As you know I am a fan of Visual Thesaurus – today they had a take on how foreign expressions get integrated into the language – the word is CALQUE (pronounced “caalk”). Calque means: an expression introduced into one language by translating it from another language.
Calque sounds like the Spanish word “calcar” – which means to trace over, to delineate or copy something. Anyway, here are some calques – enjoy!
Blue Blood from the Spanish: Sangre Azul
Potpourri form the Spanish: Olla Podrida (Rotten Pot)
Chop chop from the Chinese: Quick Quick
Flea market from French: marché aux puces
Can you think of others?
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