261: Degrees of Fanciness Aug 26, 2015

There is often more than one way to say something: that's how sellers of thesauri make money. Often the reason for having so many synonyms can be found by looking at the history of England. First, the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes invade the island of England, creating Old English. Later, during the Viking raids, many Scandinavian words entered English. When Guillaume (or "William") the conqueror lay claim to England, French was the language of business and politics. During the 100 years war (which was 116 years long) England became more independently powerful, and Latin was the internationally used language for many fields. What happened culturally happened in the language with the denotation of various words; English derivatives are the most lay–least 'fancy'– way to say things, after those of Latin and French. The word, 'to ask' comes from Old English, while 'to question' comes from Old French, and "to interrogate" comes from Latin.