Gallicism

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A linguistic feature, expression, or idiom characteristic of the French language that appears in another language
2. A term or phrase that reflects French grammatical structures or vocabulary in another linguistic context
3. An instance of adopting a French style of speaking or writing into a different language, often leading to unique expressions and usages

Etymology: The word "gallicism" comes from Latin "Gallus", the name for a Gaul, a people of ancient Gaul whose lands roughly covered modern France. The Latin adjective "Gallicus" (of the Gauls) gave French the noun "gallicisme", which English borrowed from French. The sense is a little unusual: a gallicism is not a French word at all, but an expression in another language that copies a French habit of grammar or idiom, such as English "ensemble" used for a whole outfit or "to make a decision" calqued from "prendre une décision". The "-ism" ending, from Greek, marks a feature characteristic of a language, the same pattern found in words like "Hebraism" and "Anglicism".

Synonyms: frenchism