Decapitation of the Union

[Eva Elisabeth]

John - re: "...and find it [German] to be all but devoid of Latin roots..."

??? My humble knowledge of English would comprehend "all but devoid" as to mean the same as "full of" ("alles andere als frei von" = "voll mit", or: minus minus = plus). In this case this would oppose your former statement that German has no Latin in it.

While of the non-Romance languages English certainly has the most Latin loanwords (and English has more words than German at all*, less extensive grammar instead - in a sum, all languages are equally difficult to acquire), the German language has "incorporated" plenty either. I just have to look out of the Fenster (from Latin "fenestra") to be reminded of my favorite example where the English term ("window"), unlike the German, roots in the old Scandinavian languages, i. e. in Old Norse "vindauga" ("wind eye"), as the chilly northern wind used to blow thorough the glassless holes.

As for German, I couldn't find reliable information on the exact %age of Latin derrivates, but here's a word list which I doubt to be complete:
https://de.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_la..._Deutschen
(I've already noticed a very essential one missing: "Schule" = "school", from Latin "schola"...)
* The OED currently estimates a total of 620,000 words in the English language, the Duden (German main dictionary) between 300,000 and 500,000 words in German. The French "Grand Robert" counts 100,000 French words - maybe an effort of the Toubon Law and the executive [next word misssing in the Wiki list: "Exekutive"] Académie Française:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toubon_Law

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PS: One example for the common overall origin:

surgery = "Chirurgie" in German, = "chirurgia" in Latin.

All trace back to the Greek word "Chier" = hand [while
the Latin for "hand" = "manus"] as it describes a handicraft treatment: cutting, sewing etc.

Many medical expressions in both languages actually are Greek, and often the Latin term is used, too.

The chemical concept of chirality (German "Chiralität") has the same origin - actually a very illustrative term:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chirality_(chemistry)