French has a poor vocabulary (André Martinet (Sorbonne University - Paris))
(it must often borrow words from Greek and Latin to make new words and the
derivation system is inefficient). In comparison, English has a much more
developed vocabulary, BESIDE the words from Latin and Greek.
Moreover, the close semantic link between the different lexemes listed
here
can be directly observed by the English speaker. This is not the case for
the corresponding French words.
Let us compare:
to abstain: s'abstenir
abstainer: personne qui s'abstient de toute boisson alcoolisée
abstemious: sobre
abstemiousness: sobriété
abstract : abstrait
abstraction : abstraction
abstruse : abstrus
abstruseness : caractère abstrus
accusing : accusateur
accusingly : d'une manière accusatrice
ache : douleur
aching : douloureux, endolori
to acknowledge : reconnaître
acknowledged: reconnu
acknowledgement: reconnaissance
to acquire: acquérir
acquirement: acquisition
to acquiesce : acquiescer, consentant
acquiescent : consentant
acquisitive : âpre au gain
acquisitiveness : instinct de possession
to adapt: adapter
adaptibility: faculté d'adaptation
