“‘Nay, I can tell you more,’ said Wamba, in the same tone; ‘there is old Alderman Ox continues to hold his Saxon epithet, while he is under the charge of serfs and bondsmen such as thou, but becomes Beef, a fiery French gallant, when he arrives before the worshipful jaws that are destined to consume him. Myhneer Calf, too, becomes Monsieur de Veau in the like manner; he is Saxon when he requires tendance, and takes a Norman name when he becomes matter of enjoyment.’” 30. +General Character of the Norman-French Contributions.+-- The Norman-French contributions to our language gave us a number of +general names+ or +class-names+; while the names for +individual+ things are, in general, of purely English origin. The words +animal+ and +beast+, for example, are French (or Latin); but the words +fox+, +hound+, +whale+, +snake+, +wasp+, and +fly+ are purely English. --The words +family+, +relation+, +parent+, +ancestor+, are French; but the names +father+, +mother+, +son+, +daughter+, +gossip+, are English. --The words +title+ and +dignity+ are French; but the words +king+ and +queen+, +lord+ and +lady+, +knight+ and +sheriff+, are English. --Perhaps the most remarkable instance of this is to be found in the abstract terms employed for the offices and functions of State. Of these, the English language possesses only one-- the word +kingdom+. Norman-French, on the other hand, has given us the words +realm+, +court+, +state+, +constitution+, +people+, +treaty+, +audience+, +navy+, +army+, and others-- amounting in all to nearly forty. When, however, we come to terms denoting labour and work-- such as agriculture and seafaring, we find the proportions entirely reversed. The English language, in such cases, contributes almost everything; the French nearly nothing. In agriculture, while +plough+, +rake+, +harrow+, +flail+, and many others are English words, not a single term for an agricultural process or implement has been given us by the warlike Norman-French. --While the words +ship+ and +boat+; +hull+ and +fleet+; +oar+ and +sail+, are all English, the Normans have presented us with only the single word +prow+. It is as if all the Norman conqueror had to do was to take his stand at the prow, gazing upon the land he was going to seize, while the Low-German sailors worked for him at oar and sail. --Again, while the names of the various parts of the body-- +eye+, +nose+, +cheek+, +tongue+, +hand+, +foot+, and more than eighty others-- are all English, we have received only about ten similar words from the French-- such as +spirit+ and +corpse+; +perspiration+; +face+ and +stature+. Speaking broadly, we may say that all words that express +general notions+, or generalisations, are French or Latin; while words that express +specific+ actions or concrete existences are pure English. Mr Spalding observes-- “We use a foreign term naturalised when we speak of ‘colour’ universally; but we fall back on our home stores if we have to tell what