As mentioned in Chapter 1, speakers of English can choose between pavement deficiencies and potholes, between perspire and sweat, and between stench and aroma to describe the same concepts. Sometimes, we have three possibilities, as in fast, firm and secure. This chapter has shown in some detail how we came to have multiple vocabulary items. We discussed Celtic, Scandinavian, Latin, and French influences. Loans from Celtic, Latin before the Renaissance, and Scandinavian have a more incorporated ‘feel’ to them. Stockwell & Minkova (2001) provide excellent furtherackground to the origins of our words and morphemes. The multiple words make English difficult to learn, but also make it varied and versatile. We will also look at some other ways to make English (as well as other languages) obscure