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The words come to us from different language families. Gift comes from the old Germanic root for “to give.” It referred to an act of giving, and then, to the thing being given. In Old English it meant the dowry given to a bride’s parents. Present comes from the French for "to present." A present is the thing presented or bestowed. They were both in use for the idea of something undergoing a transfer of possession without expectation of payment from the 13th century onward. Gift和present来源于不同语系。Gift来自古日耳曼语，是“给予”的意思。原来指代“给”这个行为，后来就演变为“所给的东西”。在古英语中，Gift指的是给新娘父母的彩礼。而present来源于法语，意思是“递交、献上、赠送”的意思。A present就是所赠送或授予的东西。从13世纪开始，这两个词都表示的是，在不要求付款的前提下，一件东西的所有权发生了转移。 | 
