how do you know from where a word is derived?

Mostly, english words are from German and French. Right?(Correct me if I'm wrong.)

What I wonder is, how do you recognize whether a word has its origin in German or French?

I have knowledge of another romance language (Spanish), and words that are similar to Spanish words I can tell are from French.

I'm no linguist, but I think that most words ending in -tion, and -ity will be French in origin.

Also, I think it would be more proper to say that some English words are Germannic in origin, as opposed to German.

'ing' are orgins from Germanic roots if I'm correct.

Etymologies of words can be found in all major dictionaries.

I have found this site quite helpful in researching word roots.

http://www.etymonline.com/.

<< "What I wonder is, how do you recognize whether a word has its origin in German or French >>

For a simple answer, there are excellent references that elaborate on the origin of words, after giving you their meaning. One I have found very useful is "This Fourth Edition of The American Heritage Dictionary" - you can get an electronic version as "Houghton Mifflin eReference," there is a trial version. From experience, I'll say its excellent in that aspect. Its one of those great things tha've happened to me, any definition and the origins of words are just a click away.

http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/eref/

You'll see what I mean.