Take the word 'Garden', for instance. The poem Beowulf starts:
Hwæt! we
Gardena in geardagum...þrym gefrunon
(Hey! We heard about the glory of the spear-danes quite a long time ago).
'Garden' here is a false friend. For the Anglo-Saxons, a Garden (pronounced "gaaaaRr-dane") was a fearsome warrior, a spear-wielding fighter from Denmark, or thereabouts. The Gar- bit of the word turns up in lots of other war words like garheap (band of warriors) and garnið (battle). **
So, next time you're out with your pansies and petunias, try this:
We sindon Gardene
["Way sind-on gaaRr-dane-uh"]
We are fearsome spear warriors from Denmark. Do not mess with us! (well, the last bit is implied at least).
*In honour of tomorrow being Earth Day.
** but maybe not garleac (Garlic). Who knows?