to borrow
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to borrow
To take a word, idea, or concept from another language, another work, or another culture.
Das deutsche Wort 'Fenster' ist dem lateinischen 'fenestra' entlehnt.
The German word 'Fenster' is borrowed from the Latin 'fenestra'.
'Entlehnen' (to borrow) is an inseparable verb with the prefix 'ent-'. The prefix remains firmly attached to the verb in all sentence forms and is not placed at the end of the sentence.
Viele Fachbegriffe sind anderen Sprachen entlehnt.
Many technical terms are borrowed from other languages.
The word or idea (accusative) is borrowed from a language or work (dative). Alternatively, the origin can be expressed with 'aus' or 'von' + dative.
Der Begriff ist dem Griechischen entlehnt.
The term is borrowed from Greek.
In the meaning 'to adopt' or 'to take over', 'entlehnen' (to borrow) is used mainly in academic, linguistic, or literary contexts. It describes the origin of words, concepts, or motifs.
Die Studie untersucht, welche Motive der Film der klassischen Mythologie entlehnt.
The study examines which motifs the film borrows from classical mythology.
The meaning 'to borrow something for oneself' is outdated and today is used only in a very elevated or literary style. In normal usage, it is uncommon.
Für seinen Auftritt entlehnte er den Frack eines Freundes.
For his performance, he borrowed a friend's tailcoat.
to take over / take on
'übernehmen' and 'entlehnen' can both mean taking a word, idea, or concept from another source. 'übernehmen' is more general and much more natural in everyday language: you can adopt an idea, a style, or a habit. 'entlehnen' is especially suitable for language, culture, literature, or academia, and sounds rather elevated or technical. The words are easy to confuse because both show that something was not invented completely from scratch. As a simple guide: in normal conversation, you usually say 'übernehmen'; for words or cultural influences, 'entlehnen' is more precise.
Das Deutsche entlehnt viele Wörter aus anderen Sprachen.
German borrows many words from other languages.
Für sein Referat hat Paul eine Idee aus einem alten Artikel übernommen.
Paul adopted an idea from an old article for his presentation.