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Hawkins (name)
The English language surname Hawkins is said by FaNUK (Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland) to have three possible origins. The most usual origin is the forename Hawkin with an original genitival -s (that is, "Hawkin's son") (or else it is Hawkin used as a surname with a later excrescent -s in the early modern period to bring it into line with the predominant style of hereditary surnames with such a genitival -s). It is one of many personal names with the diminutive Middle English suffix -kin (originally from Low German or Dutch) added to a single-syllable hypocoristic form, such as Robert > Hob > Hopkin, Walter > Wat > Watkin, or William > Will > Wilkin. The Middle English personal name Haw is a rhyming fond form of Raw, that is, Ralph. Another possible origin is the placename Hawkinge, near Folkestone, in Kent, England. This was written as ''Hauekinge'' in 1204, based on Old English heafoc (hawk), or more likely this same word used as a personal name. A final 'ng ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the island of Great Britain. Existing on a dialect continuum with Scots, and then closest related to the Low Saxon and Frisian languages, English is genealogically West Germanic. However, its vocabulary is also distinctively influenced by dialects of France (about 29% of Modern English words) and Latin (also about 29%), plus some grammar and a small amount of core vocabulary influenced by Old Norse (a North Germanic language). Speakers of English are called Anglophones. The earliest forms of English, collectively known as Old English, evolved from a group of West Germanic (Ingvaeonic) dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the 5th century and further mutated by Norse-speaking Viking settlers starting in the 8 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
