t
belong rather, or once belonged, to foreign nations. Even shopkeepers
are familiar with such words as _beef_, _mutton_, _broccoli_, _soda_,
_cork_, _sherry_, _brandy_, _tea_, _coffee_, _sugar_, _sago_, and many
more such words that are now quite familiar to every one. Yet _beef_
and _mutton_ are Norman; _broccoli_ and _soda_ are Italian; _cork_
and _sherry_ are Spanish; _brandy_ is Dutch; _tea_ is Chinese;
_coffee_ is Arabic; _sugar_ is of Sanskrit origin; and _sago_ is
Malay. It must be evident that many similar words, having reference
to very various useful things, have long ago drifted into the dialects
from the literary language. Hence the purity of the dialects from
contamination with foreign influences is merely comparative, not
absolute.

Our modern language abounds with words borrowed from many foreign
tongues; but a large number of them have come to us since 1500. Before
that date the chief languages from which it was possible for us to
borrow words were British or Gaelic, Irish, Latin, Greek (invariably
through the medium of Latin), Hebrew (in a small degree, through
the medium of Latin), Arabic (very slightly, and indirectly),
Scandinavian, and French. A few words as to most of these are
sufficient.

It is not long since a great parade was made of our borrowings from
"Celtic"; it was very easy to give a wild guess that an obscure word
was "Celtic"; and the hardihood of the guesser was often made to take
the place of evidence. The fact is that there is no such language as
"Celtic"; it is the name of a group of languages, including "British"
or Welsh, Cornish, Breton, Manx, Gaelic, and Irish; and it is now
incumbent on the etymologist to cite the exact forms in one or more of
these on which he relies, so as to adduce some semblance of proof. The
result has been an extraordinary shrinkage in the number of alleged
Celtic words. The number, in fact, is extremely small, except in
special cases. Thus we may expect to find a few Welsh words in the
dialects of Cheshire, Shropshire, or Herefordshire, on the Welsh
border; and a certain proportion of Gaelic words in Lowland Scotch;
though we have no reliable lists of these, and it is remarkable that
such words have usually been borrowed at no very early date, and
sometimes quite recently. The legacy of words bequeathed to us by the
ancient Britons is surprisingly small; indeed, it is very difficult
to point to many clear cases. The question is considered in my
_Pri