Definition

Noun: A word taken from one language and adopted into another language without translation. The borrowed word often retains its original meaning and approximate pronunciation.

Usage

A "loanword" is used to describe a word that has been incorporated into the vocabulary of a language from a different source language. It is a standard linguistic term.

Examples

• The English word "sushi" is a loanword from Japanese.
• "Café" is a common loanword from French used in many languages.
• Linguists study how loanwords are adapted to the sound system of the borrowing language.

Advanced Usage

• Loanword adaptation: The process by which a loanword is modified to fit the phonological and grammatical rules of the borrowing language.
  • The loanword "tsunami" from Japanese is often pronounced without the initial 't' sound in English, showing a process of adaptation.
• The concept contrasts with calque (or loan translation), where a phrase is translated word-for-word into another language (e.g., "skyscraper" is a calque from the French "gratte-ciel").

Variants and Related Words

• Loan (noun/verb): The act of lending or something that is lent. In linguistics, it is the root of "loanword."
• Borrowing (noun): A synonym for "loanword" in linguistic contexts.
  • "Kindergarten" is a borrowing from German.
• Donor language: The language from which a loanword originates.
• Receiving language: The language that adopts the loanword.

Synonyms

• Borrowing
• Foreign word (though this is a less precise, more general term)

Related Phrases

• To enter the language as a loanword: Describes the process of adoption.
  • The term "emoji" entered English as a loanword from Japanese in the late 1990s.

Noun

1. a word borrowed from another language; e.g. `blitz' is a German word borrowed into modern English