language definition | Dictionary.com

lan⋅guage

[lang-gwij]

–noun

1.	a body of words and the systems for their use common to a people who are of the same community or nation, the same geographical area, or the same cultural tradition: the two languages of Belgium; a Bantu language; the French language; the Yiddish language.

2.	communication by voice in the distinctively human manner, using arbitrary sounds in conventional ways with conventional meanings; speech.

3.	the system of linguistic signs or symbols considered in the abstract (opposed to speech ).

4.	any set or system of such symbols as used in a more or less uniform fashion by a number of people, who are thus enabled to communicate intelligibly with one another.

5.	any system of formalized symbols, signs, sounds, gestures, or the like used or conceived as a means of communicating thought, emotion, etc.: the language of mathematics; sign language.

6.	the means of communication used by animals: the language of birds.

7.	communication of meaning in any way; medium that is expressive, significant, etc.: the language of flowers; the language of art.

8.	linguistics; the study of language.

9.	the speech or phraseology peculiar to a class, profession, etc.; lexis; jargon.

10.	a particular manner of verbal expression: flowery language.

11.	choice of words or style of writing; diction: the language of poetry.

12.	Computers. a set of characters and symbols and syntactic rules for their combination and use, by means of which a computer can be given directions: The language of many commercial application programs is COBOL.

13.	a nation or people considered in terms of their speech.

14.	Archaic. faculty or power of speech.

Origin:
1250–1300; ME < AF, var. sp. of langage, deriv. of langue tongue. See lingua, -age

Synonyms:
2. See speech. 4, 9. tongue; terminology; lingo, lingua franca. Language, dialect, jargon, vernacular refer to patterns of vocabulary, syntax, and usage characteristic of communities of various sizes and types. Language is applied to the general pattern of a people or race: the English language. Dialect is applied to certain forms or varieties of a language, often those that provincial communities or special groups retain (or develop) even after a standard has been established: Scottish dialect. A jargon is either an artificial pattern used by a particular (usually occupational) group within a community or a special pattern created for communication in business or trade between members of the groups speaking different languages: the jargon of the theater; the Chinook jargon. A vernacular is the authentic natural pattern of speech, now usually on the informal level, used by persons indigenous to a certain community, large or small.

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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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lan·guage (lāng'gwĭj)

1. Communication of thoughts and feelings through a system of arbitrary signals, such as voice sounds, gestures, or written symbols.
2. Such a system including its rules for combining its components, such as words.
3. Such a system as used by a nation, people, or other distinct community; often contrasted with dialect.
4. A system of signs, symbols, gestures, or rules used in communicating: the language of algebra.
5. Computer Science A system of symbols and rules used for communication with or between computers.
1. A system of signs, symbols, gestures, or rules used in communicating: the language of algebra.
2. Computer Science A system of symbols and rules used for communication with or between computers.
Body language; kinesics.
The special vocabulary and usages of a scientific, professional, or other group: "his total mastery of screen language—camera placement, editing—and his handling of actors" (Jack Kroll).
A characteristic style of speech or writing: Shakespearean language.
A particular manner of expression: profane language; persuasive language.
The manner or means of communication between living creatures other than humans: the language of dolphins.
Verbal communication as a subject of study.
The wording of a legal document or statute as distinct from the spirit.

[Middle English, from Old French langage, from langue, tongue, language, from Latin lingua; see dghū- in Indo-European roots.]

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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Language

Lan"guage\, n. [OE. langage, F. langage, fr. L. lingua the tongue, hence speech, language; akin to E. tongue. See Tongue, cf. Lingual.]

1. Any means of conveying or communicating ideas; specifically, human speech; the expression of ideas by the voice; sounds, expressive of thought, articulated by the organs of the throat and mouth.

Note: Language consists in the oral utterance of sounds which usage has made the representatives of ideas. When two or more persons customarily annex the same sounds to the same ideas, the expression of these sounds by one person communicates his ideas to another. This is the primary sense of language, the use of which is to communicate the thoughts of one person to another through the organs of hearing. Articulate sounds are represented to the eye by letters, marks, or characters, which form words.

2. The expression of ideas by writing, or any other instrumentality.

3. The forms of speech, or the methods of expressing ideas, peculiar to a particular nation.

4. The characteristic mode of arranging words, peculiar to an individual speaker or writer; manner of expression; style.

Others for language all their care express. --Pope.

5. The inarticulate sounds by which animals inferior to man express their feelings or their wants.

6. The suggestion, by objects, actions, or conditions, of ideas associated therewith; as, the language of flowers.

There was . . . language in their very gesture. --Shak.

7. The vocabulary and phraseology belonging to an art or department of knowledge; as, medical language; the language of chemistry or theology.

8. A race, as distinguished by its speech. [R.]

All the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped the golden image. --Dan. iii. 7.

Language master, a teacher of languages. [Obs.]

Syn: Speech; tongue; idiom; dialect; phraseology; diction; discourse; conversation; talk.

Usage: Language, Speech, Tongue, Idiom, Dialect. Language is generic, denoting, in its most extended use, any mode of conveying ideas; speech is the language of articulate sounds; tongue is the Anglo-Saxon tern for language, esp. for spoken language; as, the English tongue. Idiom denotes the forms of construction peculiar to a particular language; dialects are varieties if expression which spring up in different parts of a country among people speaking substantially the same language.

Language

Lan"guage\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Languaged; p. pr. & vb. n. Languaging.] To communicate by language; to express in language.

Others were languaged in such doubtful expressions that they have a double sense. --Fuller.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : language

Spanish: lenguaje,

German: die Sprache,

Japanese: 言語

More Translations »

language

c.1290, from O.Fr. langage (12c.), from V.L. *linguaticum, from L. lingua "tongue," also "speech, language" (see lingual).

language (lāng'gwĭj) Pronunciation Key

A system of objects or symbols, such as sounds or character sequences, that can be combined in various ways following a set of rules, especially to communicate thoughts, feelings, or instructions. See also machine language , programming language.
The set of patterns or structures produced by such a system.

language
1. programming language.
2. natural language.
(1998-09-07)

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