• Throughout the Middle English period Latin remained the language of scholarship and science

• Latin words would eventually have a much greater impact on English than French ones

• French and Latin were intimately related historically and synchronically

• For most of the Middle Ages, Latin was taught in England through the medium of French, and was presumably pronounced and often spelled in a French way

• In many cases, it is impossible to say whether a word has come into English directly from French or directly from Latin, or is the result of some mutual influence: contrite, dissimulation, theatre, meridian, signification

• There are, however, large numbers of clear cases, where a direct Latin origin is indisputable

• Especially words found in the domains of religion, medieval scholarship, and early political administration:

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