@Ængelfolc, I guess that would hinge on what "English" means. Many still call "Old English" Anglo-Saxon. With the right wordstock, one can still read most Middle English writs but OE/AS is tuff. What makes OE/AS nother from Saxon? I don't kno ... Somewhen someone has to draw a line. Going from OE to ME is fairly clear ... We can see a lot of changes after from about 1200 on (and one can see the other changes from the Norman Takeover til then.

There iz no alternativ. Every possible reezon that could ever be offered for altering the spelling of wurds, stil exists in full force; and if a gradual reform should not be made in our language, it wil proov that we are less under the influence of reezon than our ancestors.
- Preface to A Collection of Essays and Fugitiv Writings, (1790)
This quote illustrates the reformed spelling advocated by Webster.

I was watching some re-runs of the TV space-western "Firefly". Some fetching (interesting) word noting.

Bound by law = under arrest
wave = message as both a noun and verb ... as a signal.
>Did you get my wave? ... We got the wave at the Friedlich's. (Episode4-Safe)
> I can send him a wave, see what I can do. (Episode5-Our Mrs. Reynolds)

@Marina ... I hate to burst your and Garner's bubble but the verb came BEFORE the noun:

impact (n.)
1781, "collision," from impact (v.). Figurative sense of "forceful impression" is from 1817 (Coleridge).

impact (v.)
c.1600, "press closely into something," from L. impactus, pp. of impingere "to push into, dash against, thrust at". Originally sense preserved in impacted teeth (1876). Sense of "strike forcefully against something" first recorded 1916. Figurative sense of "have a forceful effect on" is from 1935.

Commander is mainly noted as a rank (navy) or position (division commander) ... other than that, leader (flight leader, platoon leader) is likely the most common term.

OE had gebōd (gebode) for order, mandate, command ... but no noun form like geboder.

hacker
a chopper, cutter" perhaps also "one who makes hacking tools" early 13c. (as a surname), agent noun from hack (v.1). Meaning "one who gains unauthorized access to computer records" is attested by 1983, agent noun from hack (v.2). Said to be from slightly earlier tech slang sense of "one who works like a hack at writing and experimenting with software, one who enjoys computer programming for its own sake," 1976, reputedly a usage that evolved at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (however an MIT student from the late 1960s recalls hack (n.) being used then and there in the general sense of "creative prank" which clouds its sense connection with the "writing for hire" word, and there may be a source or an influence here in hack (v.1)).

hack (v.2)
"illegally enter a computer system" by 1984; apparently a back formation from hacker. Related: Hacked; hacking. Earlier verb senses were "to make commonplace" (1745), "make common by everyday use" (1590s), "use (a horse) for ordinary riding" (1560s), all from hack (n.2).

worst-case

adjective
(of a projected development) characterized by the worst of the possible foreseeable circumstances:
in the worst-case scenario, coastal resorts and communities face disaster
http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/worst-case

When did the word foreigner become unacceptable or offensiv? It is neither.

Janet is right, a foreigner may not be an immigrant. If yu are looking for another word, try outlander. Same meaning.

BTW, the band "Foreigner" had some hella good music!

Both "me neither" and "me either" are correct. How can that be? They both are short forms. "Me neither" is short for "neither do I" while "me either" is short for "I don't either". Back in the olden days, we wouldn't hav put two said vowels together … like me + either. Thus we said "mine eyes" (e on mine is silent) or "mine eyen" rather than "my eyes/eyen" which is likely why most or many folks like "me neither" better. But that "rule" is not noted much nowadays.

Anent the "me" instead of "I", it's the old dativ form. We see it in "methinks" (It seems to me) from Old English "mē thyncth", from mē "to me" + "thyncth" — "it seems" (3rd person, sing.) from "thyncan" — seem; akin to, but sunder from, think).

As a nativ Sutherner, I don't ever recall anyone saying, "He was sleep." That must be dialectical to a few small areas.

@AO the a- forefast (prefix) does not come from the ge- forefast. The a- has been in English since Old English/Anglo-Saxon. It was a common forefast ... much more common than now.

The ge-, for the most part has been lost in nativ English words. Gebur and gemoot are two that come to mind which are still found in the wordbooks. Enuff was once genog. Ge- did change to y- in a few words like yclept. However, today it's mostly found in German loanwords like gesundheit, gelande, asf ...

@Englishman ... The Brits hold no high ground in changing of English. The Brits stopped using the "proper" participle "gotten" long ago and seem to be fast losing the subjunctiv such as saying, "If I were ..." .