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language.

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.

8 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈlæŋ.ɡwɪd͡ʒ/Australia, Received-Pronunciation/ˈlaŋ.ɡwɪd͡ʒ/British, Northern-England, Scotland, Southern, Standard, Wales/ˈlæŋ.ɡwɪd͡ʒ/US/ˈleɪŋ-/US
  1. 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.

    countable
    The English and German languages are both members of the West Germanic language family.
    Deaf and mute people communicate using sign language.
  2. The ability to communicate using words.

    uncountable
    the gift of language
  3. A sublanguage: the slang of a particular community or jargon of a particular specialist field.

    uncountable
    legal language; the language of chemistry
  4. The specific wording or style of a text, such as a law or a contract.

    uncountable
  5. The expression of thought (the communication of meaning) in a specified way; that which communicates something, as language does.

    countable · figuratively · uncountable
    body language; the language of the eyes
  6. A body of sounds, signs or signals by which animals communicate, and by which plants are sometimes also thought to communicate.

    countable · uncountable
  7. A computer language; a machine language.

    countable
  8. A manner of expression.

    uncountable
  9. The particular words used in a speech or a passage of text.

    uncountable
    The language used in the law does not permit any other interpretation.
    The language he used to talk to me was obscene.
  10. Profanity.

    euphemistic · uncountable
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s Proto-Italic *dn̥ɣwā Latin dingua Latin lingua Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātus Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icus Latin -āticus Latin -āticum Vulgar Latin *linguāticum Old French languagebor. Middle English langage English language 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.

verb/ˈlæŋ.ɡwɪd͡ʒ/Australia, Received-Pronunciation/ˈlaŋ.ɡwɪd͡ʒ/British, Northern-England, Scotland, Southern, Standard, Wales/ˈlæŋ.ɡwɪd͡ʒ/US/ˈleɪŋ-/US
  1. To communicate by language; to express in language.

    nonstandard · rare
Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s Proto-Italic *dn̥ɣwā Latin dingua Latin lingua Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātus Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icus Latin -āticus Latin -āticum Vulgar Latin *linguāticum Old French languagebor. Middle English langage English language 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.

intj/ˈlæŋ.ɡwɪd͡ʒ/Australia, Received-Pronunciation/ˈlaŋ.ɡwɪd͡ʒ/British, Northern-England, Scotland, Southern, Standard, Wales/ˈlæŋ.ɡwɪd͡ʒ/US/ˈleɪŋ-/US
  1. An admonishment said in response to someone using vulgar language during a conversation.

Where this word comes from

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *dn̥ǵʰwéh₂s Proto-Italic *dn̥ɣwā Latin dingua Latin lingua Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātus Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icus Latin -āticus Latin -āticum Vulgar Latin *linguāticum Old French languagebor. Middle English langage English language 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.

noun/ˈlæŋ.ɡwɪd͡ʒ/Australia, Received-Pronunciation/ˈlaŋ.ɡwɪd͡ʒ/British, Northern-England, Scotland, Southern, Standard, Wales/ˈlæŋ.ɡwɪd͡ʒ/US/ˈleɪŋ-/US
  1. A languet, a flat plate in or below the flue pipe of an organ.

Where this word comes from

Alteration of languet.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.