A history of the English Language

134.
Assimilation.
The rapidity with which the new French words were assimilated is evidenced by the 
promptness with which many of them became the basis of derivatives. English endings 
were apparently added to them with as much freedom as to English words. For example, 
the adjective 
gentle
is recorded in 1225 and within five years we have it compounded 
with an English noun to make 
gentlewoman
(1230). A little later we find gentle
man
(1275), gentle
ness
(1300), and gently (1330). These compounds and derivatives all occur 
within about a century of the time when the original adjective was adopted. In the same 
way we have 
faith
(1250) giving
 faithless 
and
 faithful
(both by 1300)
, faithfully
(1362), 
and
 faithfulness
(1388), as well as the obsolete 
faithly
(1325). The adverbial ending 
-ly
seems to have been added to adjectives almost as soon as they appeared in the language. 
The adverbs 
commonly, courteously, eagerly, feebly, fiercely, justly, peacefully,
and 
many more occur almost as early as the adjectives from which they are derived, while 
faintly
by mere chance has been preserved in writing from a slightly earlier date than
 
faint
. Hybrid forms (French root with English prefix or suffix) like chast
hed
(chastity), 
lecher
ness, 
debonair
ship, 
poor
ness, 
spus
bruche
(spousebreach, adultery), 
be
catch, 
un
gracious, 
over
praising, 
for
scald
24
occur quite early (mostly before 1250), while 
common
(1297) has been made into 
commonweal
(OE 
wela
) by 1330, 
battle
(1297) 
combined with 
ax
(OE 
æx
) by 1380, and so on. It is clear that the new French words were 
quickly assimilated, and entered into an easy and natural fusion with the native element 
in English.