Some of these words came into the English language via French, some came through the church, and some because the Renaissance made Latin and Greek words popular. But English went on borrowing from Latin and Greek, and still does. (Some people wash their clothes with Lux - which is the Latin for 'light')

Each word has its own story and many have travelled a long way. For example: 'Practical' is recorded in the C17th, it came from the French pratiquer, to use, and before that from the Latin practicus, and before that from Greek praktikos. So you could say that the word's great-grandfather was Greek.

You can track where words come from by using an Etymological Dictionary. This tells you about the origins of words and when they were first used.

	Try looking up the six green words in the passage in an etymological dictionary and see where they came from. You should find at least six languages if you trace the words' roots back far enough.
	What does 'quadruped' mean literally?
	'Usher' is a word we use differently today - do you know how?

The End

(from the Old English ende - final limit)