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There will be plenty of examples if you scan English words derived from French, because most such borrowings are 500 to 800 years old, plenty of time for semantic drift in either or both languages. Double entendre was current French in the late 1600s, when it was taken into English.
Further back, any of the well-known faux-amis for a start: at the time of borrowing from French into English, assist(er) must have meant the same in both languages: either 'be present at' or 'help out at'. (I haven't the OED to hand so can't tell which.)
Related to this are the pseudo-foreign expressions, which never existed in the language they seem to have been taken from. Examples are English nom de plume (the French for 'pen-name' is nom de guerre), Japanese sarariiman 'businessman' quasi 'salaryman', French and German smoking 'smoking jacket', and the Russian habit (I haven't any specific example) of sticking an extra -s and/or -ing onto an English borrowing in the belief that it makes it look more English.
Entire Thread Subject Posted By Posted Words from other languages that don't use them Rouspeteur 03/11/01 01:08 PM Re: Words from other languages that don't use them AnnaStrophic 03/11/01 01:33 PM Re: Words from other languages that don't use them wwh 03/11/01 02:16 PM Re: Words from other languages that don't use them wow 03/11/01 03:00 PM Re: Words from other languages that don't use them tsuwm 03/11/01 03:44 PM Re: Words from other languages that don't use them Rouspeteur 03/11/01 03:55 PM Re: Words from other languages that don't use them wwh 03/11/01 04:01 PM Re: Words from other languages that don't use them Scribbler 03/12/01 03:33 AM Re: Words from other languages that don't use them tsuwm 03/12/01 03:49 AM Re: Words from other languages that don't use them Rouspeteur 03/12/01 11:15 AM Re: Words from other languages that don't use them Father Steve 03/14/01 11:40 PM Re: Words from other languages that don't use them NicholasW 03/15/01 08:33 AM
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