English has a huge vocabulary from German. Even the royal family was mostly imported from Germany.

Considering that we're neighbors (and, well, wars), it's not surprising that Germany has quite a few words borrowed from French, too. Actually, some words that are considered very normal by Germans were inventions by a few linguists to counter that (and Latin). And not even for nationalistic reasons, just to make it easier for the common man... Especially considering the Latin roots and constant cross-pollination, European languages can't be considered very isolated from each other.

Never mind that there are quite a few words for small talk, too. As if that's the only word in English for it... It's just that it got quite popular due to its poignancy. Just like "Zeitgeist" the other way 'round.

Or even kindergarten.

Well, they didn't mind lending it out, since they weren't using it anyway.

Oh, shoot. I hate it when people say Al Gore claimed to have invented the internet. Leaving the post up so that people know what you're talking about.