First Latin wave
The first Latin wave denotes the first phase of the entry of Latin borrowings into Germanic and corresponds roughly to the time before the second sound shift , i.e. around 50 BC. Until around the year 500.
Traffic relations and cultural exchange with non-Germanic peoples led to word borrowings from Latin into the Germanic language and vice versa. The West Germanic language experienced particularly strong influences. This has to do with the neighborhood to Romanized Gaul and with the occupation of many Germanic areas by the Romans.
In their wars against the Romans, the Teutons were introduced to expressions of the Roman military organization:
| Nhd | Lat |
|---|---|
| arrow | pīlum |
| struggle | campus |
The Germans also got some economic expressions from the Romans:
| Nhd | Lat |
|---|---|
| Coin ( ahd. Munizza) | moneta |
The Teutons lived in wooden houses, only through the Romans did they know stone construction and thus adopt the stone construction vocabulary:
| Nhd | Lat |
|---|---|
| Wall | mūrus |
| basement, cellar | cellarium |
| window | fenestra |
Everyday culture: The Germanic peoples only achieved a certain level of civilization through the (partial) adoption of the Romanesque or Roman everyday culture. These include words from the semantic area of household appliances, clothing, food ... etc.
| Nhd | Lat |
|---|---|
| mirror | speculum |
| sock | soccus |
| sole | sola |
Agriculture was converted according to the Roman model. The Teutons only learned gardening and fruit growing from the Romans.
| Nhd | Lat |
|---|---|
| fruit | fructus |
| plum | prūnum |
Wine culture: The Romans introduced viticulture to the Moselle, Rhine and Danube regions and the Teutons also adopted the corresponding expressions:
| Nhd | Lat |
|---|---|
| Wine | vīnum |
| Press | pressa |
| Must | mustum |
Words from the field of administration and law:
| Nhd | Lat |
|---|---|
| Emperor | Caesar |
| for sure | sēcūrus |
Between the third and fifth centuries AD, the Germans took over the seven-day week under Greek and Roman influence. The days of the week, shaped by Roman mythology, were represented by the Germanic gods.
| Nhd | Lat |
|---|---|
| Monday | this lunae |
| Tuesday | martis dies |
| Wednesday | Mercurii |
| Thursday | jovis |
| Friday | this veneris |
| Saturday | this saturni |
| Sunday | dominicus, dies solis |