To Borrow From

To Borrow From

Meaning: to take another idea and add it to your own

 Example 1:

Terri: I’m so excited! My cousin is coming in from out of town and I want to show her around LA, but I want to take her to someplace different, not just the typical tourist places.

Selma: What is she interested in?

Terri: Well, let’s see….She is actually studying architecture at New York University, but I can’t imagine LA has any interesting buildings compared to New York!

Selma: Actually, there are a few places you could take her that have really nice examples of Art Deco like The Wiltern, The El Ray Theater and even on the Queen Mary in Long Beach!

Terri: Art Deco? What exactly is it?

Selma: It’s a unique style of architecture from the 1920s and 1930s that borrowed styles from ancient cultures like Egypt, Greece, and Rome.

Terri: Really? Well, I’m sure that would be interesting for an architecture major, especially a style that borrowed from so many other cultures.

Example 2:

Ken: I just saw a really interesting report on TV.

Jolene: Really? What was it about?

Ken: Well, they were talking about how so many of the words in English are borrowed from other languages.

Jolene: I thought that English was the “international language” and that other languages borrowed from English.

Ken: That may be the case now, but originally English borrowed many of its words from Latin. Also, a large number of words were borrowed from Greek and French.

Jolene: Hmmm….interesting!

Meaning:
To borrow from means to take another idea from someone or something and make it your own idea. In example 1, the style “Art Deco” borrowed from other ancient styles to make its own unique style. In example 2, the English language also borrowed from other languages to form modern English.

This idiom can be found in the LSI textbook Reading Connections. This book is used at LSI schools in the level 3 Reading/Vocabulary classes. For more information, please visit: www.languagesystems.com