calque
1 synonym for calque, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — A word or phrase formed in one language by translating the parts of a word or phrase in another language piece by piece.
Synonyms
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
loan translation
How to use calque
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
calque of
calque from French
It is a technical term used mainly in linguistics and translation studies.
Etymology
A learned borrowing from French calque, meaning a copy or tracing. The French comes from calquer, which came from Italian and ultimately from Latin calcare, meaning to tread.
Full origin of calque →Frequently asked questions
What is a calque in linguistics?
A calque is a word or phrase made by translating the parts of a foreign expression one by one. It differs from a plain loanword, which is borrowed without translation.
How do you pronounce calque?
It is pronounced KALK, and it sounds the same as calc and calk.
Is loanword a calque?
Yes. The term loanword is itself a calque of the German word Lehnwort.
