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Lingua franca

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lingua franca

  [frang-kuh]
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–noun, plural lingua francas, lin⋅guae fran⋅cae  [ling-gwee fran-see] .
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.
Origin:
1670–80; < It: lit., Frankish tongue
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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lingua fran·ca   (frāng'kə)   
n.   pl. lingua fran·cas (-kəz) also linguae fran·cae (frāng'kē, frān'sē)

  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.


[Italian : lingua, language + franca, Frankish (that is, European).]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

lingua franca 
1678, from It., lit. "Frankish tongue." Originally a form of communication used in the Levant, a stripped-down It. peppered with Spanish, French, Greek, Arabic, and Turkish words. The name is probably from the Arabic custom, dating back to the Crusades, of calling all Europeans Franks.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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