multilingual

American  

[muhl-tee-ling-gwuhl, muhl-tahy-, -ling-gyoo-uhl] / ˌmʌl tiˈlɪŋ gwəl, ˌmʌl taɪ-, -ˈlɪŋ gyu əl /

adjective

1. using or able to speak several or many languages with some facility.

2. spoken or written in several or many languages.

   a multilingual broadcast.

3. dealing with or involving several or many languages.

   a multilingual dictionary of business terms.

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noun

1. a multilingual person.

multilingual British  

/ ˌmʌltɪˈlɪŋɡwəl /

adjective

1. able to speak more than two languages

2. written or expressed in more than two languages Compare bilingual monolingual

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Usage

What does multilingual mean? Multilingual is most commonly used to describe someone who can speak or understand multiple languages, especially someone who can speak several languages with some level of fluency.It can also be used to describe things that involve or that are written or spoken in multiple languages, as in These instructions are multilingual—they’re written in seven different languages.Someone who speaks two languages is multilingual, but the term is most often used to describe someone who speaks more than three languages, since the term bilingual is commonly used to describe someone who speaks two languages and trilingual is used to describe someone who speaks three.The ability to speak multiple languages or the use of multiple languages is called multilingualism.Example: Being multilingual is a great advantage when applying for international jobs.

Other Word Forms

• multilingualism noun
• multilingually adverb

Etymology

Origin of multilingual

First recorded in 1830–40; multi- + lingual

Example Sentences

It's a multilingual country and the greeting inside - Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year - is in French, German, Flemish and English.

From BBC

She believes these features, once dismissed as meaningless errors, may reflect multilingual artisans adjusting written language for diverse audiences.

From Science Daily

So what are the fundamental tenets of Britishness - a concept itself some would contest - under which a multicultural, multilingual, multireligious collection of nations such as the UK could agree on?

From BBC

“I also think it’s something that was shamed for so long, but it was shamed because of its power. By being international, multilingual and multicultural, we have so much power.”

From Los Angeles Times

It gives her music a worldly quality, reflected in multilingual tracks like “Eurotrash,” which Rivera sings in English, Spanish and French.

From Los Angeles Times