ABSTRACT

Bible is a sacred book in western society. Since its emergence, it has had a great influence on the western society, literature, art and language. It is one of the sources of English culture. This paper has explored the impact of Bible on English vocabulary and the reasons for the impact. In this paper, some representative words were analyzed from the perspective of lexicology, as well as background and a comparison was conducted between their original meanings in the Bible with that in modern dictionary. It is discovered that, most of the words are still in use today. Meanwhile, for the development of the society, their meanings have changed, some are expanded while others are used in their derived forms. All these words have become part of modern English vocabulary and become an indispensable part of the modern language. 

Key words: Bible, English vocabulary, impact

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

摘要

Chapter One  INTRODUCTION1

Chapter Two  BIBLE AND ITS IMPACT ON ENGLISH VOCABULARY.3

2.1 General Introduction of Bible Vocabulary and Its Status3 

2.2 Development of English Vocabulary.4

2.3 Bible’s Impact on English Vocabulary6

2.3.1 Classification of words originated from the Bible.6

2.3.2 The lexical analysis of words originated from the Bible.6

Chapter Three  CAUSES OF THE IMPACT.12

3.1 Aspects of Bible Vocabulary Changing.12

3.2 The Reasons Why Bible Has Impact on English Vocabulary13

3.2.1 Religious factor.13

3.2.2 Cross-cultural communication factor13

3.3 Biblical Connotation.14

3.4 The Significance of the Findings14

Chapter Four  CONCLUSION16

REFERENCES18