Words English took from Spanish and French
Grade 11 Reading Worksheet - Challenge Me
Circle the best answer.
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Entry
Lagniappe (noun) a small extra given free with a purchase. Origin: Quechua yapa “that which is added” → American Spanish la ñapa “the addition” → Louisiana French lagniappe → English, first recorded 1840–50.
Esme reads four sentences from the history of a New Orleans shop. Which one uses lagniappe in the sense English kept, narrower than the plain “addition” of its sources?
- The architect called the new back room a lagniappe to the old shop, since it was added to the building.
- The menu listed a lagniappe of two dollars on each bill for delivery, charged to the customers who ordered it and listed on the receipt.
- The contract promised each worker a lagniappe of ten days’ extra pay, due when the job was finished.
- Each customer who bought a dozen pastries found a thirteenth tucked into the bag, a lagniappe nobody had ordered.
Entry
Bureau (noun) 1. a government office or agency. 2. (chiefly British) a writing desk. 3. (Northeastern United States) a chest of drawers. Origin: French bureau “desk; office,” from earlier French bureau “coarse cloth covering a desk,” from Old French burel “woolen cloth.”
Zee wonders why one English word names both a writing desk and a government agency. Which account does the entry support?
- The word named the cloth, then the office where desks stood, and, later still, the desk itself.
- The word named a cloth laid over a desk, then the desk itself, then the office where desks stood; each sense grew from the one before.
- Two unrelated French words, one for desks and one for offices, merged into one spelling in English.
- The agency sense came first, and the desk was named for the work done at it, with the cloth added last.
Entry
Bonanza (noun) a rich source of wealth or luck. Origin: Spanish bonanza “calm sea, fair weather; prosperity; rich ore,” from Medieval Latin bonacia, an alteration of Latin malacia “calm sea,” probably under the influence of bonus “good”; malacia is from Greek malakia “softness.” An Americanism, first recorded in English 1835–45.
Bo reads a sailing memoir of 1950: “After a week of gales came three days of bonanza, a flat sea and a fair wind.” Which stage of the word’s path is the writer reviving?
- The Spanish sense “fair weather,” the stop before English used the word for rich ore.
- The English sense “a rich source of wealth,” since good weather is a kind of riches to a sailor.
- The Greek sense “softness,” the oldest stop, since a flat sea feels soft to the ship.
- The Latin word bonus “good,” since the writer is calling the days good ones after a week of gales.
Entry 1
Begin (verb) to start. Origin: Old English beginnan. Entry 2: commence (verb) to begin; the more formal word, used for ceremonies and proceedings. Origin: Old French comencier, from Vulgar Latin cominitiare; recorded in English 1250–1300.
Pia rewrites a coach’s text to the team: “Practice will commence at four, so bring water.” The coach wants a friendly, casual tone. Which revision fits best, and why?
- “Practice will begin at four.” Begin is shorter, and a shorter word is the better choice for any text message.
- “Practice will begin at four.” Begin is the everyday English word; commence, from French, is the formal one and sounds stiff in a text.
- “Practice will commence at four.” Commence is the formal word, and a formal word shows the players that practice matters.
- “Practice will commence at four.” Commence is the plain English word, and begin is the formal one that came from French.
Entry 1
Buy (verb) to get something by paying for it. Origin: Old English bycgan. Entry 2: purchase (verb) to buy, especially something large or important; a formal word. Origin: Anglo-French purchacer “to seek to obtain,” from pur- + chacer “to chase”; recorded before 1150.
Milo drafts a formal deed of sale: “The buyer agrees to ____ the parcel at the price listed below.” Which word fits the formal document, and why?
- buy: purchase is the informal word, because the French word is the one used in everyday speech.
- purchase: the Anglo-French word is the formal one, which suits a deed about a large sale.
- purchase: it comes from the French for chase, so it still means to pursue something, which fits a deed.
- buy: it is the older English word, and an older word is the more dignified choice for a deed.
Entry 1
Aroma (noun) a pleasing smell, as of food, spice or flowers. Origin: Latin, from Greek “spice”; recorded 1175–1225. Entry 2: odor (noun) a smell of any kind, often an unpleasant one. Origin: Latin odor “smell,” through Old French; recorded 1250–1300.
Ren edits a bakery review: “The warm ____ of cinnamon bread drew us in from the street.” Which word fits, and why?
- odor: it names a smell of any kind, so it suits a review that sounds neutral about the bread.
- aroma: it comes from Greek, and Greek words sound more refined than Latin ones.
- aroma: its entry marks a pleasing smell, which matches a bakery that draws customers in.
- odor: its entry marks it as the pleasing word, and aroma as the word for unpleasant smells.
Entry 1
Lasso (noun) a long rope with a loop that tightens, used for catching horses and cattle. Origin: Spanish lazo, from Latin laqueus “noose”; recorded in English 1760–70. Entry 2: rope (noun) a thick cord made of twisted strands. Origin: Old English rāp.
Noah writes a sentence about a rancher who catches a calf with a looped cord. The writer wants the exact Western word. Which fits, and why?
- lasso: Spanish lazo names a rope with a tightening loop, a detail that rope alone does not say.
- lasso: it is a Spanish word, so it suits any rope used anywhere in the American West.
- rope: it names the noose, and lasso means a thick cord with no loop at the end.
- rope: it is an old English word, and a well-established word is exact enough for a looped cord.
Entry 1
Beef (noun) the meat of cattle. Origin: Old French boef, from Latin bos “ox, cow”; recorded 1250–1300. Entry 2: cow (noun) a full-grown female of cattle. Origin: Old English cū. Entry 3: pork (noun) the meat of a pig. Origin: Old French porc, from Latin porcus “pig.” Entry 4: pig (noun) a farm animal kept for its meat. Origin: Middle English pigge, of uncertain origin.
Kira tests the claim: “The French words beef and pork, against the English words cow and pig, show that French-speaking lords ate the meat while English-speaking workers raised the animals.” Which verdict is best?
- Partly supported: beef and pork are French, but cow and pig are Latin, so the pattern is not English.
- Partly supported: the origins fit the pattern, but the entries do not say who ate the meat or who raised the animals.
- Not supported: cow and beef name the same animal, so the words could not have come from different languages.
- Supported: the French words name the meat and the English words name the animals, so the social split is shown exactly as the claim says.
Entry 1
Warden (noun) a person in charge of the care or custody of people, places or things. Origin: Middle English wardein, from Old French, from the verb “to guard.” Entry 2: guardian (noun) a person who protects or has legal care of another. Origin: late Middle English gardein, from Anglo-French; see warden; recorded 1375–1425.
Luz tests the claim: “Warden and guardian both go back to the same verb meaning to guard.” Which verdict is best?
- Supported: the two words share the letters g, u, a, r and d, and words with the same letters share a source.
- Partly supported: they share a source, but they now differ in meaning, so the claim is half right and should be marked down.
- Not supported: one is from Old French and the other from Anglo-French, so the two cannot share a verb.
- Supported: warden comes from the verb “to guard,” and the guardian entry sends the reader to warden for its origin.
Entry
Chili (noun) a hot pepper; a stew made with it. Origin: Mexican Spanish chile, from Nahuatl chīlli “chile pepper”; recorded in English 1655–65.
Ari tests the claim: “The pepper chili is named for the country Chile.” Which verdict is best?
- Not supported: chili is an English word, and English words are not named for countries.
- Supported: the Spanish word chile appears in the entry, and the country has the same Spanish spelling.
- Not supported: the entry traces the pepper’s name to Nahuatl chīlli through Mexican Spanish, with no link to a country.
- Partly supported: the pepper is named for a place, but that place is Mexico and not the country Chile.