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Gallicism

American  
[gal-uh-siz-uhm] / ˈgæl əˌsɪz əm /
Or gallicism

noun

  1. a French idiom or expression used in another language, as Je ne sais quoi when used in English.

  2. a feature that is characteristic of or peculiar to the French language.

  3. a custom or trait considered to be characteristically French.


Gallicism British  
/ ˈɡælɪˌsɪzəm /

noun

  1. a word or idiom borrowed from French

"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 Gallicism

First recorded in 1650–60; from French gallicisme; see Gallic, -ism

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He was a tall, black-haired, mercurial Frenchman, with an eye like a falcon, who, with only an occasional Gallicism purposely indulged in, spoke American like a native.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 04, No. 25, November, 1859 by Various

Fox's Gallicism, too, was a treasury of weapons to Pitt.

From Specimens of the Table Talk of Samuel Taylor Coleridge by Coleridge, Henry Nelson

"Another forfeit for a Gallicism," said a Russian writer who was present.

From War and Peace by Tolstoy, Leo, graf

If, however, there were Anglicism on one side, so there was quite as much Gallicism, if not a good deal more, on the other.

From James Madison by Gay, Sydney Howard

And this opens a curious question as to how long this Gallicism maintained itself in England.

From The Complete Poetical Works of James Russell Lowell by Lowell, James Russell

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