There are countless words in our language called "borrowed" or "loaned"words, which have been taken from other languages and cultures by Englishmen from previous centuries.
In the past, whenever two cultures came into contact, whether it be from forced invasion or conquest, or by an agreed upon coexistence, new words were carried over, in most cases being "borrowed" by the Englishmen from Latin, Roman, German, Germanic, and numerous others.
The culture "adopting" foreign words was normally bi-lingual or somewhat proficient in the other language, and was therefore able to comprehend the meaning of the word. Often times a word was brought into use because it could express something that was previously indescribable, or added a synonymous quality to other already existent words, while introducing an alternate tone.
With time, new words became more widespread, eventually being used and understood even by those who did not speak the language of origin.
Because these words did originate from a foreign language, they morphed from use by those who spoke English, altering the sound and characteristics to better follow their own language and linguistic system. (German, French)
After thousands of years, these words have fallen into the vocabulary which we call our own, and their origins and original forms are lost.
-Aloof
From Dutch word loef, meaning "the weather side of a ship", nautical order to keep the ship away from a lee-shore (danger area), so came the meaning "at a distance". The word now carries more figurative meaning than literal.
-Orange
From Arabic, descended from Sanskrit. The orange tree is thought is have originated from India or Southeast Asia. The original word was naranj, and the Arabs introduced it to the Mediterranean region sometime during the 10th century. The n was eventually dropped.
-Sabre
Originated in Hungarian as szablya, meaning backsword. The word was then passed on to French, sabel or sabre, and German as säbel. Through those languages, the word was passed onto English, remaining as sabre.
-Pony
From French word: poulenet (now osbsolete), meaning "little foal". The word morphed from there.
