1. In all Gmc languages we find a number of words which are not found in the other IE languages, have no parallels outside the group. Appeared from purely Gmc roots, spheres: nature, sea, home life (sea, house, God, send, drink, broad, own).
2. The most ancient etymological layer in the Gmc vocabulary is made up by words (roots) shared by most IE languages (natural phenomena, animals & plants, some pronouns and numerals): Fr deux – R два– OE twa – NE two.
Borrowings
Latin words ( refer to trade and warfare). The words reflect the contacts of the Gmc tribes with Rome and the influence of the Roman civilization on their life. Ex: Lat strata via – OE stræt – NE street
The chronological division of the history of English.
OE was spoken on a small territory and number of speakers was ≈ 1 mln. It begins with the Germanic settlement of Britain (5th c.) or with the beginning of writing (7th c.) and ends with the Norman Conquest (1066), ME begins with the Norman Conquest and ends on the introduction of printing (1475), which is the start of the Modern or New English period which lasts to the present day.