But though the German language gave way before the Romanic, it dealt a deadly blow to the Latin, the Celtic and the other pre-Roman languages of Gaul. This left the field open, as early as the 6th century, for the development of the Romanic dialects, which had thus risen to supreme importance by becoming the one sure and general means of communication of the whole population of the country, stretching out to the Celtic hilly country on the one hand and invading the palaces of the Germanic princes and kings and the halls of the nobles on the other and driving the German language it self across the Belgian frontier, just as the Provençal had already done in the south of France. The surest outward sign of the vic tory of Roman over all the other linguistic ele ments in northern France is the fact that it dis carded its old name and became known as French, that is, the language of the Franks, at the time that it had succeeded in becoming the common speech alike of Romans, Celts and Germans. The victorious language was neither Latin nor Celt nor German but a curious min gling of the three with the popular speech of the Roman soldier and colonist in Gaul, a strangely vigorous hybrid born to a s and destined to a glorious Celtic Elements in Or jest connected with the origin of tongue do philologists differ more v.41 the question as to the percentage words that enter into its composinm champions of Celtic have seen real resemblances to a vast number of (t in modern French, while others lac Celtic roots in it to about 50. The pL . field is still divided into two oppose: neither .of which appears to be fightiur tle along truly scientific lines. The party is inclined to list all French wi which there can be found a Celtic eqcrt root as Celtic in origin ; while the ri party would exclude from the right Celtic parentage all French words b there is a Romanic word, whether cisa popular Latin. Common sense in&I both extremists are wrong. While the conquered Gaul and occupied all or m.-.1 for nearly 500 years, they never dispossm original inhabitants; and the Latin too imposed on the Celts and other Gaul* very slowly and unevenly. As we Latin itself suffered very severely in .2 ess of absorption by the Gauls. At is testimony of many Latin writers that manic tongue contained many native words. Numbers of these words wean by the Latin writers and found their 11 the writings of Latin authors and the ri of public speakers, especially those dr..1 the schools of Gaul. It is, therefore conclude, because a word is found is M of the writers following the that it is of true Latin origin; and much unsafer to argue that because 3 rl found in popular Latin, though not I classical tongue, that it cannot be origin. The fact seems to be that 1,171 Celtic acted and reacted upon one atte. 500 years before the Romanic the ascendency. As Celtic and Latin tongues, it frequently happens that taro the same root in almost the tar. In this case it is not impossible that'` guages influenced the Romanic derinri will, therefore, probably never be rl known to what extent modern Fine I debted to Celtic and the other Gaulish t As the Roman language was a son gua franca bridging the way betwee t:t mans and the Gauls who spoke only t`i tive tongue, it contained, in the 4th cect. many words relating to the daily and interests of the natives of Gaul. eluded mining, agriculture, laboring and trades. Many of these words arr-1 the French tongue. •We are told that'l for instance, is derived from the nis, hut •thc root ar, ploughing, is we all the Celtic tongues. Bile, a is also claimed to be of Latin onguo* billa is the Low Latin for a tree trunk. Irish bile is also a tree. Another writ that bouleau (balai, a broom) is but !with, in Irish, is birch, from ie-H, original twig brooms were made jug still are in Spain and most of the ican countries from branches or tau bol is the Welsh for bundle, the form the brooms were tied, either by themselves or around a handle. Cep, the stock of a plant, may be from the Latin cippus, but is more likely from Celtic, for Gaelic contains caep, a trunk. Combe, valley, has the Welsh equivalent owns, with numerous derivatives from the same root. Dune, hill, has the Welsh ducho, above, and the Irish and Welsh dun, hill; yet certain philolo gists claim that it is derived from a Low Latin word which is itself evidently from some Celtic form similar to the Irish diminutive dunan, a little hill. Fagot is asserted positively to be de rived from the Latin fagus; yet the Welsh con tains ffagod and the Irish fagoid, and the root word fine, a small part or bit of anything. The foregoing examples are sufficient to demon strate the confusion that has reigned in the field of early French philology and the unscien tific methods of many of the workers therein. The trouble is that many of the most strenuous champions on both sides of the question have had no adequate scientific training for their work and have fixed their attention on. word resemblances between Celtic and Latin or Latin and French instead of investigating thoroughly the wide field of comparative Celtic language study and that of classical Latin and its rela tion to the various dialects of Italy in the days of Roman rule. The wide .extension of this field and the difficulty of the work therein, to gether with the imperfect knowledge of the Celtic tongues, until recent years have con tributed largely to this confusion and to the encouragement of unscientific methods.
Among other modern French agricultural terms or words related thereto which are claimed to be of Celtic origin are gaule (post, or pole, English, goal-post, where the Celtic or French word and the English compounded have the same meaning), glui (thatch, coarse straw, or bundles thereof), gres (grit sand stone), greve (beach, sandy shore), groseille (currant, gooseberry), gueret (field, fallow ground), guirlande (garland, wreath), if (yew tree), marne (chalk, clay), motte (turf, peat, clod), pioche (pick-axe), plitre (plaster), rigole (trench, gutter), roc (rock), ruche (swarm beehive), soc (sock, ploughshare), verne (alder).
Among the names of common animals are numerous words in French that are either from Celtic or have a similar root form in that tongue. These include alouette (lark), cochon ('pig), coq (cock), etalon (stallion), furet (ferret), geai (jay), ,tars (gander), loche (groundling, fish) matin (mastiff), mouton (sheep), truie (sow), turbot. These are accom panied with terms relating to animals, as dia (get up, go on, gee!), clavelee (scab), gour mette (curb), gourme (glanders).
The human body, its impressions, tastes and relationships have naturally preserved some Celtic words in French, among which are: barguigner (bargain), danse (dance), dorloter (fondle), goher (gulp), gngnoter (nibble), morguer (to bully, defy), rabacher (repeat), trimer (to go fast), troler (to stroll), brusque (nimble), dui (brisk), sale (dirty), talent, gour mand, moquerie, rogue, souhait (wish). The Celtic language has also contributed to the French language its share of names of utensils, tools and arms including halm (broom), baril, baton, broche, echeveau (skein), gohelet, hart (halter, band), lance, mortaise (mortise), pavois (large shield), treteau (trestle), treuil (axis, contained in the English compound word axle tree, both parts of which have the same mean ing). Among the French words of Celtic origin expressing clothing and parts thereof are: botte (boot), braie (breeches, clout), casque (great coat, cassock), toque (cap), trousseau, bouton (button). Barque (hut), brique (brick), cabane, geole (jail), platre (plaster) and rue (street) are all Celtic words relating to dwelling. The French word boudin (pudding), which looks like a corruption of the English word, finds its equivalent in the Welsh word poten. Literally it means the round thing. It is probably con nected with the pot in which it is boiled, which is, in Irish, poitm. This is related to the Irish port, a pit or hole (a round thing). In a similar manner many of the Celtic words in French can be traced through the various Celtic languages. French contains other interesting words of Cel tic origin relating to foods, among them being: crepe (pancake), gateau (cake), crevoise (beer, leche (thin slice), lie (dregs), tripe, tourte (tart). Celtic derivatives express other rela tionships of the life of the masses but the fore going are sufficient to show the held in which the French words of Celtic are still preserved.
Teutonic Elements in French.—The arrival of the Germanic tribes in Gaul had considerable influence upon the Romanic speech isi addition to those -already mentioned. It undoubtedly, Crowded out numerous words of Celtic origin relating to the activities of life and displaced others of classical Latin. During the first cen tury of German occupation of Gaul many Ger manic words were introduced into the popular speech. Among these were words relating to war, navigation, legislation, agriculture, hunting, fishing, handling of horses and animals, music, fairy lore, the feelings and passions, colors, necessities, actions and directions. As . the masses who spoke Celtic and German, at this time, were ignorant of arts, sciences and letters and all related thereto, the words introduced by the German conquerors and their immediate descendants never enter this higher sphere of life. . The joy of living they have well repre sented in biere (beer), echanson (cup-bearer), gaufre (waffle), goinfre (glutton), malt, soupe, trinquer (tipple, drink). All the German words introduced into the Romanic languages at this period are expressive of the most active and intimate life of the people, with this restriction, they cover a comparatively wide range of sub jects and interests. Thus the warlike and bois terous life of the Germanic invaders finds its expression in the modern French words of Ger manic origin: bagarre (to brawl, quarrel), brandir (brandish, flourish), butin (booty), dard (dart), escrime (fencing), fleche (arrow), guerre (war), hardi (bold), haubert, marEchal, rapiere, saque (pillage), barque (boat), bouclier (shield), bateau (boat), bord (ship), fregate (frigat), houle (swell of the sea), mit (mast), pilote. The life of the ruling class is expressed in the words: baron eschevin (alderman), fief, frais (expense), hanc (true, free), gage (pledge), marquis, riche, sbiiechal, saisir (seize), harpe, lai (lay), luth, rime; while the interests of the agriculturists finds expression in such words as bid (wheat), bois (wood), cresson (cress), framboise (raspberry), grappe (grapes), touffe (bunch) haie (hedge), gerbe (sheaf), jardin (garden), marais (marsh), seve (sap), tige (stem), troupean (flock, herd). The horse man is represented by bride (bridle), troupe, eperon (spur), galop, harnais, marechal (far ner), train, trot. The life of the hunter and the forest appears in biche (hind), élan (elk), chou ette (screech-owl), garenne (warren), hase (doe-rabbit), mesange (tomtit), moineau (spar row), mouette (gull), tra'ppe, gans (goose), heron. The interests of the house and the family appear in bane (bench), bande, bassin, boucle (buckle), Int& (lye washing), caniff (knife), cussin (cushion), fauteuil (armchair), havresac (knapsac), malle (trunk), tonneau (cask), torche. The fisherman has given carpe, esturgeon, lamproie (eel), marquereau, nacre and perle. Among other words expressive of residence are bourg, hameau (hamlet), hangar, butte, seuil (threshold) ; while dress and per sonal ornament are represented by bague (ring), bagage, chemise, coiffe, etoffe (cloth), feutre (felt), f roc, gant (glove), jupe (petticoat), pantoufle (slipper), poche (pocket). The pas sions and feelings are expressed in effroi ( f right ), etourdi ( blundering) , f rayeur ( ter ror), cri (cry), hair (hate), honte (shame), cauchemare (nightmare), reve (dream). Large as the foregoing list is it is far from exhaus tive of the Germanic elements in active use in the French tongue to-day.