Calquer

Part of speech: verb, noun

Definitions

1. To imitate or translate a phrase directly from one language to another by substituting equivalent terms
2. to create a new term from existing language elements that evokes the original meaning
3. a linguistic strategy of borrowing where the form of a word is transferred unchanged from one language to another

Etymology: "Calquer" is a French verb meaning to copy a foreign expression by translating its parts literally, and it comes from "calque," the noun for such a copy. The noun "calque" itself is a term from linguistics, borrowed into English as "calque" and used for a word or phrase formed by translating each element of a foreign expression. Its underlying sense is "tracing" or "copy," since it was taken from the idea of making an imprint or duplicate of something. The verb takes the noun and adds the French infinitive ending "-er," turning a copy into the act of copying. In French the word is used in the same way English speakers talk about borrowing a foreign turn of phrase and rebuilding it word by word, so that a translated expression like "skyscraper" in German or "Wolkenkratzer" follows the same pattern. The verb therefore names the process as well as the product.

Synonyms: loan-translate, translate literally, copy, imitate, render

Antonyms: coin, invent, create, coinage, originate