Questions tagged [loanwords]
Questions about words borrowed by English from another language.
225
questions
2
votes
2answers
88 views
What is the true etymology of “algebra”?
This is more of a question for Arabic stack exchange if there was such a thing, but anyways:
The OED suggests as the etymology of the term "algebra"
Etymology: < post-classical Latin ...
0
votes
0answers
24 views
When should Latinisms be Italicized? [duplicate]
Some Latinisms are usually italicized in English whereas some Latin loanwords are not, even in the same text. However, I cannot find any clear pattern. Are there clear rules or guidelines about it? ...
1
vote
0answers
27 views
Nullifidan, heresiarch, latitudinarian— Is there some database where I can find other obscure words describing “types” of people?
I only come across these really obscure words while reading. I really love the weight they carry. Do you know of any place where I can find more words of the same family? If not, do you know any other ...
-1
votes
1answer
131 views
Why is a coffee bean not called “coffee”?
Why is a coffee bean not called ‘coffee’ when it obviously originated from there, it seems they reversed it to the coffee drink.
Even the Google search engine refers ‘Coffee’ as a drink and not the ...
2
votes
3answers
654 views
Why do certain consonant clusters occur only at the start of a syllable but others only at the end?
You may have noticed that in English, some consonant clusters
can occur only at the start of an English word while other consonant
clusters can occur only at the end.
For example, the com...
8
votes
4answers
655 views
Is using the plural form (in place of the original singular) of these Latin/Greek loan words acceptable?
The following Latin/Greek singular vs. plural errors make me cringe every time:
bacterium - bacteria
criterion - criteria
millennium - millennia
phenomenon - phenomena
It's extremely typical for an ...
0
votes
0answers
20 views
Another form of aficionado
Does a form of the word aficionado exist where it refers to the person. Perhaps something like an aficionè ? Similar to how habituè is a habitual person or someone who does something habitually.
...
11
votes
4answers
3k views
Why is stigmata a plural of stigma? [closed]
When I first looked this word up on Dictionary.com, I found entries not for it, but instead stigma. I was baffled. Words in the English language usually follow the -(e)s and -us-to--i pluralization ...
8
votes
2answers
2k views
Is the word “psithurism” really used in English?
I have seen people using this word to refer to the sound wind makes as it moves through trees. However,
1. No reputable dictionary seems to have acknowledged this term as a valid english word.
2. ...
0
votes
0answers
37 views
Are there english/anglish words for raw meat?
Are there any words for raw meat?
This can mean raw fermented meat, raw cultured meat, raw fresh meat, raw high meat, raw spoiled meat.
And can include specific types of meat, such as poultry, pork, ...
1
vote
0answers
14 views
Plural of irregular or foreign acronyms [duplicate]
What is the correct way of pluralizing acronyms in which the last word is either irregular or a foreign word?
For example: radiation transparent medium (RTM)
What would be the plural of the acronym ...
1
vote
1answer
198 views
How many English words are of native origin?
What percentage of current English words are of native Anglo-Saxon origin? I have seen stats about how large percentages of the English words currently in use come from French, Latin, or German ...
2
votes
1answer
95 views
How did zugzwang become an English word?
The word zugzwang means a move in chess which forces your opponent to make a detrimental move; a move causing all of your opponent's options to be moves which will worsen their situation. Although it ...
0
votes
1answer
58 views
When does a 'loan word' cease to be defined as such?
At what point does a 'loan word' cease to be defined as such? Does it depend on for how long, or frequently a word has been used?
15
votes
2answers
1k views
Term for anticipating counterarguments and rebutting them
There's this term for the rhetorical device of anticipating counterarguments and rebutting them, but I simply can't remember it.
Now I know what you're thinking - did you try googling it? Well I did,...
17
votes
5answers
5k views
Does the word “uzi” need to be capitalized?
"Uzi" is not contained in any Scrabble® dictionary that I can find online. I am assuming that the Scrabble® powers that be are treating it as a proper noun. However, after reading the Wikipedia ...
0
votes
1answer
81 views
The word “Comparison”
Declare - declaration. Proclaim - proclamation. Why isn't compare - comparation? For the 3 years that i've been studying the language intensively i've been always intuitively reading "comparison" as "...
4
votes
1answer
858 views
Is “adios” an English word now?
I recently heard an American being interviewed use the word "adios" casually in a sentence. The particular sense of the word seemed to be a sort of permanent "good bye."
Since the speaker was (as far ...
8
votes
2answers
971 views
Why is the English word of Chinese origin “Shih Tzu” used to refer to a dog breed not known in Chinese as “Shih Tzu”?
It is well known that it comes from a Wade-Giles transcription of the Mandarin Chinese word for "lion dog" (獅子狗 shih1-tzu0-kou3, from 獅子 "lion" + 狗 "dog"). This is part is indubitable. There's no ...
3
votes
6answers
11k views
Sad and Melancholy yet Beautiful
I have been struggling to find a word that I, at one time, had seen in my vocabulary lessons. I am trying to describe something that is "beautiful or attractive" yet also possessing "sadness or ...
-2
votes
1answer
75 views
Are words from other languages(especially European ones) also appropriated in the English language, like they do in case of Hindi/Sanskrit?
I observe that there are many words in Hindi/Sanskrit, the pronunciation of which, are appropriated by the International(especially US) English speaking crowd, for example:-
Yoga
Avatar
Ramayan
...
2
votes
2answers
134 views
how did the word CHARLATAN make its way into English [closed]
How did the word charlatan find its way into English?
0
votes
1answer
390 views
Do you capitalize yakuza?
When referring to the infamous Japanese criminal organization, which sentence would be correct?
The yakuza member picked up his glasses, scooped some of the jewelry and loose change into his ...
10
votes
2answers
781 views
Schools and Shoals
School, as a group of fish, entered Middle English:
late Middle English: from Middle Low German, Middle Dutch schōle, of West Germanic origin; related to Old English scolu ‘troop’. (NOAD)
Shoal, ...
1
vote
1answer
63 views
A future loan-word for English that means the protective love one feels for children not your own [closed]
I am looking for words for a research project and possible commercial venture.
Is there one word in any other language that specifically means the protective love one feels for children that are not ...
12
votes
2answers
1k views
Word for a cushy position awarded to a crony? [duplicate]
I'm struggling to recall this word. If I recall correctly, it's of French origin. My search has so far been fruitless.
The nearest equivalent I came up with was the idiom pulling strings but that is ...
11
votes
1answer
404 views
Adding -s to French city names
This seems to be fairly common pattern. The modern English names of several French or French-related cities seem to add s for no obvious reason.
Marseille > Marseilles
Lyon > Lyons
Tanger > ...
0
votes
1answer
102 views
“A comment is in place”
Does the following collocation exist in English?
a comment is in place
If not, do you recognize it as an improper loan from another language? It is used by a writer to communicate that, before ...
0
votes
0answers
42 views
Have any English words been turned foreign only to be then used again in English in an altered state? [duplicate]
What are some examples of English words that got taken into use in a foreign language in a changed state, and then subsequently re-entered the English language in state B or even state C.
12
votes
7answers
4k views
For native speakers, what are dumplings? [closed]
When I started to learn English, my teacher told me dumplings is a translation for Chinese 饺子 (a food, also widely found in Japan or Korea). But after a few years, I was surfing on the internet and ...
2
votes
1answer
103 views
How to know if a word borrowed from another language is now an official English word [closed]
I posted here a question asking how to say "kilig" (a Filipino word that means a feeling of joy, agitation, or happiness felt when someone you fancy, love, or like makes an unexpected gesture of ...
8
votes
2answers
363 views
History of additional sounds introduced to English
Today I was curious about the rarity of the consonant cluster sr in the English language. I found a WordReference forum from 2006 that asked about the matter.
The general response is that because ...
3
votes
4answers
1k views
What's an example of a 'cheville' word in english?
The dictionary.com word of the day is 'Cheville' and it explains it as such: A word or expression whose only function is to fill a metrical gap in a verse or to balance a sentence.
Can anyone give ...
3
votes
1answer
90 views
Rule/pattern about using loan words for monarchs?
We call the monarchs of Germany, Russia and Ancient Egypt "Kaiser", "Tzar/Czar" and "Pharaoh" respectively, but the monarchs of France, Spain, China and Japan "king" or "emperor". Is there any sort ...
46
votes
4answers
13k views
Is the etymology of “salary” a myth?
Since, perhaps forever, I had always ‘known’ that the English word salary was derived from the Latin salarium, to the time when Roman soldiers were paid in salt for their service. Salt was a highly-...
2
votes
2answers
430 views
Do you italicize the contraction attached to a foreign word?
I know you italicize words in other languages when writing. But what if you add a contraction? Is it abuela's or abuela's?
0
votes
2answers
3k views
What is the definition of 'Wagenheims'? [closed]
I'm reading an English translation of Notes from the Underground by Dostoevsky and I came across the sentence
They express the consciousness that you have no enemy to punish, but
that you have ...
6
votes
1answer
300 views
What is the first known Japanese loan word that entered the English language?
I would like to ask here a similar question I have asked in the Spanish language stack. It is known that nowadays the English language has a lot a words of Japanese origin. But what was the first one ...
1
vote
3answers
219 views
What is the purpose of changing “Nürnberg” to “Nuremberg” in English language?
For the longest time ever I assumed these are two different places and was very confused about never knowing where Nuremberg is. Recently I found out that Nuremberg is the English form for Nürnberg.
...
1
vote
1answer
1k views
Single word for 'greater purpose'
I have heard this word, but I just can't remember it. It is a 3 to 5 letter word, probably 2 syllabled, and begins with letter T.
I am not totally sure if it's an English word. The context I have ...
10
votes
2answers
2k views
The history of the English “postmeridian”
There's a question on English Language Learners that's been making the rounds recently, it's been on the Hot Network Questions list since January 5 this year and has attracted something like 36,000 ...
1
vote
1answer
694 views
What nouns of German origin should be given capital letters?
On another post an interesting fact has just been discovered about the OED's treatment of nouns adopted into English from German (loan-words).
A lot of them e.g. Nazi are spelled with a capital ...
1
vote
0answers
1k views
When did the pronunciation of “piranha” change?
"Piranha" is a Portuguese rendering of a Tupi word referring to a sharp-toothed fish with an unfortunate reputation. The correct pronunciation of this word is something like /pɪˈɹɑːnjə/. However, the "...
1
vote
1answer
494 views
Correct spelling of Chinese name in English? [closed]
In Buddhism, there is a deity called Skanda. In Chinese, his name is Wei Tuo.
See for example this link
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skanda_(Buddhism)
However, my question is, what is the actual ...
1
vote
1answer
257 views
Term for someone who wears a burqa
A person who wears a hijab is sometimes called a hijabi, a person who wears a niqab is sometimes called a niqabi. Is there an equivalent term for someone who wears a burqa? According to Wiktionary ...
7
votes
1answer
6k views
What lies behind the etymology of the word dandelion?
I am puzzled by the etymology of the word dandelion. I am aware that it is derived from the French “dent-de-lion”, meaning 'lion's tooth' (because of the jagged shape of the leaves).
What puzzles ...
31
votes
6answers
2k views
Usage of diacritics in loanwords
I was told here that not using diacritics (specifically the cedilla) is bad usage for those who know — I assume — their diacritics.
Is that correct?
Is garcon a correct spelling, in English, of the ...
4
votes
3answers
7k views
Does “garçon” mean male waiters only, not female waitresses?
Does garçon mean (male) waiters only, not waitresses? I can’t find a site which addresses that question, though etymologically, and in French, it means “boy”.
0
votes
2answers
400 views
Is “hanbok” considered a countable noun?
Is "hanbok" considered a countable noun, or an uncountable noun?
I assumed that "hanbok" meant a specific clothing item, and is therefore countable, and therefore "she wore a hanbok" would be proper ...
1
vote
1answer
1k views
Are there other words in American English that use the same vowel sound as the “as” in “Pasta”?
Obviously, pasta is a loanword, but generally loanwords are pronounced with the closest vowels which already exist in the language.
In American English, the "a" in pasta is the same vowel that I hear ...
