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Synonyms

loan translation

American  

noun

  1. the process whereby a compound word or expression is created by literal translation of each of the elements of a compound word or expression in another language, as marriage of convenience from French mariage de convenance.

  2. a word or expression so created.

loan translation British  

noun

  1. Also called: calque.  the adoption by one language of a phrase or compound word whose components are literal translations of the components of a corresponding phrase or compound in a foreign language

    English "superman" is a loan translation from German "Übermensch."
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of loan translation

First recorded in 1930–35

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.