noun
- a word adopted from another language with little or no modification
Usage: linguistics
Examples
- The English word ‘piano’ is a loanword from Italian.
- Many loanwords from French entered English after the Norman Conquest.
- Japanese has numerous loanwords from English in modern usage.
- ‘Kindergarten’ is a German loanword meaning ‘children’s garden.’
- Linguists study how loanwords adapt to new languages over time.
- The word ‘tsunami’ is a Japanese loanword now common in English.