In linguistics, a false friend (or faux ami) is a word from a different language that looks and sounds like a familiar word in English but, in fact, has a very different meaning. A classic example is the word ‘gift’. In English, the word means ‘present’. In German, the word means ‘poison’. These are not the same thing. And yet one can easily imagine an American exchange student offending his German host family by offering them a ‘gift’ as thanks for their hospitality. In the world of contracts, a false friend is a contract provision that looks and sounds like something familiar but is, in fact, something different … (more)
[John F Coyle, Transnational Litigation Blog, 13 March 2024]
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