English Language

Company Tonight?

What Language are we speaking today?

4 min readOct 28, 2026

Kalamata olive bread by author — Kalamata olive bread-made with devotion by author

Anybody coming over for a visit tonight? Do you enjoy having company? It could just be a friend dropping by for a cup of tea. Possibly some friends from the neighborhood, sharing a joyous pot luck. Or, with the coming holidays, a large family get together with all the trimmings.

Uh oh! That dreaded chowderhead uncle who is so opinionated. Shit!

Whatever the case may be, enjoying the company of family and friends has the possibility of being delightful.

“Company” comes from the Latin prefixes com- (“with or together”) and panis (“bread”), in essence, people getting together to break bread, or literally describing coming together to share a meal.

Hot from the oven-Tumeric bread by author

Matter of fact, roughly half of our everyday vocabulary has origins in Latin and Greek. Specifically the roots. Allow me to explain:

For those of you who may have had an education in classical Latin and Greek this may be very familiar.

Greek roots are associated with philosophy, science and medicine (for example chron, bio, tele and therm). Below are just a few examples to give you the gist.

Chron (time): chronicle, chronology, chronic
Bio (life): biodegradeable, biology, biography
Tele (far): telegram, telescope, telephone, television
Therm (heat): thermometer, thermal, thermos

Latin roots are associated with everyday legal and academic terms (such as aud, dict, port, spec, terra and aqua), often paired with prefixes and suffixes.

Aud (hear): audience, audio, auditorium
Dict (say): dictionary, predict, contradict
Port (carry): porter, transport, portable
Spec (see): specimen, inspect, spectator
Terra (earth): terrarium, terrestrial, territory
Aqua (water): aquatic, aquarium, aqueduct

With the information listed above pertaining to Latin and Greek influence on the English language, would you believe that English is basically rooted in West Germanic languages?! Does this sound contradictory?

Germanic tribes brought the base dialects (Angles, Jutes and Saxons) to Britain in the 5th century AD after the fall of the Roman Empire, forming Old English. Basic words for family, body parts, nature, (such as water, strong, house, and be).

Germanic tribes began migrating to Britain around 450AD. They displaced Celtic and Roman languages.

Like all languages, Old English had four main dialects, associated with particular Anglo-Saxon : Kentish, Northumbrian, Mercian and West Saxon.

It wasn’t until the 6th Century that Missionaries introduce Christianity, incorporating the Latin alphabet.

Modern present day English continues to absorb loanwords from worldwide contact via colonization, trade, imperialism and globalization (including Spanish, Hindi, French, Arabic, and Indigenous American languages). The assimilation continues on into the indefinite future. Below are a few interesting examples:

French: ballet, cafe, entrepreneur, genre, rendezvous, boutique, rsvp
Hindi / Urdu: bungalow, jungle, shampoo, turban
Pajamas — Persian pay(“leg”) and jama (“clothing or garment”)
Spanish: patio, salsa, siesta, tornado, tomato
German: doppelganger, kindergarten, rucksack, wanderlust
Arabic: algebra, coffee, cotton, safari, zero
Japanese: karaoke, origami, sushi, tsunami, tycoon
Dutch: boss, cookie, easel, landscape
Nahuatl : Chocolate & Avocado(xocolatl meaning bitter water)

**I would be remiss in my writing if I didn’t include Italian, which has been integrated into the English vocabulary.

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Italian — Food and Cuisine

Al dente: Firm to the bite (used for pasta).
Cappuccino: Espresso with foamed milk, named after the color of Capuchin friar robes.
Espresso: Coffee forced quickly through finely ground coffee.
Mozzarella & Ricotta: Traditional Italian cheeses.
Panini & Biscotti: Popular plural forms treated as singular or regular nouns in English (panini for sandwich, biscotti for cookies).

Italian — Music and Arts

Piano: Shortened from pianoforte (soft-loud).
Tempo & Allegro: Musical speed and pace markings.
Concerto & Opera: Classical performance and musical drama forms.
Studio: An artist’s workroom or a recording space.
Graffiti: Wall inscriptions or drawings.

Italian — Politics, War, and Society

Quarantine: Derived from quaranta giorni (forty days) of isolation during the plague.
Assassin: From assassini, originally referring to a medieval Middle Eastern sect.
Arsenal: A storehouse for weapons and military equipment.
Mafia & Vendetta: Terms tied to organized crime and personal revenge.
Machiavellian: Adjective describing cunning, ruthless politics, named after Niccolò Machiavelli.

Italian — Science and Nature

Influenza (Flu): Originally attributed to astrological or atmospheric “influence”.
Malaria: From mal’aria (“bad air”).
Lava: Molten rock flowing from a volcano.
Neutrino: Subatomic particle named by Enrico Fermi.

Can you think of any more vocabulary that has assimilated into the English language? Send me a message. I look forward to enjoying the ‘Company’ of your responses!