Greek as the receiving language in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Period

Abstract

During its long history, the Byzantine Empire – a polity that stretched across a whole millennium – came into contact with many neighbouring cultures and languages in Europe, Asia and Africa. In addition to Latin, the most important languages that enriched the medieval Greek vocabulary were: French, Italian, Slavic, Arabic and Turkish. Loanwords occurred – to a greater or lesser extent – in the following areas: nature and landscape, household, government and administration, society, military, church and religi…