In its 15 century long history the English language has come in long and close contact with several other languages, mainly Latin, French and Old Norse (or Scandinavian). The great influx of borrowings from these sources can be accounted for by a number of historical causes.
Due to the great influence of the Roman civilization Latin was for a long time used in England as the language of learning and religion, e.g.: absolute < absolutus, algebra < algebra, arm < armare, autumn < autumnus, beast < bes-tia, calculate < calculus, habit < habitum, intelligence < intelligentia, machine < machina, number < numerum, propaganda <propagare, recommend < re-
comendare, sentence < sentential, square < quadrus.
Old Norse was the language of the conquerors who were on the same level of social and cultural development and who merged rather easily with the local population in the 9th, 10th and the first half of the llth century. Examples of Scandinavian borrowings are: anger < anger, angr (горе, печаль), fellow < fellawe, felagi (товарищ, компаньон, парень), fit < fitten, fitja (устраивать, связывать), fro < fro, fra (от, из), hap < hap, happ (случай, везение, счастье), hit < hitten, hitta (попадать в цель, ударять, поражать), leg < leg, leggr (нога, кость ноги; ствол), low < low, lagr (низкий, невысокий), swain < swayn, sveinn (мальчик, парень, молодой человек), sky < skye, sky (об-
лако, небо), skill < skile, skil (отличие, мастерство, различие, понятие), take < taken, taka (брать, хватать, начинать), they < they (они), want < want(e), vant (недостаток, нужда, недостающий).
French (to be more exact its Norman dialect) was the language of the other conquerors who brought with them a lot of new notions of a higher social system - developed feudalism, it was the language of the upper classes, of official documents and school instruction from the middle of the 11th century to the end of the 14th century: action < accioun, accusation < accusacioun, agreable < agreable, arms < armes, baron < baron, baroun, chamber < chambre, chivalry < chyval(e)rie, crown < coroune, duke < duk, empress < emperesse.