Word origins
A computerised survey of about 80,000 words in the old Shorter Oxford Dictionary (3rd ed.) was published in Ordered Profusion by Thomas Finkenstaedt and Dieter Wolff (1973)[1] that estimated the origin of English words as follows:
Influences in English vocabulary
Langue d'oïl, including French and Old Norman: 28.3%
Latin, including modern scientific and technical Latin: 28.24%
Germanic languages – inherited from Old English, from Proto-Germanic, or a more recent borrowing from a Germanic language such as Old Norse; does not include Germanic words borrowed from a Romance language, i.e., coming from the Germanic element in French, Latin or other Romance languages: 25%
Greek: 5.32%
No etymology given: 4.03%
Derived from proper names: 3.28%
All other languages: less than 1%
A survey by Joseph M. Williams in Origins of the English Language of 10,000 words taken from several thousand business letters gave this set of statistics:[2]
French (langue d'oïl): 41%
"Native" English: 33%
Latin: 15%
Old Norse: 5%
Dutch: 1%
Other: 5%[3]
Starting from Old High German, the 'Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen' examines the semantic and formal development of the vocabulary up to New High German.
The eighteenth issue of Cabinet features a themed section on "Fictional States." Includes George Pendle on upstart countries, Tony Wood on made-up maps, and a portfolio of self-declared nations. Also carries a new column, Black Pyramid, by Peter Lamborn Wilson, Christine Wertheim on Shea Zellweger's Logic Alphabet, Jonathan Ward on corporate musicals, as well as artist projects by Sasha Chavchavadze, Craig Kalpakjian, Lynne Roberts-Goodwin, Patrick Pound, Invertebrate, and Glexis Novoa. Free erratum included!