Tagged Questions
6
votes
4answers
501 views
“S'il vous plaît” = “If you please”?
In Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot detective stories, Poirot uses the phrase “if you please” a lot. Does this come from the French phrase “s’il vous plaît”?
5
votes
2answers
602 views
Normans vs. Saxons: cow = beef, sheep = mutton, chicken =?
The story goes that after the Norman invasion of England, the words in English for prepared foods took on their French equivalents. The Saxon serfs bred the cows, sheep, and swine, which when served ...
5
votes
1answer
90 views
How did “invoice” end up with an 's'-sound?
The Etymonline entry for invoice states (source):
apparently from M.Fr. envois, pl. of envoi "dispatch (of goods),"
Although my French is pretty poor, my understanding is that the 's' is silent. ...
2
votes
2answers
174 views
Etymology of 'just' as an adverb and its French connection
Just (adj.):
late 14c., "righteous in the eyes of God; upright, equitable, impartial; justifiable, reasonable," from O.Fr. juste "just, righteous; sincere" (12c.), from L. iustus "upright, ...
2
votes
0answers
317 views
English words mockingly derived from French? [closed]
According to Wikipedia, up to 30% of English words come from French, and I'm interested in a special subset of them. Not "loan words", but words that seem potentially derived in jest.
For example, ...
