lin·gua

[ling-gwuh]
noun, plural lin·guae [-gwee] .
the tongue or a part like a tongue.

Origin:
1665–75; < Latin; akin to tongue

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To lingua
Collins
World English Dictionary
lingua (ˈlɪŋɡwə) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n , pl -guae
1.  the technical name for tongue
2.  any tongue-like structure
 
[C17: Latin]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Lingua is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

lingua lin·gua (lĭng'gwə)
n. pl. lin·guae (-gwē')

  1. The tongue.

  2. A tonguelike anatomical structure.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Actors are different, but we've certainly developed a lingua franca.
Villagers typically are multilingual or speak a lingua franca that enables them
  to trade or marry into a neighboring clan.
Memoirs about language-learning reflect the fear of a world flattened by the
  new lingua franca.
Rock and pop have moved into the mainstream, edging out movie and show tunes as
  the world's musical lingua franca.
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature