
Roughly 10,000 new words entered the English language during the Norman occupation and assimilation, particularly those having to do with the world of the ruling class.
The effects of the linguistic class division are most apparent in the culinary realm, where words used by the aristocracy have French origins and words used by the commoners have Germanic origins.
This is evident even today in the way we talk about certain animals, particularly those typically eaten by Westerners, with words rooted in Anglo-Saxon / Old English to indicate the living animals and words rooted in Old French to indicate the slaughtered animal as flesh for consumption.
HOW TO LISTEN / SUBSCRIBE TO THE ANIMALOGY PODCAST:
- Click PLAY on the player above.
- Listen and subscribe through Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, PodBean, or wherever you listen to podcasts.
- Subscribe to the RSS feed.
The Animalogy Podcast is listener-supported. Please join other supporters by going to Patreon.com/ColleenPatrickGoudreau and becoming a patron.
Related Posts

Piggyback: Animal Words with No Animal Origins

What’s in a Name? The Soul of an Animal

Toady: Lick My Boots and Curry My Favor

About Colleen
Hello, and welcome. I’m Colleen, aka The Joyful Vegan, and I’m here to give you the tools and resources you need to eat, cook, travel, and live compassionately and healthfully.
Donating = Loving
For over twenty years, my work and podcast have remained free (and ad-free) and vibrant thanks to support from listeners, followers, and readers. I have no staff, no interns, and no assistant. What you see (and hear and watch) is a one-woman labor of love that is also my life and my livelihood. If this labor has impacted your life in the past year (or the past decades), please consider aiding its sustenance by becoming a patron or by making a one-time donation. Your support makes all the difference.
Favorite Things
Joyful Vegan Messageware
Wear your compassion on your sleeve (or chest or head!) by choosing any number of my message products.