One theory for how Latin entered English is that the Celtic speech of the Britons, during the Roman occupation remained after the Romans left and was then introduced to Anglo-Saxons. Some Latin words would also have been brought in by Anglo-Saxon invaders and the influence of monks growing may have been an influence on how the English language developed.

Celtic Influence Theory on Old English

The English language has never been purely Anglo-Saxon as, by the time the Anglo-Saxons arrived in Britain, there had already been four centuries of linguistic interchange between Germanic and Roman people on the European mainland. It is unknown how Latin words entered the English language. 

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Influences of Old English 

British Library, & Crystal, D. (2018, January 31). Old English. British Library. Retrieved May 1, 2022, from https://www.bl.uk/medieval-literature/articles/old-english

Old English Reference

Latin and Old English

In Old English, Germanic words were adapted based on meaning so that it "expressed the sense of a Latin word: an example is gast, originally ‘demon’ or ‘evil spirit’, which came to mean 'soul' or 'Holy Ghost'." Furthermore, word creation was utlized to permeate Old English poetry to create new compound words by translating elements of a Latin word into Germanic equivalents, for example, "liber evangelii became godspellboc ('gospel book'), and trinitas became þriness (i.e. 'threeness' = 'trinity')."

Linguistic Techniques of Old English 

Scandinavian influence on Old English varies with an important factor being that over 2,000 Scandinavian place names are still found mainly in Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and the East Midlands. The earliest Middle English literature, from around 1200, does show Old Norse words being used, such as Orrmulum and Havelock the Dane. These words were well-established as they began to replace Anglo-Saxon terminology, such as "'take', for example, was niman in Old English; Old Norse taka is first recorded in the English form toc (‘took’) during the late 11th century, but by the end of the Middle English period take had completely taken over the function of niman in general English."

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