Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·French ·1850s
Chic
from chic
- Meaning
- Elegantly and stylishly fashionable.
- Source word
- chic
- Route into English
- French *chic* (possibly from German *Schick*, orderliness, or French *chicane*, subtlety) → English via 19th-century fashion writing. The adjective eventually became a noun ("it has a certain chic").
- Arrived
- 1850s
From French
Beyond the Norman conquest's Old French foundation, English kept borrowing from French for art, cuisine, fashion, and diplomacy throughout the modern period.
English borrows.
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