ABSTRACT
This chapter argues particular at the form of words in French (word formation) and where they come from (etymology). For the lay-person, 'words' are the linguistic units which they recognise intuitively and which seem to them to be the most closely synonymous with 'language'. The linguist can approach the problem from three directions: phonological, semantic and grammatical. Three basic types of word formation are found in French: simple words, derived words and compounds. Etymology is the branch of linguistics concerned with the origins and history of words. It looks briefly at the history of the language and draw upon some of the concepts we have just explored in 'word formation'. Etymologically speaking, French words can be placed into one of three categories: inherited words, created words and borrowed words. French is a member of the Romance group of languages that is one of the dozen or so languages which emerged 1000 years ago out of the speech of the Romans.
