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Definition 2024


lingua_franca

lingua franca

English

Noun

lingua franca (plural lingua francas)

  1. a common language used by people of diverse backgrounds to communicate with one another, often a basic form of speech with simplified grammar

Usage notes

  • The most common plural form in English is lingua francas; however, the plural forms lingue franche (following the Italian) and linguae francae (in the style of Latin) are both fairly common as well. Also attested, but quite rare, and probably nonstandard, is the form linguas franca (treating lingua alone as the noun and taking franca as an adjective; compare attorneys general, forests primeval).

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Italian

Noun

lingua franca f (invariable)

  1. The Mediterranean Lingua Franca, a common language spoken in Mediterranean ports in centuries past (consisting of Italian mixed with French, Spanish, Arabic and some Greek words and used by sailors of different countries to communicate with one another).