Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A medium of communication between peoples of different languages.
- n. A mixture of Italian with Provençal, French, Spanish, Arabic, Greek, and Turkish, formerly spoken on the eastern Mediterranean coast.
Wiktionary
- n. a common language used by people of diverse backgrounds to communicate with one another, often a basic form of speech with simplified grammar
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The commercial language of the Levant, -- a mixture of the languages of the people of the region and of foreign traders.
- n. Any hybrid or other language used over a wide area as a common or commercial tongue among peoples of different speech.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a common language used by speakers of different languages
Etymologies
- Italian : lingua, language + franca, Frankish (that is, European).
Examples
“Instead, they employed the well-established Commonwealth lingua franca known as symbospeech.”
Running from the Deity
“France has some first-class multinationals, Germany's work force and engineering firms can compete with the world's best, 30 Swedish companies are listed among Forbes Global 2000, Italy is a world leader in design, Ireland is blessed with an educated work force that speaks English, the lingua franca of world trade.”
The Wall Street Journal: Europe's Daily Soap Opera Keeps Rolling
“The boy's name was Anigh and, though he spoke the Melnibonéan-derived lingua franca of the Young Kingdoms, his accent was so thick it was sometimes impossible to understand all he said.”
The Fortress of the Pearl
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘lingua franca’.
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Pseudo-seduction
With which to confuse innocent ladies (or gentlemen, if you prefer) who might be invited to don a coverslut and come to tour an adulterine castle. Plausible deniability through lexicographical obsc...
adulterine, coverslut, cunctatory, puissant, quincunx, coccyx, groin vault, sexpartite vault, nookshaft, putlog hole, cuirass, mensuration and 35 more...
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