language

CEFRA1

/ˈlæŋ.ɡwɪd͡ʒ/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A system of words people use to communicate.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A sublanguage: the slang of a particular community or jargon of a particular specialist field.

Examples

  • Bill Clinton spoke in ambiguous language when asked to describe his relationship with Monica Lewinsky.

  • It is important for you to learn a foreign language.

At a glance

Sits at A1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /ˈlæŋɡ.weːd͡ʒ/
  • /ˈleɪ̯ŋ.ɡwɪd͡ʒ/

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. The ability to communicate using words.

  2. A body of words, and set of methods of combining them (called a grammar), understood by a community and used as a form of communication.

  3. The specific wording or style of a text, such as a law or a contract.

More examples

In context

  • Americans and Brits speak the same language

  • Deaf and mute people communicate using sign language.

  • The English and German languages are both members of the West Germanic language family.

Synonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The most widely spoken blank in Brazil today is Portuguese, not Spanish.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English langage, language, from Old French language, from Vulgar Latin *linguāticum, from Latin lingua (“tongue, speech, language”), from Old Latin dingua (“tongue”), from Proto-Indo-European *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s (“tongue, speech, language”). Doublet of langaj. Displaced native Old English ġeþēode.