A loan word is a term borrowed from another language and integrated into another language. There are many synonyms for loan word, including borrowed word, exoticism, foreign word, linguistic borrowing, lexical borrowing, and loaned word. Linguistic borrowing occurs when a language adopts words from another culture, often because the borrowed words describe concepts, foods, or activities that are foreign to the adopting culture. Loan words can be found in many languages, such as English, which borrows heavily from Latin, Greek, and French, and Japanese, which borrows extensively from Chinese. In fact, loan words have played an important role in shaping the evolution of languages throughout history.