false borrowing
"False borrowing" describes a word or phrase that seems to be borrowed from another language but is not used in that language or has a different meaning.
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Definition
C2Linguistics
(technical, academic)A term that appears to be borrowed from another language but either does not exist in that language or has a different meaning there.
Example
- The term 'handy' in German is a false borrowing from English, as it refers to a mobile phone, not something convenient.
Similar
Terms that have similar or relatively close meanings to "false borrowing":