I saw this posted on Lore Sjoberg's website today and couldn't help thinking about how much you all would enjoy the concept:

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Another Potentially-Useful Term I Just Made Up

A "passport word" is a word that means something general in another language, but which is imported into English to mean something specifically from a country or area where that language is used.

For example, "salsa." In Spanish, it just means "sauce," but in English it means a Mexican sauce. Similarly, "chai" is Hindi for "tea," but in English it refers to a specific type of Indian tea.

A passport word is similar to a loan word like "patio" or "soprano," but rather than retaining the same meaning it takes on a more specific meaning related to the area the word comes from. It is a subcategory of "false friend" -- a word which looks or sounds the same as a word in another language, but which means something different, like the Spanish word "embarazado" which means "pregnant" but sounds like "embarrassed."

Some examples of passport words:

* sombrero
* chorizo
* biscotti
* sensei
* anime

from http://slumbering.lungfish.com
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Can you think of others? I might suggest "angst" - German for "fear", but in English it has sort of foreboding, gothic, dare I say Germanic overtones.

PS. Hi everyone! I wish I had time to get back up to speed, but almost 3000 new posts in Miscellany alone! I miss you guys, and I'll try to check in more often.