The term history of mentalities is a calque on the French histoire des mentalités (which might also be translated as 'history of attitudes', 'history of world-views'), a term referring to the manner of doing history (see historiography) associated with the tournant critique of the latter generation of the Annales School (in particular, the historian of books and reading Roger Chartier).
In 1986, he wrote the book Ganso Verde (a calque of "Goose Green", using the colour green to translate Village Green), where he makes a strong defence of his decisions during the war and criticises the lack of logistical support from the Argentine commander-in-chief in Stanley.
The term originated between 1890 and 1895 as a calque from the French phrase tranche de vie, credited to the French playwright Jean Jullien (1854–1919).
The term Sprachbund, a calque of the Russian term языковой союз (yazykovoy soyuz; "language union"), was introduced by Nikolai Trubetzkoy in an article in 1923.