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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.

See Examples For:

Certainly not; for that feeling would naturally diminish in succeeding generations, whereas the Gallicism of our people is on the increase,—in fact its origin is of comparatively recent date.

From The International Magazine, Volume 2, No. 2, January, 1851 by Various

The misery consequent on the great wars, and the powerful reaction against Gallicism throughout Germany, once more caused despised religion to be reverenced in the age of philosophy.

From Germany from the Earliest Period Volume 4 by Horrocks, Mrs. George

It is a Gallicism, but all the better, where one desires to be imperative, and yet vague.

From Sir Brook Fossbrooke, Volume I. by Lever, Charles James

Gallicism she objected to; the clarity of the French seemed to her superficial; she saw depth in the reserved and taciturn Northern, particularly the Norwegian, nature.

From Recollections of My Childhood and Youth by Brandes, Georg Morris Cohen

A considerable number of French came over in that manner, so that life in California was then, as now, considerably leavened by Gallicism.

From The Forty-Niners A Chronicle of the California Trail and El Dorado by White, Stewart Edward

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