While both Romance languages, English and French sound very different. French has many words that native English speakers find difficult to pronounce. Surprisingly though, a lot of French words have made their way to the English language. Here are 5 common ones that you may not know are of French origin:
1. War
The English word "war" might look completely different from its French counterpart, "guerre." However, "guerre" is a modern French word that originated from the Old NOrth French "werre."
2. Modern
Speaking of modern, the English word "modern" comes from the Middle French "moderne." As for the origin of "moderne," it comes from the Late Latin "modernus" meaning "just now."
3. Origin
Since we're on the topic of origins, we thought you should know that the word "origin" made its way to Britain from France! The original French spelling of this is "origine."
4. Denim
The German-American Levi Strauss may have popularized this fabric, but its name hails from France. The material was actually constructed in the French towm of Nimes, which then gave rise to the term de Nimes, and eventually, denim.
5. Coupon
For all you lovers of discounts out there, you might be surprised that "coupon" is borrowed from France. "Couper" means "to cut" in French, and thus a coupon is literally "a piece cut off."
Don't you just love how learning English allows us to learn more about other languages as well?
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