language

  • 1Language — language …

    Dictionary of sociology

  • 2language — lan‧guage [ˈlæŋgwɪdʒ] noun 1. [countable, uncountable] a system of speaking and writing used by people in one country or area: • the French language • Do you speak any foreign languages? • Trading in Europe means communicating in more than one… …

    Financial and business terms

  • 3Language — Lan guage, n. [OE. langage, F. langage, fr. L. lingua the tongue, hence speech, language; akin to E. tongue. See {Tongue}, cf. {Lingual}.] [1913 Webster] 1. Any means of conveying or communicating ideas; specifically, human speech; the expression …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 4language — 1 Language, dialect, tongue, speech, idiom are comparable when they denote a body or system of words and phrases used by a large community (as of a region) or by a people, a nation, or a group of nations. Language may be used as a general term… …

    New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 5language — [laŋ′gwij] n. [ME < OFr langage < langue, tongue < L lingua, tongue, language, altered (by assoc. with lingere, to lick) < OL dingua < IE * dṇg̑hwa > OE tunge, TONGUE] 1. a) human speech b) Archaic the ability to communicate by… …

    English World dictionary

  • 6language — I noun communication, composition, dialect, expression, faculty of speech, folk speech, form of expression, formulation, idiom, jargon, lingua, linguistics, means of communication, oral, oratio, parlance, phrasing, phraseology, rhetoric, sermo,… …

    Law dictionary

  • 7language — late 13c., langage words, what is said, conversation, talk, from O.Fr. langage (12c.), from V.L. *linguaticum, from L. lingua tongue, also speech, language (see LINGUAL (Cf. lingual)). The form with u developed in Anglo French. Meaning a language …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 8language — ► NOUN 1) the method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way. 2) the system of communication used by a particular community or country. 3) the phraseology and… …

    English terms dictionary

  • 9Language — Lan guage, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Languaged}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Languaging}.] To communicate by language; to express in language. [1913 Webster] Others were languaged in such doubtful expressions that they have a double sense. Fuller. [1913 Webster] …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 10language — language, philosophy of …

    Philosophy dictionary