6. +French Words.+-- Besides the large additions to our language made by the Norman-French, we have from time to time imported direct from France a number of French words, without change in the spelling, and with little change in the pronunciation. The French have been for centuries the most polished nation in Europe; from France the changing fashions in dress spread over all the countries of the Continent; French literature has been much read in England since the time of Charles II.; and for a long time all diplomatic correspondence between foreign countries and England was carried on in French. Words relating to manners and customs are common, such as +soirée+, +etiquette+, +séance+, +élite+; and we have also the names of things which were invented in France, such as +mitrailleuse+, +carte-de-visite+, +coup d’état+, and others. Some of these words are, in spelling, exactly like English; and advantage of this has been taken in a well-known epigram:-- The French have taste in all they do, Which we are quite without; For Nature, which to them gave goût,[15] To us gave only gout. The following is a list of French words which have been imported in comparatively recent times:-- Aide-de-camp. Belle. Bivouac. Blonde. Bouquet. Brochure. Brunette. Brusque. Carte-de-visite. Coup-d’état. Débris. Début. Déjeûner. Depot. Éclat. Ennui. Etiquette. Façade. Goût. Naïve. Naïveté. Nonchalance. Outré. Penchant. Personnel. Précis. Programme. Protégé. Recherché. Séance. Soirée. Trousseau. The Scotch have always had a closer connection with the French nation than England; and hence we find in the Scottish dialect of English a number of French words that are not used in South Britain at all. A leg of mutton is called in Scotland a +gigot+; the dish on which it is laid is an +ashet+ (from _assiette_); a cup for tea or for wine is a +tassie+ (from _tasse_); the gate of a town is called the +port+; and a stubborn person is +dour+ (Fr. _dur_, from Lat. _durus_); while a gentle and amiable person is +douce+ (Fr. _douce_, Lat. _dulcis_). [Footnote 15: _Goût_ (goo) from Latin _gustus_, taste.] 7. +German Words.+-- It must not be forgotten that English is a Low-German dialect, while the German of books is New High-German. We have never borrowed directly from High-German, because we have never needed to borrow. Those modern German words that have come into our language in recent times are chiefly the names of minerals, with a few striking exceptions, such as +loafer+, which came to us from the German immigrants to the United States, and +plunder+, which seems to have been brought from Germany by English soldiers who had served under Gustavus Adolphus. The following are the German words which we have received in recent times:-- Cobalt. Felspar. Hornblende. Landgrave. Loafer. Margrave. Meerschaum. Nickel. Plunder. Poodle. Quartz. Zinc.