# What words has English borrowed from other languages since 2000? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 28, 2016, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-has-english-borrowed-from-other-languages-since-2000/750450 "2016-03-28T11:55:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-has-english-borrowed-from-other-languages-since-2000/750450/21 "2016-03-28T20:08:54Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Would “emoji”, mentioned earlier, count? “Emoji” means “picture character” (_e_ = picture, _moji_ = character) in Japanese. It’s not derived from “emotion” or “emoticon,” if that’s what you’re thinking. (Though I’m sure the purely coincidental similarity between “emoji” and “emoticon” contributed to the widespread use of “emoji”.) ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-has-english-borrowed-from-other-languages-since-2000/750450/22 "2016-03-28T20:14:01Z")
p.s. I suppose _anime_ is an example of a foreign word derived from an English word (animation), which was subsequently borrowed back into English. ---
**Author:** ![Nansbread1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Nansbread1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nansbread1)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-has-english-borrowed-from-other-languages-since-2000/750450/23 "2016-03-28T20:16:46Z")
I submit the word only used in India Prepone. Opposite of postpone. Not in the dictionary but after rampant usage in India is now borrowed officially by OED ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-has-english-borrowed-from-other-languages-since-2000/750450/24 "2016-03-28T20:20:52Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I would think there must be some, where a word enters the local language as an adaptation of an English word and then gets borrowed back out into English from that language. This kind of borrowing back and forth is fairly common for English and French. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-has-english-borrowed-from-other-languages-since-2000/750450/25 "2016-03-28T20:26:58Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > This kind of borrowing back and forth is fairly common for English and French. What are some examples? ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-has-english-borrowed-from-other-languages-since-2000/750450/26 "2016-03-28T20:45:41Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > What are some examples? “Country dance” -\> “contredanse” -\> “contra dance” “Le parc” -\> [“park/parking”](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/410/why-do-we-drive-on-the-parkway-and-park-on-the-driveway) -\> “le parking” I dunno that I’d call it “fairly common”, though, I had to cudgel my brains with my braincudgel for quite a while before coming up with those. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-has-english-borrowed-from-other-languages-since-2000/750450/27 "2016-03-28T20:50:08Z")
Oh, and Old French “chalenge” -\> Eng. “challenge” -\> modern business jargon French “le challenge”. ETA: wait wait there’s more! Fr. “jean” as in “twilled cloth from Genoa” -\> Eng. “jeans” -\> Fr. “jean” as in jeans. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-has-english-borrowed-from-other-languages-since-2000/750450/28 "2016-03-28T20:57:44Z")
ETAgain: And if you’ll stretch a point with your pointstretcher, Eng. “gentleman” appears to have been coined on the model of Fr. “gentilhomme” but was later borrowed back into French as an English loanword. I guess “fairly common” is maybe not that far off after all. – okay, **one** more: how about Fr. “coquetier” “eggcup”, thought to be the origin of Eng. “cocktail”, whence Fr. “le cocktail”? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-has-english-borrowed-from-other-languages-since-2000/750450/29 "2016-03-28T21:01:50Z")
> [@scr4](#): > > “Emoji” means “picture character” (_e_ = picture, _moji_ = character) in Japanese. It’s not derived from “emotion” or “emoticon,” if that’s what you’re thinking. (Though I’m sure the purely coincidental similarity between “emoji” and “emoticon” contributed to the widespread use of “emoji”.) Wow, that’s cool–thanks! ---
**Author:** ![watchwolf49](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e9c0ed/32.png) [@watchwolf49](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/watchwolf49)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-has-english-borrowed-from-other-languages-since-2000/750450/30 "2016-03-28T21:12:35Z")
There are places in California that have “borrowed” the entire Spanish language … although “mugging” is maybe a better and more colorful metaphor. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-has-english-borrowed-from-other-languages-since-2000/750450/31 "2016-03-28T21:38:50Z")
French words reborrowed from English: Here’s a [list of French words borrowed from English](http://www.ezglot.com/etymologies.php?l=fra&l2=eng). I’ll assume it’s correct. Just from the first few pages, I see _basket_, _camping_, _challenge_, _charter_, _consumérisme_, _dance_, and _distancer_. I probably missed some. ---
**Author:** ![JR\_Brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JR\_Brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JR_Brown)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-has-english-borrowed-from-other-languages-since-2000/750450/32 "2016-03-28T22:13:27Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I was thinking that myself, and I guess that depends on how you want to classify that word. I guess a foreign re-borrowing of an English word or something. I wonder if there are other examples of this – I would think there must be some, where a word enters the local language as an adaptation of an English word and then gets borrowed back out into English from that language. Some more English-Japanese-English borrowings (used mainly in dork circles): Cosplay - “costume play”, dressing up as a favorite pop-culture character for an event Boys love / Girls love - genres of m/m and f/f romance fiction, respectively mook - magazine/book hybrid (usually a publication with contents formatted like a magazine but printed as a perfect-bound softcover book, and with no pull date) And then there are interesting hybrids like “panko”, a type of coarse breadcrumb, made of “pan” (Portuguese for bread) + “ko” (child), which is now nativizing in English due to cooking shows, etc (there are several American brands of panko available in my local supermarket). ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-has-english-borrowed-from-other-languages-since-2000/750450/33 "2016-03-28T22:37:01Z")
> [@Nansbread1](#): > > I submit the word only used in India > > Prepone. > > Opposite of postpone. > > Not in the dictionary but after rampant usage in India is now borrowed officially by OED Hey! I mentioned that one. 🙂 What about other Indian English words like “timepass” or “freeship” or whatnot? Or are you saying that “prepone” is now being used outside India? I guess I’ve only heard it in Indian English, but it’s kind of obvious what it means to me, so I probably would not have noticed. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-has-english-borrowed-from-other-languages-since-2000/750450/34 "2016-03-28T22:45:32Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > “Wiki” originates in Hawaiian, IIRC. Was anyone using that in English before 2000? I heard it sporadically. I had a professor in central California, circa 1990, who was obviously from Hawaii. When he wanted us to pass our papers to the center aisle, he said “Wiki-wiki!”. He also ended classes by saying Konichi Wa. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-has-english-borrowed-from-other-languages-since-2000/750450/35 "2016-03-28T22:58:56Z")
When did we pick up _umami_? ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-has-english-borrowed-from-other-languages-since-2000/750450/36 "2016-03-28T22:59:29Z")
> [@JR\_Brown](#): > > And then there are interesting hybrids like “panko”, a type of coarse breadcrumb, made of “pan” (Portuguese for bread) + “ko” (child), … That “ko” means powder, not child. (Same sound, different kanji.) Good example though. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-has-english-borrowed-from-other-languages-since-2000/750450/37 "2016-03-28T23:06:05Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Hey! I mentioned that one. 🙂 What about other Indian English words like “timepass” or “freeship” or whatnot? Or are you saying that “prepone” is now being used outside India? I guess I’ve only heard it in Indian English, but it’s kind of obvious what it means to me, so I probably would not have noticed. I’m not sure such examples count because it’s still English on both sides? I mean, we don’t really speak of, say, Americanisms in British English (or vice versa) being “loanwords”. This is the same sort of thing. Without being prepared to dispute the issue of when a different dialect counts as a different language, I would still maintain that since Indian English and British (or American) English are almost entirely mutually comprehensible, “prepone” doesn’t seem to qualify as a “loanword”, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-has-english-borrowed-from-other-languages-since-2000/750450/38 "2016-03-28T23:11:53Z")
> [@SCAdian](#): > > When did we pick up _umami_? Looks like it shows up sporadically, according to [google n-gram viewer](https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=umami&year_start=1800&year_end=2010&corpus=15&smoothing=3&share=&direct_url=t1%3B%2Cumami%3B%2Cc0), until about 1984 where it experiences a sudden jump in popularity, but around 2000 it experiences even another popularity surge. My recollection of it is that I wasn’t aware of the word until that second surge, but looking through Google books, it certainly was being used as it is today well before that. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 28, 2016, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-has-english-borrowed-from-other-languages-since-2000/750450/39 "2016-03-28T23:13:05Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > I’m not sure such examples count because it’s still English on both sides? I mean, we don’t really speak of, say, Americanisms in British English (or vice versa) being “loanwords”. This is the same sort of thing. > > Without being prepared to dispute the issue of when a different dialect counts as a different language, I would still maintain that since Indian English and British (or American) English are almost entirely mutually comprehensible, “prepone” doesn’t seem to qualify as a “loanword”, IMO. Oh, I agree. If you look back to post 17, my last sentence says that I just consider it a “regional [English] dialect word.” The question about “mani-pedi” kind of shifted to whether it was not, as I assume, Philippine English, but possibly a borrowing into a local language (like Tagalog) and then a reborrowing back into English. ---
**Author:** ![Loopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loopus/32/15343_2.png) [@Loopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loopus)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2016, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-has-english-borrowed-from-other-languages-since-2000/750450/40 "2016-03-29T00:49:48Z")
> [@JR\_Brown](#): > > And then there are interesting hybrids like “panko”, a type of coarse breadcrumb, made of “pan” (Portuguese for bread) + “ko” (child) “Pan” is Spanish for bread. Portuguese for bread is “pão.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-has-english-borrowed-from-other-languages-since-2000/750450.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-words-has-english-borrowed-from-other-languages-since-2000/750450.md?page=3)