loanword

Everyday

1. A word one language has taken from another language and now uses as its own, like «pizza» from Italian or «kindergarten» from German. tree →
2. (language study) Any borrowed word, studied to see where words came from. tree →

In the lessons

In English lessons and spelling, loanwords explain odd spellings: «ballet» and «café» come from French, «tsunami» from Japanese, «kangaroo» from an Australian Aboriginal language (Guugu Yimithirr). English is full of loanwords from French, Latin, Norse, Greek and many more. Phrases: «a loanword from French», «borrowed into English». Knowing a word is a loanword helps you guess how it sounds and why it is spelt that way.

Examples

• «Pyjamas» is a loanword from Hindi and Urdu. tree →
• «Shampoo» is a loanword from Hindi too. tree →
• Our teacher showed us that «chocolate» is a loanword from Spanish, which took it from Nahuatl. tree →
• Japanese has many English loanwords, like «aisu kuriimu» for ice cream. tree →
• «Safari» came into English as a loanword from Swahili. tree →
• Many loanwords keep their foreign spelling, such as «croissant». tree →
• We made a poster of loanwords and the countries they came from. tree →
• «Boomerang» is a loanword from an Aboriginal language of Australia. tree →

Note

Countable: one loanword, two loanwords. Can be written as one word or two («loan word»). The language does not give the word back – «loan» is just a picture word. Close words: «borrowing» (same idea), «calque» (a word translated part by part, like «skyscraper» in other languages). Not a maths word.