German Rheinfränkisch) or Rhenish Franconian, is a Dialect family of West Central German. East Franconian) Wassen, Wachsennon-native to the Mediterranean
hanneton "cockchafer"*hāno "rooster" + -eto (diminutive suffix) with sense of "beetle, weevil"Du haan "rooster", leliehaantje "lily beetle", bladhaantje "leaf beetle", G Hahn "rooster", (dial. East Franconian ( Ostfränkisch) is a dialect which is spoken in Bavaria and other areas in Germany around Bamberg, Coburg, Rhine Franconian) Hahn "sloe bug, shield bug", Lilienhähnchen "lily beetle"LL bruchus "chafer" (cf. Fr dialectal brgue, beùrgne, brégue), cossus (cf. SwRom coss, OFr cosson "weevil")
héron "heron"*haigro, variant of *hraigroOHG heigaro "heron", G Häher "jackdaw", ON hegri "heron"L ardea
houx "holly"*hulisMDu huls, Du hulstL aquifolium (Sp acebo), later VL acrifolium (Occ grefuèlh, agreu, Cat grèvol, It agrifoglio)
jardin "garden"*gardoDu gaard "garden", OS gardo "garden"L hortus
lécher "to lick" (OFr lechier "to live in debauchery")*lekkōn "to lick"Du likken, OHG leckōnL lingere (Sard línghere), lambere (Sp lamer, Pg lamber)
maçon "bricklayer" (OFr masson, machun)*mattio "mason"[8]OHG mezzo "stonemason", meizan "to beat, cut", G Metz, Steinmetz "mason"VL murator (Occ murador, Sard muradore, It muratóre)
marais "marsh, swamp"*marisk "marsh"MDu marasch, meresch, maersc, Du marskL paludem (Occ palun, It palude)
patte "paw"*patta "foot sole"obsolete Du (dial. Romansh or Romansch may refer to Romansh language Romansh people Old Norse is the North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and inhabitants of their overseas settlements during the Viking Age Flemish) pad, patte, LG Pad "sole of the foot"[9]; further to G Patsche "instrument for striking the hand", Patschfuss "web foot", patschen "to dabble", (dial. Bavarian) patzen "to blot, pat, stain"[10]LL branca "paw" (Sard brànca, Rom brîncă, but Fr branche "treelimb")
poche "pocket"*poka "pouch"MDu poke, G dial. Austro-Bavarian or Bavarian is a major group of Upper German varieties. Pfoch "pouch, change purse"L bulga "leather bag" (Fr bouge "bulge"), LL bursa "coin purse" (Fr bourse "money pouch, purse", It bórsa, Sp/Pg bolsa)
sale "dirty"*salo "pale, sallow"MDu salu, saluwe "discolored, dirty", Du zaluwL succidus (cf. It sucido, Sp sucio, Pg sujo, Ladin scich, Friul soç)
saule "willow"*salha "sallow, pussy willow"OHG salaha, G Salweide "pussy willow", OE sealhL salix "willow" (OFr sauz, sausse)
saisir "to seize, snatch" (ML sacīre "to lay claim to, appropriate")*sakan "to take legal action"[11]OS sakan "to accuse", OHG sahhan "to strive, quarrel, rebuke", OE sacan "to quarrel, claim by law, accuse"VL aderigere (OFr aerdre "to seize")
tamis "sieve" (It tamigio)*tamisaMDu temse, teemse, Du teems "sifter"L crībrum (Fr crible "riddle, sift")
tomber "to fall" (OFr tumer "to somersault")*tūmon "to tumble"OS/OHG tūmōn "to tumble", Du tuimelen "to fall"L cædere (obsolete Fr cheoir)
troène "privet" (dialectal truèle, ML trūlla)*trugil "hard wood; small trough"OHG trugilboum, harttrugil "dogwood; privet", G Hartriegel "dogwood", dialectally "privet", (dial. Ladin ( Ladino in Italian Ladin in Ladin Ladinisch in German is a Rhaeto-Romance language spoken in the Dolomite mountains Friulian ( or affectionately marilenghe in Friulian friulano in Italian) (also Eastern Ladin) is a Romance language belonging Medieval Latin was the form of Latin used in the Middle Ages, primarily as a medium of scholarly exchange and as the Liturgical language of the medieval Eastern) Trögel, archaic (dial. Swabian) Trügel "small trough, trunk, basin"L ligustrum
tuyau "pipe; hose" (OFr tuiel, tuel)*þūtaMDu tūte "nipple; pipe", Du tuit "spout, nozzle"L canna "reed; pipe" (It/SwRom/FrProv cana "pipe")

Frankish also had an influence on Latin itself; Latin words with Frankish roots include sacire, meaning "seize" (from Frankish sekjan, related to English "seek").

English also has many words with Frankish roots, usually through Old French eg. random (via Old French randon, from rant "a running"), scabbard (via Anglo-French *escauberc, from *skar-berg), grape, stale, march (via Old French marche, from *marka) among others. Mark from the Old English mearc and march (or various plural forms of these words derived from the Frankish word marka ("boundary"

Most Germanic words (especially ones from Frankish) with the phoneme w, changed it to gu when entering French and other Romance languages. The Romance languages (sometimes referred to as Romanic languages, or Neolatin languages) are a branch of the Indo-European language family comprising all Perhaps the best known example is the Frankish werra "to repel" (Compare English "war") which entered modern French as guerre and guerra in Italian, Occitan, Catalan, Spanish and Portuguese. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. Occitan ( IPA BrE: /ˈɒksɪtn/ AmE: /ˈɑksəˌtɑn/ known also as Lenga d'òc or Langue d'oc (native name occitan Catalan ˈkætəˌlæn ( català kətəˈla or) is a Romance language, the national and official language of Andorra, and a co-official Portuguese ( or língua portuguesa) is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia (Spain and northern Portugal.

There were five primary sources for Germanic borrowings in French:

Notes and References

  1. ^ See a list of walloon names derived from old frankish.
  2. ^ Because the expected outcome of *aliso is *ause, this word is sometimes erroneously attributed to a Celtic cognate, despite the fact that the outcome would have been similar. However, while a cognate is seen in Gaulish Alisanos "alder god", a comparison with the treatment of alis- in alène above and -isa in tamis below should show that the expected form is not realistic. Gaulish or Gallic is the name given to the Celtic language that was spoken in Gaul before the Vulgar Latin of the late Roman Empire became Furthermore, the form is likely to have originally been dialectal, hence regional forms like allie, allouche, alosse, Berrichon aluge, Wall al'hî, some of which clearly point to variants like Gmc *alūsó which gave MHG alze (G Else "whitebeam"). Berrichon is a French Dialect spoken in Berry (province. It can also refer to the people of Berry Walloon ( Walon) is a Romance language spoken as a second language by some in Wallonia, Belgium.
  3. ^ "Bastard", in Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language (NY: Gramercy Books, 1996), 175: "[. . . ] perhaps from Ingvaeonic *bāst-, presumed variant of *bōst- marriage + OF[r] -ard, taken as signifying the offspring of a polygonous marriage to a woman of lower status, a pagan tradition not sanctioned by the church; cf. Ingvaeonic, also known as North Sea Germanic, is a postulated grouping of the West Germanic languages that would fork into Old Frisian, Old English OFris bost marriage [. . . ]". Further, MDu had a related expression basture "whore, prostitute". However, the mainstream view sees this word as a formation built off of OFr fils de bast "bastard, lit. son conceived on a packsaddle", very much like OFr coitart "conceived on a blanket", G Bankert, Bänkling "bench child", LG Mantelkind "mantle child", and ON hrísungr "conceived in the brushwood". Bât is itself sometimes misidentified as deriving from a reflex of Germanic *banstis "barn"; cf. Goth bansts, MDu banste, LG dial. Banse "byre", (Jutland) Bende "stall in a cow shed", ON báss "cow stall", OE bōsig "feed crib", E boose "cattle shed", and OFris bōs- (and its loans: MLG bos, Du boes "cow stall", dial. (Zeeland) boest "barn"); yet, this connection is false. Zeeland ( also called Zealand in English and Zeelandic, is a province of the Netherlands.
  4. ^ "Dance", in Rev. Walter W. Skeat, The Concise Dictionary of English Etymology (NY: Harper, 1898), 108. A number of other fanciful origins are sometimes erroneously attributed to this word, such as VL *deantiare or the clumsy phonetic match OLFrk *dintjan "to stir up" (cf. Fris dintje "to quiver", Icel dynta "to convulse").
  5. ^ Webster's Encyclopedic, s. v. "screen", 1721. This term is often attached to *skermo (cf. Du scherm "screen"), but neither the vowel nor the m and vowel/r order match. Compare OFr eskirmir "to fence" from *skirmjan (cf. OLFrk bescirman "to protect"). Old Dutch (aka Old West Low Franconian) is a branch of Old Low Franconian spoken and written during the early Middle Ages (c
  6. ^ "Frapper", in Le Maxidico : dictionnaire encyclopédique de la langue française (Paris: La Connaissance, 1996), 498.
  7. ^ "Guinda", in Gran Diccionari de la llengua catalana. [1].
  8. ^ "Mason", in C. T. Onions, ed. , Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996), 559. This word is often erroneously attributed to *makjo "maker", based on Isidore of Seville's rendering machio (c. 7th c. ), while ignoring the Reichenau Glosses citing matio (c. 8th c. ). This confusion is likely due to hesitation on how to represent what must have been the palitalized sound [ts].
  9. ^ Ibid. , s. v. "pad", 640.
  10. ^ Skeat, op. cit. , s. v. "patois", 335.
  11. ^ Onions, op. cit. , s. v. "seize", 807.

See also

Low Franconian, or Low Frankish, is a group of several West Germanic Languages spoken in the Netherlands, northern Belgium ( This is a list of Portuguese words that come from Germanic languages. This is an initial list of many Spanish words that come from Germanic languages.
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