lingua
Americannoun
noun
-
the technical name for tongue
-
any tongue-like structure
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of lingua
1665–75; < Latin; akin to tongue
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Lego’s effectiveness as a visual lingua franca must be both a point of pride for The Lego Group and, at times, its bane.
From Salon • Apr. 26, 2026
This entails programs to promote standard Chinese as the national lingua franca, instill pride in Chinese cultural heritage and exert stronger central control over regions with large ethnic-minority populations such as Tibet and Xinjiang.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 12, 2026
His Russian has improved in prison, where it is a lingua franca among the inmates.
From Barron's • Jan. 30, 2026
It’s the kind of zippy, immersive crime thriller that reminds you of the international lingua franca that Scorsese all but invented with “Goodfellas.”
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 18, 2025
The songs and sounds they’ve absorbed are part of western musical style, and are now part of the musical lingua franca or the music that is “normal” for them.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
