Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A word or phrase in one language that is similar in appearance to a word or phrase in another language but has a different meaning, as French actuel, “current,” and English actual, “real.”
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun linguistics, idiomatic A
word in a foreign language bearing adeceptive resemblance to a word in one's own language.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
[Translation of French faux ami : faux, false + ami, friend.]
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Examples
Sorry, no example sentences found.
ramsler commented on the word false friend
a false friend is a word in a foreign language you are attempting to learn which resembles the spelling of a word in a language you know, but means something completely different.
April 13, 2010
slumry commented on the word false friend
short for false friend of a translator
September 24, 2015