English is a Germanic language that has borrowed freely from other languages over its long and storied history. Long lists of English words of foreign origin abound, and with English being a major language spoken across the world, words of foreign origin are adopted into English frequently. The bulk of the English language, however, stems from the following languages: Latin (29%), French (29%), Germanic (26%), Greek (6%) and a combination of other languages and words created from proper names (10%). Enjoy getting to know just a few of the English words of foreign origin on the following list:

• Abandon: (French) means to give up control or leave something behind: “Many cats and dogs are abandoned when their owners move to a new location.”


• Agile: (French) means having the ability to move quickly and gracefully: “He was as agile as a monkey in a tree.”


• Embarrassment: (French) refers to the state of discomfort that comes from being shy or violating a social rule: “Fred’s rude behavior was an embarrassment to the whole family.”


• Frugal: (Latin) means thrifty, avoiding unnecessary expenditures and waste: “Using coupons, growing your own food, and mending your own clothes are great ways to be frugal.”


• Lunar: (Latin) refers to the moon: “Many cultures still use a lunar calendar to mark special holidays.”


• Nocturnal: (Latin) refers to a creature, activity or person more active during the night: “Owls are nocturnal, doing most of their hunting at night.”


• Kindergarten: (German) refers to a pre-school for young children: “My son loves taking his Spiderman backpack to Kindergarten.”


• Schadenfreude: (German) means to take delight in the misfortunes of others: “Lori watched with thinly-veiled Schadenfreude as Fred forgot the lines to his speech.”


• Anthology: (Greek) means a collection of literary works such as short stories, poems, or songs: “Isabella reads a poem from her favorite poetry anthology before going to sleep every night.”


• Plethora: (Greek) means an abundance of something: “Sonja has a plethora of brightly colored beads she uses to make jewelry.”


• Saga: (Old Norse) is a long, sweeping tale or legend: “The Star Wars saga is a classic tale of good vs. evil stretching across generations and galaxies.”


• Gung-ho: (adapted from Chinese) describes someone working enthusiastically: “Ray is really gung-ho about building his tree house.”