How Extensive is the Use of Latin and Greek in English Vocabulary?
For hundreds of years after the fall of the Roman Empire, Latin and Greek were used throughout Europe as the languages of education and knowledge. European scholars wrote their works in them and educated men corresponded mostly in Latin, with some Greek, with other educated men of their own or different nationalities. As late as the end of Queen Elizabeth’s reign, Francis Bacon wrote his scientific works in Latin. This despite the fact that he was one of the most accurate and precise writers of English the English race has ever produced. In fact, the writing of works in Latin and Greek in order to secure an international audience continued up into the eighteenth century. The perspective that Latin and Greek were the languages of the educated accounts for the fact that practically any term we use connected with knowledge or any of the arts, or with religion, science, or education, is of Latin and Greek origin. Even Anglo-Saxon words were influenced by Latin The terse simple words in Eng
