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Showing results for lingua franca. Search instead for linguae+francae.
Synonyms

lingua franca

American  
[frang-kuh] / ˈfræŋ kə /

noun

plural

lingua francas, linguae francae

  1. any language that is widely used as a means of communication among speakers of other languages.

  2. (initial capital letter) the Italian-Provençal jargon (with elements of Spanish, French, Greek, Arabic, and Turkish) formerly widely used in eastern Mediterranean ports.

lingua franca 1 British  
/ ˈlɪŋɡwə ˈfræŋkə /

noun

  1. a language used for communication among people of different mother tongues

  2. a hybrid language containing elements from several different languages used in this way

  3. any system of communication providing mutual understanding

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Lingua Franca 2 British  

noun

  1. a particular lingua franca spoken from the time of the Crusades to the 18th century in the ports of the Mediterranean, based on Italian, Spanish, French, Arabic, Greek, and Turkish

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of lingua franca

1670–80; < Italian: literally, Frankish 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.

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

Most are published in languages other than English, the lingua franca of science, and only a small fraction of them are indexed in international citation and index systems.

From Science Magazine • Dec. 4, 2024

They were talking in Swahili - the lingua franca in the region - and afterwards began shouting "Allahu Akbar", meaning "God is greatest".

From BBC • Jun. 18, 2023

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.