loanword
Sign in to savethumb|The English language|English word [[tofu is a loanword from the Japanese word , which is itself a loanword from the Chinese word dòufu.]]
AI overview
A loanword is a word that one language borrows from another language, like how English borrowed "tofu" from Japanese, which itself came from Chinese. Loanwords matter because they show how languages and cultures influence each other, and they often appear in English when we adopt things from other cultures, like their food or ideas.
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Article
14 sectionsContents
- Examples and related terms
- Linguistic classification
- In English
- Languages other than English
- Transmission in the Ottoman Empire
- Dutch words in Indonesian
- Dutch words in Russian
- Romance languages
- Cultural aspects
- Leaps in meaning
- See also
- References
- Sources
- External links
thumb|The English language|English word [[tofu is a loanword from the Japanese word , which is itself a loanword from the Chinese word dòufu.]]
A loanword is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language (the recipient or target language), through the process of borrowing. Borrowing is a metaphorical term that is well established in the linguistic field despite its acknowledged descriptive flaws: nothing is taken away from the donor language and there is no expectation of returning anything (i.e., the loanword).