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   language

   /ˈlaŋɡwɪdʒ/

   noun

   • 1. the principal method of human communication, consisting of words used in a structured and conventional way and conveyed by speech, writing, or gesture: "a study of the way children learn language"
   • ▪ a non-verbal method of expression or communication: "body language" Similar speechwritingcommunicationverbal expressionverbalizationvocalizationconversationspeakingtalkingwordsutterancevocabularyarticulationenunciationpronunciationtalkdiscourseinterchangeintercourseinteractionarchaic:converse
   • 2. a system of communication used by a particular country or community: "the book was translated into twenty-five languages" Similar tonguespeechmother tonguenative tonguedialectvernacularbhashainformal:lingo
   • ▪ a system of symbols and rules for writing programs or algorithms: "the systems were developed using languages such as Fortran and Basic"
   • 3. the style of a piece of writing or speech: "he explained the procedure in simple, everyday language"
   • ▪ the phraseology and vocabulary of a particular profession, domain, or group: "legal language" Similar wordingdictionphrasingphraseologystylevocabularyterminologyexpressionsturns of phraseparlancemanner of writing/speakingway of talkingform/mode of expressionusageslocutionsidiolectchoice of wordsrhetoricoratoryspeechdialectvernacularregionalismsprovincialismslocalismspatoislingua francaslangidiomscolloquialismsjargonargotbarbarismsvulgarismscantnewspeakpidgin EnglishCreoleinformal:lingolegalesejournalesetechnospeakgeekspeakgobbledygook
   • ▪ coarse or offensive language.

   Word Origin Middle English: from Old French langage, based on Latin lingua ‘tongue’.

   Scrabble Points: 10

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