Appendix:False cognates within English
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False cognates are pairs of words that seem to be cognates because of similar sounds and meaning, but have different etymologies. Even though false cognates lack a common root, there may still be an indirect connection between them (for example by phono-semantic matching or folk etymology). This is a partial list of false cognates within English.
| Term 1 | Etymology 1 | Term 2 | Etymology 2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ability | Latin -abilitas | ability | Latin habilitas |
| -able | Latin -abilis | able | Latin habilis |
| load | Proto-Germanic *laidō | lade | Proto-Germanic *hlaþaną |
| abstain | abs- (“from”) + teneō (“I hold”) | abstemious | abs (“from”) + tēmus |
| legal | Latin legalis | law | Proto-Germanic *lagą |
| rude | Latin rudis | crude | Latin crudus |
| ghost | Proto-Germanic *gaistaz | ghoul | Arabic غول (ḡūl) |
| man | Old English mann | human | Latin homo |
| quoth | Proto-Germanic *kweþaną | quote | Latin quot |
| Term 1 | Etymology 1 | Term 2 | Etymology 2 | Term 3 | Etymology 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| fear | Old English fǣr | fright | Old English fryhtu | afraid | Old French effreer |
| sore | Old English sār | sorry | Old English sāriġ | sorrow | Old English sorg |
| cow (verb) | Old Norse kúga | cower | Middle English couren | coward | Latin cauda |