ThehistoryofthelanguagecanbetracedbacktothearrivalofthreeGermanictribestotheBritishIslesduringthe5thCenturyAD.Angles,SaxonsandJutescrossedtheNorthSeafromwhatisthepresentdayDenmarkandnorthernGermany.TheinhabitantsofBritainpreviouslyspokeaCelticlanguage.Thiswasquicklydisplaced.MostoftheCelticspeakerswerepushedintoWales,CornwallandScotland.OnegroupmigratedtotheBrittanyCoastofFrancewheretheirdescendantsstillspeaktheCelticLanguageofBretontoday.TheAngleswerenamedfromEngle,theirlandoforigin.TheirlanguagewascalledEngliscfromwhichtheword,Englishderives.
Duringthe7thand8thCenturies,Northumbria'scultureandlanguagedominatedBritain.TheVikinginvasionsofthe9thCenturybroughtthisdominationtoanend(alongwiththedestructionofMercia).OnlyWessexremainedasanindependentkingdom.Bythe10thCentury,theWestSaxondialectbecametheofficiallanguageofBritain.WrittenOldEnglishismainlyknownfromthisperiod.ItwaswritteninanalphabetcalledRunic,derivedfromtheScandinavianlanguages.TheLatinAlphabetwasbroughtoverfromIrelandbyChristianmissionaries.ThishasremainedthewritingsystemofEnglish.
Atthistime,thevocabularyofOldEnglishconsistedofanAngloSaxonbasewithborrowedwordsfromtheScandinavianlanguages(DanishandNorse)andLatin.LatingaveEnglishwordslikestreet,kitchen,kettle,cup,cheese,wine,angel,bishop,martyr,candle.TheVikingsaddedmanyNorsewords:sky,egg,cake,skin,leg,window(windeye),husband,fellow,skill,anger,flat,odd,ugly,get,give,take,raise,call,die,they,their,them.Celticwordsalsosurvivedmainlyinplaceandrivernames(Devon,Dover,Kent,Trent,Severn,Avon,Thames).