Grade by Grade
B. Foundations of Language · Listening, Speaking and Word Power

Where Words Come From: Borrowed Words and Word Histories

B2.2 A3About 40 minutes
Learning goals
  • I can explain that English has borrowed words from many languages.
  • I can name some English words that come from First Nations languages and Inuktitut.
  • I can find a word's origin in a dictionary.
  • I can recognize compound words, blended words and shortened words.
  • I can use a word's history to help me remember its meaning.

Words to know

word origin
Where a word comes from and what it first meant. Also called a word's etymology.
borrowed word
A word that one language takes from another language.
compound word
Two words joined to make a new word, like snowball.
blended word
A word made by mixing parts of two words, like brunch (breakfast + lunch).
shortened word
A long word cut down to a shorter one, like phone from telephone.
Inuktitut
A language spoken by many Inuit in Canada today.

Let's start with a question

What do these words have in common: kayak, piano, kindergarten, robot and pyjamas?

They are all borrowed words. English took them from other languages:

  • kayak from Inuktitut (qajaq)
  • piano from Italian
  • kindergarten from German, meaning children's garden
  • robot from Czech
  • pyjamas from Hindi and Urdu, meaning leg clothing

English is a borrowing language. It has picked up words from people all over the world, and it is still doing it today!

Words from Canada's First Nations and Inuit languages

Many words we use every day in Canada come from the languages of First Nations and Inuit, who have lived here for thousands of years and whose languages are spoken in communities across Canada today.

  • Canada most likely comes from kanata, a Huron-Iroquois word meaning village or settlement.
  • kayak and igloo come from Inuktitut. Iglu means house, any kind of house, not only one made of snow.
  • toboggan and caribou came into English through French from Mi'kmaq.
  • moose comes from an Algonquian language.
  • Saskatchewan comes from a Cree word for the river, often translated as swift-flowing river.
  • The Ottawa River, and the city named after it, get their name from the Odawa people, a First Nations people.
A bull moose with large antlers standing in a misty lake at sunrise, with evergreen forest behind it.
The word moose comes from an Algonquian language. Many Canadian words for animals and places come from First Nations and Inuit languages. AI-generated image
LanguageWords English borrowed
Frenchtoque, café, ballet, restaurant, garage
Inuktitutkayak, igloo
Mi'kmaq (through French)toboggan, caribou
Italianpiano, pizza, volcano
Spanishmosquito (little fly), canyon, patio
Germankindergarten, pretzel
Dutchcookie, sleigh
Hindi and Urdupyjamas, shampoo, jungle
Japanesetsunami (harbour wave), karate, emoji
Greekdinosaur (terrible lizard), hippopotamus (river horse)
A few of the many languages English has borrowed from
EnglishFrenchtoqueInuktitutkayakItalianpianoSpanishmosquitoGermankindergartenDutchcookieHindi and UrdupyjamasJapanesetsunamiGreekdinosaur
English borrowed these words from languages all over the world. This is a word web, not a map.
Worked example

Let's use a word's history to understand it

Read: The museum has a huge dinosaur skeleton. How can the word's origin help?

  1. dinosaur comes from two Greek parts: deinos (terrible) + sauros (lizard).
  2. So it first meant terrible lizard.
  3. That helps us remember: dinosaurs were reptiles, and some were enormous and fierce.
  4. (Scientists today know dinosaurs were not really lizards, but the name stuck!)

Word histories make meanings easier to remember, and they tell interesting stories.

How to find a word's origin

Many dictionaries show a word's origin near the end of the entry. It may be labelled Origin or Word history, or shown in square brackets, like this:

kayak (noun) a light, narrow boat moved with a double-bladed paddle. **[from Inuktitut qajaq]**

A children's dictionary or a grown-up can help you find this part.

Other ways English makes new words

  • Compound words: two words join. snow + mobile → snowmobile, sun + flower → sunflower.
  • Blended words: parts of two words mix. breakfast + lunch → brunch, smoke + fog → smog, motor + hotel → motel.
  • Shortened words: a long word gets clipped. telephone → phone, refrigerator → fridge, gymnasium → gym, influenza → flu.
Compoundsnow+mobile=snowmobileBlendbreakfast+lunch=brunchBlendsmoke+fog=smogShortenedgymnasium→gymtelephone→phoneFilled parts are kept; dashed parts are dropped.
Three ways English makes new words: compounds join whole words, blends mix parts of two words, and shortened words drop a part.
Worked example

Let's figure out a blended word

Read: We went out for brunch on Sunday at 11 o'clock.

  1. brunch looks like the start of one word and the end of another.
  2. breakfast + lunch → brunch.
  3. So brunch is a meal that is part breakfast, part lunch. That's why it is eaten late in the morning.
  4. Check: 11 o'clock is between breakfast time and lunchtime. ✅

brunch = breakfast + lunch: a late-morning meal.

Be a respectful word explorer

When you learn a word from another language, say where it comes from and pronounce it as well as you can. Words carry the history and knowledge of the people who made them. Many languages of First Nations, Métis and Inuit are being taught and strengthened in communities today.

Just for fun

Funny-but-true: hippopotamus comes from Greek words meaning river horse. A hippo isn't a horse at all, but it really does spend much of its day in rivers and lakes!

Hands-on activity

Family word-origin hunt

You need: paper, a pencil and a dictionary (print, or a children's online dictionary with a grown-up).

  1. Ask the people in your home: Do you know any words from another language? Many families speak more than one language. Write down 3 or more words with their meanings.
  2. Look up 5 words from this lesson in a dictionary: toque, kayak, mosquito, cookie, shampoo. Find the origin part of each entry and write the language it came from.
  3. Make a chart with three columns: Word | Language | First meaning.
  4. Bonus: find one compound word, one blended word and one shortened word in a book or around the house.

Talk about it: Which word history surprised you most?

Your turn

1

What is a borrowed word?

2

Which language does kayak come from?

3

What does the Inuktitut word iglu mean?

4

What did dinosaur first mean?

5

What two words make the blended word smog?

6

What is fridge short for?

7

Is snowball a compound, blended or shortened word?

More practice: warm-up

1

Which word did English borrow from Japanese: tsunami or pizza?

2

What is gym short for?

3

Make a compound word: sun + ___.

4

Where in a dictionary entry can you often find a word's origin?

5

What does kindergarten mean in German?

More practice: on your own

1

The word Canada most likely comes from kanata. What does kanata mean?

2

hippopotamus comes from Greek words meaning river horse. Why does that name fit?

3

What two words make motel? Why is the name a good fit?

4

Sort these words: phone, sunflower, brunch, flu, snowmobile, smog.

5

Name two English words that came from Mi'kmaq through French.

Challenge

1

mosquito comes from Spanish and means little fly. Explain how knowing this could help you remember the meaning.

2

Invent a blended word for something new, and explain what two words you blended. (For example: snow + tornado.)

3

Why do you think English has so many borrowed words? Give two reasons.

Check your understanding

Quiz

1.

Which word comes from Inuktitut?

2.

What is a blended word?

3.

Canada most likely comes from a Huron-Iroquois word meaning...

4.

Which is a shortened word?

5.

Where can you usually find a word's origin in a dictionary?

6.

Which pair is correct?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Grade 4 B2.2 asks students to understand a variety of words and to use morphological knowledge to analyze new words. Knowing word origins (etymology) gives students another way to remember meanings, and it connects to Strand A3: understanding the contributions of diverse cultures, including First Nations, Métis and Inuit, to language.

How to help at home:

  • Share words from your family's languages and talk about where they came from.
  • Look up the origin of an interesting word together once a week.
  • Notice compound, blended and shortened words in ads and signs.

Common difficulties:

  • Mixing up compound and blended words. Compound words keep both whole words; blends use parts.
  • Thinking a word's origin is always its meaning today. Meanings can change over time (dinosaurs aren't lizards).

Note: We have included only word origins that are well documented. Some origins (like Canada) are described as "most likely" because experts still discuss them.