Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Calque



calque \ˈkalk\ noun: a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal, word-for-word or root-for-root translation
transitive verb: to create a calque through the aforementioned process

Etymology: French calque calque, loan translation, from calquer to trace, from Italian calcare to trample, trace, from Latin, to trample

• English earworm calques German Ohrwurm
• English Adam’s apple calques French pomme d’Adam
• English blue-blood calques Spanish sangre azul
• German Wolkenkratzer calques English skyscaper
• French gratte-ciel calques English skyscaper
• Spanish rascacielos calques English skyscaper
• Dutch aardappel calques French pomme de terre (literally “earth apple,” although the object in English is known by the word potato)

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