Definition:
A word from one language that has been adapted for use in another. See also:
Etymology:
From Old English, "becoming"Examples and Observations:
- "English . . . has freely appropriated the major parts of its vocabulary from Greek, Latin, French, and dozens of other languages. Even though The official's automobile functioned erratically consists entirely of borrowed words, with the single exception of the, it is uniquely an English sentence."
(Peter Farb, Word Play: What Happens When People Talk. Knopf, 1974) - "The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don't just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and rifle their pockets for new vocabulary."
(James Nicoll, Linguist, February 2002) - "The vocabulary of English based on exploration and trade [was] often brought to England in spoken form or in popular printed books and pamphlets. An early example is assassin (eater of hashish), which appears in English about 1531 as a loanword from Arabic, probably borrowed during the Crusades. Many of the other words borrowed from eastern countries during the Middle Ages were the names of products (Arabic lemon, Persian musk, Semitic cinnamon, Chinese silk) and placenames (like damask, from Damascus). These were the most direct examples of the axiom that a new referent requires a new word."
(W.F. Bolton, A Living Language: The History and Structure of English. Random House, 1982) - "Today only about five percent of our new words are taken from other languages. They are especially prevalent in the names of foods: focaccia, salsa, vindaloo, ramen."
(Allan Metcalf, Predicting New Words. Houghton Mifflin, 2002)
Pronunciation: BOR-owe-ing
Also Known As: loanword
