Anglo-Norman and central French lexical elements in the group of middle English occupational terms

The article is devoted to the study of etymology of the Middle English language. The aim of the study was to examine the thematic and chronological aspect of French lexical borrowings in the Middle English language, in particular lexical-thematic group of occupational terms. Based on the analysis of dictionary definitions of occupational terms both common nouns and proper names are distributed in thematic groups and sub-groups with representation of their lexical-semantic variation in chronological order. The data obtained serve as a confirmation of the multiplicity of the French lexical borrowings, especially in the lexical-thematic group of Middle English occupational terms.