'Lingua Franca' definitions:
Definition of 'lingua franca'
(from WordNet)
noun
A common language used by speakers of different languages; "Koine is a dialect of ancient Greek that was the lingua franca of the empire of Alexander the Great and was widely spoken throughout the eastern Mediterranean area in Roman times" [syn: lingua franca, interlanguage, koine]
Definition of 'Lingua Franca'
From: GCIDE
- Lingua Franca \Lin"gua Fran"ca\ (l[i^][ng]"gw[.a] fr[a^][ng]"k[.a]) n. [It., prop., language of the Franks.]
- 1. The commercial language of the Levant, -- a mixture of the languages of the people of the region and of foreign traders. [1913 Webster]
- 2. Any hybrid or other language used over a wide area as a common or commercial tongue among peoples of different speech. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]