lingua
Americannoun
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linguae
plural
noun
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the technical name for tongue
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any tongue-like structure
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected 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.
See Examples For:
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
Somalia is to introduce Swahili, the lingua franca of East Africa, to its national curriculum, the president has announced.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 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
Reminded that technically the war was over for Russia, Kisselev confessed a "lapsus linguae."
From Time Magazine Archive
"The devil they do, ma'am!" bolted out Richard, gruffly; and then, ashamed of his /lapsus linguae/, screwed up his lips firmly, and glared on the company with an eye of indignant fire.
From My Novel — Volume 05 by Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Lytton
"Where is he going?" was Warren's lapsus linguae, at this bit of news.
From The Voice on the Wire by Eustace Hale Ball
"The devil they do, ma'am!" bolted out Richard, gruffly; and then, ashamed of his lapsus linguae, screwed up his lips firmly, and glared on the company with an eye of indignant fire.
From My Novel — Complete by Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron Lytton
Even a lapsus linguae, "you uns." was unmistakable amidst the high-flown periods.
From Una Of The Hill Country 1911 by Mary Noailles Murfree
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.
