loanword
noun
loan·word
ˈlōn-ˌwərd 
: a word taken from another language and at least partly naturalized
Examples of loanword in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In fact, Mandarin itself used thousands of loanwords from Japanese and English when new disciplines such as sociology and natural science entered China’s curricula a mere century ago.
—
Tenzin Dorjee, Foreign Affairs, 28 Nov. 2023
During this period, more than 10,000 loanwords from French entered the English language, mostly in domains where the aristocracy held sway: the arts, military, medicine, law and religion.
—Phillip M. Carter, Fortune Well, 12 June 2023
Most English loanwords borrow from languages that, like English, use the Latin alphabet.
—Sarah Bunin Benor, The Conversation, 21 May 2020
With the mega-success of Starbucks and its various coffee competitors, BARISTA has transformed from a somewhat niche Italian loanword to a term most everyone not only knows but uses regularly.
—Ryan P. Smith, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Dec. 2019
And so the language planners, led by linguist Ari Páll Kristinsson, are working furiously to match every English word or concept with an Icelandic one—giving young Icelanders no excuse for depending on loanwords learned online.
—Caitlin Hu, Quartz, 2 June 2019
Each provided loanwords, words adopted from a donor language without translation.
—Courtney Linder, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Apr. 2018
Local journalists describe the scenes here as the local telenovela, a Spanish loanword meaning soap opera.
—Joseph Hincks / Manila, Time, 27 Oct. 2017
Sadly, these words failed to stick, and nowadays one is forced to answer wrong numbers on a loanword: tilifun.
—Peter Hessler, The New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2017
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Tenzin Dorjee, Foreign Affairs, 28 Nov. 2023
During this period, more than 10,000 loanwords from French entered the English language, mostly in domains where the aristocracy held sway: the arts, military, medicine, law and religion.
—Phillip M. Carter, Fortune Well, 12 June 2023
Most English loanwords borrow from languages that, like English, use the Latin alphabet.
—Sarah Bunin Benor, The Conversation, 21 May 2020
With the mega-success of Starbucks and its various coffee competitors, BARISTA has transformed from a somewhat niche Italian loanword to a term most everyone not only knows but uses regularly.
—Ryan P. Smith, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Dec. 2019
And so the language planners, led by linguist Ari Páll Kristinsson, are working furiously to match every English word or concept with an Icelandic one—giving young Icelanders no excuse for depending on loanwords learned online.
—Caitlin Hu, Quartz, 2 June 2019
Each provided loanwords, words adopted from a donor language without translation.
—Courtney Linder, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Apr. 2018
Local journalists describe the scenes here as the local telenovela, a Spanish loanword meaning soap opera.
—Joseph Hincks / Manila, Time, 27 Oct. 2017
Sadly, these words failed to stick, and nowadays one is forced to answer wrong numbers on a loanword: tilifun.
—Peter Hessler, The New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Loanword.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/loanword. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.
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loanword
noun
loan·word
ˈlōn-ˌwərd
: a word that is taken into one language from another
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