Gallicisms: examples and meaning

On many occasions we use words in Spanish that are borrowings from other languages. Some of them are so common and have been used so much that we do not realize that they do not come from our language: we are referring to foreign words. We can find many examples of them, but in this lesson from a TEACHER we want to talk about what are Gallicisms and their examples so you can learn to identify them.

The foreigners are present in all languages ​​and are the result of the exchanges between different countries and cultures to which any language is subjected. In Spanish we can find several examples of these foreign words or loans from other languages ​​that are used as their own words. On many occasions these retain their original spelling and on others they have been Spanishized.

The case at hand is that of Gallicisms, which are included within the foreign words. When we speak of Gallicisms we do it to refer to those terms from French and that have been incorporated into Spanish. There are many examples that are used frequently and that we do not know come from our French neighbors.

Did you know that the word amateur comes from French? Well yes, here we have a clear example of Gallicism widely used in Spanish. But it is not left alone there. Later we will see other examples that will surely surprise you.

Many of these French words and structures have been integrated in a natural way to our language so it is difficult for us to easily identify them when we speak or write.

Gallicisms in Spanish can appear in three different ways. This will depend on how it is used in our language:

• Semantic feature: we speak of a semantic feature when we acquire the translated meaning of the borrowed French term.
• Lexical loan: Gallicisms can be presented in Spanish as loans, that is, their original meaning is maintained, but it is adapted to Spanish.
• Semantic loan: the loan of Gallicism can be semantic, that is, the meaning of a specific word is adopted to give it more diversity.

Sometimes foreign words they substitute words proper to Spanish and they are used frequently despite the fact that there are others in our language with the same meaning. In others, it is due to the fact that the language does not have a word capable of designating said concept and they must be adopted alternatives to be able to name it.

Refering to orthographyAs with foreign words from other languages, they can be preserved or changed, it will depend on each of the words.

In order to better understand Gallicisms, we are going to see a series of examples with their definitions. You will see that many of them are used today in a very common and frequent way:

• Souffle: comes from the verb souffler which means to inflate or inflate. The past tense of this verb is souffle and its meaning is bloated or inflated. From this word the term is taken in Spanish to refer to a food that uses this cooking technique.
• Potpourri: this mixture of different elements, whether musical or aromatic, has its origin in the French word pot pourri.
• Computer: in Spanish there was no word to define this object, so we borrowed from the French, the word computer.
• Menu: it is one of the most used terms, but it is also a loan from French, specifically from the word menu. In any restaurant you can find this list of available dishes.
• Ham: I'm sure you hadn't thought about it, but this word is not Spanish, it comes directly from French, specifically from jambon. This term refers to the cured leg of the pig.
• Gourmet: it preserves the French spelling and we use it when we want to refer to a person who appreciates haute cuisine.
• Waffle: it is a sweet of Belgian origin that comes from the French word gaufre. From this word has also derived the one used to designate the device to make them: the waffle iron.
• Driver: used when we want to refer to the driver of a vehicle. This comes from the French word chauffeur.
• Chef: we use it with the French spelling to refer to a chef or chef.
• Chalet: we use it when we refer to a single-family house with a garden and it comes from the word chalet.
• Boulevard: from boulevard. By this we mean a wide street like an avenue, but with trees on the sides.
• DIY: French comes DIY. As you can see, it is the same word in which only one letter has been modified. This word in French comes from bricoler which means to fix, manufacture or mend something.
• Beige: in Spanish it can be written as beige. If we translate it directly from French, its meaning is light brown.

We hope this lesson on Gallicisms with examples and meaning has helped you learn more about Spanish. If you want to continue learning, do not hesitate to visit our sections in which you will find many more content like this.