borrowword

A borrowword, or borrowed word, is a word that has been taken from one language and incorporated into another, often undergoing phonological and morphological adaptation to fit the recipient language. Borrowings are a major mechanism for lexical expansion in languages that come into contact, arising from trade, migration, conquest, technology, media, and cultural exchange.

In linguistics, the terms borrowword and loanword are often used interchangeably. Some scholars distinguish a loanword as the word in the recipient language that has been borrowed, while a borrowword may refer more broadly to the form that results after integration. In practice, the distinction is not consistently observed, and many sources treat the terms as synonyms.

Borrowing can proceed in stages. A donor word may be adopted with little initial change, then undergo phonological or morphological adaptation to fit the host language’s sound system and word-building patterns. Semantics may shift or broaden, and sometimes entire phrases are borrowed as calques (literal translations) rather than single words.

Common examples in English include ballet from French, kindergarten from German, sushi from Japanese, taco from Spanish, and piano from Italian. Borrowings vary in their degree of integration: some become fully native in pronunciation and morphology, while others retain noticeable foreign characteristics.

See also: loanword, calque, language contact.