I've been thinking more about the difficulty of learning English if you're not a native speaker. Homophones--words that sound the same but aren't spelled the same and that have different meanings--is one example. Peek, peak and pique. How did English acquire these words?
Peek, in the sense of looking quickly or furtively, is derived from Middle English piken (which, of course, looks like pike, but let's not get into that now). It may be related to Scottish keek which means peep: to look slyly or in a prying way. (Interestingly peer means to look at continuously.)
Peak derives from Middle Low German pek meaning pick as in pickaxe. The word pike was also used in the same way. In modern English peak means the point of a mountain. The concept of a sharp point seems to be the common element here.
Pique, to irritate or make angry, is derived from Middle French piquer (to prick or sting) and that in turn is derived from Vulgar Latin piccare meaning to pick. Perhaps modern English gets the phrase "to pick on" someone from this sense.
It's crytsal clear now right?
Here is one with four different meanings! Ware, where, weir, wear. I’m glad I already know English, sort of.
ReplyDeleteThose are good examples. I'm going to try to find the derivations. (I'm glad I already know English also!)
ReplyDeleteI have always wondered about waist and waste. I often think that English is a terrible language to learn as a second language. I took French in high school and college and tried to learn Spanish as an adult. I love Spanish because it is spelled like it sounds. In fact Spanish speakers don't even have spelling tests (so I heard) because of that fact.
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