any language that is widely used as a means of communication among speakers of other languages.
(initial capital letter) the Italian-Provençal jargon (with elements of Spanish, French, Greek, Arabic, and Turkish) formerly widely used in eastern Mediterranean ports.
a language used for communication among people of different mother tongues
a hybrid language containing elements from several different languages used in this way
any system of communication providing mutual understanding
1670–80; < Italian: literally, Frankish tongue
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
The talk was in Spanish, an unremarkable fact given the language has been the lingua franca on most construction sites in Southern California for decades.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 19, 2025
Except that English is its chief lingua franca and Newspeak its official language, it is not centralized in any way.
From "1984" by George Orwell
This quilted tote, inscribed with that apt phrase, is a collaboration between the handbag label MZ Wallace and the embroidery specialists Lingua Franca.
From New York Times ● Oct. 10, 2018
Time has only burnished the reputations of Oregon Pinot pioneers St. Innocent, Brick House and Domaine Drouhin, while newer wineries such as Lingua Franca, Nicolas-Jay and Lachini Vineyards make use of Burgundian talent.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2018
Bergen’s sweater was custom made for her by luxury sweater brand Lingua Franca.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 14, 2017
In her early 20s she worked as an editor at Lingua Franca, a monthly magazine that covered quarrels and controversies in academia.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 17, 2015
Her voice waxed shrill and angry, and her antagonists' replies in Lingua Franca, mixed with Arabic, Latin, and Greek, rang through the tent, till the Prince could bear it no longer.
From The Prince and the Page; a story of the last crusade by Yonge, Charlotte Mary
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.
