calque
/kalk
/Linguistics
noun
another term for loan translation.A calque or loan-translation is a borrowing of a compound word from another language where each component is translated into native words and then joined together....
- In either case, English-speakers may have adopted the phrase via a direct, word-for-word translation of the German idiom; linguists call this a calque.
- So ‘butt naked’ would be a straightforward calque of a common expression whose word for ‘butt’ had dropped out of the language.
verb (be calqued on)
Originate or function as a loan translation of: ‘it goes without saying’ is calqued on French ‘cela va sans dire’...
- Besides, even when the new meanings of existing words were calqued on cognate words in other languages.
- The most plausible explanation of its origin seems to be that it came in via American English, calqued on German ‘hoffentlich’.
- He is aware that the French in the above poem is purposefully calqued on English, rather than based on standard French.
Origin
1930s: from French, literally 'copy, tracing', from calquer 'to trace', via Italian from Latin calcare 'to tread'.
Rhymes
- signal
- signal anchor
- signal anxiety
- signal arm
- signal averager
- signal averaging
- signal box
- signal-caller
- signal corps
- signal crayfish
- signal detection
- signalee
- signaletic
- signal generator
- signal intelligence
- signalisation
- signalise
- signalist
- signalization
- signalize
- signallee
- signaller
- signal light
- signal line
- signally