665: coach (Composition of English) Oct 3, 2016

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Some estimates which look at English's vocabulary estimate that it is made up of 29% French, 29% Latin, 26% Germanic words, 6% Greek, 4% other languages, and 6% from proper names. In terms of frequency, the majority of words are Germanic and not of Romantic origin, but there are a few exceptional words. 'Coach', in the sense of horse-carriges, busses, and airplane sections, comes from the name of the small Hungarian village, Kocs, not too far from Budapest. Since horses had to be led by someone, the sense of the word as an instructor also comes from 'kocsi (szekér)' (wagon) from Kocs), but this meaning came much later in the word's history.

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