70 borrowed words

The word alligator comes from the Spanish 'el lagarto', which means 'the lizard'. It's thought early Spanish explorers to Florida gave the creatures this name.

The modern German word for owl is eule. In Dutch it's uil; in Danish, ugle. Why so similar? They are all derived from the ancient Germanic uwwalon - which is a word that describes an owl's nightly call. In modern British English, the sound an owl makes is often written down as 'to-wit, to-woo'.