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TCHOTCHKE [1 record]
Record 1 - internal organization data 2011-01-14
Record 1, English
Record 1, Subject field(s)
- Neology and Linguistic Borrowing
Record 1, Main entry term, English
- tchotchke 1, record 1, English, tchotchke
Record 1, Abbreviations, English
Record 1, Synonyms, English
Record 1, Textual support, English
Record number: 1, Textual support number: 1 DEF
(Astrophysics) Any one of a variety of types of official messages forwarded on modern space crafts and directed at extra-terrestrial observers (messages include: plaques bearing greetings, coded maps of the solar system, depictions of male and female earthlings, digitally encoded sounds and colour pictures, photographs). 2, record 1, English, - tchotchke
Record number: 1, Textual support number: 1 CONT
Voyager 1 and 2, launched in 1977, carried more elaborate tchotchkes; digitally encoded sounds and colour pictures, and an instruction kit that tells extraterrestrial engineers how to play the record and build a three-colour television receiver. 1, record 1, English, - tchotchke
Record number: 1, Textual support number: 1 OBS
Because this term was borrowed from Yiddish to English, we chose to leave it also in its borrowed form in French (the alternative would likely be a very long, wordy, analytical French phrase). Rather than being a totally new word to the English language, "tchotchke" has existed since the late 1960s. However, its former meaning ("inexpensive souvenir or trinket") which is now obsolete in current usage, has been replaced by a new, very domain-specific usage in Astrophysics. Such semantic changes are not unusual, as languages are in a constant state of evolution (and in this case, the meanings are not completely dissimilar and unrelated). 2, record 1, English, - tchotchke
Record number: 1, Textual support number: 2 OBS
This neologism is also a "borrowing". English borrows words liberally from other languages; it has, likely, throughout its history. Though the purposes and conditions of borrowing veary greatly, the appearance of foreign words in English often mean a writer is using a native name for an unfamiliar thing or idea. Expanding global contacts are accompanied by more and more borrowings from languages, especially those of Asia and Africa. 2, record 1, English, - tchotchke
Record 1, French
Record 1, Domaine(s)
- Néologie et emprunts
Record 1, Main entry term, French
- tchotchke
1, record 1, French, tchotchke
proposal, masculine noun
Record 1, Abbreviations, French
Record 1, Synonyms, French
Record 1, Textual support, French
Record 1, Spanish
Record 1, Textual support, Spanish
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