Skip to main content
loanword

loanword

1 5.9
A word borrowed from another language used without translation
  • noun
  • /ˈloʊnˌwɜrd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : palabra prestada
  • This article attempts to address this issue by examining the literal meanings behind the English loanwords that were used to convey key Christian theological concepts to the Cherokees.
  • Arabic loanwords
  • English loanwords

It means to copy or trace which means that loanword is a calc and calc is a loanword.

Examples

  • Throughout its history, the English language has acquired loanwords from a variety of other languages; some are genetically related while others are not.

    Academic text (2006)
  • This seems to be the case with several Arabic loanwords used in the context of the Iraq War in various forms of media outlets.

    Academic text (2006)
  • There are far too many Chinese loanwords in the Japanese language, a lot of words that sound the same.

    Blog text (25)
  • Borrowed words or "loanwords" are foreign items added and sometimes adapted to the "borrowing" language.

    Academic text (2006)
  • Most of the loanwords also seem to have developed more pejorative connotations.

    Academic text (2006)
  • This study examines some of the latest Arabic loanwords frequently used in the context of the war in Iraq.

    Academic text (2006)
  • Turkic loanwords account for 9.5% of the Hungarian language.

    Blog text (24)
  • These loanwords may not be entirely consistent with Bengali phonology.

    Academic text (2011)
  • This questionnaire is designed for a study concerning the connotations associated with Arabic loanwords used in reporting the progress of the war in Iraq.

    Academic text (2006)
  • The English language has incorporated many loanwords from languages like French and Italian.

Synonyms

loan
vsloanword
  • Specialized
39 4.7

A word taken from another language and used in the new language

focuses on being taken without translating the original form

How Adapted

native
453 1.5
loanword
  • Specialized
1 5.9

Surface Forms

loanword singular
loanwords plural

Morphology

loanword = loan + word (transparent) = loan + word

The meaning is directly compositional: a 'loanword' is a 'word' that is 'loaned' (borrowed) from another language and this is readily deducible.

Etymology

The word loanword is made of loan and word and is easy to picture: a language 'borrows' a word the same way you borrow a book. So a loanword is a word that came into one language 'borrowed' from another.