Originally Posted By: BranShea
The French word 'décollage' meaning 'take off' (airplane).


Is décalage (gap, or interval) related? It's used in airplanes too, in the rigging of flying surfaces, but more common, I suspect, in the expression, décalage horaire, time interval.

Re the original question: French missionaries settled much of Northern Indiana, but you don't hear people saying "Notre Dame" or "Terre Haute" the French way, so I guess place names may be the first French terms to get Americanized.

Last edited by Hal Alexander; 09/11/10 09:45 PM. Reason: Added content