lingua franca

(liŋgwə fraŋ)

  1. a hybrid language based on Italian, with Spanish, French, Greek, and Arabic elements, spoken, esp. formerly, in certain Mediterranean ports
  2. a language used for communication between different peoples, as English or Swahili; specif., a hybrid language used for this purpose, as pidgin English
  3. something that is like a common language

Origin: It, lit., Frankish language

See lingua franca in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun pl. lingua fran·cas (-kəz) also linguae fran·cae (frăngˈkē, frănˈsē)
  1. A medium of communication between peoples of different languages.
  2. A mixture of Italian with Provençal, French, Spanish, Arabic, Greek, and Turkish, formerly spoken on the eastern Mediterranean coast.

Origin:

Origin: Italian

Origin: : lingua, language

Origin: + franca, Frankish (that is, European)

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