noun, verb, calqued, cal⋅quing. Linguistics| 1. | a loan translation, esp. one resulting from bilingual interference in which the internal structure of a borrowed word or phrase is maintained but its morphemes are replaced by those of the native language, as German halbinsel for peninsula. |
| 2. | loanshift. |
| 3. | to form (a word or phrase) through the process of loan translation. |

calque (kālk) n. See loan translation. [French, from calquer, to trace, copy, from Italian calcare, to press, from Latin calcāre, to tread on, from calx, heel.] |
| loan translation n. A form of borrowing from one language to another whereby the semantic components of a given term are literally translated into their equivalents in the borrowing language. English superman, for example, is a loan translation from German Übermensch. Also called calque. |