Top 10 Loanwords

JT October 14, 2007

A loanword is a word borrowed directly from another language to express something which has no accuarate word in English. This is a list of the ten most common loanwords.

10. Ennui Pronunciation: on-wee

From French. Boredom of the soul.

9. Schadenfreude Pronunciation: shah-din-froyd-?

From German. Taking joy in the suffering of others.

8. Wanderlust Pronunciation: vunder-loost

From German. A strong longing or desire towards wandering.

7. Sehnsucht Pronunciation: sane-zookt

From German. A self-destructive or addictive yearning for a time, place or thing that one can’t explain.

6. Saudade Pronunciation: saw-the-th?

From Portuguese. A feeling of longing for something that one is fond of, which is gone, but might return in a distant future, although deep down you know it probably wont.

5. Doppelganger Pronunciation: dopple-gang-?

From German. The ghostly double of a living person.

4. Weltschmerz Pronunciation: velt-shmeartz

From German. The pathological suffering felt by one who has realised that physical reality can never truly satisfy the demands of the mind. A melancholy sense of anguish about the nature of being.

3. Zeitgeist Pronunciation: zight-gihst

From German. Something that captures the spirit of the era.

2. Ad Hominem Pronunciation: add om-in-im

From Latin. Replying to an argument or factual claim by attacking the person who made it, and not what he said.

1. Déjà vu Pronunciation: day-zha voo

From French. The sense of having already seen or hear something being experienced for the first time.

Contributor: JT