Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·French ·1770s
Souvenir
from souvenir
- Meaning
- An object kept as a reminder of a place or event.
- Source word
- souvenir
- Route into English
- French *souvenir* (verb: to remember; noun: memory, from Latin *subvenire*, to come to mind) → English via 18th-century travel writing. The noun sense of "keepsake" is actually an English specialisation.
- Arrived
- 1770s
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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