calque

Definition: Creating a new word in a language by doing a part-for-part translation of a word from another language.
Example: The word superman, which in English originally meant "over man," was coined as a part-for-part translation of the German Übermensch, over man.
Etymology: The word derives from the French calquer, to copy (from Latin calx, heel).
Oxford English Dictionary: Its first citation is from 1937:
"The speaker begins saying things in one form only, instead of using two forms which are almost exact calques of each other."
(American Speech XII. 44)



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