Which word is a Norse lexical borrowing into English?

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Prepare for the AQA A-level English Language Test. Study with interactive quizzes on language change, complete with detailed explanations. Get ahead in your exam preparation today!

Multiple Choice

Which word is a Norse lexical borrowing into English?

Explanation:
This item tests recognizing a Norse loanword in English—the idea that a word has been adopted from Old Norse into English rather than developed natively or borrowed from another language. The word they is from Old Norse, originally þeir or þeir, and entered English during the Viking era when Norse and English speakers interacted. It shows how contact between languages can lead to the adoption of common, everyday words, including a pronoun, into English. The other options come from different sources: beef traces to French via Norman influence, curtain to French as well, and dream is from Old English and thus native to the language rather than borrowed from Norse.

This item tests recognizing a Norse loanword in English—the idea that a word has been adopted from Old Norse into English rather than developed natively or borrowed from another language. The word they is from Old Norse, originally þeir or þeir, and entered English during the Viking era when Norse and English speakers interacted. It shows how contact between languages can lead to the adoption of common, everyday words, including a pronoun, into English.

The other options come from different sources: beef traces to French via Norman influence, curtain to French as well, and dream is from Old English and thus native to the language rather than borrowed from Norse.

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