As far as I’ve been taught, English is not a romance language like French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish or Romanian. The Roman Empire didn’t stretch as far as the United Kingdom, and English is an Anglo-Saxonic language closer to German or Dutch than, say, Italian. So… how come words like “ambulance” (ambulat) and “transition” (transit) seem to be directly ripped from the original Latin?
In: Other
Came here to say what everyone else said. The Roman empire went all the way to the UK. (look up Hadrian’s Wall, it’s the northern frontier of the Roman empire. It’s notable for a lot of things, including the origin of what is believed to be the world’s first party invite – it’s a fascinating story)
Anyway, the over-extension of the Roman empire was part of the contributing factor to both bringing down the empire **and** the creation of an amazing infrastructure of roads and aquaducts throughout Europe.
Latest Answers